Central Heating vs. Electric blanket

[Deleted User]

Hi all,
You'll either this this is daft or ingenious. I live alone in a sizable house that remains pretty cold regardless of how much I turn the heating up. I was thinking that instead of sitting with the heating on high constantly (and still not getting much warmth) perhaps it would be an idea to wear an electric overblanket and have the heating off, then I would be warm whatever room I'm in, what do you think? Also, I have no idea what the price difference would be (or if there would be any price difference). Anyone care to hazard a guess?

Thanks guys xx

bengalknights

it would be cheaper for you to wear the blanket based on the fact that you wont be heating any rooms at the same time so no gas is burnt which would offset the electric cost of one blanket.

Barneysmom

It would be cheaper but the house itself needs to be heated as well as you, else you might get real problems with damp. It's quite depressing being cold..
Try having the heating set a little lower, maybe hot water bottles too in bed.
Sometimes here if the heating's been completely off, when I'm in bed it's so cold it hurts to breathe, and my nose gets so cold it's really painful. Then I find I'm too cold to sleep.
Tell you what's really good as well, I sometimes put a woolly hat on.
Our house is fairly big, too nig for just the 2 of us.

I phoned British Gas today and told them to raise my debits by £10 a month so I don't have to worry too much about the heating this year.
Less money to fritter on silly things like food.:)

[Deleted User]

Thank you both!

Barneysmom: I feel your pain. My heating is up full just now and I'm still freezing. I am really worried about bills but earlier my fingers were blue and my nose was running and I've hurt my back from hunching so much to try and keep in the warmth! Like you, I have worn woolly hats to bed (actually, last night I wore my dressing gown and scarf to bed too). I just found out they now do electric duvets so am very tempted to invest in one of those and having it on with the heating on low, though I don't know if they'll cost more than electric blankets to run. Hmm...Yes, who needs food when you have warmth?! In fact, I'm finding that the cold is making me eat more, perhaps so I can grow some more insulation!

Barneysmom

Have you done the bubble wrap thing on your windows? I put it on my bedroom window last winter and the effect was amazing, seriously . I got a big roll off the internet, probably Amazon or EBay, and taped it up. No more dripping wet windows in the mornings, and I put the nets back up in front of it so you couldn't see it was there.

I'm going to get a couple of cheap dark coloured fleeces to hang behind the living room, curtains at night too. Just at the lower half of the window, I think it'll really help.

This thread is a Godsend - have a wade through it, there's no end of great ideas from lovely people......

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2714253

[Deleted User]

Thank you, I will definitely take a look. I can't rememer what it felt like to be warm!! I don't think it's to do with the windows but I live beside the sea and that biting sea air is really freezing. I will try the bubble wrap anyway and see if it makes a difference!

Pincher

Electric blankets use around 40W to 120W, so it's basically the cost of running a lightbulb.
Assuming you keep an 80W electric throw on for 12 hours, it will cost 0.96kWh, at 12p per kWh, it will cost you 11.52p a day.

Instead of using a laptop, try a tower PC under you desk. The fan pumps out around 100W to 200W of warm air. If the space is fairly enclosed, it creates a cosy zone around your feet.

Alternatively, there are microwave heated gel packs,
but you have to keep swapping them.

I have seen heated feet warmers.

In terms of wrapping up warm, take your inspiration from ski-wear.

Salopettes: £20 and up

Head: balaclava is good for sub-zero conditions.

Feet: socks with rubber bottoms, or bunny slippers.

penrhyn

Nobody has mentioned a Slanket.

I'm all for Billy Connellys big slipper!

[Deleted User]

I have a slanket but I wish it was heated! Thanks for the ideas! That's good to know that I can cosy up in my (soon to be bought) electric throw and it won't cost much. Do you know the price of having one radiator on for same amount of time on high?

cattie

Anybody wanting an electric blanket to snuggle up in on the sofa may do well for themselves to pop down to Lidl if there is one in the area. A current offer is a snuggy electric blanket to wrap yourself up in at £29.99. Six heat settings too. Look here http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/lidl_uk/hs.xsl/index_15215.htm

grahamc2003

Deleted_User wrote: »

Hi all,
You'll either this this is daft or ingenious. I live alone in a sizable house that remains pretty cold regardless of how much I turn the heating up. I was thinking that instead of sitting with the heating on high constantly (and still not getting much warmth) perhaps it would be an idea to wear an electric overblanket and have the heating off, then I would be warm whatever room I'm in, what do you think? Also, I have no idea what the price difference would be (or if there would be any price difference). Anyone care to hazard a guess?

Thanks guys xx

To answer your question, yes it would be cheaper.

There are many unknown variables, but if you assume 40 times cheaper, you'd be in the right ballpark.

I'm not saying it's a good idea though, as you say, your extremities could get very uncomfortable. It seems something may be wrong with your heating system if it is on full and you are still freezing. Obvuiously, block up the source of any drafts, Places where I hunted out causing an unexpected draft were the letterbox (fitted with something supposed to stop drafts - it didn't), and, surprisingly, the water overflow inside the cistern in a toilet in our hallway. More 'standard' was of insulating obvious things are all over the internet.

The best type of supplementary heating I've found are these newish radiant heaters, containg 3 elements (effectively 3 inefficient lightbulbs) - they give out a warm glow, can be controlled to 500w, 1kw, and 1.5kw, and can be directed onto your cold nose, and they're cheap to buy.

The cost of any (electric) heater would be something like 10p/kwh (i.e. if you have it set to 0.5kw, then 5p per hour, 1kw = 10p/h, 1.5kw would be 15p for each hour (roughly, depending what you pay for eledtricitry)