Out of interest...Heating- are you in credit or debit? Have you got your heating on today?

[sunshineandkindle]

I've got -£250 on my electric ccount now which is pretty good as we managed to pay off all the winter debt of £2k over the year.
When's everyone putting there's on? Do you hold off as long as possible?

£130 in credit for gas. House is 17 at the moment. No heating on. I have the back door open for the dog.

About 400 in credit I think.

I put it on when the kids say they're cold. I was so cold yesterday I put the duvet on the sofa for myself, but I do really feel the chill.

We are £400ish in credit we also took back £300 in June and dropped our DD to £150. We got a new boiler in April so hopefully we will be cheaper this winter than last. We put our heating on the other night as I was freezing but it won't go on properly until next month. I do have my tumble dryer on today though which is a first since March!

I have to confess that I am a twat to energy companies and withdraw the money regularly and put them into my own saving account leaving only about 100 in.
I would rather I earn the interest pennies than them🙈

I am £650+ in credit with Octopus and pay £330 a month (that’s dual fuel).
Which makes me wonder why I’ve had an email this week telling me they want to increase the dd to £385 a month 😡

In credit but had it on yesterday as I'm poorly

Heating not on yet.

Was £400 and odd in credit, but just changed supplier so had it refunded.

@rightoguvnor if you are on a standard variable rate the cost is going up from 1 October. Depending on how frequently you are billed, the credit is not necessarily that high.

I am on a fixed tariff and pay by variable DD when the bill comes in. I put money away each month in a savings account, then transfer over when the bill comes in.

Heating is set to 18 at the moment and has clicked on a couple of times, it is chilly and damp here.

I honestly can’t understand how people are turning theirs on now tbh. It beggars belief that in early September, people are doing so

I honestly can't believe how people don't understand that some people feel the cold more than they do. DH has just undergone major heart surgery. He feels the cold dreadfully and I will not subject him to shivering just because some random person on the internet who lives somewhere warmer than I do thinks we shouldn't have the heating on @LondonPapa

I also don't understand why so many people don't know that the UK has lots of different microclimates and where people are geographically, plus what altitude they live at makes a lot of difference. It's currently 13 degrees where I live.

Our thermostat is set at 20 degrees, so we don't put the heating on. It comes on automatically when the thermostat dips below 20 degrees.

Where on earth in the country are all the people who are so cold they have put their heating on or are thinking of doing so? I'm in the West of Scotland and it's nowhere near cold enough for heating yet!

@Shortdaysalready the West of Scotland benefits from the gulf stream and has a much milder climate than many parts of the UK.

It is a weird MN thing.

Every year there are competitive threads about not putting the heating on, even if there are no financial reasons not to. It's as though feeling the cold is a sign of weakness.

@RampantIvy

I understand that people's health issues, mobility issues, age, their housing and lots of other things factor in to their need for putting their heating on earlier than some of us would think reasonable.

My surprise was because, living in Scotland , we are generally told about the temperatures down in England which far exceed anything we normally experience further North and up here. I think thats why I was surprised and genuinely interested in which parts of the country heating was already an issue.

Indeed. Several posters (who probably hate summer) love to feel morally superior about not heating their houses.

It's a completely different matter if you can't afford it and they have my sympathy.

We spent far too many years feeling cold and miserable because we couldn't afford to keep our house as warm as we would like. Now we can and aren't prepared to martyr ourselves. It is also important for the structure of the house to not let it get cold and damp.

I admit to struggling in summer because I'm not good, not so much with the heat, but with the lack of rain and the variety in the weather.
Equally I feel miserable and hate being cold in my own home in winter.

BUT having been born at a time before central heating was normal and in a home where money was tight I struggle mentally to spend money on heating. I have enough money to be able heat my home much more than I do but I can't get past the mental barrier that has conditioned me to feel it's somehow decadent and wasteful to spend money unnecessarily on heating. I'm in my seventies and yes it's extremely sad but I'm now mentally in the same ball park as I remember my grandmother being when she refused to buy a new winter coat because she would be dead soon and so it would be a waste of money .

There are a lot of people who say they don’t put their heating on, but are using wood burners or open fires. I have seen people in the past here say they have not put their heating on, but they have been using an oil filled rad or such like. None of which are quite the same as not putting heating on 🙄

Our central heating will come on if it drops below 16-18.5 degrees depending on the time of day (I have 6 different time slots set up, including overnight which always remains on frost setting). They may seem low, but the thermostat is in a cooler area, so everywhere is actually warmer than the thermostat setting. We also keep the heating on all day (but not overnight) as not only are we at home most of the time, but it worked out more cost effective for us, in our property. It won’t work for everyone.

About £200 in credit, off as it’s not cold really and I’ve still got windows open

Yeah it always seems to be.. no heating but the fire is on, the oil filled radiators and heated blankets!

A log burner, sunny aspect or modern ultra insulated house make it easier to not turn heating on. My house gets very little sun in winter due to the fact it's crammed into a shitty ex-council estate.

My old house got so much sun the downstairs was warm on bright winter days.

I’m billed monthly (and provide meter readings monthly) and I’m on a fixed until next Feb. Thought I was following all the tips to keep things manageable. Whilst not in fuel poverty, I am a bit fed up - £55 a month fed up.

It was 14.8C in my kitchen at 8am according to the hive thermostat. OK when moving around but yeah will be be putting on central heating for a blast in the mornings soon.

@Thissickbeat surely putting a log burner on is heating. Some of them are beasts and depending on the size of the property, central heating will hardly be used until the depths of winter. But on here it doesn’t seem to count as having put your heating on for some reason.

It’s September in the Home Counties, no, no heating on. It’ll go on at the end of October at best. Yes I credit.

Is that for dual fuel?

I'm on intelligent octopus go, can't tell you how it is yet as I've only recently switched.

@LondonPapa
I honestly can’t understand how people are turning theirs on now tbh. It beggars belief that in early September, people are doing so.
**
Ridiculous to think people would rather turn on heating in the UK than wear a jumper or thicker socks.

You really can’t understand that not everyone feels the cold at the same time? That’s fairly small minded in my opinion.

For what it’s worth when you’ve been outside in the rain on the farm for most of the day you need to get the heating on to warm you through and dry coats and boots. If feeling cold makes me weak then so be it. I am in a fortunate position that I don’t have to think about the cost of heating the house so I am not suffering the cold for anyone.