7 degrees upstairs

rogerblack

I would note that in very cold rooms, without an electric blanket, the bed tends to be vulnerable to condensation.
With an electric blanket, you don't need to pile on quite so many layers to remain warm, so you don't get condensation occurring in the bedclothes, which can lead to mould, and other unpleasantnesses.

Swipe

I use a desiccant type dehumidifier in the evenings (5 -10pm) to take the chill off the room which takes the relative humidity down to below 60% @ 12C so condensation is not a problem. My windows are condensation-free even on mornings when it's well below freezing.

A.Penny.Saved

She might qualify for a free Gas Central heating system so it's worth contracting Warmfront to find out. At worst they will check your property to see if anything can be improved. It might be worth finding out first who qualifies and then finding out whether you might qualify for the required benefit.

Humidity does rise in cold environments. My Kitchen keeps dropping to about 8C and the humidity tends to be opposite to the temperature, get the temperature up to 15-17C and the humidity drops to mid 40's. Whereas at low temperatures in the kitchen it's often over 70% according to a cheap sensor.

I have found, after heating with electric while I'm without Gas Central heating, that it seems more expensive heating with electric than Gas. My overall house is colder while using about the same cost to heat my home. 16 to 17C I can deal with comfortably but 8-14C I cannot.

fed_up_and_stressed

Richie-from-the-Boro wrote: »

The O/P 'Likestowrite' declared in #1 that """hot water bottles, a 15 tog quilt and woollen blankets I find I'm warm enough in bed, so haven't bothered switching the storage heater on. I switch on a cheap fan heater for 10 minutes when I'm getting dressed."""

The BBC article may or may not be of empirical status, my point was that 'fed up and stressed ' use of it in this context was alarmist with a potential to create unnecessary worry & concern. The O/P as a result of her now deceased husbands preferences has more than adequately managed the dwelling for an undeclared number of years without incident. 'fed up and stressed' used the article totally out of context and without reading the thread and taking into account what the O/P had written.

'fed up and stressed' then went on to use the article totally out of context and without reading the thread and taking into account what I had written. Which in #13 was :

- sleeping in a bed @ 7°C is dangerous
- not a warm bed in a 7°C bedroom

I went on in #13 to say ;

Unless you (1) have a serious heart condition and breathing in cold air causes [pulmonary mechanics] spasms in the lung and airways, making it harder to breathe, or (2) sleepwalk in a 7°C bedroom for an hour or more per night I see nothing other than alarming nonsense in that statement - take advice from your GP - I don't know your general or your pulmonary health status.

----

Apologies to the group for the heavy duty use of the BOLD for 'fed up and stressed' who has brought nothing useful to the O/P's inquiring mind, or to the usefulness and practical input of others to help the O/P's dilemma and decision making process. But has merely introduced the burden of uncalled for worry to the process.

.... All i am saying is there are other medical conditions not only serious heart conditions which require people to have higher than ambient temperatures ..and i stated as the OP's daughter is concerned about her mums health -which is what the OP stated then she should see her GP .... Who obviously has more info on OP's health than lay people on here

How is suggesting that "alarmist" ????

Likestowrite

Thank you so much for all this help and advice.

I don't have any health problems and am very active. Although my house has 4 bedrooms it's only a semi, not a large house and quite compact (with no high ceilings.) In previous years it hasn't seemed all that cold in winter but this year is very different. As I get older and am not so active, I'll probably feel the cold even more.

I wonder what's the best order to do things.
If I go for GCH do I get a gas meter installed now and then get a heating engineer to fit the heating afterwards? (I'll get 3 or 4 quotes) We used to have gas fires then got them taken out along with the meter, so there is a capped gas pipe outside the front door.

Will it be complicated to have the off-peak electricity meter changed/taken out? Or involve rewiring? Maybe I should arrange that first and get put on a normal tarrif, before I ask for gas to be installed? If I'm not careful, though, I could end up with no storage heater during the change-over period.

A.Penny.Saved

Likestowrite wrote: »

Thank you so much for all this help and advice.

I don't have any health problems and am very active. Although my house has 4 bedrooms it's only a semi, not a large house and quite compact (with no high ceilings.) In previous years it hasn't seemed all that cold in winter but this year is very different. As I get older and am not so active, I'll probably feel the cold even more.

I wonder what's the best order to do things.
If I go for GCH do I get a gas meter installed now and then get a heating engineer to fit the heating afterwards? (I'll get 3 or 4 quotes) We used to have gas fires then got them taken out along with the meter, so there is a capped gas pipe outside the front door.

Will it be complicated to have the off-peak electricity meter changed/taken out? Or involve rewiring? Maybe I should arrange that first and get put on a normal tarrif, before I ask for gas to be installed? If I'm not careful, though, I could end up with no storage heater during the change-over period.

I suggest that you investigate Warmfront grants to see what you might be able to get. Check the conditions for qualifying for a grant, what benefits are required. Pension credits and things like that might qualify you. Unemployment benefit and ESA do mean qualification for a grant. Then find out whether you are receiving the benefit or whether you might qualify. There are online calculators which assess what benefits you are entitled to which might help.

I'm not certain whether Warmfront would fit a GCH system if you already have a working heating system unless you can show that it is inadequate and too cold for you.

They called to check my property a few years ago and looked at the CH boiler and said, because it was working, even though it was very old, that means that I would not qualify for a replacement......unless it was to fail and he winked at me. He checked my loft insulation...briefly and said because there was some up there, I wouldn't get any extra, even though it was below the current standards. I have looked myself and there are uninsulated parts over the main bedroom so he missed that. If you want a job done properly......

It's fortunate that you are connected to mains gas, other wise it would get very complicated. Energy companies would "probably" fit a meter for you if you choose them. There was a card meter in my home when I moved in and British Gas replaced that with a regular meter. I switched supplier shortly after.:rotfl:

You would need a gas supply before a heating system could be fitted. However don't start that in motion until you know that warmfront are willing to fit one. Then arrange it.

You would need more than just a new boiler, you would need an entire system, however the grant size should cover it because the maximum is fairly high, providing that your current heating system doesn't prevent a GCH system being fitted. Remember what I said about my loft insulation with regard to that.

I think that by the sound of it, your heating system if that is how it could be described, is inadequate so I would think that you might qualify for a new GCH system providing you meet the qualifying standard.

As to your original post, don't worry about the boiler because they should last for more than 5 to 10 years. They might not last as long as older models do but they should still give good service. They don't really require regular servicing either IMO. Not yearly anyway, it is a nice earner for the trade but I don't believe it's necessary. I haven't had my boiler serviced since the warmfront 2nd year free check. I didn't have my boiler at my last home regularly serviced either and that worked fine. It did develop one fault which was quickly fixed and cost about £90 inc parts. In my experience, paying when something goes wrong is the most cost effective method. They cannot check that much anyway so they cannot prevent parts failing. They can only ensure it's basically running correctly. The warmfront servicers did a gas flu analysis, he didn't do anything else. Connected a meter to the gas flu to analyse the boiler exhaust gases. That was it and supposed to be a service. Not worth paying for IMO. I'm glad that I didn't.:rotfl:

Can your electric heating heat your home sufficiently? Or is it cold no matter how high it is?

I don't think that taking out your current heating would be a big job. There is very little that needs doing apart from maybe fitting a blanking plate and removing the heater from the wall.

This year is meant to be a fairly warm winter. It hasn't been all that cold so far. Maybe your location affects things if your on the coast.

[Deleted User]

Humans have only had central heating with warm bedrooms and houses for a fraction of a nano second. Blaming strokes and heart attacks on breathing in a bit of cold air, and not a diet of pork pies and bacon and eggs seems a bit alarmist to me.
No one had central heating at all when I was a kid, we all slept in unheated bedrooms, no wonder global warming has no chance of lowering when you all need to be at the temperature of Majorca in the summer in a UK winter

sniggings

sacsquacco wrote: »

Humans have only had central heating with warm bedrooms and houses for a fraction of a nano second. Blaming strokes and heart attacks on breathing in a bit of cold air, and not a diet of pork pies and bacon and eggs seems a bit alarmist to me.
No one had central heating at all when I was a kid, we all slept in unheated bedrooms, no wonder global warming has no chance of lowering when you all need to be at the temperature of Majorca in the summer in a UK winter

I see your point and I sort of agree, as if warm in bed I would think you will be fine in a cold room but your argument does not support this, as I could also point out that the life expectancy in the year dot was about 40 years old

Swipe

sniggings wrote: »

I see your point and I sort of agree, as if warm in bed I would think you will be fine in a cold room but your argument does not support this, as I could also point out that the life expectancy in the year dot was about 40 years old

Nothing to do with the lack of central heating though but rather due to an immense list of other variables including the lack of medical care and vaccinations

toolmaker54

I don't think its inadequate heating, or inadequate insulation that causes the health problems its inadequate clothing.