Is your heating ON or OFF?

HouseMartin567

For those that use desiccant dehumidifiers, has anyone worked out the cost v gas central heating (noting that costs will depend on your elec/gas rate)?

I have a dehumidifier which I do use when drying clothes indoors in the winter, but I feel that using it everyday would be really costly.

I assume that central heating is better for heating multiple rooms, but if you only wanted to heat one room then the dehumidifier may do the trick.

Swipe

@HouseMartin567 I have a Meaco DD8L Junior and it uses approx 300kWh on the low setting and 600kWh on the normal setting and maybe 30kwh for the fan so you can crunch some numbers based on those figures. I use it overnight on E7 cheap rate so the cost is not really an issue for me. However, at my previous bungalow I had another Meaco DD8L and did run it for hours on end on the low setting for about 10 years on a single rate electric tariff (until it packed up) to keep the damp away and take the chill off the unheated hallway. My main heating there was a couple of aircon heat humps rather than gas.

Wednesday2000

It feels a bit nippy today but I am in the South facing side of the house at the moment so I'm getting free sunshine to warm me up.🤩

Rosa_Damascena

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82176769#Comment_82176769

It is delightfully sunny today - if I can finish early I shall get a bit more done in the garden. Until then I am staying put in my north facing office, albeit with 2 jumpers on.

I watched this last night with a touch of envy. I don't think I've got what it takes to freeze for 2 winters!: https://www.channel4.com/programmes/grand-designs/on-demand/76194-008

TheGrubbyGardener

We've been in our new (200 year old) cottage for just over two years and haven't had central heating for the last two winters. The very old (early 80s, I believe) boiler died just after our first Christmas here and as we're reconfiguring the layout, we didn't get round to replacing it yet 😆

Fortunately we had a wood burner installed in November 2024 and also treated ourselves to a cute little Everhot electric heater that you can heat food in too.

Anyway, the other evening we lit the wood burner for the first time this year, but today's brilliantly sunny so I'm making the most of it, sewing in the south facing snug!

ET22

Back to get some handy hints. One thing I did do was check how much my appliances cost to run by putting the make and model into chat gpt to get the answer. I am frightened about putting my electric only heating on so for now its just a dressing gown indoors and a heated throw. Cant imagine I will be putting it on til November or hopefully mid December

itsthelittlethings

It's come on today, set to come on at 19. Ticking away in the background. It's set for morning and evening and a bit in the afternoon at weekends I think.

itsthelittlethings

ET22 my hint is to use community warm spaces like community centres where you should be able to get a hot drink for say £1.50 if that is your kind of thing, maybe some activities. Also if you are in a big town the library is warm and sometimes they have magazines or you can look through books.

Rosa_Damascena

Yesterday felt so miserable, we didn't have the worst of it here but it was bad enough. One solid drenching was enough to have me wrapped up in thermal and wolly layers, I didn't want to budge from home after that.

I have recently found a bowl of shredded wheat with hot milk to be an inexpensive and effective alternative to heating.

Wednesday2000

Mine is off at the moment, but I have started wearing my winter furry lined bootie slippers in the house instead of my flip flops.