I can't afford to heat my home

24

Comments

  • Spendless
    Spendless Posts: 24,148 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    Hi - I stumbled on your thread by chance, and whilst I can't give you much advice, I wanted to say that I spent a majority of my childhood living in a house with no CH. As kids we always had a dressing gown and slippers and would wear these over PJ's. We'd make sure we took these into bathroom with us, too cold to be wandering round house with just a towel.The upstairs was so cold in winter that mum and kids dressed in the living room in the morning - a habit I find hard to break even now with my own kids:o . We had hot water bottles too, though I find duvets much warmer than the old sheets and blankets.

    Hope that helps - even a little.
  • Magentasue
    Magentasue Posts: 4,229 Forumite
    Francesanne wrote: »
    I was brought up in a house with no central heating, no storage heaters, no double glazing and none of us froze to death. We had a paraffin heater in the bathroom in the winter but that was almost useless. It actually makes you pretty hardy and never suffered with too many colds.

    Hmm, can't say it worked on me!. As a family, we were always getting ill. And nobody who knows me would call me pretty hardy. I hate being cold and my brothers have grown up the same. That said, as children, we just accepted it as the way it was. Just like spendless said, we used to dress in front of the (only) gas fire in the living room. When my children were babies, I'd always take them downstairs to for changing their nappy and getting dressed. Never thought of it as a throwback to those childhood mornings, but I suppose it was.
  • Poppycat
    Poppycat Posts: 19,913 Forumite
    First Post Combo Breaker First Anniversary
    I was the same too, it didn't do me any harm. The main concern though in a very cold house is damp, mould

    I remember the days living in a 1970's, in a 1950 concrete pre-fab shivering in bed. the only heat was a 2 bar electric fire
    Francesanne wrote: »
    I was brought up in a house with no central heating, no storage heaters, no double glazing and none of us froze to death. We had a parafin heater in the bathroom in the winter but that was almost useless. It actually makes you pretty hardy and never suffered with too many colds. Just dress the kids in plenty of layers and make sure they have a hot meal and plenty of hot drinks when it's really cold. Depending of the ages of the children you could use hot water bottles in their beds. I can't bear a hot bedroom and never have my storage heater on because I wake up with a headache if it's too hot.
  • woofwoofwoof
    woofwoofwoof Posts: 244 Forumite
    buckaroo wrote: »
    I have considered the budget accounts for oil, but I don't have the money to purchase the first lot of oil upfront. I've looked at boilerjuice and they have quoted me £300 for 500 litres. I've also looked into how long that is likely to last me and it seems not very long! I can only afford to put by £50 a month towards oil and I don't think that is anywhere near enough.

    I have oil central heating and pay £50 per month by direct debit. You should be able to buy less than 500 litres 'to get you started', once you've done this £50.00 should be ample. We run the heating for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening. The hour in the morning heats up the water and takes the chill off the air (the hour in the evening is just so I can annoy the OH:rotfl: ). Can you and the kids not take short showers? If the children are little, what about a baby bath you'd use less water and need to heat less. Also, if you do go down the direct debit route don't forget to phone around a few suppliers before you order the next load of oil and your supplier should match the cheapest price - ours does. By the way, good luck and happiness in your new home:j
    :hello:
  • sscrabble
    sscrabble Posts: 115 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    I am a 55 year old bloke living alone have moved into a three bedroom semi that has gas central heating and is double glazed. There are no fires or anything in any of the rooms. I will spend all my waking hours in the kitchen diner and am just trying to plan ahead. What would my best and most cost effective plan be for winter - to turn all my radiators off except the one in the kitchen, and leave that on 24 hours? - or get some kind of electric heater ( and if so what type?) - or put the oven on and leave the door open or use the gas lights on the hob? Water is not a problem as it is a combi boiler.
  • Steel_2
    Steel_2 Posts: 1,649 Forumite
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Could you afford to get a secondhand wood burner from ebay and get it fitted?

    They kick out loads of head and will burn waste wood, which you could get for free from carpenters?
    "carpe that diem"
  • Skintmama
    Skintmama Posts: 471 Forumite
    Buckaroo - It does seem dreadful that the oil prices are putting people in your situation. I am trying to keep our consumption down but will still use some as necessary.

    A few thoughts: If you have neighbours who are buying oil, combine your delivery with theirs as it brings the price of a 500 litre order down. It is best for everyone to shop around now as on the day of ordering there can be a difference of several pence per litre between oil companies.

    If you are going for the no heating route (I'd suggest though that you try for an hour a day to air and take the chill off) then make sure you open the windows as much as possible on dry and sunny days to avoid dampness and allow air to circulate. I speak from soggy Devon!

    I find an electric radiator useful as it has a thermostat, so can keep my large sitting room warm when we do not have wood for a fire, without making too much difference to our electricity bill.

    Bodywarmers are great, as they keep me cosy without feeling restrictive or bundled up.

    I run a bath a little ahead of time to warm the bathroom up and leave it as previously suggested but with the window open a touch.

    Having one warm room to retreat to makes all the difference between feeling okay and being miserable, so I hope you are able to manage something for you and your family.
  • Skintmama
    Skintmama Posts: 471 Forumite
    sscrabble - I would have thought that an electric radiator would suit you best as well as dressing warmly. It is a dry heat so won't give you problems with condensation. I also think it sensible to occasionally run your gas central heating in the very coldest weather to make sure all is in order and prevent damp problems.
  • Gangstabird
    Gangstabird Posts: 1,920 Forumite
    sscrabble wrote: »
    I am a 55 year old bloke living alone have moved into a three bedroom semi that has gas central heating and is double glazed. There are no fires or anything in any of the rooms. I will spend all my waking hours in the kitchen diner and am just trying to plan ahead. What would my best and most cost effective plan be for winter - to turn all my radiators off except the one in the kitchen, and leave that on 24 hours? - or get some kind of electric heater ( and if so what type?) - or put the oven on and leave the door open or use the gas lights on the hob? Water is not a problem as it is a combi boiler.

    Get a calor Gas heater, as you are a bloke living alone, it would be perfect for you. Don't forget to put a china bowl of water on the top, to stop condensation, no idea how this works but it does.
  • Summercherry
    Summercherry Posts: 58 Forumite
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    buckaroo wrote: »
    I have recently moved to a 4 bed, rented house that has oil central heating.

    I have come to the conclusion that I can't afford to use oil, I am a single parent and I would struggle severely to put 500 litres in the tank.

    I am currently heating my hot water with the immersion heater on the occasions when we need a bath.

    I've been looking at other ways of keeping the house warm and was thinking of buying some sort of electric heater. I am considering a halogen heater, as these seem fairly cheap to buy and give out a fairly instant heat. I am slightly worried about the safety implications though with 4 kids running around.

    I'd appreciate any suggestions on keeping my house warm this winter. I've already purchased warm pyjamas, dressing gowns and slippers for the kids but any other tips would be great.

    TIA.

    Although I can't help you with your oil, I just wanted to say that I have a couple of those halogen heaters and they come in very handy. They heat up immediately and give off alot of heat. I have kids and if they are knocked over they usually have a cut off switch at the bottom so they turn off automatically. If you are worried about the kids touching it why not buy a second hand fire guard and put the heater behind it. They give off so much light that I don't need to have any lights on in the room either so saving on the electricity cost that way. Hope this helps. Also just as an after thought why not buy kids hot water bottles/PJ's etc for the kids as Christmas/birthday prezzies so you are "killing 2 birds with one stone" as it were.
    Time for a fresh start Debt:1/7/10 £34'741
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