Too frightened to put the gas heater on

[ImJustMadAboutSaffron]

Neighbour, not elderly only early to mid 60s. She's got a gas wall heater and that's all, no central heating. Says she can't afford to have it on as it's £15 a day and eating salads and sandwiches with cooked chicken from Morrison and Aldi so she doesn't have to put the cooker on.

Drying laundry on an airer in an unheated house. Well it won't dry, will it? Is a gas wall heater really that expensive? I thought gas was cheaper than electricity.

Well, that is understandable, it is expensive, in her early 60s I guess she doesn't get the state pension yet either.

We're doing the same, finding the clothes do take longer to dry. If we can afford it I might blast them in the tumble dryer for a few minutes to finish them off.

According to this:
www.changeworks.org.uk/sites/default/files/Heating_Comparison_2016.pdf

7p per hour on full - can't imagine that it would be on 24 hours a day

I had my gas fired CH on most days throughout October, for at least an hour a day.

We cook on the gas fired hob every day. We both shower every day using water heated by gas.

I pay monthly by variable DD. I submitted the meter reading on 29th October and got the bill a couple of days ago.

£38.52.

Ask her how she knows it'll cost £15 a day in heating?

I really do not think £15/day is correct.

Where has your neighbour got this price from?

Could you help them check the price?

There’s no way it’s £15 a day. We have the gas central heating on for 2/3 hours a day and it costs us about £3. That’s enough to stop the house getting damp. Her washing will dry if she hangs it on hangers in doorways making sure the air can get round it.

We are struggling too - low income family, 2 disabled people etc.

This group is good -

www.facebook.com/groups/966754150512356/?ref=sharewww.facebook.com/groups/966754150512356/?ref=share&exp=9594

Surely not. If you have the time to help and she doesn't mind showing you her bills, you could run it for an hour and calculate the cost for her. She could easily be a factor of 10 out.

An electric heater would give her the certainty of a known cost per hour to run, but I would assume the gas one is cheaper to run unless proved otherwise.

Just to add, the change works link is 2016 so gas prices have gone from 4p to nearly 8 a unit, and electric has gone from 15p/kWh to 38p/kWh so a bit of maths is needed to compare.

Thanks for your input everyone.

We’re all electric and we’ve only got up to £15 a day for heating in the coldest part of winter at weekends in previous years (expecting double that this year), so with one gas heater there’s no way it’ll get to that amount.