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Housekeeping

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Original poster

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

322 replies

ClementineKelandra · 16/09/2013 00:04

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.

OP posts:
Doodlequackquack · 16/09/2013 18:55

^^ Ugh, some terrible errors in my post, sorry. Blush

Gracie990 · 16/09/2013 19:01

It appaling people can't afford to heat their homes!

The biggest heat saving will be insulating your windows and doors. We leak more heat from those than the loft.

Interline your curtains if you can.
Can you buy some cheap as chips blinds ( Argos thermal)
Can you re hang your curtains to eliminate the air space between your window and room? If not can you use drawing pins to stick the sides of the curtains to your wall?

Close all curtains before sun goes down and tuck them behind your radiators so the heat stays in your room. North facing rooms can be closed earlier if it's freezing or below.

Tin foil behind your rads will help if your on a budget.

What you sit on and sleep on is very important, the cosy fleece underblankets are very good for keeping your bed toasty. Sitting on a cosy blanket on your sofa is as important as a good blanket on top of you. If you can get hold of a sheepskin rug even better.

Extra rugs on your floors will help as lots of heat is lost to the floor.

Do you have a fire? It may be better to run that for longer and have one warm room. Might cost the same.

LetThereBeCupcakes · 16/09/2013 19:04

Alicia tell me to butt out if you like but check your tariff carefully - a lot of the tariffs that give you cheap electricity at night are actually really expensive in the day. When we realised and switched to a more normal tariff our energy bill dropped.

OP - most things have been mentioned but a few more (we are in a very similar situation. Going to have to try and have the heating on more this winter though as we have a 7MO DS and I can't bear the thought of him being cold).

  • Do you have a garden? The first year we couldn't have heating on I went outside and dug myself a veggie patch. The manual work really kept me warm (even just working for an hour kept me warm for a while) and the veggies help keep costs down. There's still plenty to do in the garden over winter to keep on top of weeds etc.
  • I couldn't get hold of thick curtains so I bought lots of pairs of thinner ones and sandwiched them all together. All charity shop or freecycle so cost was minimal.
  • The house will be colder if it's empty all day so just bear that in mind when you're going out.
  • We've found that by keeping the walls of our house that are shared with a neighbour (end terrace) clear of stuff, we can steal some of their heat!
  • I found tights under jeans really uncomfortable so prefer PJ bottoms - very warming.
  • If it's really cold in the mornings, put the clothes you'll be wearing that day at the bottom of your bed over night, so your body heat warms them through.

Hope things get better for you soon OP.

headlesslambrini · 16/09/2013 19:08

not sure if anyone has already mentioned them but hot water bottles are good in beds to warm them through.

bishboschone · 16/09/2013 19:16

Bloody hell, my boiler broke last winter and we had to wait for a part for 2 nights . I have a modern new build with new windows and doors that keep warm in. I am also not a particularly cold person but feck it was freezing !!! We had to wear so many layers in the house and at night , frankly it was uncomfortable and annoying. Are those heaters cheaper to run than having the heating on?

aliciaflorrick · 16/09/2013 19:23

Thanks Cupcakes I've got my electricity consumption down to a fine art and halved the bill from 120 a month to 65. Everything is on a timer so comes on when we're on cheap electric. I keep an eye on the meter and am definitely using more on the cheaper tariff than the expensive one.

Oceansurf · 16/09/2013 19:34

We have Economy 7 because of storage heaters (which are useless and expensive incidentally!)

Does anyone know if switching to a more normal tariff would ramp up the charges significantly though for the heaters? (given that they heat up over night, so would use night rates)

Watching this thread with interest. We literally can't cut anything. Our outgoings are already more than ingoing, all non essentials were cut months ago

notapizzaeater · 16/09/2013 19:35

Lidl last year had heated throws quite cheap to run and lovely to snuggle under watching tv.

Snog · 16/09/2013 19:38

I have spent most of my life without central heating.
Putting on weight certainly helps to keep out the cold!
And if it's so cold that your head hurts at night wear a hat in bed.

PigletJohn · 16/09/2013 19:39

energy from electricity costs about three times as much as energy from gas.

Economy 7 type tariffs are only about one and a half times as much during the night, but even more expensive during the day. Look at the Pence per kWh on your bill.

LetThereBeCupcakes · 16/09/2013 19:40

Oh also forgot to mention that if we have a really long cold snap you will need to put a bit of heating on - my friend went away for two weeks one winter and left her heating off, when she came back the water pipes had frozen causing them to crack - whole lot had to be replaced.

Ocean We had storage heaters when we moved in - replaced them with gas central heating as soon as we had scraped the money together. Even with the cost of getting gas to the house we worked out we are now "in credit" so to speak, due to the drop in electricity bills. I think to answer your question you'd probably have to do some maths, which is not something I'm capable of! Perhaps somebody less sleep deprived can figure that one out.

I've been inspired to get on and make the draft excluder I've been meaning to sort for the front door. Thank you everybody!

Snog · 16/09/2013 19:41

Don't try to keep your whole house warm - just choose one room to keep warm and keep the doors closed.

NaturalBlondeYeahRight · 16/09/2013 19:46

I was a child in the eighties and we only had a gas fire in the living room. Lots of my friends were in the same position, i don't remember it being terrible- chilly at times. We have all become very reliant on central heating now haven't we?
Lots of great advice, the only one I remember is having a Calor gas upstairs for an hour to take the chill off before bath time.

overthemill · 16/09/2013 19:48

we tried to do this a couple of years ago when i was out of work and my best tips are: make sure everyone wears layers; keep internal doors closed and use squishy draught excluders by doors (I made them); hot water bottles in bed about half an hour before you go up; get everyone to get dressed in one room when it is really cold with blower fan on briefly. At the moment my boiler is broken (again, grr) and my dh is really complaining of the cold. Told him put on another layer, wear his slippers and put a blanket on. It's chilly but not exactly arctic yet, is it?

Bunbaker · 16/09/2013 19:52

I'm amazed at how much some people pay for gas/electricity.

Our monthly bill has just gone up to £73 for gas and down to £23 for electricity. We live in a 4 bedroom detached house and are not stingy with the heating and put it on whenever we feel cold. We have a gas cooker and I bake a lot so that also accounts for a lot of gas usage.

overthemill · 16/09/2013 19:54

ooh and check freecycle for curtains/blankets etc

Cindy34 · 16/09/2013 19:58

Loving the ideas.

Our bathroom gets really cold, no heating in it. Window is double glazed. Any ideas for how to make it warmer. Bath is below window so not sire having a blind or curtains at window is practical.

Bunbaker · 16/09/2013 20:00

You used to be able to get special light bulbs that emitted heat to warm a bathroom. Are they still around?

PigletJohn · 16/09/2013 20:04

if you're economising on fuel, take the meter readings at least monthly, preferably weekly. Make a note of the usage and weather conditions on your calendar, and input the readings online to the supplier.

many people are misled by the amount of the direct debit going up and down, which is not the same as actual usage changes.

EnlightenedOwl · 16/09/2013 20:04

Back in the day people only had one heated room usually kitchen/diner or parlour room other rooms were not heated so just heating one room isnt unheard of.
I confess have put my heating on today came in shaking with cold and just couldn't get warm so just put it on low but also worried about heating bills this winter.

ProphetOfDoom · 16/09/2013 20:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

expatinscotland · 16/09/2013 20:17

Lined curtains, definitely!

Ilovemydogandmydoglovesme · 16/09/2013 20:28

Oh yes forgot to mention - socks. If your feet are warm the rest of you will follow. Several pairs of socks and some of those cheap Ugg boots will keep you nice and warm. Also a hat, apparently you lose a lot of heat out of your head.

And definitely electric blankets if you can. They're excellent.

Might use some of these tips myself. We're lucky in that we had a wood burner fitted a couple of years ago and get free wood from a mates farm, as long as we collect it and chop it ourselves dh . Made a huge difference.

teatimesthree · 16/09/2013 20:29

Some good tips here. Having central heating, and having it on a lot, is a very modern thing. We didn't have any when I was a child, and I have lived in places abroad (where it is much colder) with only a coal stove. It was fine.

Do you have somewhere you can hang washing outside?

I also recommend Primark fleecy PJs (which dry very quickly too) and hot water bottles.

Ilovemydogandmydoglovesme · 16/09/2013 20:30

Not that I'm saying Uggs are cheap, obviously, I meant the fake ones. Blush