Anyone not going to have heating on at all ?

[Bycandlelight22]

So apparently my electric bill is going to be 2344.57 a year. And my gas will be 3363.23 a year.

According to the bill I just got between 8th-15th September I used 29.82 in electricity. And between 8th--15th September I used 2.22 in gas.

When winter sets in I'm planning on not having the heating on at all. We will wear extra layers and have blankets etc. Then my gas should be very simlar to what it is now?

I have heard that I could save money by using an air fryer ? And simlar gadgets is this true or is it just a trend ? Are they suitable for large familys ? Is there anything else that could help ?

Apart from a gas fire in the living room.
This is the crucial difference. A cold bedroom may be unpleasant but it won't cause the same structural damage as the entire house including the ground floor, in a country with a high water table like the UK has, being entirely unheated throughout winter. Similarly while a child may wake up uncomfortable after sleeping in an unheated bedroom, if they can warm themselves by a fire for even half an hour in the mornings and a couple of hours in the evenings they are less likely to develop the kind of chronic respiratory conditions you see in children who spend all their time in cold damp places.

Honestly OP it is a really bad idea. Approach your council for a household support grant, ask for a discretionary housing payment, speak to your energy company about payment plans, ask your local citizens advice bureau for any kind of help you can apply for. Don't have your children be in an unheated house this winter.

I think if you can avoid having children live like this you should, it’s really not healthy for them and could give them long term respiratory conditions, plus it’s deeply unpleasant. If as adults you need to live with this it’s fine but I’d ensure you apply for a;L benefits you can to try to heat your home.

Oh yes heating makes my nose block and get a dry throat. I mean it's nice to be warm . I hate the blocked nose dry throat.

Not looked at heated throws not sure how they work. And yes I have just put up thermal curtains .

😔 this is not something I'm doing likely. It's a survival thing. Heat or eat. Heating or electricity. It's not an actual choose just for the sake of it

I can afford to heat our home, so I am not in the position of having to make your decision. But, I know that I use too much energy, and the price rise (along with losing our fix) has prompted me to change my ways. When I was a child, we had a gas fire and some paraffin heaters - as others have pointed out, it'n not pleasant in a cold, damp house. As an adult on a low income, I have been very frugal with heating and drying laundry - as I have become better off, I've become spoilt and wasteful.

So, I am hoping not to use heating until half term, and then to have it on for a few hours a day instead of all day whenever I feel like it.

Are you sure those estimates are correct? Do you normally crank the heating right up in the winter? I am using a similar amount of gas and electric as you at the moment and my yearly estimates are nowhere near yours.

I don't think it's as bad as some as the posters are making out OP.
We're about to do our 5th winter without any heating. It's not great but it isn't that bad either. We have a couple of bathrooms but only shower in one in winter and leave the window open slightly after to avoid dampness. We've only ever had frozen pipes once and we now have the ones in the garage bubble wrapped.
We do have a small 1Kwh electric heater which gets used after a shower or to get dressed in front of.
Layers are key, and I try not to let my feet get cold because they're impossible to heat up if you do. A cosy blanket under you also helps. And hot water bottles, we have normal ones, small ones that fit nicely in oodie pockets, neck ones and long ones!

Here is mine from my last bill Mid August to Mid September and I used £42 of electric and £5 of gas in that period so nearly same as you.

I was thinking we will reduce to almost nothing, maybe an hour in the morning, hot water is old boiler type which heats the bathroom. Open wood fire. Heated throws.

I should add I’m not on a fixed tariff, just the energy cap

Your better off keeping the heating on and getting a part time job to pay for it. Don't risk your health over it.

I have an old electric (heated) airer it was expensive to buy originally, I don't know whether they've gone up or down in price.
In winter 2020 complicated reasons meant almost no heating where I lived and I used it in the bedroom I shared with my young child. Had to keep on top of condensation anyway so constantly scraping windows.
It helped make things less uncomfortable and dried laundry much more quickly than just hanging in a cold room.
Quite a long time ago I did winter 'double glazing' on single glazed windows with cling film and sellotape. As you have double already is it worth experimenting in one room with temporary triple?
Good luck OP.

You've taken the £400 rebate into account (which would cover your supplier's predicted usage for this year), as well as prices NOT going up as much as first expected, I assume?
It's really not worth having an unheated house. Black mould etc isn't great for health either.

Are you sure about those numbers? My combined gas and electric estimate is £2100 for a 4 bed new build. 4 adults so fairly big users as 2 of them seem incapable of turning off lights and appliances.

I would investigate why so high for your electric (unless you are a mansion) £1200 for the electricity portion seems consistent among my friends and family

Ive assumed OP was referring to kwh in her opening post figures, not £.

@blibblibs yes to the feet! I put mine on a hot water bottle when desperate!

Winter = constant runny nose and cold feet.

The energy threads on here are bonkers.

If the OP is on an SVR of 30p per kWh for electricity they they are using over 14 kwh a day, more than treble what we use, and we don't skimp.

OP, what are you spending the extra money the govt. is giving us for energy on?

That money and a few less kWh of electricity should be enough to at least let you use your heating sometimes? Plus, if it's well insulated, it will hold the heat?

You didn't heat your old house because it was inefficient yet you don't intend to heat your new house which is efficient?

This thread has some actual facts about energy costs and usage, I have found it very useful.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/cost_of_living/4618028-the-how-much-does-this-cost-to-run-thread?page=24&reply=120023963

I’m also surprised at those costs for a new build, and how it’s that or nothing.

What is your useage in KWh per year?

Your electric seems high. It is as high as mine on an all electric system. Surely you are better to make things more efficient and run a small amount of heating?

I think the OP gives the kwh usage not the cost in £s

That's what I don't get. I'm praying its wrong they are telling me 2.22 for 6 days gas? So how can that be 3363.23 a year unless they are making the assumption I'm going to make my house toasty all winter.

I have not Been here for winter so they can't estimate what I done on previous years.

We had no heating upstairs. The windows use to ice on the inside!!!

@Bycandlelight22 is that in £ or kwh?

Op apologies if I've missed it but how long have you been in your house and are those prices based on last year's actual usage or estimates? Also how many bedrooms do you have? Those figures seem really high. For reference I'm in a 1940s 3 bed semi in the south of England. Based on my actual usage over the last year I will be paying less than half what you pay, and that's with the heating on for around 3 or 4 hours a day. My boiler is a condenser boiler fitted 3 years ago. I think you could cut down to a few hours a day and pay lots less than that estimate. You could also do things like lower the boiler temp for hot water by a few degrees and turn off the radiators in the rooms you don't use.

Sorry I criss posted. I agree with the other person. The estimate is not accurate. Have you moved to supplier when you moved in ? They may be basing it on the previous person who lived there.