Is your heating ON or OFF?

RobM99

Never dis' a hot water bottle! Big or small, love them all. HWB rights! Rubber Lives Matter!

Cherryfudge

I'm another who puts an extra spin on after running the washer. For some reason my washing machine's 30 minute programme won't do a good fast spin so it becomes a 46 minute programme as I add a one. It's worth it as it makes such a difference to the drying.

I wonder if they still make spin dryers? I had one in the early days of being married (late 80s) and they were rare then, but oh-so-useful.

Primrose

Cherryfudge said:

I'm another who puts an extra spin on after running the washer. For some reason my washing machine's 30 minute programme won't do a good fast spin so it becomes a 46 minute programme as I add a one. It's worth it as it makes such a difference to the drying.

I wonder if they still make spin dryers? I had one in the early days of being married (late 80s) and they were rare then, but oh-so-useful.

I Googled and yes, a few models are still available. I had  one too when we were first married living in an upstairs flat with no space or money  for a washing machine.  I did my big wash in the bath and the spin dryer extracted an awful lot of moisture before I hung the washing on two lines hanging over the bath with the bathroom window open whenever practical. .  Couldn,t have managed without it especially for big/thick items like sheets and towels.  A lot more practical than the big mangle my mum had in my childhood when drying any laundry, especially in winter without central heating was a nightmare.

YorksLass

RobM99 said:

Never dis' a hot water bottle! Big or small, love them all. HWB rights! Rubber Lives Matter!

During my annual review telephone consultation today with Diabetes Nursie, I was advised not to use a hot water bottle for cold feet.  Reason being that diabetics can have reduced sensation in their feet and potentially burn the skin that leads to blisters that could then turn into ulcers.  After having seen the problems my late DF had with leg ulcers in his last years, I wouldn't want to tempt fate.    

I have an ancient Servis spin dryer that's given me years of good service and it still gets used for small hand-wash loads.  I too remember my DM using a heavy mangle and drying washing on a clothes horse in front of the coal fire during winter.  That said, I don't think our clothes were washed as often then, nor did we have as many!  

Heating is now permanently on the timer spread out over 4 hours a day and it won't be long before it gets another hour's boost in the evenings.  Today here is foggy, miserable, chilly and forecast to be so for the next 10 days.  Yikes!

RobM99

Good point re: hot bottles, although anything involving lots of heat has its own hazards. Maybe a thick cover would help as it then insulates and stays warmer for longer too.

Rosa_Damascena

I'm now seriously PO'd - have just submitted my latest meter readings and am stunned by the cost given my usage is so low. I had my heating on for less than 15 hours this month and the cost is baffling. I may be irritated by it, but I am all too aware that others are much worse off and I cannot imagine the stress they are going through. The heating is staying off until this weekend at least. January and Feb will be the coldest months so I'll just have to bite the bullet for the next 3 months.

It occurred to me that aside from the obvious NIMBY argument, I don't understand why the government has resisted investing in onshore windpower. Yes it will generate less energy than offshore, but it feels inherently better for the environment than nuclear power or fracking: https://www.brunel.net/en/blog/renewable-energy/onshore-offshore-wind#:~:text=Disadvantages of offshore wind&text=Creating the infrastructure for offshore,complex, especially over deeper waters.&text=Sea waves and very high,maintenance than their onshore counterparts. 

YoungBlueEyes

This is the dreadful thing about energy bills. With the standing charge being high you're in for a big bill whether you've the heating on or not. Comparatively a unit of gas isn't that expensive.

I'm a low user, the SC is the majority of my bill (except in the coldest months). I'd like to see the introduction of a tiered tariff, where the first x units have a cheap SC, then x-y units have a slightly higher SC etc etc.

My heating only goes on in the evenings for a couple of hours. The difference in my bill for having/not having the heat on is quite small. 

So for low users like me - where's the incentive to use less?  Yes in understand Pootin/Ukraine/carbon footprint/environment etc. For most people though I'd say low users/lowering users getting proportionately smaller bills would be a powerful incentive. 

Singlespeeder

YoungBlueEyes said:

This is the dreadful thing about energy bills. With the standing charge being high you're in for a big bill whether you've the heating on or not. Comparatively a unit of gas isn't that expensive.

I'm a low user, the SC is the majority of my bill (except in the coldest months). I'd like to see the introduction of a tiered tariff, where the first x units have a cheap SC, then x-y units have a slightly higher SC etc etc.

My heating only goes on in the evenings for a couple of hours. The difference in my bill for having/not having the heat on is quite small. 

So for low users like me - where's the incentive to use less?  Yes in understand Pootin/Ukraine/carbon footprint/environment etc. For most people though I'd say low users/lowering users getting proportionately smaller bills would be a powerful incentive. 

Surely the incentive is lower bills?
Yes the SC is 'relatively' higher but in reality you're paying the same as the higher users as it's for the infrastructure not the usage. I'm with you on the SC being too high, I struggle to see how they can justify a doubling for a facility that has neither improved nor fluctuated in price.  

We too are very low users .... it's currently 9.7C in my WFH office, I'm sat in a tshirt, a thin jumper, a thick jumper, a thin down jacket, buff, hat, 2 blankets (one is a heated throw and is on). We had the heating on in 2 rooms yesterday for 3 hours because I think the house FELT cold and sort of damp and needed some heat. 
We know the bills will go higher, especially in December when we have the kids coming home for a few days, but we've managed to save a reasonable Winter heating pot (over £1000) and will dip into this as needed.

Our last 2 months combined gas and electric bills have been £23 & £33 after the £66 was deducted which is less than the SC's !

Use less, you'll pay less, that's the incentive.

RobM99

YoungBlueEyes said:

So for low users like me - where's the incentive to use less?  Yes in understand Pootin/Ukraine/carbon footprint/environment etc. For most people though I'd say low users/lowering users getting proportionately smaller bills would be a powerful incentive. 

       I'd guess that most people that can cut back already have but I agree with the principle.

        Some need to be a bit more 'clued-up' as well. "Ooh turn that light off!" doesn't really 'do the do' if it's 4 watt (we are about to receive!) bulb. There are bigger savings than 1/250 KwH I'm sure. Not putting it on might lead to falling down stairs into a spider-filled cellar! (Sorry all, went all Scooby-Doo there).

       Maybe the affluent West has had it too good so far in life (no consolation I know).

YoungBlueEyes

Singlespeeder said:

<snip>
Use less, you'll pay less, that's the incentive.

Yep I agree, using less will be a smaller bill. But to use any less would be unrealistic frankly. Gas does the CH and the shower. Heating is on up to 17' for a couple of hours a night, and the elec oven is very rarely on. I micro/slow-cooker cook, we have fleecy blankets etc. Combi boiler - I shower a couple of times a week, himself nightly but needs to cos of his job, so no fat to trim there. But my point is even if I did cut back a bit my bills would barely drop cos gas/elec per unit is cheap(ish) but the SC doesn't go down.

With the £66 thing, I'm actually making money ha haa!

Also - I love your 4 watt we are about to receive bulb joke Rob, I'm having that