How to not have the heating on all day?

[Hello113]

It's freezing where I live. But I am worried about the cost of having the heating on all day when I'm at home. I've bought a heated throw and I wear lots of layers.

I wear my long fleecy dressing gown over my clothes (not for video calls…). I may look like Arthur Dent but I’m lovely and cosy.

I spot heat the room I am in using a Calor gas cabinet heater.

Yes, that's a good point. I live in a relatively new house so it isn't drafty and it is a very small room as well. So the fan heater heats it up really quickly and stays warm for hours.

Also there are two of us in the room with computers so the so the laptops help keep the room warm as they obviously generate heat as do our bodies.

I just keep the heat on a timer, it keeps the heating to 18 degrees during the day and comes on a bit higher for the evening, then its off at night. Gas and electric is £129 a month for me in a two bed townhouse style.

I'm sorry but sitting in your own home with multiple pairs of socks and layers on rather than pop the heating on?
The typical demographic of MN that seems to comment on posts of their very comfortable mc life's yet nobody can afford heating 🤷🏼‍♀️
Your home needs to be heated or you'll end up with frozen pipes, damp, mould, even if you're warm in yourself it's not ideal to be. breathing in cold damp air.

There's a hack I've never tried it but involves a tea light and an upside plant pot or similar to emit heat , I'm sure it's online somewhere if you google .

If I'm having a lazy day, heating is at 20 degrees and on for an hour in a morning, an hour at lunchtime and then 3 hours in the evening. I'll wear warm pj's and an oodie with thin socks under fleece socks. Will be perfectly fine.

If I'm doing chores etc I'll be in leggings, vest, cotton top and jumper and same socks but I'll probably end up putting heating on for an hour midmorning as I get cold flitting in and out of different rooms.

Sounds like a fire hazard if people are living under a mountain of blankets and then start lighting multiple candles around the house.

If you are WFH put the heater under the desk, it warms up your legs and not the whole room so you use less energy but stay toasty. I have a glass panel heater and it is great at keeping me warm.

You can buy small electric blankets to put on your lap - I got one very cheap from Amazon, lovely and soft too. So much cheaper than heating the whole house!

Mine is on all day , it's miserable being in a dank cold house . I'm just retired and at home more so when I'm home the heating is on . I don't think extra layers makes a jot of difference if you're environment is cold .
I just have to accept the costs but I'm lucky I can afford it .

Because that requires sitting under it which is not healthy, and I get nothing done. I can’t be sitting on the sofa all winter because it’s too cold to move 🤷‍♀️

I had one of those oil filled radiators for a bedroom over the garage. It cost a fucking fortune. Something like 80p and hour, and when the teen had it on constantly it worked out much cheaper to have the heating on. I just turned off the radiators we didn’t need.

I have a heated pad on my lap, then just trousers, a t shirt and this and I'm plenty warm enough

www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-borg-throw-on-cardigan-smoky-blue/p112018318

I have our heating on a lot. Tbf this house is very naturally warm and only having the heating on to 19 degrees doesn't cost that much. I don't like being cold. I barely wear a jumper, I do like a very thick blanket though. And I don't like wearing lots of clothes. The thought of wearing loads of layers, fingerless gloves and a hat to work like a pp, is something I'm not prepared to do.

I often read on MN about all the holidays people go on, the expensive cars, houses and food and yet mention heating and it’s always the same. I do think some people enjoy not putting it on in some weird poverty virtue signalling way.
Buying heaters, electric throws, cashmere socks, Uggs, specialist thermal gear… just put the fucking heating on if you’re cold or life isn’t worth living.

This is what I do, it works well

Do bear in mind in mumsnet world a six figure salary means you live in poverty.

oil filled heaters, electric blankets/throws, fan heaters etc will cost more than central heating to heat one room.

false economy.

It depends on the house tbh - some houses will become damp if not heated (and in some cases dehumidified) properly.

Have you calculated the cost though?

I was shocked at the cost of a small oil filled heater compared to central heating when I got smart meters.

Depends on the type of heating and how well the house is insulated. Some folk will pay much more than that to adequately heat a three bed house.

All this talk of leggings, long sleeve t shirts and dressing gowns.

Wear normal winter clothes you lunatics. I am wearing jeans, wool mix socks, a cotton vest, long sleeved heat tech top and a lambswool jumper and am fine.

I'll be honest, I haven't. I just figure heating one room had to be cheaper

We have our heating on all. Would be frozen without. The rooms with it off drop to about 6 degrees!

it’s cold and snowy all winter here. I won’t freeze. W shave smart thermostats on every radiator so they are all controlled by rooms and who’s using it or if out etc so it’s not just a fixed on all day

Oil heaters are usually 2-2.5kWh or so at max setting, which is about 50-60p an hour, give or take depending on regional variations. You're almost certainly better off just using your normal gas central heating if you have it. Plus there's the overhead of actually buying the heater in the first place.

Grill some toast
makes a lovely warm kitchen
hot water bottle,
i agree with going outside and coming back