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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:
Ohyesiam · 15/10/2019 07:17

No

LittleCandle · 15/10/2019 07:27

We've had it on here and there, but it has been pretty cold, wet and windy here recently. Putting on a jumper often makes no difference to me because of a medical condition - I can be cold in the house with big jumpers and the heating on! We have built up enough credit over the summer with our direct debit payments to not really worry that much about putting the heating on when we need it. We also use a heated airer to dry our clothes and that helps keep the need for the heating at bay for a few more weeks.

I did pop the heating on when I came down this morning, as it felt rather nippy, but it is set to go off in a while and as of yet, we don't have it set to come back on in the evening.

Persimmonn · 15/10/2019 07:29

I don’t constantly think about it but it is a niggle in my mind. We haven’t put the heating on yet as it’s still quite mild, but I know the weather will turn in the next 2 weeks. Our gas bill has gone down this week, but it’s still around £140 a month for both gas and electric, and I was in debit last winter and had to pay extra to avoid DD increase. I’ve started working full time now so gas and electric are off during the day, we’ll probably have heating on 3-9pm every day just so the house is warm for the kids and on longer during weekends. But I know I’ll worry about it every time I put it on.

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Home improvement
Sniv · 15/10/2019 07:30

No, but I got up out of bed last night and dug out the electric blanket. Seems like only three months or so since I put it away. My enormous fleecy, fluffy knitted hoodie is also back in regular service after what seems like a very brief holiday in the back of the wardrobe.

joystir59 · 15/10/2019 07:33

We have an old house but it's dry lined, insulated and a mid terrace, so retains heat well. We have the thermostat set to 18c but only put the heating on for an hour in the evening

HairyFloppins · 15/10/2019 07:36

My heating never goes off and has been on a lot recently. The thermostat is set to 21.5. We have a fairly new boiler and that reduced our bills quite a lot than the old condenser we had.

I also tend to overpay over the summer months so I am often in credit when the winter bills come in.

Dreading a old winter though.

Irisloulou · 15/10/2019 07:36

I have wood burner and an Aga.
The heating hasn’t been on this year, And it’s only ever on for an hour in the depths of winter, but I have lovely big south facing windows.
I’m well insulated, curtains all interlined, we have jumpers and dressing gowns and slippers. Blankets on the sofa.
Having one toasty room is in my opinion the best if you are concerned about the bill. You don’t need lots of radiators on.

Fishcakey · 15/10/2019 07:41

Our gas bill is never high so I don't worry about it. It's the electricity we use the rest of the time which makes my eyes pop out of my head!

lazylinguist · 15/10/2019 07:48

Nope. I have it set to 18 between 7a.m. and 9p.m. from about now until early spring. I don't think about the cost really.

defectiveinspector · 15/10/2019 07:52

Can I ask why people have their heating on overnight? In winter ours goes off just before we go to bed and then comes on again in the morning. If you do have it on overnight why don't you think about trying without it? Perhaps change it to go off midnight to 6am? I'm sure you won't miss it.

BlackeyedGruesome · 15/10/2019 07:57

Yes think of the cost to both my account and the environment.

It is quite warm here still. I am still wearing shorts at home but had to put socks and a cardi on last night. The flat keeps very warm, apart from ds's room.

PrincessHoneysuckle · 15/10/2019 08:13

Dh informed me last night it costs 17p an hour to have our heating on which wasnt as much as I thought! I hate being cold

Crusytoenail · 15/10/2019 08:27

Yes I worry about it, I'm on a meter for both and have had it on a few times this year - I do have a tumble dryer but I try not to use it regularly but need to for doing work stuff between shifts. Heating set for an hour in the morning and 5-9 in the evening, turned off if not needed. We don't have a shower and I can't afford to get one fitted, so we have to have baths, which is a money drain, literally. But we need to be clean. Been cold wet and windy here like today a lot of the time recently and I've got to get washing dry somehow. How do some of you dry your washing without the heating or a tumble dryer? I found even my thin work stuff takes a couple of days with nothing in weather like this and any longer and stuff starts to smell foisty.
I do get frustrated coming home from work knackered and freezing after 40 mins on a bus to not afford to put the heating on to warm me up - it's on for an hour for DD getting up for school but that's a good hour before I get in, and my place is semi detached and first floor with windows everywhere. So no matter which way the wind is blowing it's cold somewhere here! I'm worried what will happen when it gets really cold. Using the slow cooker a lot as we only have an electric oven to try and save a bit there. January fed up with constantly watching the meters go down and not really feeling warm ever!

TamingToddler · 15/10/2019 08:29

We have ridiculous storage heaters and an electric only flat. I used the overnight function on one storage heater the other night, and woke up to £4 electric used. That's meant to be the cheap rate!

I definitely can't afford to be spending £4 on heating plus whatever we use throughout the day, usually £2.50.

I'll have to put it on at some point because my house is too cold to dry the washing quickly enough on the airer. All that being said I'd rather cut back else where and just have my heating it.

MadisonAvenue · 15/10/2019 08:35

I worry a little and I don't usually like to have the heating on until the end of October but, despite my best efforts, as I turn the thermostat down, my husband follows me and turns it back up. He likes it set to 22c with all radiators on. I went into a room which is rarely used yesterday evening and the radiator was on (suffice to say, it isn't now!).

I don't think it's cold enough to warrant having the heating on yet, it's hasn't really gone much below 15c during the day here and we're in a very well insulated new build.

theoriginaltms · 15/10/2019 08:40

Mines been back on a few weeks now just a couple of hours in the morning before we wake up and a couple of hours again just before I know we all get home so it's warmed up ready. I absolutely hate being cold!

Frankley · 15/10/2019 08:51

Had only ancient asbestos filled electric storage heaters for years. Decided to smarten up and had them removed and new thin modern ones put in. Electricity company put in a new meter, for Economy 10. I don't think the new heaters were as efficient as the big old ones and we froze and paid a fortune. We have just chucked them all out, got gas to the house and l can't believe the luxury of having instant warmth when needed. I don't know yet how much it will cost us, but some people tell me it is cheaper to set the thermostat and leave it on all the time and other people say to switch it on and off as required. Any ideas on what is cheaper way to run it please?

theoriginaltms · 15/10/2019 09:50

@Frankley yes I heard this too but my thermostat only seems to switch the heating on at 25 degrees! X

MarkinTime · 15/10/2019 10:45

If i'm cold, i put the heating on.
We don't have it on a timer and the thermo is set at around 22 degs.
If we are at home all day, say at weekends, we put it on when we get up and leave it alone until we turn it off at bedtime.
We don't worry about the cost of it. We like to be warm.

Rachelover60 · 15/10/2019 10:48

No, I never think about it. Always pay by DD or SO monthly. I can't bear cold but I've only put heating on once this autumn, which is quite surprising for me; it will be on day and night soon enough.

WhoKnewBeefStew · 15/10/2019 10:53

We've just had a log burner installed and I've bought a dyson heater for my office (it's an out building conversion). I'm hoping to see a reduction in my heating costs

sleepyhead · 15/10/2019 11:05

The point of the thermostat is that you set it to the temperature you want your house to be (If you've got a portable thermostat keep it in the room you use most) and it'll switch your heating on if the temp in the room falls below that, and off again once it gets up to it.

So the heating will be going on and off but the temp in your home will be constant.

If you set it to say 18 degrees then it likely won't come on at all all summer but will kick in once the temperature drops. In the evenings you can turn it up a bit if you want a higher temp for sitting around, and you can usually set a much lower temp for night time so it likely will not come on at all unless really really cold (or just turn it off).

Waah! I miss my GCH!

Celebelly · 15/10/2019 11:12

Yeah we just stick the thermostat at 20 for daytime and 18 overnight and just leave it to it. The heating just comes on and off throughout the day and night, but I'm not really aware of it. I work from home anyway (plus I'm still on mat leave) so our bills are always a bit higher as we are in the house during the day.

Lardlizard · 15/10/2019 11:13

Tbh I don’t think about it

Zaphodsotherhead · 15/10/2019 11:25

I have no heating. Well, I do, but it's oil fired and I ran out of oil four years ago and can't afford to refill the tank. I just have an open fire in one room and an electric blanket.

I can't afford the electricity bill I have now (or barely) so don't use plug in radiators either. I wear a LOT of clothes. But it's perfectly possible to survive (contrary to the belief of my friends. Plus humans existed without central heating for millenia, and people have their houses too warm most of the time anyway).

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