Am I wildly unrealistic to think I can avoid huge fuel bills this winter?

[Walnutwhipplease]

We have lots of fleece blankets, hot water bottles, electric blanket for bed in coldest room, sherpa lined hoodie blanket things, thermal socks. Only drafty part of the house is the front door and I'm going to hang a heavy curtain over it this autumn. My current gas usage is £25 a month which is morning showers.

Am I forgetting how cold it gets? We didn't have central heating as a child.

I have wfh for the past 8 years and I never have the heating on in the days as a. I am too mean b. The environment and c. I hate the feel of centrally heated houses. Since the DC were little we turned the heating off when they went to bed as I it feels horrible sleeping with the heating on.

It is possible to live with minimal heating, however as PPs have said, the standing charge is something else entirely.

I don't know whether it applies to residential home insurance but when my dad died, we had to have insurance on the house while it was empty/being sold and one of the conditions was having the heating on to a minimum level in the winter months. I presume this was to prevent burst pipes etc

It's based on the old 'haybox'. We learnt how to make them in Guides in the 60s. Basically a box with a tight lid full of hay. The hay insulated the pot so it kept on cooking. I didn't know you could buy them now.

It’s not going to affect those who use oil to heat their homes in the same way. Yes we paid more for our oil when we last filled it up but probably £150 more, not thousands. Plus oil has gone down in recent weeks.

Electricity will be the main issue. We’re now using the top oven/microwave to cook instead of the main oven. Not using the tumble dryer unless desperate. Bills are definitely going to increase for us but nothing like everyone’s discussing.

Plus we only pay for electricity used, no direct debit. They estimate the tracing and generate an online bill, we put in the exact usage and hey presto, the bill reduces and we pay it.

*reading

How will you dry you washing?

I would still want some heated throws and electric blankets- they’re cheap enough to run (I believe).

I didnt really have central heating until I was 21 and it was miserable. That was the number 1 priority when I bought my first house. I'll take precautions and wear jumpers, vests, thick socks etc but I'm not living in a sleeping bag else there's no point in having central heating

I WFH so on the days I can, I’ll get the washing out on the line. Because we wear a lot of wool, it requires less washing anyway. I’ve also bought a Sheila-maid (old-fashioned pulley system) and am trying to figure out the best place to put it. Probably on the stairs landing where it gets the morning sun.

I've just checked my gas usage for July and it's working out at £20 a month. Baths, dishes and showers.

I also think we could be more frugal as we've stopped having baths! I was having regular baths due to a stomach condition and found hot water comforting. But I'm better now.

Hopefully we can keep it down to £45 a month in the Winter with a little heating? I'm probably being silly

Im in the west of Scotland, its colder and damper here and i dread the winter

How do I find the gas standing charge? It isn't on my Scottish Power bills.

I was talking to DH this morning saying we might all have to return to how we lived when I was a child in the 60's. Only the kitchen and living room were really kept warm then during the winter so as a teenager it was a choice of doing homework in a cold bedroom then lie in bed listening to radio Luxembourg or join the family downstairs and have Dad's choice of TV as background noise.
I always wore socks and a jumper over my nightclothes in bed and I remember lying upside down for 10 minutes when I first got in to warm the bottom of the bed with my breath before turning the right way round.
Showers were unheard of, a flannel wash 6 days a week with a Saturday night bath did. A flannel wash meant only the bit being washed had to be uncovered so a huge advantage in an icy bathroom. Maybe showering every other day with a flannel wash in-between would keep costs down now but more time has to be allowed to do it properly.
I think washing laundry when it's dirty rather than after every use would also help although I doubt Monday morning wash day will make a comeback.

My bills over the last few months have been very low (and are based on accurate readings, as I have a smart meter), and as a result I've built up a hefty credit to go into autumn with. I'm very much hoping that this will help over the autumn, and will use it to negotiate a lower direct debit if I think what the power company is suggesting is too high.

How will you dry you washing? Yes good point.

Re getting into a cold bed, flannel sheets are a little less cold.

I haven't worked it out but I believe electric blankets aren't expensive. I used to turn my son's on half an hour before before bedtime and leave it on a timer for half an hour after he went to sleep.

Ours has always been quite low. We have never had the thermostat above 19. DH has hybrid working now, he feels the cold far more than me. There were a couple of years before lockdown when I had retired and he was still in the office FT. I put the heating off in the day, both DS and I just don’t feel the cold very much. We actually overheat in weather that is remotely hot and hate it.

In the winter when the heating is on at 19 DS and I walk around in a t.shirt while DS is wrapped up in multiple layers.

I am still a great believer in spot cleaning clothes and my showers are incredibly quick.

I don't think average fuel bills will go up as much as predicted as a lot of people do have scope to economise and will - do laundry as full loads, don't wash and TD towels and bedding so often, wear a jumper and socks, use a hot water bottle, unplug things to avoid standby usage. I also wonder if people with reasonable commutes who have the option to wfh or work onsite will choose to go back to the office to save on daytime heating.

However, the people who can least afford fuel increases will already be doing a lot of this so have least room for manoeuvre.

Maybe it was being brought up washing by hand and then a twin tub but I wear things until they really need a wash. I used to work with a woman who would wear a top once only, we worked in an office and didn’t exactly break a sweat, I used to wear my tops three times unless I split tea on myself or something.

My summer gas on fixed tariff is £20 but my winter bill at old fixed rates is £110 so I doubt could keep as low as £40 in winter on new rates

Yes, being stingy with warmth isn't something to aspire to, we should all be able to be warm and comfortable as a basic necessity

Not aspiring to it but unfortunately it seems a reality?

We use very little gas or electric, last month was £70 joint on a flexible tariff for a four bed house with two adults and a toddler.

Before we lived here I lived in a string of very rural, old houses with electric heating and single drafty sash windows, ice on the inside of the window type of thing. I always just sat on the sofa in the evening with a high tog duvet and wore warm clothes.

I've been in my house for about 20 months and have recently looked at my gas and electricity usage per month since I moved in. Its only in the last 2 or 3 months that I've intentionally tried to cut usage and its really showing! its just me in the house with my son home at the weekends although other two children will be home over Christmas and for occasional weekends.

I've turned the hot water off on the programmable boiler and now just put it on for an hour once I've had a shower. Not sure if that will continue when its colder but hey ho!! I'm also cutting down the number of lights on in a room and unplugging anything that isn't actively being used. Already have a door curtain and draught excluders for front & back doors and a heavy curtain to draw between conservatory and dining area to stop the cold that way. Might just have the gas fire on in the evening if I'm watching TV or go out for more walks after work once it gets cold. Washing machine done between 1and 4am whenever possible. Clothes dried outside or on an airer in the conservatory if warm enough but will be getting a timer for the tumble drier for big things.

I'm really lucky to be in a fixed rate until June 2023 but need to "save up" my direct debit payments to cover the inevitable massive increase in costs after then.

But there have always been old people. When I was a child the old folk were the generation who had lived through 2 world wars, they delighted in telling my generation how soft we were.

Same here from 1972 until 1997 aged 25. It's grim. DPs finally got central heating in 2002 but I'd moved out by then.
I will mitigate best I can but if you've been chilled to your bone in the house (one fire in living room) year after year for 25 years, it's not something I'd want to return to!