How to live without heating - save £000s

wrf12345

I don't monitor the house temperature and CH thermoset is temperamental so I leave that on max, two pairs of jogging pants over some very thin long-johns (all aliexpress), long sleeved tee-shirt, two thin jumpers, one thick jumper and a padded jacket, two pairs of thin socks and "running" shoes (feet only cold if I am in flip-flop slippers). The extra jogging pants make a big difference, the padded jacket not so much. Cold hands are the weakness and I do a lot of typing on the computer so have not tried wearing any kind of gloves or a hat for that matter. Weaknesses in the house are some pre-Fensa north-facing double glazing units and no underfloor insulation, plus mostly painted walls which are noticeably colder than the bits of wall with wallpaper on them. It's an ongoing battle with both the house and rapacious energy companies.

bob2302

HertsLad said:

bob2302 said:

HertsLad said:

As mentioned before, I am moving away from Thinsulate as my preferred  insulation material and back towards down. 

Do you mean this literally? Bird feathers?

Yes, down filled products are readily available, as MarzipanCrumble alludes to.

I'm aware of down filled duvets, but what clothes have it?

masonic

bob2302 said:

HertsLad said:

bob2302 said:

HertsLad said:

As mentioned before, I am moving away from Thinsulate as my preferred  insulation material and back towards down. 

Do you mean this literally? Bird feathers?

Yes, down filled products are readily available, as MarzipanCrumble alludes to.

I'm aware of down filled duvets, but what clothes have it?

Quality winter-wear is down-filled. Jackets and trousers. Years ago I bought a down-filled jacket on sale and it was probably the warmest garment I've ever owned. These days I slum it with synthetic alternatives.

HertsLad

bob2302 said:

HertsLad said:

bob2302 said:

HertsLad said:

As mentioned before, I am moving away from Thinsulate as my preferred  insulation material and back towards down. 

Do you mean this literally? Bird feathers?

Yes, down filled products are readily available, as MarzipanCrumble alludes to.

I'm aware of down filled duvets, but what clothes have it?

Jackets, gloves and, less well known, down filled trousers like I am currently still wearing, despite the thermometer having shot back up to 12C overnight.

Jackets filled with lots of down can be ordered on aliexpress for around £30. Or pay 10x that price in the UK for a brand such as North Face. Or pay even more, perhaps 20x, for a brand such as Canada Goose. I don't doubt a Canada Goose jacket would keep most people warm but the price is crazy. Some North Face jackets, and Decathlon actually, contain comparatively little down. Other shops which may sell down filled jackets include John Lewis and Trespass. I regard all of them as poor value for money.

Gloves and mittens filled with down are moving into the mountaineering arena. I use a pair of down filled mittens when skiing and swear by them. I think I bought them from Decathlon.

Trousers filled with down are probably little known but, again, I swear by them. I have never seen them sold on the high street. Pairs I ordered on amazon and ebay were sent back because they contained too little down. 

FreeBear

bob2302 said:

HertsLad said:

bob2302 said:

HertsLad said:

As mentioned before, I am moving away from Thinsulate as my preferred  insulation material and back towards down. 

Do you mean this literally? Bird feathers?

Yes, down filled products are readily available, as MarzipanCrumble alludes to.

I'm aware of down filled duvets, but what clothes have it?

Have a look at the stuff PH Designs do. They make clothing and accessories for extreme environments using top quality materials. Unfortunately, this also means top notch prices. Got a couple of their sleeping bags, and have used them in Yosemite in February - Loads of snow, and ruddy cold.

HertsLad

FreeBear said:

bob2302 said:

HertsLad said:

bob2302 said:

HertsLad said:

As mentioned before, I am moving away from Thinsulate as my preferred  insulation material and back towards down. 

Do you mean this literally? Bird feathers?

Yes, down filled products are readily available, as MarzipanCrumble alludes to.

I'm aware of down filled duvets, but what clothes have it?

Have a look at the stuff PH Designs do. They make clothing and accessories for extreme environments using top quality materials. Unfortunately, this also means top notch prices. Got a couple of their sleeping bags, and have used them in Yosemite in February - Loads of snow, and ruddy cold.

On a money saving forum, I'm surprised you are recommending an outlet with what I regard as crazy prices. I have down filled sleeping bags which keep me perfectly warm below zero C but I didn't pay anything like those prices.

FreeBear

HertsLad said:

FreeBear said:

bob2302 said:

HertsLad said:

bob2302 said:

HertsLad said:

As mentioned before, I am moving away from Thinsulate as my preferred  insulation material and back towards down. 

Do you mean this literally? Bird feathers?

Yes, down filled products are readily available, as MarzipanCrumble alludes to.

I'm aware of down filled duvets, but what clothes have it?

Have a look at the stuff PH Designs do. They make clothing and accessories for extreme environments using top quality materials. Unfortunately, this also means top notch prices. Got a couple of their sleeping bags, and have used them in Yosemite in February - Loads of snow, and ruddy cold.

On a money saving forum, I'm surprised you are recommending an outlet with what I regard as crazy prices. I have down filled sleeping bags which keep me perfectly warm below zero C but I didn't pay anything like those prices.

Alpkit also do down clothing for quite a bit less - Have used some of their gear and found it to be of good quality.

Admittedly, PHD prices are a lot higher since I used them - I think I paid about £200 for a sleeping bag.

HertsLad

As the years go by, I am not finding my quest any harder as I get older, but easier as I improve my approach. i mentioned before that I am replacing Thinsulate with down filled garments. I started living without heating after I saw a claim about 15 years ago by Lidl for a Thinsulate insulated jacket which they were selling. It said that as long as you moved around a bit, the jacket would keep you warm down to far below zero (freezing). I think the claim was exaggerated a bit but it resulted in my focus on Thinsulate insulation. Now, I think it may have been a mistake. Down seems better. My house has been as cold as 7C in the mornings. I am wearing fewer layers than before in order not to feel the slightest bit cold. Of course, I am still wearing 2 x polyester layers on my top and bottom. Then, on my legs, instead of wearing denims, I am wearing polyester lined ski trousers from Lidl which they were almost giving away for £17. They don't look much different to standard trousers, so were a good purchase. On my top, I am wearing two fairly thin jackets which are filled with down to a fill level of 800, meaning quite dense. Plus a fleece top over the top, to protect them. It's not as bulky as the clothes in the photos I posted a few years ago, but that was colder at only 1 or 2C. So it will be interesting to see how much colder it can go before I need to add more layers.

wrf12345

I bought a new cross trainer machine off eBay for £130 (used stuff on Facebook marketplace ranging from free to fifty quid but you have to transport it) inc two man delivery (I am in an elevated bungalow, almost two stories off ground level) to my door, using to warm up when it is too cold or wet to go for a four to eight mile walk (part of my exercise routine rather than generally for keeping warm but it does work if you match layering to temperature), so that seems to help early morning and late evening to the extent that have avoided using the gas CH, previously had occasion to run it for the odd 30 minutes. The cross trainer reaches muscles that walking does not, BTW, and is especially good prior to bed, as twenty minutes knocks me out for 6-8 hours of sleep. Worth thinking about, anyway.

HertsLad

wrf12345 said:

I bought a new cross trainer machine off eBay for £130 (used stuff on Facebook marketplace ranging from free to fifty quid but you have to transport it) inc two man delivery (I am in an elevated bungalow, almost two stories off ground level) to my door, using to warm up when it is too cold or wet to go for a four to eight mile walk (part of my exercise routine rather than generally for keeping warm but it does work if you match layering to temperature), so that seems to help early morning and late evening to the extent that have avoided using the gas CH, previously had occasion to run it for the odd 30 minutes. The cross trainer reaches muscles that walking does not, BTW, and is especially good prior to bed, as twenty minutes knocks me out for 6-8 hours of sleep. Worth thinking about, anyway.

What a good idea!