Any new tips for heating your house in winter??

MandM90

Hello lovely OSers,

Can you share your top tips for keeping warm/avoiding spending £££ on fuel? I know there are loads of threads already, and I'm sure this'll be merged after a time, but I wanted to start a new discussion so we could chat about recent heaters and current prices or any new ideas.

I'm due a newborn in December so I can't be too economical but the issues I want to solve are:

- How do I keep the kids rooms comfortable (not too cold or dangerously warm) when there are no thermostats in the rooms?
- How to keep us comfortable when WFH. I'm in a small, well built conservatory which has been great so far as it soaks up the sun but has a 'proper' roof and also a tiny electric built in heater for winter, however my husband sits at the end of our ~25ft dining room and I don't want to heat the whole thing, so I was wondering if we can just heat him instead, perhaps with an electric blanket or similar. Alternatively we will just have to relocate him 
- How do I survive a chilly maternity leave at home with a toddler and baby without losing any toes, or  spending all my mat pay on oil?

Ideas I've had so far:
- Turn all bedroom rads ON at night and OFF in the morning, with the reverse routine in the snug/playroom where I think we will spend the majority of time when I'm off - but this is prone to human error and also I don't know how I'll adequately control the temperature, or is there a sensible trial and error approach I can take?
- Relocate DH to a bedroom short term, then the small conservatory once I'm on mat leave, and run the electric heater (though it's old so possibly we should invest in a new one??)
- In the evenings lock the whole family in the snug with the wood burner with door open to adjacent playroom whilst the heating in the other reception rooms remains off and the bedrooms come on for 2-3 hours.
- Electric blankets for the beds (apart from baby's of course)
- Make sure everyone has plenty of thermal underwear/fleeces etc

Thanks in advance for any clever ideas you have!

P.S. it's the 30th September and our heating still hasn't come on, in Northern Ireland!!

theoretica

What is your heating?

For sitting around working, ankle warmers and wrist warmers make a big difference.

MandM90

theoretica said:

What is your heating?

For sitting around working, ankle warmers and wrist warmers make a big difference.

Should've mentioned that! A big old oil boiler and a load of 1970s radiators (sort of ankle height skirting the edges of rooms in most cases), plus a total of 5 fireplaces including 2 mixed fuel burners, the rest are open.

Ankle warmers are a good idea and something I wouldn't have contemplated.

Flugelhorn

We were probably a bit uncivilised in the past (big houses, old radiators &  oil boiler etc) and only ever minimally heated the bedrooms in the evening and the morning - warm jammies and duvets   make all the difference. When had newborn I had an electric panel heater with thermostat  in their room so just that room was warm at night, had a thermometer in the room which was useful to see if the temp was right . 

WFH best done from small rooms that are seperately heated - hate being cold when sitting at desk. 

We ultimately found the solution, downsized to highly insulated 10 year old house, bills now one third what they were and we are much warmer, but appreciate that is not always easy to do 

littlegreenparrot

My tips are mostly to do with people rather than the building. 

Proper pyjamas, hot water bottles/microwave hotties - pop it in the bed an hour before bedtime so it takes the chill of the sheets, socks.  I like a fleecy blanket on top of the duvet rather than an electric blanket, brushed cotton sheets.
Bootie style slippers and knee high socks, I have some pretend uggs from TK maxx with rubber soles that are great. 
Thermals, layers - leggings under jeans/trackies. 

I was wfh last winter next to a big patio door and was blinkin freezing (no other options at the time). A thermal mug of tea to sip and a microwave hottie on my lap/under my feet/stuffed up my jumper helped    

Tink_04

If you have any gaps life draughty doors etc make sure you have something over the gaps (like the sausage things) heavy curtains and blankets by the sofas, think socks and decent slippers! 

We had a newborn in winter and invested in a decent thermometer it was a light up egg one that changed colour depending on the temperature of the room. Kept it for years In kids rooms. 

goldfinches

I can unreservedly recommend a heated fleece throw for sitting on and/or wrapping up in if you are sitting still for long periods of time when it's cold. I also find having a lap fleece and wrapping it round your bottom half very helpful when it's just mildly chilly is good. 
Then agree with others that good thermals, underlayers, socks and slippers are essential. I noticed a while ago that Screwfix were stocking Heat Holders thermal socks which I find excellent and I can also recommend Primark Men's thermal socks, gloves and slippers and Uniqlo Ultra/ExtraWarm range thermal underwear for men and women especially the polo/turtle neck ones.
I have some very thin arthritis fingerless gloves like these 1Pair Arthritis Compression Gloves for Women Doctor Written Handbook Relieve Arthritis Symptoms Raynauds Disease Carpal Tunnel (Dark Grey, S) : Amazon.co.uk: Health & Personal Care which are thin enough to type in and do help to keep your hands a bit warmer so worth considering and there are heated ones like this too which I haven't tried but am including as a suggestion. Semriver USB Heated Gloves, Heated Fingerless Gloves for Man and Woman, Warm Laptop Gloves, Computer Gloves Knitting Hands Warmer Washable Design (Pink) : Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Outdoors

It occurs to me that you may find it useful to know things I've tried that weren't any good and these are M & S thermal underwear (expensive and not very warm), Primark women's padded sole socks, sports socks (both not warm enough), Sainsbury's/Argos men's padded sole socks (not warm enough), Primark men's and women's thermal underwear (cheap and not very warm at all).

Suffolk_lass

The best way I know to heat me in my unheated office is to have a really small oil filled radiator under the desk on low. The heat keeps me warm. I also regularly get a hot drink, with the extra bit of circulation as I dash to and from the kitchen and wrapping my hands round the cup.

We also use an oil filled radiator in the bathroom. I often get up at about 5.30 for the loo and turn it on then, and off after the last morning ablution. One word of caution - keep your radiator on a tray. I have had two give up the last two winters and you don't want that mess on a carpet! Fortunately mine weren't. If you want some more tips I listed a load on my diary last week and some have added others. We also have oil central heating (primarily used for hot water) and a woodburner in the sitting room. Our country walks and FB marketplace are good sources of wood

MandM90

Thanks all, some really good ideas here - good thermals, heated throws and a small heater are all going on the wishlist!

CapricornLass

I find that my Croc clogs keep my feet warmer than other shoes.  The soles seem to be really good insulators, even better than some of my slippers.  Its worth looking out for slippers that come up to your ankles, too as they keep your feet warmer.

If its really, really cold, try wearing a woolly hat too.

Rosa_Damascena

Tbh with kids in the house I wouldn't skimp but perhaps restrict the number of rooms used to the smallest, if that makes a difference.