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 ?

If I were you I'd use the heating minimally and reduce your electricity where you can too.

Microwaving is cheaper than oven/hob.

Cook more efficiently - I cook a big mince and make a spaghetti Bol and chilli at the same time - in the same pan for most of it til I need to add different ingredients.

Slow cooker's a good one too.

Cooking a roast will use far more electricity but also balance this off against how much the oven will heat the kitchen as well as cook food.

Reduce time in the shower, even a minute less saves a fortune over time.

i agree with those people who suggest that your gas usage has been estimated incorrectly, so your decision to use your heating and monitor it closely is a good one. The new price cap in October will change the estimate anyway, the energy companies will only be allowed to charge you part of what they pay for gas, with the government making up the difference. You can find average usage figures on line based on size of house and number of occupants which I found helpful when looking at my energy bill. This will help you work out what your real bills might be - the figures for my circumstances were actually higher than my actual usage last year.

I’m just coming to the end of a fixed term tariff and have had notice of what my direct debit will be from Nov 1st. It is far too high based on the new prices so I’m going to sit down this week with my actual usage figures for last winter and the new prices and work out what my monthly amount should be. I will then contact my company and tell them how much I am prepared to pay. I will take into account the £300 credit I have built up this year.

I was careful with my heating last year, I had my thermostat set at 19 degrees from 8 am to 10 pm ( I no longer work and have limited mobility so am in the house quite a lot) and only occasionally increase it higher in the evenings if I feel cold and don’t want to go to bed! My energy consumption was reduced quite a lot as has my usage over the summer months.

My energy company, British Gas, have received a lot of complaints in the newspapers about the huge increases in direct debits, Martin Lewis mentioned it on his tv programme recently.

I think I read that people on UC, DLA/PIPs or carers allowance will be getting an additional £650 on top of the £400 everyone is getting. Hopefully that will help those people on very low incomes who must be very worried.

Just spotted this if it's any help
Also yes to air fryers. Been using mine for years. I barely use the oven now
apple.news/AbS7iHHpASIOEokXHNv8I8Q

I'm going to look into an airfyer. I think them sort of heaters are expensive to run not 100% though. I think the oil filled radiators are cheap to run. Not sure if that's still the case though.

The Aldi heater has a 900w setting and an 1800w setting - it'd use 0.9kwh an hour on the low setting, or 1.8kwh an hour on the high one.
Assuming your October electric unit rate is 34p/kwh, it'll cost 30p/hour to run on low, or 61p/hour on high.

Thank you for explaining 🙂

We’ve our heaters on now.

OP, check your 'estimated usage', the figure that the energy companies use to estimate your annual bill. I nearly fainted when I saw my estimated annual cost (similar to yours) but when I compared the annual use estimate in kWh to my actual usage so far this year, there is absolutely no way I will use that much energy, even if I run the heating and lights 24/7 from now until the end of the year. So my bill will actually be considerably less than the estimate. From the numbers you've posted here, it's possible your annual use has also been overestimated.

Sorry, didn't RTFT. 🤦🏽‍♀️

I grew up in a house with just a gas fire in the living room and then went to live in northern Japan with no heating and months of snow. There were gas heaters but you had to have windows open for the fumes and I remember being warm at one end of the room with snow coming in the other.

No heating is really common in Japan because of earthquakes and I was told to keep my contacts in the fridge in winter to stop them freezing and to just choose one room to heat.

Im not convinced I could go back to this way of living in the cold.

We had a winter without heating a few years ago - just kettles and an electric shower due to building work most of the time. We were mid terrace and not that bad. Hot water bottles, thick socks & slippers, blankets on the sofa etc and was manageable. Getting washing dry was the hardest thing as it just made the room damp and feel colder - we ended up with an oil radiator in one room to help in the end. I think this year we'll think carefully about heating turn some radiators off and turn thermostat down, but it will still go on.

However, I would be very cautious about buying any gadgets to save energy. Be careful to weigh up the efficiency and cost of the applicance. It's no help spending £50 on a gadget that will only save you £2 year on electricty! I'd be far more inclined just to be careful with how you use existing applicances.

Buying a slow cooker and having on all day isn't any more efficient if you're still turning the cooker on in the evening to bake some potatoes to go with it and all that sort of thing.

When I was a kid it was stuff like when the oven was on everything went in it 'for later', while it was on anything that might need cooking got put in then would be eaten cold later - then the trays and plates from washing up, even tea towels etc would be put in the cooling oven to dry as it'd be a 'waste' not to use the heat! The washing machine didn't go on until it was full then on cool unless really necessary to do a 'warm wash' (e.g. someone had wet the bed!). Baths we're shared and water not let go until stone cold. Every one was asked if they wanted a hot drink as the kettle was 'going on' - it was filled and boiled then that was it, it didn't go back on again.

I'm sure there's load of efficiency measures (make sure kettle is descaled regularly, close curtains early...) that could be more efficient than buying new appliances, if the aim is to save money!

That’s £5707 @Bycandlelight22 so monthly £475. Seems very high

what were/are you paying a month

I was £250 so £3k a year but bulb said today need another £25 a month so £300 a year extra

we put heating on the other day. 30mins am and hour in even to take chill off house esp for dd5

there is no way I could not have heating on st all

Luckily for me I live in a newbuild flat which is triple glazed and very well insulated I have never needed to put my heating on in the winter
I will however say that using an air fryer and a microwave is much cheaper than using the oven .. it costs around £30 a year to use the microwave for a traditional oven it cost about 300 to £600
You can steam vegetables make jacket potatoes and warm food in the microwave, even make meals , I invested in a microwave cooking book from eBay for £2
Save the oven for when you’re doing really big dinners for everyone otherwise air fryers are supposed to be good slow cookers don’t take up much electric either and you can leave them on overnight And pressure cookers also cook quick
Back in the day people used to put their pot on the open fire if I had an old house that’s what I would be doing

Excellent post @GrumpyMummy123

Our surveyor suggested it was best structurally for an old house like ours to have heating on but set the temp very low and then just heat the room you're in if you need it warmer (we work from home, and set it at 17 degrees in daytime, less at night) . We do have it at 18 degrees for an hour or so in the evening when we're just sitting about. But I think we may need to drop even that to 17 and just heat one room. Bear in mind that under the old Factories Act (now repealed) you could refuse to do sedentary work at lower temps than that.
My elderly Mum has hers on at 23 (a much more modern house and smaller, so her bills are actually less than ours) and I'm so used to our colder house that I find hers to be like a furnace- I actually have to go outside for air sometimes. But tbf older people do need it to be warmer.

We just had a crazy estimate as well- far and away more than our actual usage lat year. They seem all to be 'at it'.

OP just so you have some figures for comparison

There are 2 people living in our w bedroom Victorian terraced house.

We have a combi boiler which provides CH and hot water on demand. Cooker is gas hob but electric oven. Tumble dryer used for about an hour a week in winter.

Our energy usage in 2021 was
GAS 10590 Kwh Electric 1849 kWh

We are both at home all day. From roughly October to May the CH was on 7am to 11pm, set between 19 and 21 degrees.

So the estimated usage you're being quoted is extremely high.

We are cutting down by not using the oven nearly as much, leaving the thermostat at 19 and no higher. Will only tumble dry for 5 mins after line drying (if wet will use clothes horse with ventilation)

Where have you got the 300 to 600 pounds a year to run your oven figure from?

We use our oven when we want to and have done the maths, it's nowhere near those numbers.

Yes, if something is suitable to be heated in the microwave then use that.

I had a nice upbringing, loving, both my parents teachers. I remember being happy, having a duvet.

My husband was 1 of 6, poor, frozen, his brother lit a fire under his bed because he was so cold.

My husband refuses to be cold. We aren't wasteful, try and keep turning the lights off. But I refuse to be cold. I just won't do it.

Help...

My updated costs are:

Gas

Current £439

Increased price £582

Total annual increase £143

Electricity

Current £1,468

Increased price £1,727

Total increase £259

This doesn't seem as bad as others have mentioned. Am I reading it incorrectly or will I in fact pay way more than this once the heating is needed etc?

It depends how much you u

Use as to what you'll pay. It's the price per kwh and standing charge that's capped so if you use less it'll cost less

Did no heating on in April and also have done no heating on in September. Not feeling cold at all so far.

For my area the mean temperature in October is 2 degrees higher than that in April, so toughing out October should be fine unless we get a much colder than average month.

November is a tough one. Slightly above March, but quite a bit lower than April (2.5 degrees C).

Currently the BBC isn't forecasting a daily max below 15 degrees C until past mid October at the earliest. But I think it is fair to say daily temperatures have been a bit lower than forecast over the past few days (12-13 degrees rather than the 15 degrees that was forecast).

in many places in England the rainfall goes up quite a bit in October compared to September, which makes drying clothes probably a bit more tricky.

Hour on in the morning then at night just save the pipes prevent mould but blankets etc in the day time.

I have been looking at our last 2 years gas usage, almost nothing in the summer,less than 10m³,so roughly 100kwh, at current prices a tenner a month. Winter around 60m³ a month, but for some reason both December's have been100m³, so over 100quid a month for December

I presume this is because we have family round more, might tell them to wrap up.

This is still way less than I used to spend on coal and wood in our last house before the price rises.

I spend more on petrol than I do on household fuel, and I don't even need to car for work.