Home working and don't want to spend too much on heating!

cadburymisshape

Hello!

I recently started working as a freelance translator from home and in the meantime, my partner is also working from home. Now that the colder weather has arrived, I'm a bit concerned about our heating bills over the winter.

Any advice about saving money when WFH would be appreciated, but particularly:

Would it be cheaper to buy 2 fan or halogen heaters and only heat the 2 rooms we work in during the day rather than using our gas central heating to heat the whole house?

Many thanks in advance!
Cadburymisshape

SailorSam

Well i'm sitting here with a jumper on and no heating at the moment, so i'd suggest start like that. But i think i'd be using the central heating before getting separate electric heaters. You can still just have the radiators on in the rooms you're using.

cadburymisshape

SailorSam wrote: »

Well i'm sitting here with a jumper on and no heating at the moment, so i'd suggest start like that. But i think i'd be using the central heating before getting separate electric heaters. You can still just have the radiators on in the rooms you're using.

Ha! That's where I am at the moment! Just considering getting gloves, it's so difficult typing with freezing hands!! Unfortunately not all our radiators have their own thermostats....but there's a thought, help them to break and get them replaced by BG......

paddyrg

Wear lots of layers
Tuck a hot water bottle under some of them
Get up and walk/move every hour or so
Slippers are your friend
Work in the kitchen so you can benefit from the heat from making breakfast/lunch/dinner
Hot drinks - even a Thermos of hot water/tea/herbal tea will play its part
Bubble wrap on the windows and seal any major draughts
Just a few suggestions that have worked well over the years.

lemontart

fingerless gloves are a good start for the cold hands when typing, literally just hunting for mine, and thinking may splash out on some termal ones this year

Savvy_Sue

I work in an office with several thermically challenged colleagues: they wrap blankets round their shoulders!

I use those wheat bags on my shoulders, lap, feet.

Savvy_Sue

I work in an office with several thermically challenged colleagues: they wrap blankets round their shoulders!

I use those wheat bags on my shoulders, lap, feet.

PlutoinCapricorn

I work almost entirely at home. I have not got any central heating, just a halogen fire that I use as little as possible - not at all in some winters.

Although a proportion of my electricity costs are legitimate expenses, I try to keep the usage down.

I wear pullovers, woolly socks and a slanket. I use hot water bottles a lot. I warm my hands on my laptop! I sometimes work in bed.

I have been taking coconut oil and apple cider vinegar and these have revved up my metabolism.

I am lucky because I have a south-facing studio flat.

Vampgirl

I work from home almost every day - when the heating eventually goes on we'll have it on for an hour or so first thing in the morning, same around lunchtime and then for a few hours in the evening.

I find the simple things are the best: my office is the boxroom and it stays pretty warm if I keep the door shut. I always wear slippers (the boot-type ones are the best coz they keep your ankles warm too). I wear a thick fleece and usually have a blanket wrapped around my legs. Fingerless gloves definitely work too.

PlutoinCapricorn

I forgot to mention the box of crystallised ginger that I am slowly eating my way through even though I don't like it.

I got it for someone else but they never came: it is a few years old now but it certainly helps to keep me warm in winter, in a very Money Saving way.

martindow

A hip flask works well although I find the quality of my work drops off in the afternoons.