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.

Our library was loaning out electricity monitors - the sort you clip onto your feed in. You can then go around turning everything off to see what really cost the most to run. For us our TV is the worse thing. Thankfully we have 2 kids who don't go to sleep easily so I haven't watched the TV in years. Saving us a fortune....

For my "best buy" tumble drier, "Which" estimates an electricity cost of £100 p.a. assuming three full-capacity loads per week, so about 66p per load.

Smaller, or synthetic, loads would use less.

I am very much opposed to hanging wet clothes on radiators, because this is the main cause of condensation, damp and mould in UK homes.

Piglet-I use my drier and I don't really notice the difference in my bill between summer months and winter. I think I worked it out when we first got it and I worked out at about 30p a load but that was 12 years ago so ties in with what you said.

I don't hang washing in the house either , really bad for the house.

"I get really angry about the different prices charged between those who have pay as you go meters, and the rest of us. My gas and electricity is £100 a month, and we have the heating on low level (19 degrees) constantly as we found this was cheaper than firing it up for 5 hours a day (YMMV so run an experiment for a couple of weeks). We have a combi boiler so have hot water on demand - immersion heaters are extremely expensive to run."

But if you are already a struggling family, finding the £1.5K - £2K to switch to a better, more efficient heating system is an impossibility, so they get stuck feeding £40+ into the meters every month."

I agree. It is always the least well off who pay the most. Our 4 bed detached house costs a lot less to keep warm than some of the 2 bed flats described on here, and we aren't stingy with the heating. I have lived in a cold house with no central heating during one of the coldest winters I can recall and there is no way I want to do that again. (Our gas/elec is less than £100 per month)

I don't know how I got that quite so wrong but the DH actually uses 0.2KW not 0.08KW.

my unit price is 17.59p so that works out at costing 3.52p an hour and takes 12ish hours to dry 1X8kg load of washing. making it 42.24p to dry one washload.

when I did have the TD it would take about 2-2.5 hours to dry an 8kg load in it (separating into 2/3 smaller loads rather than all at once as it wouldn't dry) i'm not sure how much a TD costs to run per hour.

re candles. I have a whole cupboard of the buggers as I keep getting them as gifts. I obviously look the 'gift a candle' type I love them Scented ones, tealights, pretty christmas ones etc.

You soon notice the difference when you walk out of the room for a wee or to go to bed. We use them as lighting if we're watching a film so switch the energy efficient lights off too.

I'll send a star shaped M&S glass tealight holder, 6 tea lights, a glade airwick candle and a box of matches to the first fire sensible PLEASE applicant who want to see if this works I'm trying to declutter.

^^ to the lady with poles :-)

You can hang your curtains well above and to the side of the window to help seal the gap more. You can pin your curtain sides to the wall and tuck behind your radiator. Poles are not as good as swish type hangers but look better

I don't know how expensive the window Velcro thingy is but you can get really cheap, ikea, Argos type blackout blinds which might be as good and less faff.

Btw I did see the condensation catchers in aldi this week for anyone with that issue.

ah I see PJ and valium have posted TD costs. hmm- so it could be cheaper to TD and it could be dearer

I really feel for u and ur family must b terrible having to cut back on keeping your house warm last year my heating was on loads it tried to cut back bt it was very hard with dcs

thanks gracie I will check out those blinds in ikea/argos!

I am in a rented house and the batons for the curtain poles are right above the window (I mean very close to the edge where the window starts.) and I cant move them for risk of losing my deposit!

I've lifted the floors downstairs to insulate under them - you lose 15% of heat downwards. Realise it's not practical for everyone!
Insulate loft hatch.
Def wear warm slippers/socks- if your feet are warm , you feel warm.

Make soup.
Clingfilm/insulating film over windows for seconary glazing.

I have a log-burner - best thing in my house!

Right, I'm must going to dig out some candles

Definitely agree about warm feet. I wear fake ugg boots as slippers and they work well and were 12 quid iirc and they've lasted 2 years.

I have curtains on poles, and in winter I hang an extra, not-too-heavy curtain right up against the window glass, using net curtain fixings (that long elastic cable stuff and little hooks screwed into the window frame). You can take it down easily for the day and it adds an extra layer right next to the glass at night time. I use a tablecloth and the bottom of it bunches up on the windowsill and blocks loads of cold air. You can't see it in the room as its behind the normal curtains.

thanks missmiliment that is a great idea.

You're welcome . It also works brilliantly as extra blackout in the summer if, like me, you have a child who pings awake at the first sniff of daylight.

Don't know where you are OP but we have a couple of huge fluffy blankets which we got a few years ago from Brick Lane market - £15 each for double bed size. They are really cosy and have stayed lovely and soft through several washes.

Stopping all the draughts is the main thing.
You want something like this for the windows and inside the door frames if there is a draught there
www.diy.com/nav/build/insulation/draught-excluders/seals/Extra-Thick-Weatherstrip-Seal-10mm-x-7m-Brown-11607769
I would get silicon sealant to stop the draughts between the frames and windows themselves.
Keep all the doors shut.

We live in a freezing cold draughty old farmhouse in Scotland and our heating bill is horrendous despite having stoves.
This winter we're only heating our kitchen/living room and Ds's bedroom.

I would recommend fleece onesies with the feet for evening wear. A lot of hot water bottles and I wear a hat a lot. If it is really cold in the kids bedrooms get them sleeping bags for under their duvets - they keep the heat in better

I am in the middle of knitting some bears for my dcs and was going to do some for friends dcs and give them as xmas gifts but after reading this thread I think I will make them 'wheat teddies' (with the rice in tights suggested upthread) and give them now so they have them for winter. will have to think of something else for xmas though

captmummy how did you insulate under your floorboards? Our house just has the void below the timbers and air bricks in the external walls.

Ooh, just thought of another thing. In bed, have fleece blankets underneath your sheets. Lovely & soft & toasty warm

Vivicia - I had to lift the floorboards and remove skirting boards. I was having work done anyway and it was the ideal time - was v disruptive. I used Celotex 2"thick and just wedged it between the floor joists, then relaid the floorboards. I had wood floor put down and then the skirting boards on top so there are no gaps between floor and skirting.

Regarding curtain poles - I hang a length of material across the top of the poles between poles and wall, sort of like a swag (v 80s but effective) and down beside the curtain sides. I actually did this to stop the light coming in from behind the curtain in the summer in my bedroom, with a thin voile bunched up, but a thick material would also stop draughts from roundthe sides and top.

Can I just chip in and recommend a dehumidifier rather than a tumble drier? Quite apart from the fact that they dry clothes even in mid-winter in a day, the lower humidity makes it feel warmer. They are also a lot cheaper to run than either the tumble drier or the heating.

I also put a blanket under the mattress - in fact my dp uses cardboard under his, to stop cold from coming up!