Anyone else not turned the heating on yet?

[Madamlulu]

We haven't turned the heating on yet as trying to save money for when the bills will be high over the winter. We have been fine with big jumpers but we do have a log burner and electric blankets..

Any one else not switched theirs on yet and how are you coping?

We've had the heating on a couple of times. We've had the log burner on more - but dh has just come in and said We've used more of the logs we got delivered than usual so we're definitely going to be using it less!

I've just put a jumper on instead of lighting it

Yes, mine is on as I’m using the winter fuel allowance given to me through my pension - first year I’m eligible at age 67. I got £500 in total given this year. It means I can have my heating on without worrying too much about the higher bills, I have very bad arthritis in my legs and hands so don’t move around a lot and need to be warm to reduce the pain. Last year without the payment I tried to cut back by only having the heating set at 18° and reduced the times but I struggled and felt quite ill at times. So as it gets colder I can have the temperature a little higher and leave it on later at night so I don’t have to go to bed early to keep warm.

I don’t have any other source of heating which I regret now .

We haven't. But I might the log burner around 6pm.

Not yet, I was brought up by Northern heating adverse parents and am actually uncomfortable in a central heated, dry house.
The weather has been pretty wild in Wales where I live.

My tips are log burner (live in a small cottage, heat.goes upstairs) cleect wood constantlyas it'sexpensiveto buy (becomes a bit of a lifestyle), nice fleeces on the beds and a basket of throws (not posh, Dunelm specials) in the living room. Warm dressing gowns and slippers.

Everyone is different though, some people love heating.

Been on for a couple of weeks now.

I suffer from seasonal anxiety and being cold makes me mentally unwell.
I can't cope with the weather being shit, dark at 5pm and sitting in a cold house. I can't do anything about the weather or the darkness but I will not suffer being cold.

I put the heated airer on for a bit in the last couple of days as it's been so rainy that we started running out of coats as they were hanging up everywhere drying. It's nice, just takes the chill off. If I sit down I need a blanket though, it's still cold.

Ours seems to be on for around an hour a day as the thermostat is set to 17.5c. However the sun came out today and heated the house to 22c still floating around 19.8c right now so not bad.

Yes I have had the heating on when I'm cold. I don't mind sitting under a blanket but I'm not about to wear several layers of clothing when I have heating to heat the house. I do sometimes just use an oil filled radiator to heat the living room.

We don't have a log burner.

You’ve just reminded me that I have a plug in electric heater which I bought about six years ago when my old boiler was constantly breaking down and I used to child mind my niece and nephew in the school holidays so needed heat sometimes. I used it in the lounge during the day then moved it into my bedroom. I guess if I did want to reduce my heating bill I could use that for the odd Autumn days when it’s just a bit chilly for an hour or two.

i must dig it out and test it!

We’ve still not had ours on. Not necessarily cost saving we just haven’t been that cold so have just used jumpers and hot water bottles. We’re lucky that we live in a new build though so the temp hasn’t dropped below 17.5…if we were in an older house it would definitely be a different story!

No. It's been too mild.

No but it hasn’t got cold in our house yet. Downstairs all still above 18 and the coldest room upstairs is still 17.5.
I’ve sat under blankets the last few evenings and have started wearing slippers/big cardigan around the house but that’s enough for now. Next step will be electric blanket…

Our thermostat is set to 18 and it's come on the last few mornings.

It's not been particularly cold here yet and tonight is quite warm.

We've got a log burner which we have lit a few times this year and thought we would to tonight but didn't actually need to this evening.

Got a heated airer so wonder if that if that is taking the chill off

More expensive than putting central heating on.

Ours is on temp permitting it may be an hour or two a day atm which has been enough but it felt colder yesterday so was on a little more. We have no log burner or fire. We only heat to 18/19

We tried stretching til November last year and it was miserable, the house felt damp. I was cold all the time. Mould started. So no not this year. We are low energy users generally and our direct debit more than covers our current heating cost.

Hot water bottle Jumpers ok so far

It's been on for a couple of hours on three occasions. I don't think it's been cold enough to warrant it but I do turn it on when it drops below 16 in the house as I worry a little about damp. When I WFH I am usually fine in layers and a heated throw - I prefer it on the cool side and I'm the one who pays the bills!

Had ours on for a month now in the evenings. We do feel the cold even in thicker layers and socks.

We set the timer on but it’s not been cold enough to kick in yet.

I’m not cold yet but seriously considering turning the thermostat up just to dry the washing. I do washing every day and it’s taking days to dry even with the dehumidifier running. I’ve never had such a backlog of washing in previous years.

Curious why people say they haven't turned the heating on but used the logburner? Surely heating?!?

No, I haven't. Central London apartment block.

I don’t get this. For us a takeaway is more than the cost of maintaing the house at 18/19 during the day with gas CH. I appreciate we are lucky to be able to forgo that and have heat, but it’s the people who compete I’ve cold and worry about the cost when they eat out 3x a week that’s bizarre

We found moving the washing and the dehumidifier to the smallest room with door shut or the bathroom with dehumidifier in and cloggers wrack in the bath for space etc worked better

@TentChristmas it does depend on the house, though. To heat mine to 20 degrees for eight hours a day would easily cost £10 a day - it's a cold old house, though not enormous. That adds up quickly.

We're in north Herts and it hasn't been particularly bad here so far. Heating is currently set for 90mins in the early morning and 3hrs late evening (6-9) if the temp in the living room goes below 18. It's come on every morning for the last three weeks and about every other evening, but seems to be coming on every night this past week.

We don't need it at all during the day for now, as we get considerable solar gain because the living room and main bedrooms are full south facing, and even with the weak winter sun we're getting to 22° when it streams through the windows.

House is reasonably well insulated and has full but very old (and failing!) double glazing throughout. Hoping to keep the bills below or the same as last year with some judicious tweaks to timings and holding out as long as possible.