Have you put your heating on yet?

janiebquick

Mine's been 'on' - ie my heating now comes on at pre-set times and when the tempertaure falls to a certain level - since mis-September. and I live in the south of England!

snomaes

Ours has not been on yet and we still have the back door open most of the time for the dogs to come and go into the run. We wear a fleece if we feel chilly.

We never turn it on until November - if we are in the lounge in the evening, we may turn on the electric flame effect fire, but certainly not the central heating. Our 2,000 litre oil tank is filled once per year at a very high cost.

luckwudaveit

Stupid poll. I put the heating on when I need it, whenever that may be during the year.

borkid

I turned the downstairs central heating on at the end of September for a couple of hours in the evening. I was feeling cold despite wearing woollen jumpers. My hands were also starting to ache/ swell due to arthritis. We have 2 CH controls, one for the ground floor and one for the upper 2 floors. The upper floors have just had the heating put on for an hour or so per day to match the time we are working in our offices upstairs. the thermostat there is set for 19C.
We're also in all day long. We only moved in last April so no idea how much oil we will use but it 's bound to be less than our last place. The tank is nearly full and if the energy report is anything to go by it should last about 2 years!

Dragonbreath

I have done everything possible to insulate my house over the years and use the most efficient central heating boiler. Although the ch comes on every morning (mainly for hot water), the gas usage part of my energy bill for April to October this year (with a DD discount) came to -£6.87! My provider has just estimated the total energy cost for the next 12 months to be just under £400.

The house is so warm that the outside temperature has to be well into the minus before I use the ch in the evenings. I am retired so I am at home most days.

Oldhenwife

None of the questions applies to our situation. It's assumed that consumers turn up or down their thermostats, we don't all.

There's no question about to what temperature the thermostat is set. A neighbour has it set to 25C all year round and STILL has the gas fire on in the room she's occupying. She does admit that she could wear more clothes but doesn't do anything about it and has complained about the price of gas rising.

Better questions would be about the temperatures and times set. It's silly to turn the heating on at a set date.

samasama

Ahh the luxury of turning heating on.

If I want to warm the house I have two fires to be lit, fed, clear out.

Only light them when the kids are home (however cold it is) and even then it's only for a couple of hours in the evening so they're warm at bedtime.

Electric blankets are a godsend, and other than that we have jumpers!!!!!

ifan.goch

It would be nice to be able to afford to turn the central heating on like all of those better off people who just set the thermostat all year round. My husband works and I am retired early due to ill health, which means we are not eligible for any grants or benefits as my husband's wages are just over the limit. Our house is a semi and is not suitable for cavity wall insulation. We live in a rural area off mains gas with an unreliable electricity supply. We have double glazing and loft insulation, but that's it. Our central heating is solid fuel supplied by the only coal merchant in our area so he can charge what he likes. As far as the government is concerned we don't need any help. I wish we didn't, but we do and there is no help to be had any where. When my illness originally struck we had to approach a charity for help with our heating fuel bill that first winter but that just isn't an option year on year. At least I will not be a burden on the state when I get really old as I will have died of hypothermia before then.

samasama

^^ You have my sympathies ifan.goch, we've no mains gas either and our electricity is temperamental.

I think there should be a discount electricity rate for those of us without gas - I got really annoyed with someone from British Gas who rang trying to sell me a cheaper deal if I'd "upgrade to dual fuel". Apart from the fact their records should show it's a pointless call, it's also very unfair to offer a non-existent deal.

Does your coalman do a summer discount? Ours does, and I bought 10x25kg coal in August at a 10% discount. Same with logs, buy them green in spring and let them rest until winter.

I also arrange to go and visit friends/family for a weekend whenever I can in the winter so we can warm up!!!

ian.smith

It's interesting to see that so few people in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have responded to this poll!