Heating - Who's either not putting any heating on or barely?

charl1980

Who's either not putting any heating on or barely? Interesting, if u do how much is it costing you, I'm in a small flat only have four radiators on turn spare room off,
We worked it out useing Google £2.06 per hour we use one hour a night on 18 degrees to take chill off no more

charl1980

We are in a housing association flat and dispite been disability, we don't get grant 150 as the flat is energy efficient, c , we get cost of living payment but we need for other expenses, we doing everything from dehumidifier at night few hours to dry laundry to eco setting on washer, I'm reduced my baths to three per week, 
We useing cost of living to install a basic shower unit, and tile walls

poppy123456

I keep mine on and it comes on when it drops below 20 degrees. Saturday it cost me £1.67. At the moment i turn it off when i go to bed. When it gets a little colder i will leave it on all and the thermostat controls it. My boiler is only 4 years old so that does help a lot. I live in a 2 bed house with 5 radiators, which are all on.

Luchia

We keep ours set to 20C at all times, 6 Radiators in the home(2 Bedroom Bungalow) which are all on, From the 9th of October until now it’s cost £15(including Standing Charges) but the bungalow has all the modern insulation etc so stays nice and warm for very little cost, we also have a brand new boiler which is less than a year old.

Albus_Scope

We keep ours set to 18C at all times.  We had a mold issue, so need to keep things at 18 or above and fairly stable. Plus the dehumidifier needs to come out too. 

OverlyAnxious

I've managed without any heat in the main room so far (studio flat).  It is chilly but thick jumper during the day and duvet at night are making it manageable.

Have had the shower room storage heater on for the last couple of weeks.  Oddly this months electric bill was almost identical to last months.  Just 20p different.  I guess that's due to the drop in 'night rate' which it runs on rather than it not using much electric.

66Mustang

We have it set to come on if it drops below 18 degrees at any point in the day, during the night it's allowed to drop below this.

I live in a ~40 year old 3 bedroom house with my family and it cost us around £70 last month, over the coldest months it's around £140. We pay the same each month though, so we overpay over summer then underpay and use our credit up over winter. I used some of my cost of living payments to top up the account and we also topped it up in the 2 months where there is no council tax to pay.

If I lived alone though I would do without the heating, in fact at home my bedroom radiator is turned down to just above being off, and I keep my window open. I prefer being on the colder side than too hot.

66Mustang

PS I am not an engineer but I presume you would get increasing returns on the expense if you used the heating for longer. By this I mean, if it costs you £2.06 for the first hour, it will cost far less extra if you keep it on for a second hour. Maybe less than £1. This is because the property is having to warm up from very cold in the first hour, but it's already warmed up at the start of the second hour so you are just using a bit of fuel to keep it stable.

So, might worth having the heat on for a bit longer, don't think it will double the cost if you have it on for double the time.

Apologies if I am stating the obvious!!

Jimm_Scope

Our house was built in the 70s and has fairly poor insulation, the extension is even worse as it appears insulation wasn't even a consideration in it's construction. It can get down to 14C in it and it's where I work so I tend to have to put the heating on for an hour or two in the mornings this past week. 

It's only a timer control, there's no thermostat. Sort of wish there was but we rent so no chance getting it changed really.

cymbalfern

Unfortunately & this is nothing for others to go by it is costing me a small fortune to heat an old semi with a very old boiler. But it’s tough that’s the circumstances & that is that. Life has become really difficult in the cost of living it was bad prior. Oh well all I can really do is have a moan. I do wish I could afford to have a hobby but never mind. It just health struggles & basic miserable survival. At least I still have a shred of sense of humour left for now. 

cymbalfern

Oh and it would be nice if I could actually get new glasses my prescription changed ages ago, but can’t afford new glasses so can’t see properly & my old glasses have loads of scratches on, but I guess I better toughen up more but if the government have their way things are going to get much worse for me.

poppy123456

66Mustang said:

PS I am not an engineer but I presume you would get increasing returns on the expense if you used the heating for longer. By this I mean, if it costs you £2.06 for the first hour, it will cost far less extra if you keep it on for a second hour. Maybe less than £1. This is because the property is having to warm up from very cold in the first hour, but it's already warmed up at the start of the second hour so you are just using a bit of fuel to keep it stable.

So, might worth having the heat on for a bit longer, don't think it will double the cost if you have it on for double the time.

Apologies if I am stating the obvious!!

Exactly. It always costs more to heat from cold because the boiler has to work harder to reach that temp. I did an experiment last year when the cost went through the roof because at first i was scared to put the heating on. After the experiment, i realised it's much cheaper to keep on under control of the thermostat than it was to keep turning it on and off.

My house is 1930/40 so quite cold and i won't be cold for anything as it makes my health conditons much worse.

cymbalfern

Sorry and some more brutal truth I am constantly hungry because I always have to ration my food. Anyway at least I got this off my chest. Great Britain doesn’t feel great at all, maybe it’s just for the rich ?

Hannah_Alumni

We have ours on around 15C at times now. In a unlucky / lucky situation. We needed our apex fixing and new windows putting in and that has helped with the heat so far this year. 

@cymbalfern I am so sorry to hear you are struggling with food. You can always vent here Can I ask, have you spoken to your GP or local authority about the problems you've been having getting enough food? We have a page on accessing free food and food banks, which you might find helpful to read. 

WhatThe

*heat the human not the house*

poppy123456

WhatThe said:

*heat the human not the house*

That doesn't work for me, sadly.

OverlyAnxious

That also leads to damp & mould which exacerbate health issues.  Plus towels and laundry never dry.  In a desperate situation, it's certainly better than nothing, but it's not sustainable long term.

WhatThe

The ONLY thing that leads to damp and mould is lack of ventilation!

vikingqueen

That's not quite right @WhatThe damp can be a structural problem and nothing to do with ventilation. 

poppy123456

WhatThe said:

The ONLY thing that leads to damp and mould is lack of ventilation!

That's clearly not quite right. Not putting the heating on or turning off raditors in rooms can also cause damp and mould. Please do have a read of this https://www.cse.org.uk/advice/condensation-damp-and-mould/

Heat your home a little more

While you don’t want to waste money heating rooms you don’t use, very cold rooms are more likely to get damp and mould. Set the thermostatic radiator valve to 1 in unused rooms so the radiator gives out a little bit of heat whenever you have the heating on. If you don’t have central heating, consider using a room heater with a timer and temperature control. Remember, unused rooms will need a good airing from time to time.

cymbalfern

I hope everyone keeps warm as best as they can. Especially look after your health. Life is challenging enough when you have health problems and or disabilities. I think everyone deserves to keep well. I know I will be having a lot of hot drinks I find that helps me. Has anyone got any suggestions what they do that helps them keep warm ?