Not going to put the heating on this winter. How to keep warm

[ClementineKelandra]

I will have the heating on for one hour a day in the evening so the kids can shower but then after that the heating and hit water will be completely off.

I just need to get some ideas for keeping the house warmer once the weather turns.

my childhood was made miserable by not having CH. I always envied friends with lovely warm houses. Always vowed to have a warm house when I had my own DC but am still paying off arrears from last year's extra long and harsh winter, so need to cut back this year. Breaks my heart to think DC will have to come home to a chilly house but thanks to OP and those making useful comments

A bit melodramatic to whine that your childhood was made miserable by not having central heating! Considering that for most of history, in most of the world, people have managed to have happy childhoods in far less privileged circumstances, self-pity is not a great example to set your DC.

SDhopeful you could write all of that but the first sentence to about half of the posts on here.

I also grew up with patches of living in a cold climate without central heating and remember we always got dressed in bed putting the clothes in for a while to warm them up. I loved my hot water bottle wrapped round my nightie, it felt like wearing a hug. Fingerless gloves in the classroom stopped your hands from being stiff with cold. Woolly jumpers on at all times,we didn't have the lovely welly socks we have now though so I wore more than one pair. Running around outside kept us warm too and stodgy food helped!

I minded the heat of my middle eastern childhood much more actually as it was harder to defend against than cold. My mother felt the cold more and of course had the bother and worry of keeping us warm. I do feel a great deal of sympathy for OP as I would never want to glamourise going without heating but thought it was worth saying that my childhood memories of England are far more of the cosy pleasures of keeping warm than the actual cold which was more of a backdrop to those pleasures, IYSWIM.

Our heating can be temperamental so we snuggle under layers of blanket to watch telly. The CDs love to pretend they are going camping indoors draping blankets around, wrapping up and singing campfire songs on my lap under our "tent". They also like snuggling up in bed and telling stories and jokes. After the bath I roll them up in loads of towels and dress them bit by bit, we joke they are caterpillars turning into butterflies. I found Primark thermals brilliant for under everything, also old tights with feet cut off and socks. Clean socks in bed are really cosy!

Along with others, crossing fingers for a mild winter for you!

flannel sheets and a hot water bottle.

Thermals from Uniqlo are awesome and not expensive.

Havent read the whole thread, but has anyone mentioned an evening disco? I used to do this with dd when she was younger. Put good dance music on and then dance like crazy for about 5 or 6 songs. Great fun and you'll be boiling by the end of it.

Borisjohnson that is a great idea! And a very borisesque one at that- can just imagine him suggesting an evening disco to ward off the cold

OP like many of the other posters, I grew up with no CH. We had no heating at all upstairs and only two rooms downstairs had a form of heating which was ineffective night storage heaters which were on over night and coal fires in the evening. The worse bits I remember were going to sleep under such a weight of blankets that I couldn't roll over (something that duvets, fleeces etc should mean you shouldn't have to suffer from) and getting up in the morning. Will you have any heating on in the morning? If so, can yours & the DCs clothes be left next to that so they can get into warm clothes and get dressed in the warmest bit of the house?
Other tips are:

• have a range of hot drinks in the house eg hot chocolate, hot squash etc as both holding the mug and getting the drink inside you warms you up
• put throws on your sofa. It may not look stylish, but it will be warmed than sitting on leather
• put a hot water bottle in your DC bed 30 mins before they get into bed to warm the bed. I always had two hot water bottles, one to cuddle & one for my feet. If having one at your feet, look out for chilblains.
• if you or your DC often have friends over have a spare jumper/fleece and slippers that they can wear or let them know to bring them.
• can your teenage DD stay at school to do her homework?

Good luck.

Whatever you do - don't leave your immersion heater on all the time as it is horrendously expensive. Think my electric bill went from £30 a month to £100 per month when I tried this a few years ago.

A friend who works for British gas told us its better to have your heating on constantly than just put it on for a period. I have my thermostat set to 16 degrees (cool but not cold) 24/7. My gas and electric are with edf and I pay £82 per month. I received a bill about a week ago saying I was nearly £300 in credit. So, it's obviously correct. Why do you think your bills are so high?

Check out your eligibility for a warm home discount through your supplier, as you have a child under 5.

It is not true that leaving your heating on 24 hours is cheaper than using the timer.

Heat loss (therefore energy cost) is directly proportional to temperature difference x time.

It is true that setting your thermostat to a lower temoerature will reduce energy cost.

I would get your heating at frost stat so if a suden freeze you do not get frozen pipes which will cost hundreds if not a thousand to put rigght also try and set a bit of money aside so you could put heating on if temperature gets to 0

OP just wondering how you are getting on...what worked/ is working to keep you warm?

Yes, would love to know what's working too.

I have single electric blankets under sofa throws, they only need to be on low, I am as warm as toast watching tv, and my cats love them too, very cheap to run, I have to turn off the central heating as I get too warm, so cheap all round, and I am warm in bed too with extra tog duvet and throws, my energy supplier has reduced my monthly bill considerably as I was always in credit.

SIMPLÈS. TURN UR HEATINH UP HIGB ALL WINTER..SCREW THE GREED OF ENERGY COMPANYS. UR LONG TIME COLD WEN UR DEAD

I find unheated bedrooms are fine if you have an electric blanket. On the very coldest nights wear a beany hat in bed if your head gets cold. Unheated bathrooms are ok if the water is hot.
For the rest of the house I recommend to heat one room only, I think this is very do able.
Thin people feel the cold more in general so maybe pack in a few extra pounds for winter 😊

Zombie. This thread is 8 years old.

It's appalling, that in 2022, this thread exists! Reminds me of the scene from 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' where the family were all huddled together in a bed to keep warm!!

Shame on this government and the profit making energy companies! We live in a world where renewable energy can be produced ffs!

This thread existed 9 years ago!