This is reality, my nose is frozen

skogar

We live in a house with no central heating. I thought initially that we should have it put in but to be honest we don't really seem to need it.

We do have an electric radiator in the kitchen which we have turned down low enough to take the chill off. Seemed quite warm in there this morning, when I looked at the thermometer it was 14oC so you may find a small amount of background heating helps if doing things in the kitchen.

We tend to be in just one room - if front room we have a wood burner and back room has a gas fire. We do have electric radiator in the bedroom in case it gets really cold but they haven't been used in recent years. We got an electric blanket a few years ago and we put that on to warm up the bed. Getting into a cold bed is i think one of the worst things about living in a cold house. We don't have it on at night just to heat the bed up and getting into bed is now bliss as it is toasty warm and definately cheaper than using the electric radiator.

Having a bathroom that is very much on the cool side prevents anyone having long showers and heating loads of water.

When I was a kid I thought that the ultimate luxury was leaving my pajamas on the radiator so they were warm when you put them on. Also if you tuck the tops in the bottoms then its warmer too.

I have some ridiculously warm slippers and a fine selection of wooly jumpers, fleeces etc in which I am warm but not exactly fashionable. Having cold feet is miserable so make sure you have something cosy to wear on your feet.

Don't worry you will get used to it and then you will moan that you are too hot when you go somewhere that is "normally" heated. :rotfl:

Butterfly_Brain

VfM4meplse wrote: »

Coupled with the keep drinking tea strategy, a poor idea.

Great idea in theory, but I avoid synthetics as I'm not keen on static

I have often wondered about these and open fires, do they not generate a lot of soot? I don't want to create more housework!

Not really but you do have to have the chimney swept every year and have a carbon monoxide alarm fitted. Why I do not know, I grew up with open fires and paraffin heaters and we never had any problems.

Yes you have to clean it out every day but it doesn't take long

lobbyludd

I was working at home today and thought about you as I refused to have the heating on it's been 13.5 for most of that time and even though the temp has been constant and I've been in the same clothes there were periods when I was fine, and periods when my hands were cold, sooooo......

my tips from today: keep moving, I broke up my computer time with housework.
when I was hungry I was colder - I had a protein based lunch (scrambled eggs) which I know is "thermogenic", heating you from the inside. it kept me warm for over an hour and a half.

I wonder if re-jigging your day would work, so you do the food prep straight after breakfast, then whatever you want to do till lunch, then whatever you want for a wee while after. then walk the dog, and house work afterwards (so you aren't all warmed up from the dog walk and then cool down sitting around in a cold house?

appreciate that might not work for you (or the dog!) but I'm sure you can think of something!

Pooky

I grew up without central heating and can't stand it now. That stuff nose, dry skin, head achey feeling is vile,

We air the house daily, trickle vents open front and back at least but bedroom windows open at night and a window open in the kitchen when I'm cooking.

We have an open fire so light that most afternoons when it's needed. The heating is on for an hour in the mornings (17 degrees) and maybe an hour at 5ish when my DDs are back in from school/college.

DDs have electric blankets but I love getting into a cold bed (I can't wear anything in bed and it warms up really quickly) we have layers for round the house during the day. I keep shawls and blankets on chairs and sofas to wrap into and we have lap quilts for staying snug in the evenings. (old double quilt cut in half and I made patchwork covers for them)

Curtains get thermal linings in for winter and I've triple layered door curtains on the downstairs doors....it's an amazing draft proofing.

If we go anywhere or have visitors that require more heat then I find it unbearable.

You do get used to it, just make sure you keep the moisture under control and air the house as much as you can.

Butterfly_Brain

miss-scrimpy wrote: »

Me and my OH live in a very old cottage in the countryside. We have no heating at all and both growing up in central heated houses has come to a shock (we are in our early twenties).

However for some reason I have really got used to it now. I went out today with my mummy to a shopping mall to just get out of the house and I was sweating and so hot.

I will say though that since having no heating we feel healthier and have had no winter colds/flu's etc. At xmas we stayed at parents houses for 2 night and we both felt awful. We could not sleep due to it being so warm to us and we had sore throats, headaches and our skin felt dry etc?

Tips I have discovered...

Leave oven door after cooking, it uses the heat that's would just cool down in there and would be wasteful,

Do NOT wear loads of clothes/layers to bed, strangely you tend to get warmer if under the covers with a bit less on especially without socks,

We do have a wood burner but can not afford to buy wood/coal but had a massive clear out of paperwork. That way destroyed confidential info and kept a bit warmer for a few hours,

Always have a warm meal once a day and lots of hot drinks,

Wearing a hat inside might look silly but most heat is lost from your head,

A hot bottle is amazing!! Have not had one since I was a child either.

Hope this help :-) xx

Can you get free pallets from a company near to you? most small companies are happy to let you have them because they have to pay to have them taken away.

madnotstupid

I've always found the best way to keep warm is layers, so two pairs of thin socks are warmer than one thick pair - as I understand it this traps air between the layers which your body heat warms up.

I never really feel the cold, but wear two pairs of socks all winter, put leggings under my jeans if it's cold when I go out for a walk, have two t-shirts, and gilet / jumper, then a fleece lined shirt if I need it, whether inside or out.

We have gas heating which is on for two hours morning and night, and a electric heater in the living room which can go on for half an hour if necessary and 'layering-up' isn't enough. OH has limited mobility so doesn't really have the option of using physical exertion to warm up, so fleecy blankets, throws and hot water bottles all come into play.

Topher

The difficulty with pallets for anything but fire starting is that they tend to be pine. Pine gives off a lot of tar which can coat a flu, (takes longer to "stick" to an unlined chimney). My mum had several house fires started from the wood burning stove's pipe gathering tar which subsequently caught fire all the way down the pipe (Flu). This was compounded by the log fire's being illegally fitted and the flu running upward through the house in contact with floorboards and ceiling lats, so I've not come away from the experience thinking it's a danger in normally fitted Fires, but it has made me alert to quite the amount of tar deposited from pine.

Topher

Lobbyludd, thanks for the slight rethink of the day's routine. I'm experimenting with a few different things over the next few days, so can try adjusting my routine for best effect. I tend towards small amounts of higher protein meals (in spite of my cravings for carbs when cold) although didn't know anything about thermogenic benefits.

tgroom57

bedsocks ! I don't have an electric blanket - instead I have a thick wool fleece underneath the bottom sheet. A fluffy blanket is almost as good. I've noticed memory foam mattresses are too hot (for me) to sleep on - do they keep you warm in winter, does anyone know? What you have underneath you helps keep you warm, and applies to sitting as well as bed.

My living room is currently 16 deg C and has an open stairwell -we are without CH and rely on oil-filled radiators and a panel heater in the bathroom. Previous years I've curtained off the stairs to stay warm, but this year I've put up an mdf panel ( ~£12) and that has helped a bit. I will curtain off the bottom of the stairs if the weather gets colder in the next few days.

Clingfilm over the loft hatch.

Do you have south-facing walls? Our house used to be snug until an evergreen grew and shaded the south wall - good in summer, too cold in winter. I've cut it back now and feel the difference. Plus I only open windows during the day.

paulineb_2

VfM4meplse wrote: »

Coupled with the keep drinking tea strategy, a poor idea.

Great idea in theory, but I avoid synthetics as I'm not keen on static

I have often wondered about these and open fires, do they not generate a lot of soot? I don't want to create more housework!

Onesies arent a poor idea in my view, I wouldnt be without mine.