How to live without heating - save £000s

Cirrus1

Well you have put a lot of thought into that and come up with ingenious solutions. Since you have solar panels, could they be used to provide electricity for a dual towel rail? (One that works off the CH in winter or electricity in summer). This takes the danger element out of bathing! There is the swimming pool shower as an option, as you say :-)

Mstty

A bit of am experiment gone wrong yesterday and last night in the mstty household. We tried the ASHP off for 8 hours to see the effect the next morning but chose the night where it went down to -8oC. Upshot is a vaulted kitchen at 13.6oC.

Not to worry we are out from 11am today so will let it trickle heat the house back up.

However what I found that helped us to pop outside for 10 minutes then come back in. The house now feels warm despite the thermometers saying differently.

Worth a try for those staying still and getting colder. Go outside for a walk then come back in.

HertsLad

Cirrus1 said:

Well you have put a lot of thought into that and come up with ingenious solutions. Since you have solar panels, could they be used to provide electricity for a dual towel rail? (One that works off the CH in winter or electricity in summer). This takes the danger element out of bathing! There is the swimming pool shower as an option, as you say :-)

I forgot to mention that I bought two towel rails to try and heat the bathroom by yet another method. They are the central heating type for hot water. My plan is to use solar thermal tubes to supply the hot water at up to 90C but it will only work on sunny days. I am fairly certain my small solar PV system has nowhere near the capacity to power electric towel rails.

I am already thinking that if I reach April 2023 and get a refund of standing charges, maybe I should start using a little mains electricity again for things like heating the bathroom and timed security lights. My energy bill will still be very low compared to the average. 

Swipe

My kitchen is only 15C at best with the undersized storage heater on full during this cold spell. It's bearable with appropriate clothing for the little time I spend in there. Still feels warm when you come back in from the cold.

HertsLad

Does anyone know a brand or type of thermometer which is reliable? My various types vary widely. I have 3 different thermometers in the entrance area of my house near the front door. The readings all vary.

The bulb types are difficult to read and even more tricky to photograph. The forum may have chopped off most of the digital thermometer so I deleted the image. My fridge thermometer was below zero but I didn't put out a dish of water to check if it would freeze over. In the kitchen, an infra red thermometer reads 1C and I think that's probably about right. Water in various bowls has not frozen and is not even slushy. Milk and chicken portions have been left out on the worktop because the area is colder than most fridges.

Cirrus1

Hi
I use this one (attempting to attach a photo) from Amazon. It has a home mode and has an accuracy of +-0.5 degrees (it doesn’t cope with minus temperatures, you would be better off with an alcohol thermometer for that).

andy111

@Herts lad we enjoy a similar frugal lifestyle to yourself, but differ on many fronts.

We do not use our gas central heating at all and haven't for two years. We may use the gas fire once a day for one hour at lowest setting, but that is rare.

Our clothing is normal wear, but five layers, ie t-shirt, sweat shirt , poloshirt, and then thick wool jumpers
It is much more practical than bulkier clothing and just as efficient, on the bottom half two layers ie track bottoms plus Thinsulate walking trousers.

We never have hot water on tap, but use the electric shower daily for very quick showers.

I guess we are hardy due to our upbringings when central heating was very rare.
The nub of the matter is accepting a substantial saving in return for some perceived discomfort.
 To us that is not even debatable - more especially now, to others  it is clearly unthinkable. 

Obviously for  those with children, illness etc. it is a different matter.

Our yearly electric is 1200Kwh.
Gas last year was 350Kwh.

Monthly around £55 DD paid in full each month before being given £65 so +£10 per month.

We would not dream of being cold or feeling cold - something that some don't seem able to grasp.

HertsLad

Cirrus1 said:

Hi
I use this one ... from Amazon.

Many thanks. I just ordered one.

orbit500

Sorry but to me this is little different from the loony who used to live in the woods when I was a kid. Now, back to reading ‘Frugal Sharkey’ in my 21c lounge.

hardergamer

I have some like this, this one runs off a watch battery and I have one with two temp sensors which run off 12v DC, so I power it from my solar battery bank, I really like them as I can see them from across the room.