Is your heating ON or OFF?

charybdis26

@ RHemmings - I had a 3 month holiday at the end of November 2019 to the 3rd week of February 2020 and just left the thermostat at 11C throughout my absence, so my CH would have kicked in if the house fell below that setpoint.

It used no more than ca 400 kWh in total, so worth the cautionary approach to stave off the threat of returning to a house flooded by burst pipes.

Actual consumption will depend on your location and how well your property is insulated. I live in a semi in the south of England, have external wall and good loft insualtion plus double glazing throughout, but  if you're living in a single-glazed crofter's cottage in the Highlands of Scotland...
 

My choice, but I havent had any form of heating on since mid-February last year and even though I'm into the 3rd day of this current cold snap, the coldest part of the house dipped to 9.5C first thing this morning, but with today's strong sunshine my living room is a comfy 14C and rising.

I expect to put the CH on if there are several successive days of no sunshine and cold temps, but it's been one of the mildest winters I can recall of late.

Wednesday2000

The sun makes such a difference in my house on the south facing side. I put the heating on to dry some clothes and tea towels on the radiators. I will have it on for an hour or two.

I did just get my Ovo bill though the letterbox and we used £50 less energy in December compared to November.🤔 November must have been a lot colder. I can't remember now.

luvchocolate

I had to give in yesterday at 12 noon..the heating came on at 12 degrees which is too cold. 
I ached and had headache and a dry cough 
Tested positive for Covid so somehow don't feel bad about having heating on now 👌 

Cherryfudge

I seem to remember a cold snap and snow... I think that was November, since when it's been relatively mild.

I was out and about over lunchtime - cold and wet to start with, then the sun came out which brought the temperature up a degree or so. Indoors at home it was 13.5 so I've lit a fire and will be doing a bit of baking.

mjm3346

Wednesday2000 said:

The sun makes such a difference in my house on the south facing side. I put the heating on to dry some clothes and tea towels on the radiators. I will have it on for an hour or two.

I did just get my Ovo bill though the letterbox and we used £50 less energy in December compared to November.🤔 November must have been a lot colder. I can't remember now.

I agree the sun makes such a difference, backdoor is now in shade as it starts to spread across the windows as well but temp had risen from 42 peaking at 53.

I would be very happy to use £50 less electric a month as my DD is £58 and struggling to keep usage down to that after the Jan price increase and the cold snap (at least price cap is expected to fall in April)

Rosa_Damascena

Finally got the smartmeter installed today - not at home atm but I can see how easy it will be to become obsessed with watching the pennies clock up! I was left with 3 top tips for energy saving:

• don't overfill the kettle, just heat what you need (doesn't apply to me now)
• don't leave lights on (guilty I'm afraid as I have been known to fall asleep under my throws whilst reading a book)
• the ideal room temperature is...(I don't know what, as I am heating myself rather than the room).

I felt the chill outside today, probably because I wasn't walking. On the plus side, 2 loads of washing were 65% dry thanks to the breeze. A bit of heat inside will finish them off nicely. 

MikeyPGT

Rosa_Damascena said:

Finally got the smartmeter installed today - not at home atm but I can see how easy it will be to become obsessed with watching the pennies clock up! I was left with 3 top tips for energy saving:

• don't overfill the kettle, just heat what you need (doesn't apply to me now)
• don't leave lights on (guilty I'm afraid as I have been known to fall asleep under my throws whilst reading a book)
• the ideal room temperature is...(I don't know what, as I am heating myself rather than the room).

I felt the chill outside today, probably because I wasn't walking. On the plus side, 2 loads of washing were 65% dry thanks to the breeze. A bit of heat inside will finish them off nicely. 

I've got Agile Octopus and combined with the Loop app that updates a couple of times a day I'm totally obsessed - even down to having a spreadsheet to watch where every penny is going!

Cherryfudge

Our heating is ON! Sorry about the capitals - I'm rejoicing that the boiler is working again and I can once again move around the house in comfort. I'm very thankful it's working before the next cold spell kicks in - it's not just about comfort, its things like getting the washing dry, and fending off damp.

Rosa_Damascena

On, most definitely on but I didn't flick that switch until about 6.30pm today and I'll be switching it off and crawling under the heated blanket shortly.

I had a super hot bath followed by a long session with the hairstyler to get my hair straight (and save a lot of time next week) and the smart meter jumped up by £1 over the course of that hour. So no more washing for a fortnight at least .

Wednesday2000

Rosa_Damascena said:

I had a super hot bath followed by a long session with the hairstyler to get my hair straight (and save a lot of time next week) and the smart meter jumped up by £1 over the course of that hour. So no more washing for a fortnight at least .

You reminded me that I have to book a hair session next week or the next. Pierre & James.