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Original poster

My heating was on for two hours yesterday…

345 replies

AchillesLastStand · 02/04/2022 08:30

My heating was on for two hours yesterday, on in the morning for an hour and in the evening. We had one bath yesterday which the boiler heats the water for. We shared the same water. I logged onto Bulb to see the energy costs for yesterday, £4.50 for gas, £3.50 for electricity. It’s unsustainable if it goes up again in October. My 8 year old DS is under his bedcovers with his tablet because the heating has had to go off.

OP posts:
angela99999 · 03/04/2022 19:37

Our estate has a communal (gas) heating system so however careful we are we will still have to pay for other peoples' more wasteful heating. Some of the older ladies don't turn down their radiators but open the windows! I'm hoping the management company will turn off the heating early this year and not turn it on in the autumn until it is really getting chilly.
I agree with those who say that we've all got too used to central heating, we should use less heat and wear more clothes.
I do appreciate that the very young or those who are infirm do need more heat. I also believe that those in real need should be helped, but the rest of us could surely cut back.

Kona84 · 03/04/2022 19:38

The bulb smart meters have the vat and standing charge on the reading daily too.
So that price will include those costs.

EmbarrassingHadrosaurus · 03/04/2022 19:45

John Harris: ‘Cost of living crisis’? No – this is a social emergency that will define who we are

Lexie worries most, she says, about her youngest child, who has asthma. His coughing fits are sometimes so bad that he vomits. “It’s because he’s cold,” she told me. “I know it is. But there’s nothing I can do. I can’t pull heat out of the air.”
…
As Lexie’s experiences show, almost a third of disabled people live in poverty, an aspect of the story that gets far too little attention. Abstractions such as “the cost of living crisis” do not do enough justice to 2022’s mounting sense of dread; neither does the cliched view of people having to choose between heating and eating, when a lot of people will soon be unable to afford either.

www.theguardian.com2022/apr/03/cost-of-living-crisis-social-emergency-political-policies

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Cost of living
Apileofballyhoo · 03/04/2022 19:53

It's like there's a law that says companies must make a certain profit, so if costs go up customers must pay more. I can't understand why companies can't just make less profit.

fetchacloth · 03/04/2022 20:01

@lollipoprainbow

Just because we didn't have heating back in the day doesn't mean it's acceptable now in the 20th century in one of the richest countries in the world. Why should we have to live in a cold house ??
Totally agree. FGS this isn't the dark ages but it's starting to feel like it. And very costly too.
fetchacloth · 03/04/2022 20:02

@Apileofballyhoo

It's like there's a law that says companies must make a certain profit, so if costs go up customers must pay more. I can't understand why companies can't just make less profit.
Shareholders!
AnTeallach · 03/04/2022 20:14

A major reason for the massive hike in standing charges complained about by pp upthread has been the cost to the remaining utility companies of taking on customers from the companies that have gone bust. What has OFGEM, the regulator, been doing? It's their job to make sure companies can withstand shocks in the market.

Also, whatever happened to Johnson's claim that utility bills would be cheaper after Brexit, as the UK could then vary the rate of VAT on bills. What's stopping them now? If this government really wanted to help, there's no doubt it could be doing a lot more. Just think of the huge windfall to the Treasury in extra VAT, from the near doubling of people's bills. This could help offset higher energy prices. Sad how so many were suckered into believing the promises.

Ddot · 03/04/2022 20:25

Chargers, printers, tv do cost even when not in use, called vampire appliances and it's a substantial amount

BellePeppa · 03/04/2022 20:26

@Madre123

Your landline phone charger, electric toothbrush charger, fridge freezer.....etc etc...you will be surprised...try to ensure all is off at the plug and nothing left on stand by.....x
You can’t switch your fridge or freezer off at night surely?
Ddot · 03/04/2022 20:27

Get a heated blanket, cheap to run and will keep your kids warm

Wetblanket78 · 03/04/2022 20:37

@MrMrsJones

When I was a kid, we only had heating in the lounge.

People have got too comfortable with hot houses

I only use the heating in the wetroom. We don't need it on upstairs heat rises. I often have to wrap up not because I can't afford to have the heating on but because if I do my daughter gets too hot which triggers her siezures.
cakeorwine · 03/04/2022 20:39

@Ddot

Chargers, printers, tv do cost even when not in use, called vampire appliances and it's a substantial amount
Not really.

Most modern devices have a very low power usage on standby.

Frollop · 03/04/2022 20:41

Thermal tops, fleece hoody jackets, thermal socks, fleece lined leggings and electric blanket. Warm drinks.

cakeorwine · 03/04/2022 20:42

One of those pesky EU directives

ec.europa.eu/info/energy-climate-change-environment/standards-tools-and-labels/products-labelling-rules-and-requirements/energy-label-and-ecodesign/energy-efficient-products/mode-standby-and-networked-standby_en

A wide range of equipment – computers, TVs, audio and video equipment, microwave ovens, and electric toys – can have standby and off modes.

Since 2009 these devices are required to switch into a low power mode (such as standby) after a reasonable amount of time
Since 2013, they must not consume more than 0.5 Watts in standby or in off mode

0.5 watts is not a lot of power

Maybe Johnson will get rid of this regulation as a benefit of Brexit?

ReadyToMoveIt · 03/04/2022 20:46

@Frollop

Thermal tops, fleece hoody jackets, thermal socks, fleece lined leggings and electric blanket. Warm drinks.
If you don’t already own those things, you’re looking at a pretty significant outlay (we’re a family of 5).
VampireMoney · 03/04/2022 20:47

Token meter here. I had £16 in the electric yesterday. We haven't had the heating on and haven't done any proper cooking because of being unwell. Just checked it and it's gone down by a fiver in just 24 hours, with minimal use. At this rate it will have run out by Tuesday when that would normally last us until Thursday night even with the heater on.

I honestly, honestly don't know how we're going to cope like this. My house is freezing. This is the 21st century ffs. Heating our homes shouldn't be a bloody luxury.

Eve76 · 03/04/2022 20:58

I honestly think it’s ridiculous to work all day and then have to go home to a cold house , I’ve not had the heating on all weekend Just had layers on and hot water bottle and all I can think about is how bad it’s going to be this winter

Ddot · 03/04/2022 20:58

Hifi, sky, tv on standby all around £70 a year. Charges around £10 a year. So yes really. All adds up. Look up vampire appliances.

cakeorwine · 03/04/2022 21:11

@Ddot

Hifi, sky, tv on standby all around £70 a year. Charges around £10 a year. So yes really. All adds up. Look up vampire appliances.
I know what they are.

I don't necessarily believe the figures as devices have got so much better nowadays

www.ovoenergy.com/guides/energy-guides/save-on-standby-energy

n 2014 found that an LED HD TV left on standby for 19 hours would use 0.22 watts during that time. Assuming that was repeated for 365 days, your TV would use 80.3 watts over the course of the year while on standby

0.22 watts a day = 5 p a day - £1.50 a month

I suppose it depends on the impact of saving £5 a month versus turning everything off every night - and the impact that has on the device itself.

ikeepseeingit · 03/04/2022 21:13

Am I supposed to only have my lounge radiator on? Wouldn't that mess with my boiler? I have no fireplace and we couldn't afford to put one in. I doubt that my one tiny living room radiator would help heat the room up properly tbh. It wouldn't kick out as much as a fire would that's for sure.

I guess I will need to get us all an electric blanket for the winter and start scraping my windows then. Thanks, Tories.

MibsXX · 03/04/2022 21:18

@MyNameIsAngelicaSchuyler

The planet has limited resources and we’ve created a world where we take take take without replenishing. No one cares until it hits their pockets.

I know that we are in this position down to ideology (hint: don’t vote Tory) but maybe for once people will be forced to live more simply and less selfishly.

All well and good, and a lovely thought.. BUT for the fact we collectively are simply lining the pockets and warming the homes of the wealthy elite.....I guarantee THEY aren't going without heat, hot water food holidays etc
Postcardsender · 03/04/2022 21:22

Mine was £8.00 today and I wasn’t even in most of the day AND I have solar panels.

Butterflytown · 03/04/2022 21:33

I had the heating on for one hour yesterday. I checked my smart meter immediately before and after and it was over £2.50 for gas for that one hour. Brand new boiler, put in this year. On Friday we were out all day and when I got home the electric was on over £1.50. We had literally just got up that morning, boiled the kettle once and been out all day (water for showers had been heated the night before). Those figures don’t include the increased standing charge as our smart meter doesn’t show them. So to have the heating on for 2 hours a day, cook a meal (electric hob and oven), make a couple of cups of tea, run the washing machine once and maybe the dishwasher every other day, watch tv for an hour or 2 at night we’re looking at the best part of £10 a day. Absolutely crazy.

LizzieSiddal · 03/04/2022 21:39

Butterfly remember the first hour of heating will cost more as it’s heating from cold, once your house has warmed up, second and subsequent hours of heating shouldn’t be as much- I think!

cakeorwine · 03/04/2022 21:51

@Butterflytown

I had the heating on for one hour yesterday. I checked my smart meter immediately before and after and it was over £2.50 for gas for that one hour. Brand new boiler, put in this year. On Friday we were out all day and when I got home the electric was on over £1.50. We had literally just got up that morning, boiled the kettle once and been out all day (water for showers had been heated the night before). Those figures don’t include the increased standing charge as our smart meter doesn’t show them. So to have the heating on for 2 hours a day, cook a meal (electric hob and oven), make a couple of cups of tea, run the washing machine once and maybe the dishwasher every other day, watch tv for an hour or 2 at night we’re looking at the best part of £10 a day. Absolutely crazy.
For your electric to be at £1.50 if you have been out all day (and not including standing charge) seems a lot.

That's about 5 KWH. Where do you think your electricity was going if you were out all day?