Is your heating ON or OFF?

greenbee

I've noticed that if I'm here all day I don't generally need to put the heating on in the evening - I open the windows during the day and close them and the curtains when it gets dark.

However, when I come home from being at work all day, the house feels cold, and even though I left the dehumidifier on today, I needed to put the heating on. I can only assume it's due to the heatloss through the uncurtained windows.

However, I suspect when it gets colder, it'll cost me less to heat the house part time than full time (though it'll still be more expensive to drive to and from work than to heat the house!)

Primrose

greenbee - it may also be that the temperature at work is a lot higher than in your house - offices are often grossly overheated - so the temperature difference when you get home seems much greater. I suppose you could leave your curtains closed all day but it might look rather odd and the neighbours might start to wonder whether you're a secret cannabis grower behind all this secrecy, or the burglars might think you are permanently away somewhere and choose to target your property.

Mrs_Thrify

Primrose wrote: »

greenbee - it may also be that the temperature at work is a lot higher than in your house - offices are often grossly overheated - so the temperature difference when you get home seems much greater. I suppose you could leave your curtains closed all day but it might look rather odd and the neighbours might start to wonder whether you're a secret cannabis grower behind all this secrecy, or the burglars might think you are permanently away somewhere and choose to target your property.

Yes, I find the temperature @ work a lot higher than home. At work I walk around in a thin t.shirt and standard black trousers, at home it is a diffrent story.

greenbee

julie_d wrote: »

Yes, I find the temperature @ work a lot higher than home. At work I walk around in a thin t.shirt and standard black trousers, at home it is a diffrent story.

Trust me, it's not that warm here... especially considering that we're all sitting down and keeping still, whereas at home I'm moving around! It's also a 45 mile journey home, so the effects have definitely worn off by the time I get there. The car isn't that warm, and I wear a coat, and then have to brave the elements to get to the back door! Anyway, i've left the dehumidifier going again, and hopefully it won't be too chilly by the time I get back tonight!

Nicoll

I have a thermometer on my desk at work and it's normally between 23 and 27 degrees. At home my thermostat is set at 18degrees and the heating switches itself on at 6 so it's warm when we get in, then doesn't seem to come on again for the rest of the evening. I get to go home for lunch so always open curtains and windows in morning (on safety catches) then close windows and draw upstairs curtains at lunchtime. House usually feels chilly at lunchtime this time of year but fine in evening. We do have double glazing, cavity wall insulation and loft insulation. We are also a semi with a big garage on other side of house so keeps fairly warm.

As to drying clothes, I hang over clothes airers upstairs but have noticed that the last few weeks they are now taking 2 days to dry instead the usual 1. I wash a load each day and luckily have a couple of airers and other bits are hung up in bedroom doorways. Don't really like the washing hanging around for so long but just doesn't dry at all outside now and refuse to get a tumble dryer for just 2 of us. Never tried a humidifier, not really sure what they do and how they help warm house. If anyone can enlighten me on this would be grateful.

rosekitten

been following the tips on here
just got my latest electric bill
£104 it was cheaper than the
last bill £128 so very pleased.
gas nothing to pay am in credit
with £12.can relax a bit now
although not too much will still
be money saving as much as poss
regarding gas & electric.Better in
my purse than in their bank account

thanks everyone

greenbee

Nicoll - dehumidifiers remove the moisture from the air (or walls etc if the house is damp). They help the washing dry too . If you suffer from a lot of condensation/damp/mould then they're worth getting. People with these kind of problems often use a lot more heating to try to deal with the problem, but dehumidifiers are much more effective. You just have to remember to close the windows, as otherwise you end up trying to dehumidify the outdoors... a bit of a challenge at this time of year!

A lot of houses feel cold because they're damp, so drying them out can really improve things.

Nicoll

greenbee wrote: »

Nicoll - dehumidifiers remove the moisture from the air (or walls etc if the house is damp). They help the washing dry too . If you suffer from a lot of condensation/damp/mould then they're worth getting. People with these kind of problems often use a lot more heating to try to deal with the problem, but dehumidifiers are much more effective. You just have to remember to close the windows, as otherwise you end up trying to dehumidify the outdoors... a bit of a challenge at this time of year!

A lot of houses feel cold because they're damp, so drying them out can really improve things.

Thanks for that. Luckily my house isn't damp so don't think I'd need one of these, opening the windows for a couple of hours gets rid of any condensation that might occur.

charlysez

still havent put the heating on, but no friends are coming to visit:j

i have a slanket, WOW they are good, last year i used a duvet in the lounge which as everyone knows lets the draught in when you move. but the slanket, is a fleece blanket with wide sleeves, so you can shove your hands up each one whilst hiding the remote!!!

there are lots of variations around and asda are doing 2 for £25 at the moment.

Swipe

Anyone still not got their heating on?