How to keep warm? Can't afford heating

[MandiY]

Other than wearing ridiculous numbers of layers. I cannot afford to put my heating on. It's just so expensive and I am already struggling to pay council tax. This never used to be an issue but the cost of living is killing me financially. What are some ways I can warm up? Any heaters that are cheaper than central heating? It's 7 degrees outside and 14 degrees in my house. I have a 3 year old so can't just suffer the cold like I would of it were just me. Thanks

I watch tv in bed in the evenings instead of sitting downstairs

Yes, they do. Who’s your supplier? Contact them and tell them you are struggling to pay. They will have something in place, especially if you have a child under 5.

Also, as silly as this seems, are sure you can’t afford to have it on just for an hour or two a day? Work out what it actually costs and don’t just assume you can’t afford it based on what the media is telling you.

What kind of tariff are you on?

If you have a smart meter you can see exactly what an hour of heating in the evening is costing. It might not be as much as you think.

Cleaning gets my temperature up, hovering, polishing and dusting is like a workout I always end up boiling hot I did a big clean to warm up this morning and now I’m having a chill sat in bed with a dressing gown and hot water bottle, feeling quite toasty the and the house air temperature is 15degrees.

When the applications open, apply for the warm home discount if your provider does it.
with the £400 energy rebate, you’ll be getting a £60 discount from october for 6 months.
put your heating on a timer. Enough to warm the house in the morning and a boost in the evening.

i have a fan heater that heats the room pretty quickly.

There's a group on Facebook called Energy Advice and Support UK Community. They have a huge following and are recommended by Martin Lewis. I'd urge you to join for advice and support.

For many people, myself included, they have helped people to slash their usage. We cut ours by 1/3 without making big changes. We've made further cuts that we didn't think possible. Of course if you're already cut to the bares bones then it's much harder. The group have admin who work in the industry and can look at your bills to make sure it's it's correct and can recommend grants in some cases.

I got us all oodie dupes (from the VIP section on 5 pounds of stuff) and they've been outstanding. Perhaps we got lucky. Make sure you have thermals if you can, hat on indoors and feet warm as heat escapes from the top and bottom. Check your window seals don't need replacing (cheap to do) in order to keep heat in. You can wash your washing on 20 or less which cuts your energy consumption but use the Fabulousa laundry cleanser which eradicates germs. You can get it from Wilko and sometimes the Aldi middle aisle. Check your hot water isn't running all day (ours is set to 60 and only on once a day for an hour but is well insulated). There is much more you can do, but if you join the above group its full of guides with lots of helpful information.

I think not putting on heating at all is a false economy as the house will get icy and pipes might freeze and then you will have a potentially expensive leak to sort out. And even if you don’t have frozen pipes you don’t benefit from the residual heat of the summer and autumn if that makes sense and it costs a lot more to get the house up to temperature again. Even if the temperature is on the coolish side.

When I had to save on heating bills in the past I got up really early in the morning and went to bed at the same time as my dc. This saved having to have the heating on a lot in the evenings. And maybe invest in an electric blanket?

I am in same situation we won't be able to leave the heating off all winter. I would have usually had it on in mornings by now but just have blankets in settee for kids coming down. But tryong to leave it as long as possible. My plan is to make sure kids are in school everyday warm and fed there. I would say I was in fuel poverty last year and never have the heating on during the day and I would wear a bobble hat indoors and thermal socks every day. It's either keep moving or under covers fleece ones. I have contacted my supplier and they where n

Sorry supplier won't do anything. Its going to be a hard winter for so many this year.

Sal

I feel like I can't afford to even live anymore. I've looked at electric throws and wondering how I can scrape together the money even to just buy one. Before someone reports me I am NOT asking anyone on mn for money and never would ask or accept. I just don't know what to do anymore. Surely this can't continue?

I'd be really cautious about spending money on anything (electric blankets etc) to try and save you money. If you spent £20 on something you'd want to be confident it was quickly and easily going to save you that amount and more to be anything like worth while.

I'd think more about what you can do with what you've got. Stuff I can think of:
Only have the radiators on in the room you want to heat - turn off the valve on the radiator so it doesn't heat it.

Keep internal doors shut to contain heat in the room you're in and not heat rooms you're not using. Just having people in an enclosed room can help warm it up a bit - especially an active toddler!
If you have any fleece/fluffy blankets put them under your bed sheets and on the sofa
Wrapping blankets underneath and around your back on the sofa
Hot drinks - use commuter cup/ flask to keep it warm for longer
Hot water bottles in fleecy cover
For me if my feet are warm I'm ok, so have part filled hot water bottle under my feet (in a cover and in old pillow case and on a cushion to stop heat escaping into cold floor).
Cover any draughts - tights stuffed with old rags/ old clothes you'd otherwise throw away (or whatever you have) to make draught excluders - but make sure there's still airflow as much as possible
When the sun is out make sure windows facing that direction are clean and clear of curtains etc to capture the sun's heat into the house.
Whenever it's not raining dry clothes outside to prevent it getting damp inside
As soon as it starts to go dark and cold draw the curtains - tuck curtains behind any radiators that are on to prevent heating escaping straight out the window!
Put rugs down anywhere you have cold hard floors

We had a winter without a boiler/heating a few years ago due to over running building work and it was doable, just not a comfortable as turning the heating on!

I’m told electric blankets are cheap to run? My daughter has one in her chilly unheated attic bedroom and I’m nicking it next week as she’s going off travelling on her gap year…😈

Please speak to your provider, they have to help you in some way as you have a young child. Plus your council have hardship finds, get in contact and ask for help.

I really recommend the fleece bedding sets. I got one last year for all of us and am considering putting it on already. I never have the radiator on in my bedroom as it gets too hot, even on its lowest setting. But the fleece bedding is amazing. Bottom sheet and duvet cover.

we’ve loads of blankets round the house already, so will be making use of those and we bought primark hooded fleeces instead of the expensive branded ones.

I’ve put my heating on already for an hour on a morning otherwise my towels aren’t drying. I’ll pop it on an hour on the evenings the kids shower too. I did have to pop it on at the weekend to dry clothes when it was raining as nothing dries in my house. We did get an electric airer years ago but I find it doesn’t really work as quickly as I need it to.

my provider has just reduced my bill by £66 a month which is the £400 we all get from the government so I’m saving that extra separately in case anything is wrongly calculated. I’m about £400 in credit from the summer since they out my bills up after the last hike. Not sure what’ll happen next week though.

I have suggested to the kids it might be thick pyjamas and tv in bed when it gets really cold. We are lucky we have several tvs/devices for that.

Our local library is lovely and has a cafe so I’m guessing it’ll get busy when the weather gets really cold. Very cheap drinks and food. Could even go and sit on the swimming pool balcony in the leisure centre if needed - that’s always red hot!! Ours is a massive balcony seating area with tables and chairs - there’s also a cafe in there too but you could take a flask through to the swim balcony.

I'm dressing my preschooler in a fluffy bunny type all in one over her clothes and we wear socks and slippers too when we're at home. It cost a few pounds plus postage on Ebay and she loves it. My MIL gave us a heated blanket too and we snuggle under that to watch tv.

Everyone will be entitled to the £66 discount a month so could you use that to have your heating on for an hour in the morning and evening. I wouldn't not have it on at all as your house would likely get damp and mould.

apply for the warm home discount, this is reopening in November. (if you qualify and your company is one taking part). I used to get it when I was on tax credits.

We use thick fake sheepskin type rugs from Primark, they sell all sorts, ours are Disney and they are so warm and cosy to snuggle under.

We have thick cosy socks.

Argos are apparently selling a cheap electric blanket for £20/£25 which is very good (Slumberland I think).

Make sure that you are getting anything that you are entitled to . Also, a lot of councils allow council tax over 12 months instead of 10 which really helps with budgeting.

I didn't realise not having the heating on cause damp. I put mine on for a bit first thing then I go out for the day. Yesterday I went to the shops and walked about, I actually think there's quite a lot of people doing this. I also sit in the library. Library in our area is almost like a crèche now! So many toddlers there. Maybe try that. Riding the bus is cheaper than the heating and entertaining for 3yo.
Staying indoors is probably boring for 3yo if you can get out and about anyway. Walking with appropriate clothes is good as warms you up and when you get home the cold is not as noticeable for longer.

Good luck. I saw a PP mentioned phoning your energy provider too. I didn't know they had things set aside when dc are needing the heating.

Heated blankets are much cheaper to run than heating.

The key is to have one warm room rather than trying to get a tiny bit of nest around the whole property.

If you have an open fireplace I would invest in a chimney sweep and smokeless fuel and gather wood from the nearest commons/heaths/parks.

At night, you need hot water bottles, hats, wool socks and layers of blankets. Look on Freecycle and Next Door for these if you don’t have them.

heat not nest ^

Sorry to be of no help at all, OP, but just had to say what a dreadful state this country is presently in when people have to resort to living like this in 2022. 😡

It was better 500 years ago when people had roaring fires FFS!

So sorry for anyone suffering like this.😥

The warm home discount criteria hss changed this year, (unless you're in Scotland where the broader group need to apply and core group don't).

In England and Wales the core group still get the discount automatically; if you are in what was previously the broader group, you need to be on certain benefits AND have "high energy costs", which are worked out using the age/size etc of your property and determined by the VOA. It's automatically assessed and awarded by your supplier, you don't apply for it. If you want to appeal a decision, you'll need to go through the govt, not your supplier.

www.britishgas.co.uk/energy/energy-saving/warm-home-discount.html

Cheap fleece pyjamas (loads on Vinted) are really good as an extra layer

Bubble wrap is pretty good for windows - anyone who has a greenhouse will probably know getting a UV-stabilised large-bubble (as against small-bubble like in jiffy bags) sheet works really well though of course you can't then see out very well.

www.twowests.co.uk/products/heatsheets?_pos=1&_sid=5aec2f81d&_ss=r

You can buy as much as you need by the metre together with clear tape to attach it... you can also get it from traditional garden centres.

I've been sticking it over all my worst windows and those that are in the bathroom as you don't need to see out of those... I also have very wide windows and thermal lined curtains make a major difference too. Leaving them closed will keep heat in.

Draft excluder strips - stick those around windows if they don't quite shut properly. If you never open the windows or don't think you need to open them overwinter, put gaffer tape over the cracks instead. (And use WD40 to get the horrible glue off in spring when you need to take it back off again!)

Night owl duvets double up as very cosy blankets for watching telly.

Watch telly on a tablet if you have one and if there's only one person watching - the viewing angle is similar if close up, but it costs a lot less to run.

Turn lights off while watching telly if you can! Makes it more like a cinema too ;)

Tiny hot water bottles! You can get three for £12 from Amazon... and tuck them round you if needed. I then use the water for plants or adding to the loo cistern which then saves me again.

I have in the past student house used the hairdryer+plastic sheet double glazing to stop leaks round a sash window. And also I've shoved a roll of cotton wool in a big gap and gaffer taped it in place to stop a howling gale...

Just reading previous posts, the one about the rugs on floors is a biggie. When we moved into this house we had no carpet in the living room for months overwinter (parquet floor - which admittedly looks lovely, but...) and what a difference it made when we finally could afford carpet! Laminate floors are the same, and so popular but so cold!

Go to your local carpet shop and ask if they have offcuts. They'll often have a bin out the back for carpet bits (I used to raid my local when I still had an allotment as it's good weed suppressant) and some of them are quite large and the shops are happy to not have to pay to dispose of them. Just be careful they're new offcuts and not old used manky carpets!

www.amazon.co.uk/BRIAN-DANY-Tabletop-Fireplace-Cylindrical/dp/B07WDPC77C/ref=asc_df_B07WDPC77C?tag=bingshoppinga-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=79852124627512&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4583451669627051&psc=1