Is your heating ON or OFF?

lbr102

globetraveller wrote: »

I am the only one who is flabbergasted at the amount of folks who sit in houses with no heating on? Is everyone so badly off that they need to do this. Now clearly that WILL be the case with some folks but I think I would get rid of other things first before heating. So, is everyone here just so badly off that they can't heat their house? Or is this some sort of strange competition going on?

My financial situation isn't ideal - lost my job two months ago and have been applying for everything since. Mine was the main salary so it was a big blow!

At first I tried to be sensible about when I put it on...especially as it is just so tempting to put it on in the day whilst I'm applying for jobs at home. Now though it really is cold and I need it on! I have decided that I will put it on when needed, still being sensible, layering up and making use of hot water bottles.

I will be paying the bill now for probably half of next year, possibly longer if I don't find a job soon but I have decided that's a sacrifice I'll have to make if I want to be warm. I have had to come to terms with that though and it is difficult knowing that you are basically spending money that you can't pay back!

I'm making a curry tonight anyway so that should warm us up!

lbr102

wearside wrote: »

My heating is on 24 hours each day at present:eek: 22C during the day and 21C during the night. My philosophy is we will not be cold no matter what. I find that having it on all the time works out marginally more than on for a few hours in the morning, then again in the afternoon/evening. On and off the boiler has to work harder raising the temperature twice a day, but keeping it on all the time maintains the temperature with no peaks!

Can I ask how much your bills were last year and what sized house you live in/how many of you there are?

We were in a penthouse flat last year so expect we saved a lot of money from heat rising.

This year we are in a two bed terrace. I'm wondering what the difference will be...

Just looked online and last year our bill was £241 from the quarter from end of Nov to end of Dec. No idea how that compares.

jackieb

I'm cold just reading some posts on here - and my heating has been on since 6.30am. It was off for an hour and a half at 9am before I overrode the timer. I got so cold I had to take a hot shower to heat up again lol

debtmess

Soubrette wrote: »

Indeed, I'm flabbergasted at the amount of family and friends who have their heating on full blast, wander around in shorts and t-shirts and yet still moan about the cost:eek:

None the less, making sure you stay healthy is the most important thing

exactly x we have clothes jumpers etc on before i will think of heating the flat we made it to middle of october with none, from then up until now its been when needed, today mainly fan heaters on in the room we all use, ch has been on alittle while to help for bathtime and when my little ones go to bed, its going off at 7, if i need anything will layer clothes first then blankets n hot water bottles

what did we do without heating ! the house i grew up in in the 80s had nothing bar a gas fire we seem to have forgotten we can cope and manage without 24/7 heating

and the only people laughing at the expensive winters we face for heating etc is the fuel companies

bluebag

Had to turn it off today as despite the snow the sun was streaming though my huge windows and it was boiling!

Have got it on now though as it's freezing and my huge windows are shrouded in thick lined curtains.

I save it when I can without being uncomfortable, I try and think about how I use it rather than willy nilly, that way I can have it up a bit more and for longer when it's freezing.

I still wear a thick fleece and socks and furry slippers though, it is winter. Temperature in my living room is a comfy 21C.

Use it.. OK , waste it NO.

marmiterulesok

It's 15c in my sitting room.I've turned on the radiator for the evening.

shegar

kittie wrote: »

some people just cannot afford the big bills that WILL arrive as a result of this cold spell. Get real shegar, not everyone is in the fortunate position that others are in, including me, where we can afford to stay warm. It is all about empathy on this thread.

Pity help them. I am sure they know about the bad effects of being cold without anyone preaching to them

I totally understand what its like raising a family without central heating, ive been there too, perishing cold council house, no heating only the front room open fire, metal iced up windows for weeks on end ..... I use to walk my dog with the boys and we each always came back with a branch for the fire, which I sawed up myself , very often going into farmers fields to get free wood, :eek: trying hard not to get caught........:eek:.. it was either that or no heat at all.......:eek:having one sick child and not such a thing as disability benefits etc........and the children never had a bedroom full of up to date toys and computers and games, oh yes it wasnt that long ago, but we always found a way to eat and try and keep warm.....

Sylvan

~moneysavingnovice~ wrote: »

Do people know how many kWh they're using a day on average?

In Nov, my average was 30 kWh a day, but I fear Dec will be much higher. Will read the meters at the end of the weekend.

For the first week of November mine averaged 40 a day, during the middle two weeks it averaged 62 a day and last week it shot up to 79 per day:eek:. Needs must though. I'm not very mobile and last week even sitting under a duvet with a hot water bottle, wearing thermal socks etc, wasn't quite enough.

Today I had to set it to come on an hour earlier in the afternoon 'cos, despite having 2 hotties, one of my hands was starting to feel arthritisy (I have to keep one out to hold the book:rotfl:)

We used to have a house with 3ft thick stone walls and a rayburn. It was always lovely and toasty. Then we moved here and happily just kept the GCH on enough to feel warm, feeling terribly smug about not having to fetch fuel or clean it out. Then we got THE BILL!!!

Can't think of owt else we could cut down on really. Our only luxuries are the phone and the broadband (and the occasional packet of choccy biscuits:o)

Sylvan

shegar wrote: »

I totally understand what its like raising a family without central heating, ive been there too, perishing cold council house, no heating only the front room open fire, metal iced up windows for weeks on end ..... I use to walk my dog with the boys and we each always came back with a branch for the fire, which I sawed up myself , very often going into farmers fields to get free wood, :eek: trying hard not to get caught........:eek:.. it was either that or no heat at all.......:eek:having one sick child and not such a thing as disability benefits etc........and the children never had a bedroom full of up to date toys and computers and games, oh yes it wasnt that long ago, but we always found a way to eat and try and keep warm.....

Wouldn't want to go back to those days. The part that upset me most was when the children got chapped hands and faces IN the house!
Did you sleep on the front room floor, all snuggled up together in front of the fire, as well?

jackieb

How can you use only 16 a day? Are my kWh different from yours? I don't understand my bills.

This is mine for October.

= 68 imperial units over 31 days
Gas units converted = 2180.98 kWh used over 31 days
First 228.00 kWh x 7.149p = £16.30
Next 1952.98 kWh x 3.578p = £69.88
Total cost of gas used £86.18