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.

Haven't read the whole thread so these have probably already been mentioned, but worth another mention just in case:

1. Place some foil-covered cardboard behind radiators to reflect heat
2. When you have finished using your oven, keep the door open to let all the heat escape into your house
3. I find that if my feet are warmer, I feel a lot warmer. Slipper socks are ideal for this.
4. Have something on your lap if possible -cat, dog, child, laptop - all helps!
5. Eat loads of casseroles, soups, crumble type puddings etc

Oh I agree the energy companies couldn't give a toss, if they did we wouldn't need this thread!

I've noticed today that the cold grey light makes me feel like its colder than it is in the house, so can I just add the suggestion to use warm lighting too.

I add a fluffy rug to my hard flooring in the living room and have painted one wall in a warm colour so it 'feels' warmer and cosier.

Now snuggled under a blanket with a cuppa, tv and an orange shade on my lamp add a warm glow so I don't feel too cold, when I would normally have put the heating on today.

Thank you all, I hope to save a bit on the bills this winter just by being more mindful, even if I don't make it all the way.

I agree with putting a light on, definitely lifts my mood

this is a brilliant thread. thank you to everyone who has contributed.

I was in the local charity shops today and quite a lot of fake UGG type boots in great condition for £2/3

also lots of flannel sheets but I didn't check the prices as I wasn't getting any of those.

anyone who has an open fire but wont be using it- block it up. either board it over or stuff an old pillow up the chimney (not far up!)

I started a thread a week or so ago saying that I intend to set up a mini kitchen in my bedroom with a kettle, teabags, milk and snacks etc and i'm just going to go to bed when the dcs do at 7pm and watch tv there meaning I don't have to heat any rooms downstairs. my bathroom is next to my kitchen and the hotpress is opposite the bathroom door. the heat from the oven warms the kitchen and it spreads to the bathroom, as does the heat from the hotpress where I also have a dehumidifier to dry washing and it produces heat too. I am also lucky that I am in a terrace and get the benefit of my neighbours' heat. so the bathroom should be warm enough for us to get bathed and changed in after dinner. will also start doing porridge for supper before bed to keep small bellies warm for settling at night. i'm going to try the DIY wheat (rice?) bags. they sound great and so easy.

I have a question about curtains that are on poles rather than curtain rails (does that make sense?) there is obviously a gap between the pole and the wall where heat can escape and also poles tend to mean the curtains sit out from the wall at the sides rather than against it meaning gaps pretty much all round. what do people do about this?

also I was thinking of purchasing the silver bubble wrap stuff off ebay along with Velcro strips and cutting the bubble wrap to the size of all my windows and velcro-ing them to the wall surrounding the windows. (to get round that gap problem I mentioned above. would this work? it would essentially be a bubbl wrap panel put over the window every evening and taken down in the morning. would this cause a problem wrt condensation? would be great to know as I planned this last year but couldn't afford it and don't want to waste precious money if it wont work.

Is running a de humidifier cheaper than ruining a tumble drier?

We found running a dehumidifier very expensive.

We have poles and it's not really an issue. I have velvet lined curtains I got from a charity shop for a fiver on the front and balcony door. They're not a fashionable colour but they work a treat!

I can imagine if it's anything like an air conditioner.

And that was years ago! Our old landlord had one and suggested running it in one of the bedrooms. Shiver me timbers but that was expensive.

I don't know if the dehumidifier is cheaper than the TD, I bought it two years ago because the house I lived in had awful condensation and mould problems, then just before I moved here my TD broke and I haven't been able to replace it so am using the DH on days I cant get the washing outside to dry. I haven't done the sums though to see which is cheaper. all I know is I cant afford a new drier.

I wonder if actually putting the heating on instead would be better/cheaper on days you can't get washing dry?

Oh I like the idea of a front door curtain! Will keep my eye out for thick charity shop curtains.

it might be valium- how would I tell though until the oil runs out? is there a way to work out how much it's costing on a daily basis to have the heating on?

Oh gosh I didn't realise you have oil,I know that's really expensive isn't it?

I have only read a bit of the thread but two we use (amongst the other suggestions I've read here)

We use the lakeland heated airer - uses 100w an hour, dries clothing and the heat goes into the house so is not wasted.

In the evenings we burn 2-3 candles in the living room (in glass, on heatproof coasters, up out of reach and we both have blowing them our on the checklist with double checking doors are locked before bed). We find it really takes the nip off.

I'm crochetting us each a blanket for tucking under in the evenings but any snuggy bought blanket would do - unless you LIKE crochet.

We're going to try to turn the thermostat down another degree. We've gone from 22 degrees 24/7 10 years ago to 18 degree when we're in and 16 at night. Down to 17 and 15 this year. Can we make it to November before we start? (probably not as we have DCs now)

oil is actually only slightly more expensive in terms of heat per unit than mains gas.

the real problem is that many old oil boilers are very inefficient. The perceived problem is that you can see the level in the oil tank gradually going down whereas you can't see the gasholder moving!

oil prices have just dropped a TINY amount as it looks like things are settling in Syria. I'm keeping a close eye with my crystal ball to time my next top up correctly.

yes it is shocking. from start of april to end of august I used oil only to heat the water and it was £50 per month. well I say £50 per month. what I mean is I have standing order set up for £50pcm to the boilerjuice and the last order at the start of april was £205 and that lasted 5 months so about £40 per month during the summer. I ordered 500L at the start of September costing £301 (so used up all over my boilerjuice credit (£50 X 6 payments april- sept) which I hope will last to at least after xmas if I go very lightly with the heating. I am trying to last til start November without having it on.

just checked on the meter and the DH uses 0.08KW- I do have a booklet somewhere that showed me how to work out the hourly cost but I cant put my hand on it just now. will try google.

oh, and anyone on storage heaters - beat up your electricity company to get as much cheap rate time as possible. If you have old heaters there are special tariffs for you, but you have to DEMAND, not ask nicely.

also make sure they are being set and used correctly.

it is going to warm up over the weekend!

Wrt storage heaters ask for economy ten not seven. You very an extra boost in the afternoon. Still expensive to run though.

Get not very

I am in NI and only parts have mains gas. it's not reached us yet in my part of the country. I would love it though.

and one more - get off Boilerjuice and standing orders, expensive way of doing it! Save your standing order into an account of your own over the summer, don't give it to them.

you can save a few pence a litre by shopping around, and on 500 litres that adds up.

working out costs: a 'unit of electricity' is a kilowatt hour, i.e. an item that uses one kilowatt being left on for one hour. So your dehumidifier uses 0.08 of a unit per hour. Call it a tenth, and with a unit price of (say) 20p that is 2p an hour. Which surprises me.

Do candles really make that much of a difference? I have tons of them in my emergency box