Battle of the thermostat - how many Sussex households are facing a cold war this winter as control of the heating enters a new phase

Forget those ancient internecine household battles over possession of the TV remote control. Streaming services and mobile phones might have put paid to armchair disputes about what channel the television was to be tuned to - but soaring energy prices have turned the heat up in another area of domestic diplomacy. Or rather, turned it down.

The battle of the thermostat is now underway as summer gives way to the chill of autumn and threatens to turn into a full blown cold war by November.

The sides in these centigrade skirmishes fall broadly into three camps. Leading the charge are those who believe as a matter of principle that the heating isn't going on until the last possible moment - and possibly not even then - and are doing everything in their power to keep the setting to 'hot water only.' They are armed with tons of less than welcome advice - along with pullovers, rugs and even the occasional electric blanket.

They are frequently to be found whiling away their leisure time plugging little gaps around the window frame with slithers of paper and fabric while pointedly jogging on the spot to show how keeping warm is also a great way to keep fit. Their only distraction is when their finely tuned hearing suddenly detects the click of the thermometer or the rumble of the boiler as it roars into action. At that point, the jog turns into a run as they seek to disarm the central heating monster.

Then they waltz off to their heated office in town pausing only briefly during their working day to check the Ring thermostat app on their phone - and promptly turn it down if anyone left shivering at home has had the temerity to add another one or two degrees of heat to their survival regime.

One wife - who represents the second camp in these manoeuvres - confided that the contents of the fridge were warmer than her after she and her little pug suffered a heating cut delivered without warning thanks to her husband's remote boiler control.

Another was less than impressed to find the cute Teddy her partner had wrapped for her birthday was a microwavable one."Adding insult to injury, he said it was cheaper to heat up than boiling a kettle of water for a traditional hot water bottle."

While a third is engaged in covert operations to move the portable thermostat to the garden so that it will be deceived into thinking the house is too cold and requires a little extra heat.

Finally there are the teenage kids - the ones who leave every door ajar, every light on, and every electrical appliance constantly on standby or in a perpetual state of charging, while lecturing their parents on the need to save their futures by being more green.

Whether Government price caps and cash subsidies will do anything to take the heat out of these household struggles remains to be seen. In the meantime, in homes across the country the battle of the thermostat is in full swing and shows little sign of abating.

[] What are your tips for keeping warm this winter? Share your thermostat stories with us at [email protected]