To ask how I’m supposed to pay this heating bill?

[ye10000]

This month I put the heating on set to 18. It automatically clicks off when it’s got to 18 and it goes off entirely at 10pm until the morning. I’ve looked at usage and it says the heating has been on an average of 7 hours a day. This had meant a bill of 502 pounds. We are in a three bed detached. That is almost a quarter of my income and I have one dc in nursery, single parent. I am so worried about the coming months, is 7 hours a day average a lot? I thought I was being careful.

Yes that is a big bill.for a month, thought mine for £330 last year was a lot and that was trying to be frugal but needed heating on. If you wfh then I guess 7 hours a day in minus weather even turning on and off is to be expected. If out all day then couple of hours in morning and 3 hours in evening is 5 hours still. Not easy for any of us, blankets and hot water bottles inbetween are good but still it gets cold in house. X

We are in a 3 bed bungalow with Octopus and have heating set between 16-17.5 during the day and turn it up to 18.5 for a few hours as we wind down at night between 5-10pm then back to 17.5 for bedtime and use electric blankets then give an hour boost each morning. Them few degrees did make a huge difference. Doesn't seem much but used to cost us £280 gas and electric but now we pay £180 a month dual fuel. We also had our thermostat moved by landlord because it was in hall and when door opened even briefly the cold air would trigger it to come on and off constantly now we have a digital thermostat that moves around.

We have ours on for 10 mins before we get up, 10 mins after we go to work to dry the towels (DH works at home) and 10 mins on an evening.

it’s all we need, we are in a new build town house, mid terrace and it restrains its heat so well.

this weekend we used it slightly more as it was cold.

WFH when it’s cold is miserable. I recommend an oil filled radiator just for the room you’re in. You can pick one up second hand for around £20-30. Then only turn the central heating on for an hour or so in the morning and 2-3 hours in the evening.

I was only putting heat on above 16.5 when DC was home from school and until he fell asleep - up to 19.5. I’d turn it off before I went to bed. I’ve been using a heated throw working from home. But i was getting to much condensation on walls even with a dehumidifier. I was warned this building has damp walls because of brick used. I changed the setting so its on longer. I wish i knew the formula for best efficiency in this place. Ive always been a scrooge on energy.

I agree with this. Some people seem to think putting the heating on equates to a moral failing of some kind.

Sone people feel the cold more than others, some houses don’t retain heat as well as others, people grew up in and are used to different climates etc.

Yet these threads always have a fair amount of faux naive posters who wonder why anyone would possibly need to put their heating on more than 30 mins each day. Until subsequent posts reveal they live in a well insulated flat / work out of the house 12 hours a day / neglected to mention their log burner…

Personally I absolutely hate being cold, I have rubbish circulation and get shivery and uncomfortable in rooms below 20C. I therefore have the hearing on at 21C from 7am-10pm if I’m in the house. I’m aware I’m extremely privileged to be able to afford this.

But please - stop making out that it’s a moral failing to need to use heating! The UK is a northern country in the northern hemisphere, and it’s currently the winter.

We WFH and have ours at 21c all day except for one hour in the middle of the day. We have new windows and I think it's fairly well insulated. Last year our bill was 3k for the whole year. Average of £250/month which feels ok to me. I hate being cold and would rather prioritise heating over other things.

Our bill is 200 a month at the moment for the heating on for 3 hours in the morning and 4 hours in the evening. I sit WFH with a hot water bottle and blanket and about three layers and am still cold but it’s bearable. Sorry your bill is massive. Poor you!

Just manually turn the heating on when you really have to - and are actually physically present in the home. We've only turned the heating on in the past week - because the windscreen iced over, which was a hint we needed heating. Your home does not need to be heated 24/7. Buy a few hot water bottles. If DC is stationary watching tv, doing homework, etc. Pass DC a duvet or blanket and hot water bottle to make their own little warmth camp. I do understand how entitled the younger generation is to heating. But times and prices have changed. You heat the person first, then you heat the home if and as you need to. It can be fun as per my childhood. It's a bit like the adventure of going camping - there is something quite fun about getting into a cold bed with a hot water bottle, and also being all cosied up watch Dr Who with a blanket and hot water bottle - and then deciding when you make the cold dash to the loo. But if all too extreme for you - just manually turn on the heating when you need to and turn off when DC goes to bed.

Bit unfair response I don’t see what this person said wring

My house is rented. Boiler is shit and old, with no thermostat that I can set a temp to. The hot water only runs when the heating is on at the same time.

Weekdays - we put heating on 5.30am - 7am to take chill off the rooms and for hot showers. Then again at 5.30pm - 7pm (same reasons!). I also have a random half hour at 2am to make sure the pipes don't freeze.

Weekends - pretty much the same but might put 1 bar on the gas fire in the living room for an hour if the blankets and layers aren't doing anything for us.

That's 3.5 hours in a 3 bed semi, per day. We're currently spending approx £35 - £40 a week.

So if we could afford to double it and make it 7 hours like you, it would still only come out at around £300 a month. We're on PAYG too. Maybe check with your supplier if you can get a better deal? X

I don't think 7 hours of hearing a day is extraordinary. We have ours on for a couple of hours in the morning and then after school until bedtime. That's probably about 7 hours.

Our fuel bill is about £130 a month. We live in a detached 3 bed house. I have the thermostat quite low, around 18 degrees. We're used to the temperature not being too warm but I certainly wouldn't want to feel cold.

I totally agree with you @TheLonelyStarbucksLovers . Houses, just like people are individual. What works for one household, does not work for another.
Personally, I heat my home to 21°c for 6-7 hour a day.
OP you need to do what works for your house, which takes trial and error.
I would look at changing tariffs, using oil radiators, if WFH and making sure you have draught proofed your house as much as possible.

Any chance that bill or the previous one was estimated? If you phone the company maybe they can help with a payment plan. Our energy company does a monthly budget plan where they charge you an average of the previous twelve months every month. This way we don't get a big shock when the winter bills come in. Also if you WFH can you claim some of those costs back from your company as expenses?

Yes it’s a lot, but easily done . Things to consider

• Heat the room your using, lower all other thermastats
• use a heated blanket over your legs
• use a heated fitted sheet at night
• wear layers, socks &slippers
• drink hot drinks regularly
• check there enough insulation in loft / walls
• check you are with the best energy provider
• do monthly readings
• only fill the kettle with the amount you need
• to get yourself warm walk around at pace regularly

@ye10000

We are an end house and get the harsh sea wind in winter so house can feel really cold if the heating isn't on

I have my thermostat set to 18 and up it if it's super chilly like from 3pm onwards at the moment.

We have night workers in our house so on really low temp nights I have it set to 19 downstairs and the bedroom rads on low to keep the temp for when they get in

Like you I hate being cold.

I grew up in a bloody cold house with no central heating and cheap convection heater in the bedrooms and a gas fire in the lounge.
Single glazed windows and doors and it was bloody miserable.

I bought some heavy fully lined door curtains and I have fraught excluders for the front and back doors and that makes a massive difference.

My tumble dryers on almost daily so the heat from that helps aswel

Get a heated throw ….much cheaper than having the rads on….I have mine on 2 hours a day max

dothehokeycokey Today 19:46
@ye10000
My tumble dryers on almost daily so the heat from that helps aswel

M Lewis says it is cheaper to use a dehumidifier than a tumbler dryer.

It can also take the damp out of the room and makes it feel warmer.

We only have our heating on in the living spaces. So no heating in bedrooms, hallways, stairs or bathrooms. It still costs loads as our house is poorly insulated.

Heated throws and electric blankets are cheap and awesome if you don't already have them.

We have ours on for an hour in the morning and say an hour later when all in. 7 hours is a long time to have heating on.

@FuzzyPuffling Your house will be developing horrendous damp.
It's in the terms and conditions of my home insurance that my heating remains on at least 16c from October to March to avoid damp.

I have my heat set at 18 and don't turn it off overnight. Three bed plus office terrace..I pay on DD £140/month and I'm £500 in credit. I also run a gas fire almost every night. I'm with British Gas
And it's accurate as I just submitted a meter reading before my last debit. You sure you don't have a leak of some kind? Could be outside.

Having heating on for 7 hours a day should not be viewed as absurd, excessive, a long time or ridiculous.

It is a poor state of affairs that it is.

@eardefender we are similar price with 2 small kids in a 5 bed and 2 of us working from home so heating on alot and we just prioritise certain rooms. Octopus prices seem pretty decent compared to other places and we got forced out of our previous supplier just as prices all sky rocketed so we had limited choices for tariff fixing

Have you seen the news people on Smart Meters are paying double that why it's so high