For those who can't afford to use central heating this year - How are you going to cope?

[mama2moo]

We have 2 dd's - 3yo and 20mo and already owe money to our suppliers. We are going to have to be careful with not using the heating too much but our house is feeling cold already!

We have bought thermal vests, fleece pjs, fleece tops and extra duvets.

What else can we do?

TBH Im dreading it. By the 3rd week of every month we are skint at the moment.

well we have turned the heating on tonight but only to check it works!

We have bought a fancy thermostat that you can program different temps for different times of the day and week - we had one in our previous house and it worked really well in that you are more in control of the temp the heating is running at, particularly when you arent there but dont want the house to get too cold iyswim.

We did have to bite the bullet and have new windows fitted this year - previously we have gaffer taped them up during winter as you could literally see the gaps between the frames and the windows despite trying to fix them - this did work ok but after 3 years it was time to do something more permanent. New windows do seem effective - temp upstairs is 17 and a balmy 17.8 downstairs!

Tbh I cant be without a good pair of slippers (cant abide cold feet) and my electric blanket.

I think I will get some draught excluders though

But Mumslife, we are already in a situation where the tax payer doesn't pay enough to cover the country's outgoings. By giving people some sort of subsidy to help towards the heating, our taxes are all going to go up.

Money doesn't grow on trees, ya know!

I agree with the other posters who have mentioned dehumidifiers. I used to dread the winter because my flat would get icy cold...it was really bone chilling cold.
I bought a dehumidifier and honestly didn't expect it to make much difference if any...but I couldn't have been more wrong.
(Perhaps I should have realised how damp my place was getting when the windows were covered in condensation every morning, and the window sills were wringing wet )
It collected 9 litres of moisture in the first day and the icy feeling had gone...yes it was still chilly, but nowhere near as cold as it had felt. It was like taking the windchill factor out of the flat IYGWIM.
When I turned the heating on, the rooms heated up much much quicker and it actually felt alot warmer, and that was using storage heaters. I was suitably impressed and haven't been without a dehumidifier since. I even recommended my friend bought one, and she lives well below the poverty line, and she says it has been her best buy...she swears by it.
So if you can afford it, they are well well worth every penny imvho.

Apart from that....pretty much the same as most others have said on here.

Keep moving if you can
Wear lots of layers
Eat hot meals where possible

Love my hot wheat bag!!

The government are talking to engery suppliers to discuss price increases, though, aren't they?

I think that's the most I could expect from the government, TBH.

As I have said we can't put our heating on until we have no choice. We accept that we are not vulnerable so we wil go bed early, read in bed, sit under duvets wear extra layers. However I would be happy to pay extra tax so more vulnerable people can have their heating subsidised. I would have thought that most people would feel the same.

mumslife - the politicians don't believe this is happening. did you hear edwina curry on stephen nolan at the weekend? she is saying that she doesn't believe that people are having to make the decision to 'heat or eat' she asked if people who were saying they had to make this choice were buying the odd lottery ticket and having cigarettes!

Oh, and MNing can give you really cold hands, especially the one you use for the mouse. I have heard you can get heated mice.

Obviously it's not a terribly handy tip given that everyone on here is trying to save money, but it is amazing how much difference an efficient heating system makes. So if you have an old system and the possibility of upgrading it.... We had a new condensing boiler and whole new high pressure system last year because of building regs (we had our loft converted). Our new hot water cylinder thingy is amazing. It's completely cold to the touch (ie zero heat loss - so no good for drying clothes in the airing cupboard ). We only have the hot water on for 45 mins in the mornings, and we have piping hot water all the time. It's brilliant.

Also, the plumbers who did our loft said it's really important to have your boiler serviced regularly - preferably annually, or at least every two years - particularly if you have an oil system, like us. It costs around £100, but it's quite an important safety check and also makes your boiler run much more efficiently, apparently.

This thread has taken me back to my student days when we couldnt afford to heat our old Victorian terrace. It was so cold the condensation frequently froze on the inside of the windows.

I used to go to bed wearing:

• fleecy pj's
• fleecy dressing gown with a hood.
• pair of normal socks
• pair of fleecy socks
• 13.5 tog duvet
• extra blanket
• gloves

and I would still be cold (especially my nose.)

I'll also mention that my dehumidifier is on 24/7 and I honestly don't notice how much energy it uses..have had it a few years now, but when I bought it, it cost 12p a day (24hrs) to run...got no idea how much it costs to run now, but I don't have my heating on yet, and have no intention of putting it on this month.

Also, the plumbers who did our loft said it's really important to have your boiler serviced regularly - preferably annually, or at least every two years - particularly if you have an oil system, like us. It costs around £100, but it's quite an important safety check and also makes your boiler run much more efficiently, apparently.

yes and the #100 is very important to the plumber

Serioisly though gas boilers or oil bilers - make sure they are safe sod the cost your life is important

littlemisss, the dehumidifier I linked to earlier includes this customer comment:

'It is rated at 230W so uses about 1 unit every 4 hours, not a lot but in constant use 24/7 this adds up. The same would be true for any appliance but it needs to be born in mind when choosing something like this. After 2 weeks constant use it is not now needed all the time & instead is turned on as required.'

at current rates that's probably 3.5-5p per hour, so not cheap - but a lot less than any form of electric heating! and it could be switched off overnight.

I'm afraid I fancy those fleecy adult babygroes this winter

ponders That's interesting. I have no idea how much wattage mine is, but I usually leave mine on overnight and have done for years. The added bonus of waking up with no condensation throughout the house and no wringing wet windowsills is great!!!
I'm on Economy 7 tariff so doesn't cost that much to run at night...plus any washing on the clothes horse dries overnight too.

We never had central heating when I was growing up (I'm 34). We did lots of the things that had been mentioned already.

• no heating in bedrooms, just close the curtains and plenty of blankets on the bed. Hot water bottle or elec blanket to warm to bed (but only on for short period of time to warm the bed).

• kids got dressed downstairs in front of the gas fire, bathroom was warmed for bathtime once a week (quick blast with fan heater).

• only living room heated by gas fire, no heat source anywhere else save for the odd exception (see below).

It's possible to manage without and not spend a fortune on electrical heating. Not sure how expensive the oil filled radiator would be. For exceptional depth of winter freezing temperatures my parents would put one on in the hall because it warmed the upstairs too. But not all the time. Even now I can't bear to sleep in a warm bedroom. It's so uncomfy! I'm much rather go to bed in a jumper and be able to see my breath!

You know what I find one of the worst things about winter???

The time between jumping out of the hot bath/shower and being fully dressed again. Brrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

I'm with mumslife on this one, there will be people and children for whom sleeping fully clothed huddled together with the cat during the day just to keep warm just is not fun or right. These posts are a bit different to turning down the thermostat a couple of degrees to save energy.
Cold weather allowances for the less well off, the vulnerable, those with young children, and the disabled should be brought back. The posts on here wont even be from the poorest in the land.

So can anyone recommend a good dehumidifier? Sorry if it's been mentioned but on my iPhone and there are 200 plus posts to scroll thru. Ta

Thought I was the only one in this position! Our boiler packed up in December last winter and we just cannot afford to have it replaced.

Firstly, agree with everyone who mentioned dehumidifiers. I put ours on for about an hour each morning and bring our humidity down to 60% or thereabouts. Makes it feel 100x warmer! Without it, with no real heating, the house would be dripping wet.

Also, cannot recommend these highly enough. They are dirt cheap to buy, cheap to run (low setting is only 400W) and take the chill out of the room beautifully. As long as I can be in one room that is not too freezing I'm fine. If I need the loo I can run!

DD2 is sleeping in bed with me at the moment for warmth. DH works nights and comes in in the morning and takes her place. He commented today it's like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!

At the moment I'm aiming for no less than 16 degrees in the day in the room I'm in. But as the winter goes on I know we will toughen up. By the end of last winter anything over 11 felt quite toasty and I was sweltering in other people's houses!

I'd recommend a cheap weather station that tells you internal and external temp and humidity. We got one for £12 from Lidl and I keep an eye on it constantly.

loolystix I got this one from meaco who I found brilliant. I was lucky and paid less than this as they upgraded me for free because of stock issues. It was a couple of years ago now and despite being priceyish, (I thought for a long time before spending out) has been worth every single penny.

They save you £££ in heating bills because dry air feels warmer and is easier to heat than damp air. I LOVE mine.

sorry, lollystix

\link{http://www.amazon.co.uk/Delonghi-148110002-DeLonghi-Compact-Dehumidifier/dp/B000BP81DW/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top\this is the one I linked to before, lollystix} but only based on amazon reviews, not a personal recommendation

\link{http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0030LYY12\The one I have is working really well} but it's tiny & only really suitable for a small space like an understairs cupboard, not for a whole house

twinklytroll my selfish self would rather not pay more tax. I struggle to pay my bills as it is. As much as I would love to be charitable I can't afford to.

There was something on the news here (ni) about Credit Unions offering a £500 fuel loan, which would be paid back over 6 months at a really low interest rate. Does this exist in England?

I have already taped up my back door with sellotape, we also tape up the letterbox on a night with maskin tape. We have awful drafts. Our back hallway is already warmer due to not using the back door and keeping it taped up. Close all vents in windows and if you can tape up any air vents too.