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Original poster

Are you constantly thinking how much having the heating on is costing?

81 replies

Aldibaldi555 · 14/10/2019 20:43

Not put the heating on here yet but will need to soon.

Got a plug in radiator in DC room.

Are other people just constantly aware of how much having heating on is costing?

We’re not poor by any means, but it’s expensive. Admittedly we have a large, older house.

OP posts:
BarbaraofSeville · 14/10/2019 21:05

It's good to be aware of the cost - as well as being expensive, it's bad for the environment to be careless with the heating even if you can afford it.

Have you had all the improvements to insulation that are available?

Are you on the best possible tariff. Only about a third of people regularly switch to cheaper tariffs, which is ridiculous considering how easy it is to switch and how many people moan about the cost.

Do you have gas central heating? Because it is very efficient, it can actually be cheaper to have GCH on to heat the whole house than turn it off and use portable heaters. Before we had it installed, we just had a gas fire in the living room and that cost just about the same to run as a combi boiler heating the whole house.

Smurfie12 · 14/10/2019 21:09

My heating has been on 22 degrees constantly 24/7 for the last two weeks and will be for the rest of the winter. I usually turn it up to 24 for an hour or two when I come home from work then turn it back down to 22. I have been doing this for the last two years, and it's worked out much cheaper for me, even with the gas increases.

AnneLovesGilbert · 14/10/2019 21:13

Yes Sad

I’m on maternity leave so it’s on during the day, even though the baby and I have plenty of layers on, and I can feel the smart metre scowling at me. I’m also using the dryer more than usual as it’s been torrential here for days. It’s going to be a pricey winter.

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Home improvement
bigbluebus · 14/10/2019 21:13

I do think of the cost to the extent that if there is only me at home I will usually put a thicker jumper on before putting the heating on/up but will not be economical with it if guests are involved. We are on oil (no gas in our village) so it is becoming increasingly expensive.

Original poster
Aldibaldi555 · 14/10/2019 21:16

We are on oil although when we do our house up we’ll be modernising the house and going onto gas

OP posts:
Fireextinguished · 14/10/2019 21:17

Not constantly but aware of it. We are in a new build property so bills should be reasonable but our electricity is higher than I'd like due to all electric cooker.

We won't put heating on for a while yet.

Lllot5 · 14/10/2019 21:19

Not had the heating in yet here south east.
But yes constantly worried don’t put it in unless I have to.

tryingforminime · 14/10/2019 22:41

I have storage heaters and no gas in my home. It's costs me a lot during the winter months. I only put 2 of the heaters on to take the edge off and I know we'll be cold but I can't afford it

OchNah · 14/10/2019 22:42

An electric blanket on the mattress, and a heated throw blanket on the sofa, plus wearing layers are really effective, paying to burn oil so as you have stuffy rooms is just soul destroying, the heating would have to be on for ages to give a less pleasant warmth than a heated blanket does

IHaveBrilloHair · 14/10/2019 22:45

It's not cheap, but if it's cold I put it on, no matter what the time of year.
I have meters, and at the worst, in mid winter it's around £4 a day, but I can't stand being cold and I also have brittle asthma so need to be warm.

Floralnomad · 14/10/2019 22:45

I actually don’t give it a second thought , I hate being cold and I don’t like wearing lots of layers . We are SE and it’s been on a lot in the last couple of weeks however my house does seem to retain heat very well and my utility bills are pretty reasonable overall .

Nextphonewontbesamsung · 14/10/2019 22:46

I have no idea how much it costs to heat our house ... would love to know, actually. Is there an easy way to find out?

Jem2124 · 14/10/2019 22:46

Yes! We’re in a a relatively new house with oil fired central heating. Our oil bills are astronomical so it’s only on twice a day for 20 mins to heat the towel rails although DH knocked it on for an hour this evening as everyone was complaining of the cold. I hate being cold but oil is so expensive,

IHaveBrilloHair · 14/10/2019 22:48

I'm actually really worried about Dd, she's 18 and has moved out but they won't be able to afford much heating at all, and she also has brittle asthma.

Finfintytint · 14/10/2019 22:53

We delay putting the heating on as late as possible ( oil heating , no gas available in inefficient old cottage). I’ve had the fire on twice this month and the central heating about three nights. It does feel cool sometimes but it seems such a waste when I can put a jumper on instead.
22 degrees for 24/7 seems wasteful and unnecessary. I’d be too bloody hot for starters.

Ariela · 14/10/2019 22:57

Not at all. We won't need to put the heating on till the ambient outside temperture drops below about 5 ooutside by day, some years we don't use it till after Christmas. We have a wood burner (free wood, OH is handy with the chainsaw) and an oil fired Rayburn which does the cooking, hot water and heating all on timers and solar power which provides feed in tariff (original tariff) payments far far in excess of our electricity costs and heats the hot water when sunny. We make so much on the solar we still have about £2-400 left after paying for all the oil and electricity we use. Typical electricity is £40/month max and we spend about £5-600 every 14-18 months or more. Last bill was under £600 (bought in height of heat wave in August - I shop around like mad), previous would have been in a hot spell at the end of March/April/Easter 2018

Ariela · 14/10/2019 22:59

Meant to add we add a jumper rather than heat the house, the thermostat is set at 15.

username578999 · 14/10/2019 22:59

Yes it's expensive. I'm in debit on my utilities and they want to increase the dd but I can't afford it so just trying to keep the cost down so any tips will be great .
I hate being cold though I came home from work tonight dh already home and no heating on , it was freezing.

LizzieMacQueen · 14/10/2019 23:04

I'd rather be comfortably warm, in my house, all winter and have no summer holiday.

Finfintytint · 14/10/2019 23:09

I’m still comfortably warm with a jumper on rather than heating on. It just seems so unnecessary.

Cinammoncake · 14/10/2019 23:23

Ihavebrillohair Flowers that's a worry. Hope your dd is okay

BetterAlone · 14/10/2019 23:44

No. £81 a month for all gas & electric seems pretty good to me, and my exH insisted we set it at a level where I was cold all the time.....so nice not to have to endure the meanness any more.

myusernamewastakenbyme · 15/10/2019 00:05

Im on oil and find it very economical...i go through 1000 litres a year...costs about £500 ...i think thats really good.

PanicInAmerica · 15/10/2019 00:11

No. It’s been on (and off) since August. If I’m cold, they heating goes on. I don’t mind paying for it and will happily cut back elsewhere to pay for it.

Tyrotoxicity · 15/10/2019 00:12

I mostly go with refusing to think about how much the heating is costing. It's a rapid route to feeling guilty and shit.

It's on 18 degrees at the moment though, set to hover around there during waking hours until spring.

I did look into insulation and subsidies and whatnot. Turns out they can't do cavity wall insulation unless you actually have a cavity between the two layers of bricks, and this was not standard in the 1880s.

On the plus side, DD (aged six) gave me a bollocking this morning for suggesting putting the heating on when I wasn't already wearing a jumper.