Coping without heating

[Frio]

I’m seriously impressed by the people on the central heating thread who are surviving indoor temperatures of 14-16 Celsius. I really struggle physically and mentally with the cold.

My boiler has fritzed its circuit board and is utterly dead, any tips for managing until I can get it repaired? I have a couple of plug in oil filled radiators, plenty of sweaters and blankets but it’s the psychological impact that is the worst. How do I toughen up?

These. Cheap and effective

Do you live in a tent?

I'm not particularly sturdy mentally 😅 but I couldn't afford the heating on unless it was practically frozen inside for years and never got out of the habit, hahah - an Oodie-type thing, big socks, not sitting still for ages, hot water bottles, a bit of complaining occasionally! I've got Reynauds so a mug of something hot to wrap my hands round is good, too.

Our house isn't far off sometimes overnight. Shit windows that need replacing :(

Sounds like it's just the display panel, easily replaced, pit it on credit card!

East of Scotland

No just a chilly part of the country this week lol

do as they do in spain and wear a dressing gown over your clothes

I've had a few years in houses with no heating (both times we had just bought the house so had no spare cash, and the boiler died). We managed by:
Spending as much time as possible at work. I stayed warm and earned overtime.
Sleeping bags: If sitting on the sofa, I'd sit in a sleeping bag, with a hot water bottle inside it on my feet, and another on my lap.
Good base layer clothes. And plenty of thin layers on top of them.
Really good slippers. I had flagstone floors in one of the houses, and they get SO cold. Ugg-style boots don't cut the mustard; you need proper layers of cork and felt to keep you warm. And ski socks that are nice and warm and long.
Make the most of every sunbeam. Curtains open if it is sunny, and closed as soon as it isn't.
Electric oil filled radiators in the bedroom. I effectively moved upstairs because that's where any warm air in the house went, and the bedroom was a smaller space to heat than the living room.
Lots of hot food, soup, and hot drinks. I'd take a flask to bed so that I could pour myself a hot cup of coffee before I got up in the morning. I hated standing in a cold kitchen waiting for the first kettle to boil.
I refuse to wear hats, gloves and scarves in the house. I will use handwarmers and have the hood up on an Oodie, though.

These days I often work from home, and am reliant on a heated throw in the chillier rooms. We have the heating set between 16 and 18 degrees, depending on what we are doing. We have a few old crittal windows (single glazed, metal frames) and I cover those in bubble wrap in the autumn, stuck on with double-sided tape.
We also have two duvets on the bed. I prefer that to one really thick one as it feels easier to adjust them to get to the right temperature.
On my wfh days I like to shower when the sun is hitting the bathroom. It is warmer than it is in the morning.

We used to live without heating for a good few years, due to it being calor and expensive to use, I bought oil rads for each bedroom and the main lounge room, we all had hot water bottles and warm clothes and big duvets, but the thing that I still use now even though I have heating… toilet seat covers!! Pack of 4 stretchy material ones from Amazon, some of my friends had to get them after the delight of sitting down and not getting a cold seat shock lol easy to throw in the wash too and 4 in a pack so I’d change them regularly.
amzn.eu/f3PTDCC

What are summer windows?

For WFH at the moment I wear socks, slippers, long sleeve thermal vest under a fleece jumper, warm joggers or leggings. When it gets colder I will wear heat holder socks, and will put a t-shirt on over the thermal vest and wear a thicker fleece. I might add a neck warmer and a blanket when it gets properly cold

There's no way I'm sitting in my office WFH in meetings dressed like that, you can probably barely move in your 101 layers! Just put the bloody heating on.

This. We have an end of terrace maisonette and the living room gets no sun so is always cold. I can put on as many layers as I want but if the air's cold I still feel cold. I've been working from home for the last few years and my desk is in a corner next to single brick walls and is cold even with the heating on in the winter!

It can't be 3 degrees inside.

I am also a chilly part of the country. Even in snow when power was off for a week it wasn't that low inside.

There are ways to insulate draughty windows without replacing them like window film that you pull tight with the hairdryer. Fleece liners for curtains, draught excluders for doors.

Many of the old fashioned methods are still very valid.

Gosh you're lucky this autumn. I'm in outer London which is normally a couple of degrees warmer than elsewhere, but our heating was on before August was out this year.

In response to OP, I find it super depressing when the house is cold, so take care. After a few days i notice its really making me miserable.

I think there is a bit of a competitive element to this for some reason. My mum, bless her, is a competitive cold person, but I don't think realises. It's not deliberate. Something about British stiff upper lip and stoicism. Don't ask me - I'm not someone who enjoys hardship. 🤣 I take after my dear lately departed dad. I say that without any judgement- if mum enjoys a cooler home, that's her business.

And also some people genuinely get acclimatised to cooler homes. I think mum is delighting in the freedom to enjoy a hone that feels comfortable for her after years of dad wanting it hotter during his illness. I'm not sure that's a conscious thing either - she's devastated by his death.

It throws a light on individual thermostats though. When I was obese, I was always too hot. I could happily sit in 17 degrees and still have a fan on me if it was humid.

Now I'm on a weight loss diet, I'm freezing all the time. My feet can even get cold in a warm house. So here are my tips for boiler breakdowns:

Heated slippers. They are the only thing that can bring my cold feet back from being solid blocks of ice. 🤣

Fleecy throw on my lap when I'm sat still. Better than a normal blanket or throw, I have one that's fleece one side and velvety the other. Even better- a heated one.

Thick socks with rubbery soles. For times when the heated slippers aren't on.

Thick pyjamas, with bedsocks and even a scarf if really cold. The scarf cam double up amd be wrapped round your head if your ears or nose get cold in the night.

Layers - I've gone back to the old system of "thermal underwear".

For washing - boil the kettle a few times and transport to the bathroom.

Also - heat one room with an electric heater, at least part of the day, so you can get some respite.

Finally - don't let it drop below 13 degrees routinely, or it will cause damage to your personal possessions.

Many moons ago OP, we spent a whole winter without heating. It was a cottage on a farm. Old and drafty and it snowed heavily that winter. It had an oil tank we just couldn't afford to fill.

We wore our coats inside, sometimes two, gloves, layered clothing and drank lotof and lots of hot drinks. We were young and healthy, and I don't remember it being that bad. I did hate showering as it was so cold when you got out.

I did used to warn visitors it would be cold. I remember icicles on the windows. You just get used to it I suppose. We didn't get sick at all thst winter either, maybe too cold for the germs to live.

I think some people are just warm or cold blooded! My OH gets cold and would have the heating on much more than me, he put it on yesterday, meanwhile I had the fan on (I am pregnant though!) I would hardly use the heating if I lived alone! I would always rather be too cold than too hot though, I hate when it's really warm!

This is true, I could have my heating on far lower when I was overweight! Then I lost 3 stone and now am always cold.

I completely get it, it's horrible and debilitating to feel cold. I agree with others suggesting keeping active i.e. distraction. Sitting down thinking about how cold you are can't help. Also go out - for a brisk walk, to the library (if you have one!) Where you can read a newspaper or book. Make a cake (then leave the oven door open after!)

I went from having menopause hot flushes, one of the unlucky 10% who get them for life,to going on to meds for hypertension main side effect....hot flushes. I've always had a job with heat,21c is comfortable in summer, anything more, I suffer. We had 6c , overnight,last night was 11c..we had a new boiler a few years ago, didn't want the combi which was being pushed. We kept the tanks, emersion heater, proper safety electric fire in the bathroom,. Everyone said we were mad. A relative with 2 young adults living at home, went for a combi, and regularly ran out of hot water,has gone back to a traditional condenser boiler. When we had the BEAST FROM THE EAST,. it went down to -12, 2 days and nights, unheard of here, the boiler gave up. I had a warm bathroom, plenty of hot water and an electric fire in the living room. I also still have an airing cupboard to dry clothes.

There used to be a saying ‘mild winters make graveyards fat’ because the cold apparently does stop many bugs in their tracks.

I’ve been leaving the oven door closed so it works more like an oil filled radiator, it continues to warm the kitchen but for longer than opening the door and letting the heat rush out for a short burst. I might do an experiment to see which is best.

It’s 16c outside and inside this morning, I think a dehumidifier and one more oil filled radiator might be enough. I do have solid fuel and a multi fuel stove but that’s for a really wintry emergency.

I've been known to sit and work in bed with the electric blanket on. Also cardigans, socks and anything else you can find with real wool content (eBay and vinted).

Does anyone here know if there’s a way to get Alexa to switch on the plug in radiators? Is it easy to set up if so?

I genuinely don't do heat very well. I think I had the heating on 3 times last winter.

I do have heated throws. I don't save any money because I use portable air con in the summer.