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.

Ouch that's a stressful amount of money @ye10000. Unfortunately if you have a thermostat in a colder part of the house, then your thermostat won't reflect the temperature where you are. So it might be calling for heat from the boiler when you don't need it, because the room you are in is warmer than 18°c.

Agree with 'heat the person not the house'. If you have temperature valves (TRVs) on each radiator, turn those down during the day except in the room where you're working. Hot water bottles and heated floor mats are great, but only use electrical heat for very small areas, as electricity is about 3 x the cost of gas.

Do bear in mind though that your home will benefit from an hour of gentle warming every day to keep the fabric dry and avoid mould problems. 18°c should be enough to generate that.

I'd say that's high, but also I only have the heating on at set times, morning and evening and just flip it on if I need it in-between.

However my boiler has broken so it's unbearably cold now. It's stupid that I'm actually colder now as a graduate than I was in a very working class single pained glass victorian terrace house. I can't oay to fix the boiler It sucks

Use an oil heater for the room you're working in and close the door

Oh and if you can't pay the bill - phone your supplier and explain because many cases they can offer sone help

That seems high is there an individual break down on how much for electric and how much for gas? Try using got water bottles, dressing gowns etc if ur working from home and save heating for when kids are home. If your electric usage is high only fill kettle to what you need as overfilling wasted more electric maybe even invest in a flask so you can avoid boiling it (im a big tea drinker so I boil it a few times and it all makes a difference) turn off all electronics at the wall when not in use. You should also be able to claim back some tax towards electric bill if working from home as its like a business expense so check your tax code will help with your income. Also check out entitled to you may be eligible for benefits or council tax reduction etc. I think for kids under 5 some services do a warm homes discount aswell.

Yeah I don't get the "haven't turned my heating on but using my log burner..." comments. Stupid.

Two professional full time salaries and a combined income of over £200k and no way would I have a minimum temp of 18 all day.

Heating comes on when the kids are here first thing. I have a portable oil radiator which heats the small room I'm in during the day (and I have a fleece onesie I wear over my work top and slip the top of the onesie off for meetings) and then three hours at night when the kids are home from school. It's off at night.

Blankets, heated blankets and extra layers is the way of the world, even for those with decent income. The idea of having a minimum temp all day as a basic human right (which someone said on another thread) is quite entitled / extravagant in my opinion.

I think a lot of people are used to high standards of living which just aren't possible in a cost of living crisis. And yes, we can afford heating but we also see a pension crisis coming and so are cutting our thread accordingly to plan for that.

That’s awful but bearing in mind I’m in a new build one bed flat with electric only heating and my bill is £70 a month and I only nave 2 heaters and a towel radiator, I can see how easily it racks up to £500+ for a 3 bed house.

A lot of uk homes don’t retain heat which doesn’t help. Are you heating just the room you are working in and the ones you and the DC use when they’re home ?

I would contact your supplier and tell them you can’t afford the present monthly DD and can they help you with an arrangement that is more manageable. There’s often info on bills and apps etc saying to do this if you are struggling. It’s just shit though. Being freezing most of the winter yet still having ridiculous bills is so miserable and unhealthy.

Seems a lot, ours is on for an hour in the morning and 3 in the late afternoon/evening set to 19. Bill was £186 arrived yesterday.

7 hours sounds like a lot... but then I'm 'poor' so we use blankets and hoodies when cold.

Is that for the full month? Ours has been £275 for this past month and we both wfh. Heating on for an hour or so in the morning, then off in the day, then on from 5/6 until 9 ish.

In the very cold weather we've just had I have been sticking it on for an hour in the middle of the day to take the edge off.

Thermostat set to 16/17 (it's a very old fashioned dial so hard to tell exactly!)

I check ours every day too on the Octopus app in pounds so I can see each "flick" of the switch costs £2-3 for a few hours of gas heating. Friday I think we were £14-15 for Gas and Electricity. We are about £1k in credit because we overpaid in summer to make winter less of a pinch.

Our house is badly insulated pending further renovations and we pay £167 direct debit a month - 5 beds, 3 receptions.

I think your bill may be high as 18 is a high temperature to heat to, the thermostat could be in a cold part of the house so other areas are being heated well beyond 18 and you have your heating on a reasonable amount.

Having said that I live in a poorly insulated property and keep the thermostat at 12-14. Heating comes on for an hour or two morning and evening and once a week I have a day of heating. I'm asthmatic and I WFH. It took me a while to adjust but I use blankets, a coat and a hot water bottle.

Are you heating the whole of your house? What is your insulation like? Do you have double glazing & good insulating curtains?

Having the heating on for the whole house all day is not necessary of you have good insulation. And wear a jumper & thick socks!

To those saying heat the person not the house. Well in theory, yes. But you do have to heat the house to keep the humidity down as well. If your house becomes damp it will feel colder, and damage the house, you also need to ventilate, so shutting everything, and closing everything, is also not a great idea.

We've just boosted ours, it felt cold and damp, as it's that sort of day. Just gone up to 19.6, and the humidity is 47%, and has turned itself off.

18 is the minimum most health services recommend

That does sound a lot if you only have the temperature at 18. I have mine at 21.5. I'm not being cold. Is everybradiator in your house on all the time. If you can try and switch off or turn down the radiators in the rooms you don't use that will help.

Pinkprescription. Regulation recommended healthy temperatures are 21 for living areas and 19 for bedrooms, with radiators set to an appropriate level. Thermostat to 18 degrees when it’s below zero out really isn’t too high.

Is this an estimate bill or did you send meter readings?
We live in a red brick semi, in all day as retired and the heating is set on auto for 19° during the day. I only heat the rooms we use.
I have a wood burner that get lit mid afternoon , then I turn off the radiator in the living room.
My bill is £160 for gas and electric, I pay £145/month dd and I am £400 in credit.

I can't bear the thought of 18 during the day so at night it would be unbearable, I have no heating on at night. Unless there's a very small baby I can't understand heating on at night.

Its a case that heat is a luxuary millions can afford. Do we get damp round the windows... yes but its really not an overwhelming problem, bankruptcy however would be.

I would have the heating coming on at various times throughout the day (not keeping it on all the time) as the rooms will retain an element of heat when the radiators aren't pumping out the heat.
We also wear cardigans and thermal underwear during the winter and we're in a 3 bed s/d. It's got decent insulation in the attic so that probably helps too.
I also work from home and I have an electric portable radiator that I keep near me so I can top up the heating where I am without having to heat the whole house.

Is your home very draughty? I'd try to eliminate draughts under doors, around windows, even keyholes in doors can blow a gale when it's cold, so I'd sellotape them up during the winter and get draught excluders for the doors.
Some masking tape around the windows would help with any gaps there. Stuff that you can take off and doesn't leave a sticky residue would be good.

There are steps you can take and checks you could make to see if there are particular rooms that are letting a lot of your expensive heat out of them so you could look to put down carpets/rugs (in case you have wooden floors with gaps between the joins).

Your council may be able to assist with getting better quality insulation installed for your home on the longer term. If this your home and not somewhere you are renting, you could investigate getting solar panels installed as they will pay for themselves (either ones that just heat water or get ones hooked up to your central heating). The outlay initially might be large but there should be grants you could apply for. Everyone at some point will end up having to move away from fossil fuel heated homes to more energy efficient ones so there will be a cost to everyone at some point.

I don't think 7 hours is excessive

Nor 18 degrees

Another vote for direct debit all year round, to spread the cost

Has anyone tried the "seek thermal" app which might show where your biggest heat leaks are ?

I can’t stand being cold after spending most of my life up until the nineties in houses with coal fires and calor gas heaters. The house I live in now is mid terrace and the insulation in the loft is really, really thick. Currently my combined payment is £137 a month (although son just moved back in so that will change). I have my thermostat set to 20 for 12 hours a day. There is only one radiator turned on upstairs, the bathroom one because we have to have the window partially open for ventilation. I don’t know how people cope with lower temperatures, 16 is just madness. It’s not good for the house either. It might be worth looking into a grant for insulation, it would make such a difference.