How to be warm this winter

[Moodwill]

I'm dreading the cold days. Because we're currently paying £280 a month in gas and electric, in the depths of winter last year our bills were £450 and we barely had the heating on. We're moving to a detached house so I'm even more worried now.

I'm going to get Hive fitted again (as we have it here and it's great to 'boost' heating/set schedules). We all have Oodies, I bought some of those long hot water bottles which I'll put in ours and the DCs beds before we go up. We have an electric blanket for the sofa but it doesn't smell nice anymore and isn't suitable to be washed (are any?) so I'm not sure I'll be able to use it anymore.

I think there's a way of being able to heat up certain rooms rather than the whole house, I've googled but can't find what I mean. OH needs the study warm 9-5, I want a warm living room in the evenings, and DCs room from around 6-9pm.

Any suggestions welcome.

I hate being cold 😔

Thermal underwear is a game changer.

The standing charges won't touch the sides as a proportion of the op's bill. It's really people who have very low usage that are unfairly penalized by this increase.

Is it worth getting a gas bottle/heater do you think

When are you moving to the house you will own?
It seems obvious to me that lack of insulation is main problem in the house you are currently living in.

@Moodwill
I live in a three bed terrace and pay a lot less. We switched last year from British Gas who wanted £380pm to Utility Warehouse who we pay £198pm. Phone around and see if you can get a better price.

Also agree with other posters about curtains. We put up thick curtains on the door's between our kitchen and conservatory and you really notice a difference. We got ours from a charity shop.

A new build is going to have a good EPC rating, @Moodwill. You'll be staggered by the difference (in a good way).

We only had the heating on for an hour a day last winter. We all had hot water bottles. Thick duvets. Blankets on the sofa. Our combined bill was still £350. We managed but I hope we can warm the house this year.

Can’t believe how high your bills are. We rarely put heating on because we just don’t think it’s that cold ever. I’ve got a standing desk, moving around makes a big difference. Put layers on as soon as you’ve showered,‘don’t let yourself get cold. You’ll get accustomed to a cooler house. Definitely don’t put a timer on, we’ve never worked out how to use ours and it must have saved so much money!

Like the idea of extending rods with thermal curtain. I have a bay window and the two side ones lose a lot of heat so I will try this.

Oooh I’m optimistic to hear the house may be cheaper as it’s a new build! Fingers crossed!