How to live without heating - save £000s

Sea_Shell

HertsLad said:

molerat said:

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.

The temperatures in parts of Scotland are far colder than in Hertfordshire. I am not confident I could keep warm without heating at much below freezing point. Even at 1C, I would almost certainly succumb to hypothermia if I wasn't wearing as much as I do.

It comes back to the point I made before, that the Government could do much more to protect people by giving out base layers and Thinsulate lined garments. The cost would be low compared to millions being poured into home insulation and NHS treatment.

The thing is although better clothing may be part of the solution, it is not THE solution, and so the government would have to do this IN ADDITION to the help in £££, otherwise they would be flamed in exactly the same way that you've been throughout this thread.

It also has a whiff of the nanny state about it.    People could already choose to spend some of the government help cash on such clothing.

I'm just re-reading 1984 at the moment....it seems strangely familiar in parts (and i'm only on chapter 3!).   State issued clothing...energy shortages.

deano2099

HertsLad said:

deano2099 said

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...I can't really wear big gloves and live my current life.

I doubt if my metabolism is much different to anyone else's. I never wear gloves at home and neither do my hands or feet get cold. Not even when my house was 1C in December. My finding is that, if they are cold it means you are not wearing enough on your body, especially on the legs. Put more layers on for hands and/or feet to warm up.

I was wearing 4 layers on my legs and 8 layers on my top in December; less now because it's about 10 or 12C.

Try it and you will see!

I have! Either your metabolism is different or mine is! But yeah, I can be snug in bed with a big blanket and the electric blanket on, with my hands outside it holding a book (heating off) and my hands end up uncomfortably cold.

deano2099

pseudodox said:

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.

Thanks, may give them a go - at least for some stuff. The way my hands end up after a session painting plastic models they'd be an absolute state mind!

EssexHebridean

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.

From personal experience, absolutely not! I use fingerless gloves for summer cycling - even the slightest drop of temperature leaves me reaching for the winter full coverage ones though. In seriously cold weather I wear those with another thing pair beneath, and STILL frequently arrive in the office 15 minutes after leaving the car with painful, cold, pure white fingers. I've come to the conclusion that the lucky folk who've never experienced the condition simply can't comprehend how it can be possible that some people can get such cold hands/feet even in pretty normal (for them) temperatures - understandable, but a little empathy goes a long way IMO!   

HertsLad

EssexHebridean said:

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.

From personal experience, absolutely not! I use fingerless gloves for summer cycling - even the slightest drop of temperature leaves me reaching for the winter full coverage ones though. In seriously cold weather I wear those with another thing pair beneath, and STILL frequently arrive in the office 15 minutes after leaving the car with painful, cold, pure white fingers. I've come to the conclusion that the lucky folk who've never experienced the condition simply can't comprehend how it can be possible that some people can get such cold hands/feet even in pretty normal (for them) temperatures - understandable, but a little empathy goes a long way IMO!   

Sorry if I missed anything you said before, but what are you wearing on your body and at what temperature do your hands/feet get cold?

Alnat1

I have the same problem as EH and have been known to wear gloves in June and July when out walking, although glove liner type is usually enough then. Every coat has a pair in the pocket, just in case. I have a small fleece blanket over my hand and the mouse right now in 17.5C living room.

My mum was the same and unfortunately I've passed the bad circulation gene on to my daughter too. Chilblains are not fun.

HertsLad

Alnat1 said:

I have the same problem as EH and have been known to wear gloves in June and July when out walking, although glove liner type is usually enough then. Every coat has a pair in the pocket, just in case. I have a small fleece blanket over my hand and the mouse right now in 17.5C living room.

My mum was the same and unfortunately I've passed the bad circulation gene on to my daughter too. Chilblains are not fun.

Like EH, you don't say what you are wearing. My hands would be cold at 17.5C if I wasn't wearing enough.

deano2099

When we had the cold snap my study was about 15 degrees - one day I was the only one working from home so tried not putting the heating on - base layer (top and bottom), woolly socks, t-shirt/trousers, woolly jumper, Dreamland heated throw wrapped round me and turned on - hands still uncomfortably cold.
Didn't layer up quite as much as you do (but still needed to look presentable for video conferencing) - but figured the heated blanket should count for at least a couple of layers.

BooJewels

I too am a Reynauds sufferer - and getting the body warm will simply not address it.  I had cold blue fingers in the summer heatwave - it's down to blood vessels closing down or going into spasm, not just temperature - although it often triggers it - holding cold metal cutlery to eat often sets mine off, or getting cold packets out of the fridge etc.  I can feel too hot overall, but still have icy bloodless hands.  

I salute your fortitude @HertsLad - but your life style is not for me I'm afraid.  I'd rather downgrade my holidays so that I can be comfortable when not on holiday too.  We're just making different choices.

EssexHebridean

HertsLad said:

EssexHebridean said:

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.

From personal experience, absolutely not! I use fingerless gloves for summer cycling - even the slightest drop of temperature leaves me reaching for the winter full coverage ones though. In seriously cold weather I wear those with another thing pair beneath, and STILL frequently arrive in the office 15 minutes after leaving the car with painful, cold, pure white fingers. I've come to the conclusion that the lucky folk who've never experienced the condition simply can't comprehend how it can be possible that some people can get such cold hands/feet even in pretty normal (for them) temperatures - understandable, but a little empathy goes a long way IMO!   

Sorry if I missed anything you said before, but what are you wearing on your body and at what temperature do your hands/feet get cold?

My hands/feet can feel cold at any external temperature depending on the circumstances. The office I work in is currently at a little over 20 degrees - I'm wearing two long sleeved layers on my body and on the verge of being too warm overall - my finger tips are cold though. When cycling I usually wear a thin technical top, a fleece layer over that, and my reflective cycling jacket on top - if I wore any more on my body it would interfere with my comfort and ability to ride safely and in any event I'd be way too warm on the body very fast (when I run, even in the depth of winter, it's the tech top and a thin unlined jacket over that - usually I end up too warm if anything) - but still my hands can be cold even in the two pairs of gloves. This is the thing - the cold hands is ENTIRELY unrelated to body temperature, this has been repeatedly explained throughout the thread by a number of people, and I see that Alnat and BooJewels have just joined those trying to make it clear.

Let's try an analogy - I'm assuming that you wouldn't tell a type 1 diabetic that they wouldn't need to take medication to control their insulin levels if only they ate like you did? Of course you wouldn't - because you understand that Type 1 is a medical condition that cannot be "cured" - only managed. To say that to someone living with the condition would be insensitive and tactless and show a complete lack of understanding wouldn't it - well this is similar - there IS no cure for Reynauds, and no amount of clothing over the body can solve the issue when it strikes. Suggesting that sufferers are just wearing the wrong clothes is missing the point entirely - not least as I suspect most of us are grown adults fully capable of knowing whether we need to put a jumper on, or not! 

Alnat1 said:

I have the same problem as EH and have been known to wear gloves in June and July when out walking, although glove liner type is usually enough then. Every coat has a pair in the pocket, just in case. I have a small fleece blanket over my hand and the mouse right now in 17.5C living room.

My mum was the same and unfortunately I've passed the bad circulation gene on to my daughter too. Chilblains are not fun.

Oh they truly aren't! I think a lot of people think that chilblains have died out these days - I wish mine would!