How prepared are you for the coming biting winter?

spinningsheep

Just out of interest, how prepared are we all for the predicted biting winter? I have been carefully building up credit on our gas and electrcity accounts, more so the gas, and we are now £160 in credit on the electric and £320 on the gas, plus we pay £120 a month combined DD so we have plenty of cushion for if the mercury plunges to -20 odd again. We have a supply of logs and smokeless coal for the multifuel stove and we are planning on using that most evenings once the house has warmed through with the heating, meaning we can turn it right down or even off. We had a new boiler in March so will be interesting to see the reduction in gas consumption hopefully. We used just over £5 per day in the last cold snap, and that was running the heating 24/7 with a 25 year old Glowworm boiler and no TRV's and sludged up radiators. Just wondering how you guys are planning to cope!

rogerblack

I've insulated one room to a very high degree, which will enable me to heat it to reasonable levels on 300W or so.

I'm in the process of insulating the rest of the house, though that will not be completed for a couple of years at best.
Solid walls - so insulation is really hard.

UncleZen

Of course the assumption by the OP is that it will get colder than normal this winter. As predicted.
Arent these the same people that predicted that we would have a very hot summer?

And: Eeek that's good - my TV is 200W! - thats electricty consumption, not heat output.

energysavingexp

think i will !!!!!! off to hawaii for the winter (i wish)
taking ironing board to surff on

UncleZen

Ah right, would his consume somewhat more than 300W to output 300W heat?

No! The point is, that the TV using 200W converts some of the electricity used into a picture and sound. The heat is a sort-of by-product of the electronics, so its not a 200W room heater, unlike a room heater dedicated for the job.

energysavingexp

harrowing. wrote: »

Just crossed lines. I was merely impressed that he could heat a room on so little energy; I wasn't for a minute suggesting I was gonna warm my hands next to the tv, lol

lol :rotfl::rotfl:

what he doesn't tell you is the room is the size of a lift:rotfl::rotfl:

oldtractor

lots of loft insulation a tonne of coal in the shed and a winters worth of wood too.

C_Mababejive

Yes..clothes and thermal vests for when i go out to work.

Lovely 25 year old heating system that works perfectly.

Total monthly DD on gas and electric -=£45

Loads of loft insulation/cavity wall and nice good quality DG windows.

Actively managing energy costs down

spinningsheep

Glad people are getting prepared! Good call though on whether it really will be a bad one, lets face it the BBQ summer never arrived!!

chris1973

How prepared are you for the coming biting winter?

I'm already selecting the pound of flesh, ready to give to the Energy Company.

of course, given we had several days of record breaking end of September heatwave temperatures, and that currently in some areas the current overnight lows of 15c - 17c are more reflective of July / August nights than those approaching Mid-October, it could just as easily go the other way, and we have record breaking temperatures recorded every month, and the predicted winter ice age never materialise.

My Local weather forecast is rarely accurate beyond 12 hours, and even today its changed its weather symbols several times during the course of the day. And a predicted forecasted cloudy day with 14c temperatures turned out to be a bright sunny day with 17c highs. On that basis do I trust their long range grim reaping? - Nah, if you want to know the weather, stick your head out of the window!.

But joking aside, I have an IBC of 1000 Litres of Paraffin to feed the heater, and several months worth of 'summer' bill savings put aside for the winter months.

lemontart

couple new hot water bottles, thermals and snow grips for shoes when commuting 30 miles and snow shovel and those tin foil blankets for car if stranded, and two warm doggies to snuggle up with infront of my single gas fire in one room to be kept warm as no central heating.