Is your heating ON or OFF?

Primrose

I don' know the answer to your question Swipe. Possibly despite your cavity wall and loft insulation there are more external areas exposed to outside temperatures in your detached bungalow than there would be in a semi detached house where one side is linked to another building. Do you have fitted carpeting in your bungalow? I've been in several homes where they've abandoned carpeting and opted for the modern wood-type flooring and my feet always end up feeling freezing, so perhaps the carpeting provides some good ground insulation. Also, if you've got tall trees near your home which shade the brickwork from what sun there is available, even on a cold day, I suspect that generates some heat for the building which the brickwork can absorb. Perhaps somebody else on here has some other theories.

Swipe

Thanks Primrose. I do have carpet but I do have suspended wooden floors throughout that are quite draughty and breath through lots of air bricks. I've been told that these should not be blocked

welshspendthrift

:eek:My boiler has broken this week so no choice here as cant afford to replace it ( its not repairable!):(

oldMcDonald

A_fiend_for_life wrote: »

Good work bezybee,

I have found this site very useful for adding gas and electricity meter readings:

www.imeasure.org.uk

It's very helpful and produces graphs and energy badges to see how you are doing compared with everyone else.

You add the readings every week.

Don't forget to join the MSE Carbon Club if you do this

I am so determined to get onto that top 5 table! I can see you on it A Fiend For Life - well done:T

oldMcDonald

We are still managing to get by without the heating on, but it is so damp today and I am missing the snuggly feeling of standing in a toasty house looking out onto a dank, damp day! Still, that really is a 'want', rather than a 'need' - we are still able to get by with a couple of layers and a blanket in the evenings at the moment.

culpepper

Ours has been on for 1 hour morning,1 evening for about 2 weeks I think.
The downstairs is around 15-17 degrees mostly .
Upstairs only the bathroom radiator turned on as the towels get left to dry between uses in there.
The hot water is only on for 40 mins in the morning at the moment but will go on for 1hour in the evening too when the kids are home for the hols.

Some houses do tend to be warmer than others due to being in a sunnier position or the windows facing the sun more directly. Terraced houses can pick up some of the next doors heat and upstairs flats too can gain from neighbours heating. Our kitchen gets icy because it is one story built out into the garden and so only part of one wall is non external.

BitterAndTwisted

No heating on at all since about April. The thermostat in the living-room says it's 18 Centigrade and that's comfy even with the window open. Thank goodness for a mild autumn!

A_fiend_for_life

oldMcDonald wrote: »

Don't forget to join the MSE Carbon Club if you do this

I am so determined to get onto that top 5 table! I can see you on it A Fiend For Life - well done:T

Thank you. I think I'll fall off it this week as my carbon emissions jumped from 8 or 9 kg to 27 kg. The indoor temperature dropped to 8C on the Monday morning. Might not be on it this week.

greenbee

Swipe wrote: »

Thanks Primrose. I do have carpet but I do have suspended wooden floors throughout that are quite draughty and breath through lots of air bricks. I've been told that these should not be blocked

Don't block the vents/airbricks with your suspended floors, but it is worth looking into insulating solutions for them. There are plenty of places that will do this for you, or if you're feeling brave you could do DIY...

Insulation from above may be easiest - i.e. carpet with thick underlay (and a layer of newspaper under that).

A_fiend_for_life

welshspendthrift wrote: »

:eek:My boiler has broken this week so no choice here as cant afford to replace it ( its not repairable!):(

Don't know what to suggest. I know very little about different boilers but at the very least I would post make, model, age and possibly nature of fault on either the gas and electricity board or possibly in my home / diy board. I've seen one post in the past where parts are difficult to obtain and so might be 'unrepairable'.

If the concensus is that it is indeed old or unrepairable or parts are difficult to obtain then so be it but no harm in asking on the off chance.

If it is old and sorry looking it might well be worth drawing a line under it.

If it is definately not repairable is this covered in buildings insurance? Again I know little in this matter.

What kind of house do you live in? Do you have insulation or are you eligible for insulation grants? I don't know what you might be eligible for but these options might be worth exploring too. They won't be as effective as having gas central heating to keep warm but they will reduce the cost of using more electricity especially if you qualify for grants.

If your single glazed heavy curtains or backing for existing curtains is an effective measure some people do this with some form of fleecing from one of the supermarkets. Charity shops are worth checking too. Extra curtains made quite a difference for my bedroom. The 'preparing for winter' thread is worth checking on this IIRC.

Draft proofing is worth looking at too and can make quite a difference.

Some people use an electric blanket instead of heating as this reduces consumption compared with heating a whole room. It won't do anything for damp air though airing rooms in the day time will help.