To be sick of not being able to afford the heating on

[KeepMeCalm13]

Thankfully no children involved.

We are yet to have any form of heating on this autumn/winter as we just cannot afford the bill. We only have central heating, no fire. I'm currently sat in a t-shirt, thick jumper, dressing gown, jeans, 2 pairs of socks, and slippers and I've got a hot water bottle and I'm frozen. The thought of another 4 months of this makes me want to cry.

[furbaby]

That is shit op :(
Nothing worse than being cold .
we have oil central heating which works out cheap as
we only need to turn heating on for 5 minutes and radiators get piping hot and then we turn it off and house stays toasty for ages while they cool .
Best heating we have had .

[TweedWasSoLastYear]

Try to keep your house air dry , honest .
Wet damp humid air takes more energy to warm it up. Damp duvets and wet window sills in the morning mean alot of moisture .
I know the weather is rubbish for drying clothes but leaving clothes over a radiator makes the rad inefficient and puts the water from your clothes into the air, where it condenses onto cold suraces like windows ( think beer can taken out of the fridge in the summer )

Try to open a window, if safe ,after showering or using an airer to dry clothes , let the moist air out during the day , then shut windows when you get home from work .

Look out for 15 Tog duvets not as expensive as a hefty electric bill

Cellotape used to do tempory double glazing you taped to a window then used a hairdrier to shrink it and it became almost invisable. Good for stopping draughts, but you do need to be able to dry the air still/ let moisture out.

Stews and soups are warming . Aldi or Lidl do Crane outdoor wear and there base layers are polypropelyne . They are toasty warm and cheap.

I have a microwavable bean filled seal that comes to be with me . He warms my neck whilst my body heat fills the duvet.

Memory foam mattresses are definatly warmer than normal ones, Ikea do toppers which will insulate you in bed .



Lined curtains and curtains over open stairwells are a great way of reducing the volume of air that needs heating.

Sorry you cant afford to heat your home . Being cold is horrible . we grew up in cold 1800's house and regulaly had ice on the inside of the windows on winter mornings . DM used to heat our clothes in front of a gas fire and we used to rush to get dressed in the mornings .

[Bubbles1066]

I had a winter like this OP, house was 13C. It's shit. You've had good advice so far. We can now afford 3-4 hours of heating a day so house stays at 17-18C which is bearable thankfully. Our problem is we live in a rented house and whilst the gas central heating is good and we have double glazing, installation etc the boiler is over 25 years old so eats gas. We pay over £80 a month just for gas and that only allows for 3-4 hours a day. No chance of landlord getting a new boiler until this one breaks. I'm thinking of taking a hammer to it but the wretched thing just keeps going on and on.

[WallyBantersJunkBox]

I'm not being flippant op, but if it was really cold and I was in your shoes with no kids I'd be tempted to walk down to the pub, have a pint of lime and soda for 70p and unashamedly make it last for two hours with my book.

When I was made redundant I went around delivering Lidl leaflets for a few hours a week - it was an extra £15 that came in handy for the utilities, I could turn the heating off as DH was away on exercise, DS was cozy in the pushchair and I got warm by having a good brisk walk outside. I think sitting around does make you colder in the evening.

I always sat in an army sleeping bag and a hot water bottle under the feet at the bottom - makes you very sweaty quite quickly. Any sleeping bag would do though. As other posters have said - a scarf really does keep you warm.

Storage heaters are the most ridiculous invention ever, we had them in our student house - hideous boiling dusty heat all day, freezing by mid evening. One prolonged door opening and it was all over for a night.

I think those pay as you go meters are absolutely disgraceful, we rented a house that had one as the last tenants had gotten into debt. I couldn't believe how quickly £40 went. Nothing wrong with the concept of paying for fuel in advance to budget, but the rates are disgusting - why are vulnerable people paying the most for fuel. It's disgraceful.

[ferretyfeet]

I read somewhere that if you put some tea lights in a metal . tray then put some little terra cotta plant pots over them and cover the holes in the top of the plant pots with the thin metal of the tea lights,then cover with some larger plant pots it gives out heat. I've never tried it myself but it might be worth a try, don't know if it works but anything is worth trying if you're freezing

[jjazz]

A tip. Go to a charity shop and buy a cashmere jumper. They are out there if you look. It may be up to £5 in a charity shop but sooooo worth it. A layer or 2 underneath and you will feel the difference. Bring cold is crap. I spent an afternoon smashing up an old fence panel last winter rather than sit inside feeling cold. It made it easier to take to the tip and kept me warm.

[ThreeBeeOneGee]

It is pants that some people are trapped into having to pay heating rates that are unfeasible.

I have lived in places which had meters which took a card that had to be topped up, and also places with no central heating at all.

Thankfully in a more comfortable situation at the moment, but still trying to minimise the heating, so our bedroom is usually 14 or 15 degrees (children's rooms are a couple of degrees warmer).

I wear long sleeved base layers (top and bottom) under my clothes whenever I'm at home, along with two pairs of socks.

[starsandunicorns]

Sat here with scarf on wolly hat on under a duvet I have cheap set of curtains behind the normal ones all back has a curtain hall way has a pair if curtains double up I have a stuipd brick vent downstairs that blows cold air and one in the bedroom too though that has been sealed up I to can see my breathe I used to do nights just so I was warm

[tobiasfunke]

the heated throw things are amazing. I got mine in Aldi. You only need to heat it for a while and then it stays toasty underneath it.

[starsandunicorns]

Also have meters too only this year did we get out of debt on the gas meter so scared to use the 1980's gas fire

[Monty27]

I wish the tory press would print this thread

[expatinscotland]

They don't give a shit, Monty. They feel that anyone who can't afford to heat their home is a lazy, feckless scrounger at personal fault. Never mind many of them claim to heat, well, their stables, second homes, a grocery allowance, subsidised food and booze in their canteen and bar, free second home via the taxpayer in London. For a part-time job.

[JoinYourPlayfellows]

"it makes me fucking furious that it's the 21st century and people are freezing, rather than turning the heating on, and the power companies are taking it in and paying out massive bonuses

I'd vote for the first party to de-privatise power. It's a complete outrage."

this ^

[marriedinwhiteisback]

So Gas and Electricity wasn't expensive before they were privatised then .

I grew up in the 60s and 70s. Lots and lots of people didn't have central heating or double glazing or enough food or cars, etc.. I remember rural poverty then and it was a whole lot worse than it is now. I had friends who had one fire in the house and who got undressed and dressed again in the kitchen; whose inside windows were frozen and for whom the water went on weekly for one bath.

I really don't understand why this is being hailed as a problem of the 21st Century. My grandparents didn't have heating as children, my DH's grandparents barely had food and the men in the family had to dig the coal without being able to afford to have enough.

Things have improved beyond compare if you ask me.

[valiumredhead]

Married-if you only have CH and no fire and you can't afford to run it you're stuffed basically. Back in the 70's rooms had gas fires/open fires which were lovely and toasty even if it was just one room at least you could get warm.

[JoinYourPlayfellows]

The old nationalised companies would NEVER have been able to get away with 10% price rises at a time when wages have been stagnant for years.

We were promised INVESTMENT and COMPETITION if the magic of privatisation was brought to bear of the natural monopoly that is providing heating homes.

Where are they?

We have a cartel putting up prices in unison and fuck all investment in our energy infrastructure.

It's a rip off, and it's a fucking disgrace.

The fact that people 100 years ago didn't have double glazing or central heating doesn't make the fleecing of the public by heating companies acceptable in 2013.

The fleecing of the public by nationally owned energy companies from different countries, of course.

It's OK for the state to own stuff, as long as it's not our state and as long as the benefits accrue to the tax payers in other states.

[ThornSayre]

Fantastic post, Playfellows.

My account with one of big six has not been fully operable since April. Hundreds of emails and calls since then and a goodwill gesture of £10 credit. They are taking the piss because they know they can.

[lessonsintightropes]

Friend of mine is absolutely strapped and swears by this

[Divinity]

Really lessons? Might have to have a go at that.

My heating is on for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening, timed to make sure my young DSs are warm. It's off any other time as I'm on such a tight budget so I'm wearing lots of layers complete with gloves any other time. I forgot how many layers I was wearing until I opened the door to the postman today and he made huge bug-eyes at my Michelin man impression.

Seriously this is the first year of my life (almost 40) that I have had to go to such lengths. I'm hoping it's a short winter.

Marriedinwhite. I think the point is that we have come a long way since our grandparents generation. It's just that in the last few years we seem to be slipping backwards.

[SlicedLemon]

We are rather skint this year too.

We have just made one of the smaller rooms in our home the living room. We have a big TV and find if we shut the door - the TV (and candles maybe) help it to war up a bit. We also sit wrapped up with fleece throws (am saving the duvets until proper winter sinks in).

Hats/hood - most body heat is lost through the head so keep your head covered.

This is going to sound really daft but I try and think what my Grandparents would have done in the days they had no heating and no double glazing and insulation. Yes they would have had a fire going but there are other things they would have done - one easy to introduced is layers and proper wool jumpers. Proper 100% wool (not acrylic) are not cheap but may be look in charity shops. Proper wool jumpers are warmer than any fleece you can buy. May not be your favourite fashion item but for evenings in the house it will work so much better than fleeces and shitty acrylic fashion jumpers. They can be itchy so you need longsleeve cotton top underneath (£2.50 in Primark/£5 Matalan). I was doubtful about this until I tried it and now find fleeces (even my old ski wear and mountaineering kit) rather shit in comparison for warmth.

Warm food and drinks. A slow cooker with home made rice pudding (cheap to make) - perhaps put it on in the main room you spend the evenings in and Rice Pud is a good warmer for the body.

We have a leccy blanket on the bed and when its too cold to cope we just go upto bed. We have an old TV and freeview box up there now so can at least watch TV and be warm in bed.

Other things to think about are spending time elsewhere. Do your grocery shop on an evening, go out to do it as opposed to online. Use Asda's heating. Go to the libary and use the internet/read the papers there.

[KeatsiePie]

OP we are in the same boat over here (US) and I am already sick of it too. It is so fucking tiresome to wear a hat to bed.

We have a couple of these www.ebay.com/itm/like/230928717976?lpid=82 - sorry, American link, but I assume you could find something similar? They're energy-efficient and very safe, and the glow is like a fireplace, which I find really cheering and lovely. Plus they're light, so easy to take from one room to another. Our heat bill is electric, so I find it rather obnoxious that I am substituting one kind of electric heat for another, but this house is not well-insulated and I don't own it, so can't do much.

I think I will try the flowerpot idea.

Utilities are complicated in the US but it's not my impression that deregulation has done much to serve the consumer. E.g., when I lived in Boston we had one electric co. in the area, and that was it, so we just took the price they gave us for lights, stove, washer/dryer use. We had oil heat then, and there were many companies available, but the cost of filling our tank was crazy high no matter who was delivering it.

[KeatsiePie]

Btw. we have our heat at 60F (15.5C) and that's as cold as I can go. Actually, our lease would not allow us to have our heat quite as low as you have it Cat -- impressed you can stand it.

I'm sorry it's like this for so many people. But I don't know anyone in the US who's having to keep the heat down like we are, so tbh. it's nice to come on here and not feel alone.

[Tabby1963]

Thanks for that link, lessons. Really handy . Will try it in our conservatory.

[Pearlsaplenty]

op I'm sorry to hear this. Is there anyway you can spend the next year saving up and moving somewhere more energy efficient/insulated?

We are in a newbuild at the moment and rarely use heating as it has lovely thick windows (I think they are not just double glazed but something more- possibly triple glazed?). We are prepaid metres and dont pay much at all.

Even when we lived in an older flat just having double glazing made a huge difference.

We also once lived in a very small older flat that didn't need heating as the neighbours heating was more than enough (through the walls somehow?).

[Ehhn]

You can get a little calor gas heater - £20 for a bottle, lasts about 6 weeks with 2-3 hours per night heating. Works a treat! Obviously has to be switched off before bed but it is. Instant cheap heat.