Is your heating ON or OFF?

mrsr

jackieb wrote: »

I can't understand it when someone says the sun is heating up their house and it's cosy with no heating on. My heating has only been off for about 3 hours and it's absolutely freezing in here - I look like Rudolph's long lost cousin! I'm wrapped up but i'm shivering and my fingers are frozen. I don't smoke, my circulation is okay so it's not that - it's just that i'm cold. I'm off to iron to see if the steam can warm me up. I might bake later on so I can get some heat from the oven! There's no way I couldn't have the heating on at all but i'm trying to cut back. I was round at my son's this morning. There's no-one living there yet but we were waiting for a delivery. He is heating his empty house for an hour in the morning and another in the evening so it doesn't get damp - and it was like a fridge in there - there was no real need for the fridge/freezer we were waiting in for!

The sun coming in the conservatory warms downstairs up i leave the doors open so it circulates,in fact its boiling in there atm its a differant sorry when theres no sun ,i shut it off then.Thankfully i have a very well insulated house so sun coming through windows really heats it up and i really feel the cold but have managed very well without heat on (so far)

de1amo

Be interesting to know the most efficient way to run a home in the oncoming colder weather--how long you run the heating for and when it gives heat effect for the longest time. By the sound of just putting it on for an hour here and there just costs a surge of usuage for a short affect.
İ used to sit next to a woman at work who left hers on a low heat all day so it didnt cool down as a complete home --i dont know the answer but would like to know!

southantrim3

Sadly my heat has came on a wee while ago. Going to see how early next year I can switch it off. The house has double glazing, cavity wall and roof insulation and just got a new copper cylinder (£440, ouch!! but got a linking system in so that I could heat the water seperately rather than having to put the radiators on, so worth it.) In the summer it gets that warm that I have to open the doors and windows to let the heat escape.

Manage to get through the year with 2 fills of 500 litres, so not bad IMO.

slipthru

de1amo wrote: »

Be interesting to know the most efficient way to run a home in the oncoming colder weather--how long you run the heating for and when it gives heat effect for the longest time. By the sound of just putting it on for an hour here and there just costs a surge of usuage for a short affect.
İ used to sit next to a woman at work who left hers on a low heat all day so it didnt cool down as a complete home --i dont know the answer but would like to know!

I agree putting it on for an hour here and there doesn't make the best sense, as by the time it's been on for an hour it's not eating the gas as fast anymore. Thats what i've noticed on my boiler anyway.

Having said that i would still probably leave it off while we were all out at work/school and have it set to come on half hour before we get home and leave it on till an hour before bedtime.

I think i may bite the bullet this year and see what the cost difference is with having it on a low heat all day as i'm at home all day with dd anyway.

lostinrates

slipthru wrote: »

I agree putting it on for an hour here and there doesn't make the best sense, as by the time it's been on for an hour it's not eating the gas as fast anymore. Thats what i've noticed on my boiler anyway.

Having said that i would still probably leave it off while we were all out at work/school and have it set to come on half hour before we get home and leave it on till an hour before bedtime.

I think i may bite the bullet this year and see what the cost difference is with having it on a low heat all day as i'm at home all day with dd anyway.

I've read..on MSE ...it depends on the contruction of the house which is most cost effective.

What I find confusing is heating balanced with airing. I can't get to grips with the condensation, the windows are shocking in the mornings. I don't really want to leave the heating on overnight, and also want to air the house, and t seems a shame to open all the windows of a warm house on cold days. I'm not really sure what to do about this ATM.

mama67

suki1964 wrote: »

That would be an ideal scheme here - but no body runs one. The other year the council got an oil stamp system up and running - although I dont think every supplier uses them

Like you I have the coal and wood - just lit now as it happens. Once that gets going that will warm all the bedrooms up here as well. Like you the bigger duvets so no bums getting cold, and I also have some excellent flannel sheets for the real cold weather - makes it feel like you are getting into a warm bed - no cold sheets

Im lucky that I can pay for oil, my point was that since I can actually see my use, its made me cut back on heating. The mains gas is like spending on a credit card in my mind - too easy done without thought on how to pay for it at the end of the day

Yes I know where you are coming from, I monitor our oil tank gauge and I also read my leccy meter every Mon morning and log the readings into a spreadsheet set up with my tariffs so I can see exactly where we are and if we need to cut back (bit difficult with 2 teenage boys and their toys mind).
Th e boi,er stopped working the other week and so we had to use the immersion for hot water, that soon registered as a higher usage that week. By doing this I have brought our d/d for electricity down by £20 per month over the last year and we are still at least a month in credit now, will wait for the bill anniversary then claim that back.

mama67

southantrim3 wrote: »

Sadly my heat has came on a wee while ago. Going to see how early next year I can switch it off. The house has double glazing, cavity wall and roof insulation and just got a new copper cylinder (£440, ouch!! but got a linking system in so that I could heat the water seperately rather than having to put the radiators on, so worth it.) In the summer it gets that warm that I have to open the doors and windows to let the heat escape.

Manage to get through the year with 2 fills of 500 litres, so not bad IMO.

Thats what I have 2 lots of 500 litres am just waiting for my bill from the winter topup

Rebekah24

Still OFF

E7 storage heaters ... they off at the mains (as is the cooker) ..isnt too bad atm .. about 7, will drop to 1 tonight or thereabouts

Get the layers and thermals on once I get home, hot water bottle and get cosy!

jackieb

mrsr wrote: »

The sun coming in the conservatory warms downstairs up i leave the doors open so it circulates,in fact its boiling in there atm its a differant sorry when theres no sun ,i shut it off then.Thankfully i have a very well insulated house so sun coming through windows really heats it up and i really feel the cold but have managed very well without heat on (so far)

I maybe shouldn't have got tinted glass when we replaced our windows.

slipthru

lostinrates wrote: »

I've read..on MSE ...it depends on the contruction of the house which is most cost effective.

What I find confusing is heating balanced with airing. I can't get to grips with the condensation, the windows are shocking in the mornings. I don't really want to leave the heating on overnight, and also want to air the house, and t seems a shame to open all the windows of a warm house on cold days. I'm not really sure what to do about this ATM.

Yes i have the same problem with condensation on my bedroom and dd's bedroom windows and it's also bad in the kitchen as it's single skin towards the far end of it. I think i will just get up in the morning and air the house for a while, when were in the front room then switch the heating on afterwards, either that or buy a humidifier.