☀️🌡️We Need Your Help - Share Your Summer Experience! The Cost of Summer Heatwaves ☀️🌡️

Community_Scope
Community_Scope Posts: 2,398 Online Community Team
edited September 2025 in Everyday life

We know that life costs when you're disabled and when we think about the rising energy costs, most of us jump straight to winter. It makes sense because we naturally think about things like heating, longer nights and staying warm.

But what about summer? What about during heatwaves?

In a recent survey conducted by Scope, it was revealed that more disabled people worry about hot weather than about cold weather.

Here’s more findings...

☀️75% said hot weather seriously affects their condition

☀️68% said they limit using electric cooling equipment like fans because they’re worried about the cost

☀️ 44% said their water bills go up in summer

☀️28% said their energy bills increase in the summer too

☀️Data from Scope’s Disability Energy service revealed summer energy debt rose by a massive 143% between 2023 and 2024!!


We’d love to hear from you and it would be really helpful if you could let us know about your experiences…

☀️Do you find summer harder than winter when it comes to managing costs?

☀️Have you had to cut back on fans, cooling devices or water use during heatwaves?

☀️Do you feel like it's more expensive to stay warm or stay cool?

Scope has a free Disability Energy Support service that can help if you're feeling the pressure

disclaimer -this is a small sample survey and not representative of all disabled people.

A photo of a boiling hot sun
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Comments

  • Albus_Alumni
    Albus_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 11,373 Championing

    We've ended up cutting back on other things, just so we can try and keep the house cooler. It's not great for our conditions to be getting too hot, especially as we're both on SSRIs and thus our engines tend to run a bit hotter.

    I find staying warmer is cheaper, as we can throw on extra jumpers etc. If it's too hot, we have to rely on electrical items more. And our houses are built to retain heat.

  • Mary_Scope
    Mary_Scope Posts: 5,205 Scope Online Community Children and Family Specialists

    I remember a side effect of one of my nans medication was that she was always boiling so she always had a fan plugged on from about March to late October and I imagine that cost a hefty chunk of money in the summer for her!

  • Jetty
    Jetty Community Member Posts: 14 Connected

    Thank your for this thread, I live in a new(ish) build and it gets extremely hot in the Summer. It was nearly 28 degrees this morning when I walked into my living room. I have a portable A/C which costs around 25p an hour to run and my water usage goes up too.

    I find it much easier to cope in winter without too many added costs as I can wear a jumper and I don't really get cold.

  • Hopeless
    Hopeless Community Member, Scope Member Posts: 1,034 Pioneering

    I consider myself very lucky as the council put solar panels on my roof (I get to use the free electricity but they get the price of any extra sent back to the grid). It means that electric fans in the current heatwave don’t cost me anything during the day!

  • EssieMajoria
    EssieMajoria Community Member Posts: 1 Listener

    My studio flat gets unbearably hot in summer, coz it's south facing & has vaulted ceilings, so there's nothing to buffer the heat from the roof. I coped the first couple of years here coz I was working & spent most of my day in an air conditioned car. Now I'm unable to work, it became clear that I'd have to do more than just use a fan. I bought a portable air conditioning unit & whilst it's still warm in here, it's nowhere near as bad as it was without it. Prior to buying the AC unit, I gave serious thought to buying an extension lead to reach to the bottom of my stairs & throwing all my sofa cushions & pillows down there so I could sleep down there, as whether it's summer or winter, it's usually around 15°c down there.

    During winter, I don't use my heating, coz I get too hot. I use a small fan heater briefly when I get out of the shower. The rest of the time, I just wear a big fleece hoodie.

    So I definitely use more energy during summer than in winter.

  • chiarieds
    chiarieds Community Member Posts: 17,413 Championing

    I've just bought a small USB desktop fan, & it's lovely running at it lowest setting directed at my face! It's still at least 30 degrees in here with the blinds closed all day, so it's much needed. Pleased it likely doesn't cost much to run.

    Winter is also much more expensive for me as we don't have mains gas & have to use LPG, & then our Park Home site manager has a business tariff for electricity which we pay him back quarterly, so that's more expensive than many homes.

    The benefit of having a south facing lounge with patio doors helps in winter, just not during these heatwaves!

  • claireclaire76
    claireclaire76 Community Member Posts: 6 Listener

    I’m a larger lady going through the menopause I’m struggling a lot as most days I need 2 showers in this heat my issue is more getting in and out the bath to shower my mobility is quite bad especially my knees , I also recently purchased a Dyson fan ( hot and cold ) love the sunshine but it doesn’t love me , im using more energy as bedding and towels are getting washed weekly due to sweating and bathing more often . .

  • WhatThe
    WhatThe Community Member, Scope Member Posts: 6,040 Championing
    edited July 2025

    Some of these results and responses surprise me! Most of my gas costs are the standing charges and I cook less, use cool or cold water and don't use heating in hot weather. My QUIET fan is rechargeable and costs nothing to run (£25 purchase price) nor does it create heat in operation.

    Don't other people also cook outdoors and eat picnic food in the summer thereby saving money?

    Like EssieMajoria, I'm under a roof with 10 vaulted walls making it a heat trap. Thanks to Albus, I now know that my SSRI's make me sweat more than I should and it's not pleasant. Even so, my face used to turn bright red after swimming training when no-one else's did 🤡

  • Amaya_Ringo
    Amaya_Ringo Community Member Posts: 408 Championing

    I contribute towards household bills as where I live right now is not my own home but with family.

    I struggle a lot with heat - both functionally and physically. I don't have any physical health conditions, but as an autistic person I have issues with managing temperature and I find it really hard to function when it's super-hot. My bedroom has been up to 30 degrees yesterday. If I close the curtains and windows, my room still heats up and I can't breathe so I end up just leaving them open. Better hot and light than hot and dark and stuffy :/

    I have two fans in my room. I would love AC but it's not practical where I live. My room is super insulated as well so great in winter but not in summer. I am absolutely using more water to stay cool, and am worried a bit about not only the bills but also if we have a hosepipe ban or other restrictions going forward. I feel guilty using so much water during a heatwave but at the same time, I don't have another option.

    The other day I ended up stuck on a broken down bus for an hour coming home from work. It was very hot. Outside was 29 at the time, on the bus was probably middle thirties at the very least. It broke down in a very sunny place and we had to wait for a replacement bus. So by the time I got home I was very uncomfortable. The problem is that home is so warm, there's just nowhere to hide from it :(

    My workplace has sort of air conditioning and is actually less stressful because it's open and airy, but so far most of the really hot days we've had have been on non working days so I've been stuck in my room, using too much water, running two fans and trying not to implode :/

  • michael57
    michael57 Community Member Posts: 3,275 Championing

    The money we save in the summer far outways the cost of what we use in the winter the standing charge is way more than we use

  • eshitaamit
    eshitaamit Community Member Posts: 4 Connected

    Thank you for sharing these findings. It’s concerning how hot weather affects disabled individuals both physically and financially. Many have to limit their use of fans or air conditioning due to rising energy costs, which are crucial for health during heatwaves.

    In my experience, summer can often present more challenges than winter when it comes to managing comfort and health. The rising temperatures make it imperative to stay cool, as excessive heat can pose significant health risks, particularly for vulnerable populations. However, this necessity often leads to skyrocketing energy bills, placing an additional burden on many households.

  • bookrabbit
    bookrabbit Community Member Posts: 281 Pioneering

    I feel dreadful when I get too hot, and I have to sit upstairs because I can't get up the stairs to the toilet fast enough. So I bought a portable air conditioner with my back payment of PIP after the tribunal. It has it's own battery so I charge it when it's cheap and stay cool and comfortable without it costing that much. It's a heat pump that will do heating in the winter too so I am in the cosy tariff from Octopus and only pay an average of 15p per kWh. Smart tariffs are the way to go and batteries to take advantage of them are an excellent investment. My electricity bill is only £40 a month for a 2 bedroom house and there isn't any gas so that's it for energy costs.

    People shouldn't be afraid of running fans. A typical fan only uses round 4 to 12 watts and barely costs anything. Again rechargeable ones can be charged off peak to further reduce that.You could run a fan for a year for what one shower costs!! Use your fan, stay cool. When it's really hot you can make your own air conditioner by putting frozen bottle of water in front of it on a saucer to catch the drips of condensation.

    White curtains in south facing windows will help a lot, even just nets so it needn't be dark.

  • birdwatcher
    birdwatcher Community Member Posts: 187 Empowering

    I love the hot weather! My arthritis is bad and I find it helps my joints a bit.

    I'm housebound so might see it differently if I was out and about in it. I have got a fan though and have put it on but only for my dog's comfort. When it comes to cost I'm probably better off in summer than winter. Obviously not putting the heating on . I also work on the theory that we get more rubbish weather in this country than we do nice so I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts

  • WhatThe
    WhatThe Community Member, Scope Member Posts: 6,040 Championing

    Here’s more findings...

    ☀️75% said hot weather seriously affects their condition

    Yes, seriously! Only just out of the latest heatwave. I had some outbursts last week which leave me ashamed and thinking I shouldn't be out in public. Yet I need to get outdoors for all kinds of reasons. Glad there's a breeze and cooler air now. I need to cook and eat some proper food instead of peanut butter toast which I love, just not twice a day..

    I have all the ingredients and though I don't like the mess I make, preparing the veg is a form of colour therapy. It's a slow-cooker job so minimal steam, heat or cost and ready meals for the week!

  • WhatThe
    WhatThe Community Member, Scope Member Posts: 6,040 Championing
    edited August 2025

    Thanks, Ranald! I'd love to sit in a park and scream but suspect I'd be carted away..

    My outbursts always involve other people 😥 so it's on buses or in shops and even the food bank. No matter how prepared I think I am, I sometimes can't control my reactions to other people's noise, like yelling or phones on loudspeaker or selfish behaviour.

    I was called a "weirdo" by someone next to me on the bus, then her mother behind me stuck her nail in my neck so I whacked her with my straw hat and got thrown off the bus. I've learned to come home, cry and get back out the next day but I dislike the unpredictable nature of my autism.

  • WhatThe
    WhatThe Community Member, Scope Member Posts: 6,040 Championing

    It tests other people too; I see it on their faces. Sometimes I think it's London and that I shouldn't be living here. Most of the time though, I like this community and my surroundings.

    I can filter out aircraft noise and sirens but it's human voices which send me over the edge. It's not going to go away so I may have to, especially if extreme heat becomes the norm down South.

  • WhatThe
    WhatThe Community Member, Scope Member Posts: 6,040 Championing

    It happened in an instant (the loss of inhibition). I love my straw hat and would never knowingly bring it to harm 😉

    I'm beginning to regret taking myself off the ADHD assessment waiting list in case there is medication that would help me. I think I was afraid to go through it all in case there isn't one. I'm sure they understand indecision.

  • 66Mustang
    66Mustang Community Member Posts: 15,485 Championing

    @WhatThe

    I never read about your outbursts before but I can get that, especially the bit about it being caused by humans!! I think with autism we often struggle with uncertainty, even if certainty means ruling out the better outcomes rather than ruling out the bad ones

    I can kinda relate with triggers, like it's always stuff most people don't get, but I'm fine with "bad" stuff. I came out of visiting my granny, she is in a very very bad way physically and is bed-bound to what will probably be her deathbed…but on the way to the car some teenagers looked at me and laughed (probably not even at me), and that set me into a spiral of bad thinking which ended in distress!!

  • WhatThe
    WhatThe Community Member, Scope Member Posts: 6,040 Championing

    66Mustang, I'm sad to hear about your dear granny. I recognise your stoicism. Triggers are so unpredictable, that's what's scary.

    I don't usually go into detail - it was like a confession! I didn't want the confrontation involved with an assessment but I need to take responsibility for my behaviour if I can't control it. The heat was a factor but only one factor.

    Good to talk. Take care 🤗

  • 66Mustang
    66Mustang Community Member Posts: 15,485 Championing

    @WhatThe

    I love that attitude, I hope that doesn't sound patronising, just it's refreshing in a world where many people use their condition as an excuse. I think there's a big difference between an excuse and an explanation, if that makes sense? Like you I often feel I need to take responsibility for my actions, even if not entirely in my control. My family know me well enough not to define me by them but strangers wouldn't I guess. 😊

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