Living without heating

DavidP24

Cardew wrote: »

Why are you remaining on Economy 7 when you have no heating or Hot water using the off peak rates.


Do you appreciate that when on an Economy 7 tariff you pay a premium on the electricity used in the other 17 hours?

3 reasons,

1. I hoped my financial situation would improve.

2. I went to the price comparison sites and they charge you a higher rate for the first X thousand units and as I am not using very much I do not get the cheaper rate.

3. My credit record is ruined so the alternative providers would not touch me with a barge pole

DavidP24

C_Mababejive wrote: »

I was considering lifting a floorboard on the landing close to the party wall and fitting a low powered fan and duct to suck heat out of next doors !

Funny you say that, I was talking to a guy in another block, he is on the top floor, has no heating on and finds it too hot with the heat from flats below him.

Cardew

DavidP24 wrote: »

3 reasons,

1. I hoped my financial situation would improve.

2. I went to the price comparison sites and they charge you a higher rate for the first X thousand units and as I am not using very much I do not get the cheaper rate.

3. My credit record is ruined so the alternative providers would not touch me with a barge pole

Not any more - the so called 'tier system' (higher price for the first xxx kWhs) is now no longer in use and all tariffs now have a Daily Standing Charge(DSC) and a flat rate for all kWh.


In any case even on the tier system you were still charged at a 'higher rate for the first X thousand units (kWh)- actually hundreds' regardless of being on an Economy 7 tariff or not.


On Economy 7 you pay extra for every kWh during the 17 hours of peak time consumption - and as you use no off-peak heating or hot water, a non E7 tariff must be cheaper.

pstuart

Any of you guys googled the Tea Light Heater on YouTube ?

want_to_save

Marktheshark wrote: »

Google heat a room for 8p with tea light candles.
One bread tin, two terracotta flower pots and some tea-light candles and you can make a clever little heat exchanger that takes the edge of any room

As money saving goes, this is as frugel as it gets.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/10449357/Heat-your-home-office-for-8p-a-day.html

we bought a tea light lantern last year and light a tea light in it (it is kept on desk in our room with pc when we work at home) whole thing sits on a silicon tray and it works

want_to_save

Cardew wrote: »

This comes up every year and we get more and more extreme posts about the room temperature they tolerate before heating is switched on. iirc 8c was the lowest.

I post this article each year:

I have to say even when our heatin is on it only heats up to 16 i would rather wear a cardi or snuggle under a blanket than heat the whole house

Andy_WSM

It was -3C out this morning and my living room was a little chilly at 20.1C. :rotfl:

I was gutted the radiators aren't big enough to reach the set point of 21C. I have no idea how some of you cope without any heating at all.

Do you know what? I felt no guilt whatsoever being toasty warm inside while there was a beautiful white frost outside.

PennyForThem_2

I am a woman and 64 but still work. I too remember living and growing up in houses with no central heating where you had to break the ice in the sink where it had dripped overnight.


Sooo - I work in a modern insulated building with central heating which is radiator thermostat controlled and I have control lol


But I feel colder at work than I do in my frugally centrally heated 4 bed house because.......draughts! Manager is in desk workstation behind me in office of 5 and wants door open = draught and warmth leaking out into corridor - I sit oppositeopen door so draught....Does this inform us to draught proof ---- yes!


My home - hardly ever put on CH (wood burning stove in sitting room) Today I have it on but thermostat on at really low temperature.

keicar

Rather that be thoroughly miserable, why don't you work out just how much you can afford to spend on heating and try to budget.

From your bills you can easily work out how much a 1kw electric fire costs to run, but gas is a little more tricky. What I did was turn the thermostat right up, took a meter reading ran the gas CH continually for thirty minutes re-read the meter and then worked out how just how many gas kw/h's I had used.

I then ran up an Excel spreadsheet varying the daily spend on gas and electric and adding in my monthly credit until I had worked out how much I could afford to spend extra for heating (above my normal usage) until Mid March when my credit would reach zero, (you will also need to know how much you are in credit on your account and don't forget the standing charge)

Basically I worked out that I could run the gas CH for one and a half hours daily, and could use one and a half extra kw/h's of electric to heat one room later in the evening. Of course if its not needed, its a bonus and weather dependent

I hope the above makes sense, once you know what an appliance uses it makes it far easier to budget.

I too was brought up with ice on the inside of my bedroom window, winter 81/82 being the worst!