To wonder how long the no heating brigade will last when it turns cold?

[womaninatightspot]

I’ve been contemplating how much I can reduce the heating and electric throws. It’s chilly here today, sixteen degrees, but grey and drizzly. I’ve lit the wood stove, I do have a cold so maybe I feel more susceptible to chills.

I feel like I’ve fallen at first hurdle. Definitely going to be keeping one warm room in the house so it’s not just really unpleasant for the dc. I’ve recently paid 365 for four cubic metres kiln dried wood but it’s going to cost 1K to fill the oil tank for 1000 litres. Was a third of that last year.

Our best has been trying to get to 19deg all day but it won't get past 18.5.
Is that because it's been so cold and it just can't heat it up?! We've never had this issue before. Last winter it worked ok 🤔

You could try increasing the water temperature at the boiler, if it isn’t maxed out already. It will make the radiators hotter.

Funny you should say that because DH turned it down a few days ago! I bet that'll be why. Will check it tomorrow. Thank you.

Wait no he is saying he turned down the tao water not the radiators.
Hmm

Radiator on boiler set to 68deg

I thought that was only for emergencies if heating had been off days or something. My manual says to use eco setting so it condenses properly.

I have increased my water temperature on my boiler to reduce condensing as then the condensate pipe is less likely to freeze, it is less economical but a frozen pipe would be worse as boiler is upstairs so we would have to use ladder to defrost, also rooms struggled a bit to get up to temperature. When this very cold spell is over I will put boiler back down to 60c.

I do wonder if the recent advice to turn boilers down to 60c has led to more frozen condensate pipes than usual

I suppose it depends Turning the flow down means that it takes much warmer for systems to reach temperature so there is heat running through the pipes for a longer amount of time - so in those cases, I doubt it. But if you have the flow turned down and you are restricting the amount of time the system is on for, then perhaps there is less residual heat running through the pipes. But mostly I think it's because it's ridiculously cold.

Our boiler is very old, almost 30 years and we'll replace it when it fails. The much newer hot water tank is set to 60° but the heating boiler itself has a dial with 1-5 on, which controls the 'power' in the central heating (I assume either the flow rate or the temp of the water in the actual system). That's currently had to be set to 4 as opposed to the 2.5 of a couple of weeks ago, because with a fortnight of sub zero temps the living room wasn't even getting to 16° after six hours regardless of what the central wall thermostat or radiator valves were set at. So now we're managing a comfortable 19° throughout the day and we'll pay the bill out of savings if we have to.

We did manage no heating at all until mid November when it started to need just an hour in the morning and two at night, but now it's on all day 6am-8pm and activates as and when it needs to to maintain the temp. I cannot take being that cold any longer.

@Hungrycaterpillarsmummy

It would be if you are on £2 an hour. Which is a lot, but not impossible if you are in a large house with a big old style boiler and significant heat leak.

To calculate you numbers, the easier thing to do is check the meter and find your units, either ft3 or m3.

I see you posted 16 units in 1 day. Which is likely to be m3 (100 xft3 would be an enormous usage).

16 units costs 16 (units) x11.1 (kWh per unit) x 0.1 (price per kWh) = about £18 per day so about 0.74p an hour.

TBH I don't think now is the time to mess around with heating. I have turned mine on a lot over the past few days because it is so cold I am worried that the pipes will freeze. I think its false economy to turn it down when the temperatures are so low and sustained because if a pipe bursts it will cost £££. It looks like after 18th temperatures get a lot more towards the season average here (6 degrees C or so) so that is the time when I will be looking to make savings.

I thought that was only for emergencies if heating had been off days or something

It is extreme weather and the house isn’t warm enough. I think the OP would be justified a sacrificing a bit of boiler efficiency.

in, not a.

I couldn't do it, already costs too much for heating, lower efficiency means higher costs doesn't it?

Yeh I said units but I meant digits! I just checked and it's M3.yesnits not ideal to have nicked around with it but we only did that when we realised it is never getting to the thermostat temperature. We are eduardian house, 3 bed but high ceilings.its the bloody lathe and plaster walls they just don't retain heat

Omg I have a new phone and the predictive txt hasn't learnt my words yet and I didn't check!

@Hungrycaterpillarsmummy I use this spreadsheet to keep track of gas and electricity usage. It is pretty accurate, sometimes off by a couple of pounds here and there.

thnet.co.uk/power/

Oh cool thank you!

Mine is the other so times by 32 to get kWh rough guide then times x 10p

Has anyone else been watching the arctic storm over North America. The temperatures are crazily cold. Minus twenty/ thirty degrees Celsius in places. It hurt to breathe when it was minus 8 here doing that late night dog walk. I can’t even imagine how we’d cope with that apart from camping next to the fire.

I have heard that the UK/ Europe is warmer than it should be for its latitude due to the Gulf Stream. Climate change could alter the Gulf Stream and we’d be a lot colder. I don’t really think I knew how much colder before.

Yes the storm in the US sounds harsh, reminds me of the movie where they show it freezing to Mexico

I really hope the Gulf Stream change doesn’t happen for a long time if at all. Being that much colder would drive me to southern hemisphere

The one where he rescue his son from the library in New York? I thought of that. People seem very capable and prepared but possibly that's the BBC's take on it.

A power cut and minus twenty and it'd be a massive struggle to survive and I'm lucky enough to have a woodstove. Maybe more people have alternative heating.

We'd have to shut all the trickle vents, blinds and curtains and try to stay warm inside. We have sleeping bags, plenty of blankets, warm clothing, but would have no external heat source.

We get -20 at least part of the winter in Finland (and colder some years), I would definitely hate to have a power cut in that temperature without wood stoves (but otherwise the temperature isn't so bad). I did have a 5 day power cut in the middle of winter once but I don't think it was that cold.

Did you end up sleeping in a room with the fire? I have camping beds and thought if we had a long power cut in winter we’d all sleep in the warmest room together. I think historically it’s what people did in winter, I may have made that up though.