Avoid using GAS and ELECTRIC !

moneysavingfamilycomp

:j yey i got my slow cooker today going to try it out tomorrow make bolognaise enough for tea plus some for freezer if i keep doing this for a few weeks should be able to stock freezer and then not have to cook every night just heat stuff up. does anyone know what the comparisons are for energy usage from using hob/oven or slow cooker.

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

mardatha wrote: »

This thread is magic, making me remember times when my kids were wee, and I sometimes put hats on them in bed, it was so cold. The youngest one was born later and we had heating in that house --he has asthma & I always thought there was a connection.

It's funny you should mention the asthma Mardatha because when my youngest daughter was nine or 10 we got central heating installed.None of my kids had ever been the sickly type however within a couple of weeks of having the heating in my youngest daughter developed asthma,followed by my middle daughter.We never had any asthma in the family on either side before.My GP at the time said that the central heating was a probable cause as he had seen a lot of children from our area who had been developing asthma and the one thing that connected this sudden outbreak was the parents having just got central heating installed.
I think it's just too coincidental to not be true,and look at just how many cases of asthma in children there are now.

debbiemc_2

Hi everyone :wave:

We haven't put the heating on yet either, I'm trying to hold off until 1st November as well. Lots of cups of tea and a fluffy blanket keep me cosy in the evenings and occasionally if I am still chilly I've made up a hot water bottle to snuggle into!

My daughter (3) and myself are both eczema sufferers and I find we both have flare-ups in the winter time - I've always thought the CH was a contributing factor.

The only problem I'm experiencing is finding a "warm" place to leave my bread to rise - I've tried to time bread-making with slow-cooker batch cooking and leaving the dough next to the slow cooker for a bit of warmth! :rolleyes: Any other suggestions?!

Debbie. x

[Deleted User]

wholesale prices of electricity have gone up again

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/utilities/article4864031.ece

time to start drying the twigs for my storm kettle

ceridwen

BrandNewDay wrote: »

MRSTITTLEMOUSE wrote: »

Some people just have different metabolisms and feel the cold more than others. I'm pregnant, now, which really helps. And, I've put on a bit of weight, too.

Years ago, I used to be very, very thin. I worked in an office with several heavyset, menopausal women. They wanted the heat off and the windows open, all the time. This was in Ohio, mind you, where the temperature is below freezing for several months of the year. It could be truly col outside and they'd be fanning themselves, moaning that it was just too hot, oh, somebody call building maintenance and get the heat switched off! :rolleyes:

That is reassuring to hear you say that. I must admit I find it understandable when those more "generously proportioned" than me want a cooler temperature - what did annoy me was the comments about there "must be something wrong with you" because THEY wanted it cooler. I havent had one of those comments for a while - as I've learnt what comments to make back:D I've long since suspected that weight gain acts as an extra "coat" or two and confirmed it when I felt warmer at a point where I was a couple of stone overweight temporarily. I'm not prepared to be overweight to stay warm though - the heating goes on before my weight does. Some things are "cast in stone" to me - and one of them is "My figure is to be slim" no matter what my finances are like.

Can I please put in a plea for anyone sharing a household that is unable to speak for themselves - I know babies have often been mentioned and understandable concern expressed about keeping them warm. Can people please remember their pets need to be warm enough as well - particularly those that are "natives" of warmer climes than these? If an animal or bird species comes from the Tropics - they need a tropical temperature, even if we dont - so please keep the room they are in warm (whatever the temperature is in the rest of the house).

[Deleted User]

having an inner warmth is down to metabolism rather than body fat, taking the menopause and illness out of the picture. Activity fires things up. My dh is a very active (ex racing) cyclist and does 3 long runs a week. He is as thin as a rake but walks around in shorts as he is warm enough. I started to ride a bike almost daily and have felt warmer all day long since I started. I am still plump and was plumper before but was colder before.

My 6 siblings and I came from a poor household but we were active and had no spare flesh. House heating was one fire lit every morning and the rest of the house was freezing. I don`t recollect any one of us 7 being ill through cold and in fact we were extremely healthy. No asthma, poorly babies etc

ch has generally not been good news for health

re damp: the house had a central chimney and leaky doors and windows so there was always a draught and no damp

ceridwen

housebug wrote: »

I know the human race got on w/o central heating and electricty (let's not forget indoor plumbing and the Internet!) in the past. But its the 21st century for Pete's sake. Adequate heat and light should no longer be a luxury, available only to those who can afford to pay for it.

At the end of the day when you've done everything you can to cut back, make do etc.. the fact of the matter is wages simply aren't keeping up with the cost of living.

I'd love for someone to come up with a suggestion to fix that little problem.

Couldnt agree more.

I've not had a deadline in my mind re what date the heating goes on. I've just been taking the view that I will think twice before using any fuel. When my cooker needed replacing I bought an A rated one. When the fridge/freezer needed replacing I bought an A + one. The house was chosen to be a mid-terrace one in the first place when I bought it years ago. I had already swopped all the windows for doubleglazed ones. Its only a small house anyways. So - having done all that and stuck loft insulation in - I thought "what would I think reasonable to expect someone living in that house (ie mine) to use?" and thats what I use. I'm training myself to switch off lights when not in use, I put a throw round myself rather than flip a fire on and have swopped to warm bootee-style slippers and have swopped the fires from fanheaters to halogen heaters. Beyond that - I dont think its reasonable to expect anyone to economise any further - so I dont do so myself. If I need warmth and regard it as reasonable to have some - then I do.

So - the fires have been flipping on and off as required for some weeks now and I've just given in on the heating front - the central heating has just been switched on (hoping that a morning session only will be enough - topped up with fires in the evening).

ceridwen

Daisymac wrote: »

I must be having an angry day because up until now I have been right up for keeping my heating off until November and saving as much as I can and then I started to read the other posters on here and I am no SO angry with this government, people are wrapping up in all sorts of blankets/quilts/gloves/slippers/Hot water bottles/Flannelette sheets and all sorts just to keep warm (me included dont get me wrong here) and the government are doing Bu**er all about it, it is 2008 and my parents are scared to put the heating on, AGHHH it makes me so annoyed, as a starter for 10 I say the government quite free heating fuel to the over 65's, what do you all think ?

Also couldnt agree more - with the proviso that I would think in terms of free fuel for the over 65s having some sort of (annually uprated) income cut-off point: say beneath £15,000 for single pensioners and beneath £25,000 for married pensioners. I would add the proviso that there are some pensioners between 60 and 65 (hence not getting the full "pensioner" income) - so they need appropriately more. There will be people who have retired at 60 and are only getting job pension - as the State pension and OAP tax allowance havent kicked in yet. There will also be those whose job retirement age has been put up to 65 - but they have still retired at 60 and are having to claim unemployment benefit and state that they are "unemployed" (despite being in the retirement age group) - in order to make sure that they still COULD retire at 60, despite their employer moving the goalposts - so I would argue for all retired or "unemployed" people in the 60 plus agegroup to have that (means-tested) free fuel.

cw18

debbiemc wrote: »

The only problem I'm experiencing is finding a "warm" place to leave my bread to rise - I've tried to time bread-making with slow-cooker batch cooking and leaving the dough next to the slow cooker for a bit of warmth! :rolleyes: Any other suggestions?!

Debbie. x

Is yours a combi-boiler? Or is your immersion heater in a silly place (my daughter's is in the roof space )? When I attempt to make by hand which isn't often (better success with my machine) I put mine into the airing cupboard.

oldMcDonald

Ceridwen

I would also be happy for heating allowance to be available for younger than the age is now, I would also like to see it available for people recieving DLA with mobility problems. These people are often unable to move around to keep themselves warm. I very much believe that the heating allowance should be means tested - I have relatives who are in a huge 4 bed detatched house, go on holidays several times a year and are very comfortably off. They refer to their fuel allowance, with a laugh, as their 'winter holiday spending money'.....it really makes me mad:mad: