To ask how I don’t freeze to death or bankrupt myself.

[Sexnotgender]

My house has single glazing and high ceilings, rooms are consistently 12-14 degrees. We try and only heat the rooms we use but it’s bloody miserable 😞

Rising energy prices are putting the fear of god into me!

Any genius ideas to keep warm?

I wear layers, blankets on the sofa etc.

Also have a young baby so it needs to be a reasonable temperature.

It's horrendous idntbit? So, I bought infra red heaters for my DD who like you lives in an older property, high ceilings etc. These are good because they don't heat the air they heat things- you walls floors which reflect heat back at you. They're also energy efficient.

You can add tin foil behind radiators to reflect more heat vack into tge room.

Def cling film over Windows and stuff any gaps.

Wear layers, hats and socks as well.

But perhaps the best thing is to go homemade. Have a look at these candle heaters m.youtube.com/watch?v=vekNuFjbweM&t=21 just made sure they're on heat resistant surfaces and are put out before bed x

Have you any fires? We just light them for long periods of time and house retains the heat.

Staying warm is a hot topic in clergy spouse Facebook groups at the moment!

@MissM2912

Have you any fires? We just light them for long periods of time and house retains the heat.

Unfortunately not. Well, not proper fires. I’d LOVE a proper fire.

@2tired2bewitty

Staying warm is a hot topic in clergy spouse Facebook groups at the moment!

I can imagine. It’s brutal.

I think many who gre up in the 70s have forgotten we never had cavity wall, double glazing or central heating!!

For babies, proper bags for sleeping in a cooler room is fine and good for their immune system. My Mum had all babies in tights boys or girls so feet and legs were warm.

Proper 100% wool woven blankets for the draught and for the insulation while you're in bed/on the sofa.

They need a good old steep in fabric softener for the itchiness but it's really quite insulating over a thin blanket, and it really helps to stop feeling the chill.

@Sexnotgender

Do you own or rent?

Technically neither. Accommodation comes with job so moving isn’t an option unfortunately.

What was the EPC rating?

www.gov.uk/guidance/domestic-private-rented-property-minimum-energy-efficiency-standard-landlord-guidance

@Sexnotgender

I’ve got 2 great dehumidifiers! I keep one running by the washing and one central in the house. I empty about 45 litres of water a day out of the 2 of them!

That is an insane amount!

Foil on the wall behind the radiator.

That is an insane amount!

Yup 😂 one is 25 litres and one is 20. Both get emptied daily.

Our vicar managed to persuade the diocese to sell the draughty old vicarage and buy a lovely house which was newer and much better constructed.
I think the diocese made a profit too.
The vicarage was in a gorgeous location but was grim to keep up.

Sorry, perhaps not much use to you but it’s a thought.

Simplest answer, are you part time working or full time? Can you work more hours? When I increased to full time it solved all my problems.

For anyone with sash windows, I used my daughter's discarded long cherry stone filled neck warmer on the join to stop the draughts, was really effective.

Tape up (scotch tape will do) all your draughty windows, joints and key holes. We have double glazing and we still lose our heat from these areas. Since we have done that (taping), the house is a lot warmer. We got an infrared heat camera that you could attach to your phone, and we found all the draughty bits and we now tape them up every winter.
Btw, Mama jojo Bebe do a baby sleeping grow bag with feet and arms for days like this. We loved ours.

As you have a child under 5 in the property, you can ask to be put on the Priority Register with your Utility providers. This will give you access to schemes throughout the year that can be anything from insulation to water saving devices to discounts, there are other benefits too. There will also be a 'Warm Homes Hub' or similar in your area that may be able to help with the cost of improving the energy efficiency of your home, again you may automatically qualify if your homes has poor energy efficiency and because you have a child under 5 in the home.

Btw just to add- Over 46% of our energy source at the mo is from wind power tonight because of the storm. Regardless of anyone being on agile taarif or not, people should be paying much less tonight for heating their homes. No one should sleep in a cold home tonight on a night like this.

Hmmm wonder what it's energy rating is? Surely it should be at least an E - technically you are renting it really?

You can see why so many large vicarage's were sold off and smaller more modern properties bought instead.

@TrueBuys

Simplest answer, are you part time working or full time? Can you work more hours? When I increased to full time it solved all my problems.

Currently on maternity leave.

Dunelm sell great thermal blackout linings for curtains. No sewing required, they attach to the hooks/rings.

Put heavy lined curtains on all windows and doors. Get brushes for your letter box, and external doors.

Be careful using electric heaters, they are expensive compared to gas central heating.

Make some draft excluder snakes.

But mainly approach the church about improvements. Can they add solar panels or a heat pump? Can they fit modern double glazing? They should be making efforts to reduce energy consumption.

I'm imagining the rooms are quite big so could you set up a large play tent for you and dd? If you find one without gaps in the sides it would block drafts and your combined body heat would raise the temperature slightly.

Stick foil behind the radiators in each room so it deflects the heat back into the room. I

Put a really warm blanket on baby's bed underneath the baby. It makes a big difference.

@VaccineSticker

Btw just to add- Over 46% of our energy source at the mo is from wind power tonight because of the storm. Regardless of anyone being on agile taarif or not, people should be paying much less tonight for heating their homes. No one should sleep in a cold home tonight on a night like this.

Sources?

A lot of wind turbines don't work in storm conditions because the forces can damage the blades above their furling speed.

I was surprised to find this out but it was a few years ago and maybe technology has moved on but the storms projected in the next few days are expected to pass wind speeds that would make many wind turbines safely operable.

energyfollower.com/why-do-wind-turbines-stop/

@Sexnotgender

That is an insane amount!

Yup 😂 one is 25 litres and one is 20. Both get emptied daily.

It seems a bit counterintuitive but I wonder if you need to open windows more? So on the (rare!) sunny, warmer days - even in February- open windows and try and jettison all the cold damp air for twenty minutes or so?

It will always feel cold if it's really damp / humid air.

And can you find the source of the damp and solve that?

A good start is "hoovering" all condensation off the windows in the morning. We had single glazed in our previous Victorian house and the windows streamed with condensation every morning.

A Karcher window vac was a Godsend 😉