How to live without heating - save £000s

Mstty

I am going to say that those with poor circulation will need hands covered and lots of foot protection.

Exhibit A is Mrs mstty....just the slightest wife of winter cold and she gets chilblains and then blue toes and her hands get very cold quickly as well but then her BMI is probably only 17-18 so not as much insulation as myself.

The_miser_2

I've read the OP and through quite of the responses and would like to add my tuppence worth.

Some of us are more comfortable in colder temperatures than others, and some of us are warm-weather people, I think we all agree on that.

What horrifies me is that someone finds it necessary to post in our technologically advanced super-rich 1st world country about how we can survive without heating in winter, not as some survival exercise, but because many of us cannot afford to heat our homes and feed ourselves, some of us cannot afford to do either and will die as a result.

Every winter a good few of the inhabitants of these isles die either of cold-related conditions or malnutrition, this winter we can probably multiply that tenfold.

 Why does this happen? It is unnecessary but no government seems willing, and I say willing as opposed to able, to take any measures to stop this, in my teens I remember a headline about a pensioner who was found dead in her home, she had starved to death and had been trying to eat cardboard to survive, this was around 50 years ago and it seems that nothing has changed, indeed the situation is worse due to the somewhat oddly named 'cost of living crisis'.

Today we are told that our energy bills will rise again this spring, yet as I write this gas wholesale prices have plummeted to pre-Ukraine war prices, I have yet to find a rational ( believable) explanation as to why the government in the form of the price regulator is insisting on pushing prices up again.

Can anyone explain why this is happening?

pseudodox

On the subject of cold hands get some fingerless gloves, preferably woollen but even man-made fibre like acrylic will work.  You will find that if your wrists & palms are kept warm then your fingers will warm up but you can still type, paint, whatever.  I practically live in these mitts right through winter, indoors and out.  I was walking on Christmas Day, it was 6C and my hands were toasty.  They might make you look like Ebenezer Scrooge but does that matter?  I do accept they might not be 100% effective for someone with a medical condition but everyone I have encouraged to try them has been quite surprised at how effective they are.  Best endorsements are outdoor market traders - check next time you go shopping.

The_Green_Hornet

Fingerless gloves always remind me of Alfred Steptoe in Steptoe and Son.

pseudodox

Bet Albert did not have cold hands, even if he had no other attractions!  Probably appreciated by Hercules. And of course Ebenezer could write his ledgers & count his money in his chilly office.  I seem to recall the trend for legwarmers in 1970s helped to keep my feet warm.

elsien

Do they work for Reynaud's syndrome though? I lose the feeling in my fingers and toes even when it's not that cold.

HertsLad

elsien said:

deano2099 said:

HertsLad said:

Max68 said:

Like anything I think it's all what you are used to.  From what I can gather Herts Lad has been doing this for years so he is probably used to it...

I don't feel I have got used to it at all! I.e. not in the sense of being able to tolerate the cold if wearing too little. I feel the cold as much as anyone.

Rather, what I am used to is knowing what to wear to make it possible. And everyone reading this thread also knows now because I explained exactly what I am wearing.

It's disappointing that nobody here has tried to replicate my approach even as an experiment. All the gear is readily available and nothing needs to cost very much. 

I think the issue for me and lots of others is that the one thing fundamentally incompatible with our lifestyle is covering our hands. A base layer, shirt, jumper is enough to keep the core warm, but my hands are still going to get cold, and without any heating that's going to get actively painful. A pair of thin gloves can help but anything beyond that I can't type, which I need to do for the job.
And once work is done, without freedom in my fingers I can't paint, I can't play videogames, I can't prep food, I can't read a book (guess I could manage a Kindle)  - I have to admit a certain curiosity around what you actually do all day. I agree it's possible, and it clearly works for you, but for me it'd mean a huge fundamental change in lifestyle just because I can't really wear big gloves and live my current life.

Plus some of us have friends who we'd quite like to visit us at home and have social evenings with. None of which is going to happen in the circumstances that the OP describes.
OP, you've not actually said how this works with your social circle?

I have appointments for two meals out with friends at restaurants in the next month. In between, I look forward to a week's skiing, with a friend, drawing on some of my savings from not burning money  on energy. For all those events I will wear similar clothes to anyone else.

pseudodox

elsien said:

Do they work for Reynaud's syndrome though? I lose the feeling in my fingers and toes even when it's not that cold.

I don't know - but you have nothing to lose by trying them out.  A pair of fingerless gloves can usually be bought for less than £2 on my local market.  You can often get different thicknesses - I have a pair that are fleecy lined which I wear when driving & a thin pair which I wear when typing or texting

molerat

I wonder how much these people saved ?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-64196889

Ambulances were called out to 800 people suffering from hypothermia during freezing weather in Scotland.

Figures from the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS), published by The Herald newspaper, showed that about 44 people a day were taken to hospital between 1 and 18 December.

markin

I think we can rule out actual frost bite risk with homes with DG and some insulation, And with the average uk winter being 6c.

So its back to just unwell people where it would be painful for them.

Why is my body hot but my fingers are cold?

If your fingers are getting cold when the temperature is normal, there could be an underlying cause. Cold fingers could be an indication of several problems, including Raynaud's syndrome, hypothyroidism, vitamin deficiencies, anemia, arterial disease, or even an autoimmune condition.

   If you have a tablet you can even get gloves that work with touch.