Tips for staying warm and saving gas/elec please

[Twatterati]

I've become really worried about the price increases of gas and electric, so I'm hoping you'll be able to share some things that you do that will help minimise use and/or help stay warm this winter.

I'm on a much lower income than pre-Covid so am getting increasingly anxious, and I'm sure a lot of us are too, so I'm hoping this will help!

In Victoria, not UK, and the winter is proper, but nowhere near the UK: think mild London.
But I always run my dishwasher and washing machine on off-peak electricity after 10.00.p.m. I don't heat/cool rooms I'm not in. Shut that door!!! I run ceiling fans on reverse in winter to push down heat from high ceilings.

A big curly dog on the bed is good.

My winter clothes are always thin layers of wool. No socks indoors, Uggs-style slip-ons are enough.

@SoloISland well if you had a CO alarm that was going off every time you cooked and you got rid of it you're lucky you're not dead.
CO leaks from faulty appliances. You can't smell it or see it. But it kills people.

A close family member of mine was killed by it. Went to sleep and never woke up.

I remember having to tell
Members of the family they were dead. I think you're really stupid.

I lived in a proper cold house with no insulation a few years ago (military housing) and endured some really cold winters. My tips:

Definitely find the draughts and stuff them.
If you use the oven keep it open afterwards when switched off and the heat will help warm the house.
Thick slippers and a gilet for just pottering.
Layer up the bed.
Yes to curtains closed early.
Quick hairdryer onto cold socks before you put them on is amazing. Or put your inner clothes into bed the night before so they are warm when you get dressed.
If you WFH find ways to work moving as much as you can.

I don't think std elec supply has off peak on peak anymore.

We went to IKEA yesterday and bought some fleece blankets for £1.75 that we will pin behind the curtains. DD’s room gets colder so we went crazy and bought a £3.50 blanket for her curtains.

is using an electric space heater (the ones that say 'x pence per minute' ) cheaper than the gas heating?

Absolutely not!

I would invest in a log burner. Only way to warm our house properly.

It has paid for itself within two years - and that was when the gas prices were cheap. And thats the whole lot - structural work, new burner and flu, plaster etc. was just over £1000.

For fuel - Ask the corner shop for their old newspapers, get the cardboard from tesco/ sainsburys. You will have to buy dry wood for the first year. Start collecting wood as soon as possible so you can dry yourselves. Ask gardeners, neighbours, anywhere with a large garden. Theres wood everywhere!

Definitely don't use an electric space heater instead of gas!

For cooking, a microwave is the cheapest way to cook so a good example would be jacket pots in the microwave and just a ten minute crisp up in the oven. Batch cook so you're cooking more than one dish in the oven at a time. It sounds like a small thing but can save a surprising amount of money. Look up the energy usage of your own oven if you're feeling geeky, it's quite interesting😉. A slow cooker is also much lower energy use than an oven.

For heating, preserve what you have! Insulate, block drafts, put curtains up over doors and windows. You can stuff gaps with blanket insulation, the foil backed stuff (Xtratherm type) is great for large areas. We've used it to fill in around doors and to block voids in the floor, it's made a massive difference.
Keep blankets on sofas. Don't have damp washing indoors. Wear warm clothes and hard soled slippers. Get a cat!

Electric blanket on the bed, plugged into a timer switch so it warms up before you get in.

Also, it might sound minor, but only ever boil the kettle with as much water as you need, e.g. one mugful. Once the water's boiled and poured out, refill the kettle with another mugful of cold water, to warm it up a bit on the still hot kettle ready for next time.

That’s a fab idea re the kettle water.

@LemonSwan

is using an electric space heater (the ones that say 'x pence per minute' ) cheaper than the gas heating?

Absolutely not!

I would invest in a log burner. Only way to warm our house properly.

It has paid for itself within two years - and that was when the gas prices were cheap. And thats the whole lot - structural work, new burner and flu, plaster etc. was just over £1000.

For fuel - Ask the corner shop for their old newspapers, get the cardboard from tesco/ sainsburys. You will have to buy dry wood for the first year. Start collecting wood as soon as possible so you can dry yourselves. Ask gardeners, neighbours, anywhere with a large garden. Theres wood everywhere!

Log burners may not be a long term option the way the government are heading...

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51581817

However, the way Brexit is battering the country from an energy perspective they may not be able to enforce these plans because people will need heat!

Don't burn things to get warm - the oil lamps mentioned up thread are highly polluting of your indoor air, and the particles they give off are dangerous. Log burners are also bad for indoor air quality, horrid for neighbours/passers-by, and if you use high-quality properly dry wood, also remarkably expensive.

My tips, as someone who is very mean w heat:

1. Sit in the sunshine in the winter. My desk is in a room that never gets the sun (great in summer) but in the winter I go and sit in the living room where it's MUCH warmer.
2. Do whatever you can to minimise draughts.
3. Never heat a room that you aren't using, and keep bedrooms cool to cold - it takes a bit of getting used to, but this is a change that makes a big bill difference, and doesn't really affect quality of life (which for eg a cold living room does).
4. I do love an electric blanket - will quite often go to bed for an hour (laptop on knee) on cold winter days WFH.

Energy saving in general

1. Minimise use of your oven, and avoid roasting-type temperatures (sooo expensive). Batch cook when you have the oven on.
2. For stews etc. use a hay box. Get the stew simmering, and then wrap the whole (clean) saucepan up in something insulating (unlikely to be hay! could be a blanket/old duvet). Leave overnight, and all the simmering stage will be done with no additional energy needed at all. NB remember kidney beans MUST be boiled hard for 10 mins - don't just simmer them!
3. Get rid of all your halogen downlighters (you probably have, but if not...)
4. If you over-fill the kettle, put the water in a thermos, and then you don't have to re-heat from nothing when you next need it.

Having come through last winter while redundant and trying to live on beans....

• Use a slow cooker wherever possible
• Eat a decent breakfast like porridge
• Thick lined curtains - check out charity shops for good value.
• Adding loft insulation is easy and relatively cheap to do.
• I had a log burner installed several years ago. Not cheap but last winter it kept us warm every day. Wood needs to be dry but garden prunings, stored for the year, burn well.
• Invite a friend to supper. They'll save on their heating and contribute to yours simply by being there. Ask them to bring pudding.
• Thick socks or slippers, throws on the sofa, a gilet or decent sweater.
• Shared bodily warmth

@coachmylife for those of us not on mains gas, oil & LPG are expensive, and electricity also costs more.

So using a log burner is cheaper. (Especially if you can use your own free wood. And yes, it is seasoned and dried properly before burning)

@poshme - indeed, it can be cheaper, and if you don't have mains gas the likelihood is that you're pretty rural so don't have many neighbours.

The thing is, wood smoke is a known, and fairly potent, carcinogen, and the runaway popularity of 'lifestyle' wood burners is contributing to a growing lung disease burden here in the UK.

So - if people have an alternative, don't pick wood as your heating source, for your own health, and that of your neighbours.

You can get rolls of foil type paper that goes behind radiators to reflect the heat back into the room. Also tuck curtains down the back of radiators to stop heat going to the windows.

Insulate as much as possible, the government were paying to get houses more energy efficient, not sure if they still do.

Plug gaps, stop drafts.

Socks in bed - game changer for me.

Curtains as all pp have said.

Slow cookers can use cheaper cuts of meat and stews are warming.

I don't like wrapping up while sat, it feels even colder when I move, I would rather wrap up in layers so can move around without feeling the temperature change.

Don't forget to put a wool chimney sheep in any open chimneys
Let let moisture through but block hot air escaping work a treat
Unless you use it the fireplace of course!!

Scour the charity shops for blankets, padded coats and jackets and warm woollies.

I had a ridiculously over sized quilted coat that reached to my knees - it was my 'housecoat'.

As soon as I got in, I'd put that on - it was my comforter and slanket.

For the socks, alpaca wool are more costly to buy but really keep your feet warm so are worth the initial outlay (in my opinion)! Worn all winter working from home and defo help delay the heating go on

We have a heavy thermal curtain over external doors, and space heaters. Electric blankets in the beds. Fleecey blankets and jumpers for everyone! Squash and ribena can be made with hot water for an instant internal thawing :)

Electric overblanket. Be under it in the evening and take it to bed with you for the night. I'm always cold so have mine on so that everyone else in the house doesn't get too hot and it creates my own micro climate, I love it.

If you're cooking something slow, always make sure you've put some potatoes or rice pudding in with it. These can be quickly heated in the microwave over the next days for quick meals or for something to warm you up without having to put on the oven again.

Fingerless gloves and a cheap fleece blanket for if you're working from home during the day.

Not sure if anyone's mentioned it, but turn your thermostat down 1c.

Also, we switch heating on when we get up - I get too hot in bed if it's on before, and the first few mins are usually busy getting breakfast and feeding pets to notice if it's a big nippy.

Don't let yourself get cold - it's easier to remove layers than it is to warm up.

Get dressed as soon as possible in the morning - good base layers (Mountain Warehouse do a good range and it's not expensive), t-shirt/shirt, fleece, gilet if necessary.

If you can afford proper shearling boots (like Uggs), they are BRILLIANT - remember not to wear socks with them, or they don't work! Otherwise a couple of pairs of socks (thin cotton first, woolly or fleecy on top) and slippers.

Wrist warmers are brilliant if you're at a desk all day and not moving around too much, as they keep your hands warm without impeding your fingers, and a hat is good, too (I prefer not to look like a sherpa, so wear a cotton beanie or baseball cap - as long as it retains the heat, it works).

I say all this as a long-time home-working veteran who lives in a cold house...

If you're in receipt of certain benefits you could be eligible for the warm homes discount (worth £140). Have a look on moneysavingexpert.

I’ve lived in several freezing old properties with no central heating and draughty sash windows- agree re heavy curtains at windows and doors. Draught excluders etc.

Lots of layers of clothing!!! Might be unpopular but an old inherited full length fur coat has been a lifesaver - to wear around the house and as a top blanket on bed when it’s really cold. It’s highly effective.
Skiwear/salapets/down puffers are also good 😂 (just look like a maniac when visitors are there). Thermals are vital.

A really hot bath takes the deep chills out the ol extremities.

Honestly the main thing is wearing lots of clothes- we used to look like a pair of Michelin men in winter - no exaggeration.

We have a fitted undersheet which is made from 100% wool fleece, it makes the bed so warm to get into. I have fleece covers for my hot water bottles and usually they are still warm in the mornings. One hot water bottle at my feet and the other at lower back level and the whole bed is toasty warm.
Layers of clothing work really well when up and about around the house, I have some silk thermals which are very thin but do add a fair bit of warmth without being bulky. They're not the cheapest but I bought them end of season reduced, knowing I'd get plenty of wear out of them