How to live without heating - save £000s

Markc0011

I see the in-thing this year is blanket hoodies.

MarzipanCrumble

Which Draught excluders:  Best are old towel rolled into a sausage and placed against door - moulded if appropriate.

Or newspaper stuffed tight leg - knotted.  It admits it is a design disaster........

I have used draught excluders ala Which for years at any door which has a gap between floor and door.  You can make them pretty or colour co-ordinated.....

MarzipanCrumble

Mould - I  have never experienced mould but I live in a 4 bed house with a cat!  A cat means keep a thoroughfare for cat access or for ever be up and down to provide cat access.  Some of the bedrooms are 'door closed' min rad thermostat setting when CH cuts in (not yet).

I wonder if open doors and possibly open plan living mitigates against mould development.  

masonic

MarzipanCrumble said:

I wonder if open doors and possibly open plan living mitigates against mould development.  

It's humidity that promotes mould, so dry circulating air will be protective.

My home is air tight other than a single vent downstairs and an extractor fan upstairs, so in winter my only effective ventilation is when I am running that fan or open windows. I tend to do a 'Victorian' air change once or twice a day to get rid of stale/humid air. I also control humidity with a dehumidifier, which gives me a little heating as a bonus. This minimises heat loss due to draughts.

MultiFuelBurner

masonic said:

MarzipanCrumble said:

I wonder if open doors and possibly open plan living mitigates against mould development.  

It's humidity that promotes mould, so dry circulating air will be protective.

My home is air tight other than a single vent downstairs and an extractor fan upstairs, so in winter my only effective ventilation is when I am running that fan or open windows. I tend to do a 'Victorian' air change once or twice a day to get rid of stale/humid air. I also control humidity with a dehumidifier, which gives me a little heating as a bonus. This minimises heat loss due to draughts.

Passive house?

masonic

MultiFuelBurner said:

masonic said:

MarzipanCrumble said:

I wonder if open doors and possibly open plan living mitigates against mould development.  

It's humidity that promotes mould, so dry circulating air will be protective.

My home is air tight other than a single vent downstairs and an extractor fan upstairs, so in winter my only effective ventilation is when I am running that fan or open windows. I tend to do a 'Victorian' air change once or twice a day to get rid of stale/humid air. I also control humidity with a dehumidifier, which gives me a little heating as a bonus. This minimises heat loss due to draughts.

Passive house?

Not when built, but I've done what I can to apply the same principles.

HertsLad

I received some good news yesterday. Please see the following letter. That's a further £500 for my holiday fund, given that I don't need to spend a single penny on heating.

dealyboy

Are you going skiing again? ... anywhere nice? ... anyway I also got that letter and I will be spending it on something more mundane as I've given up the whisky.  

HertsLad

dealyboy said:

Are you going skiing again? ... anywhere nice? ... anyway I also got that letter and I will be spending it on something more mundane as I've given up the whisky.  

Yes, thanks - I am booked to go skiing with a friend to the Italian Dolomites in January. Good luck with however you decide to spend your money. I am already booked to also go to Tunisia in December and Malta in February. Now, with the £500, I am wondering if I should book something else, too.

HertsLad

I know Martin Lewis recommends heated gloves and other items as a good way to keep warm. At home I really couldn't be bothered with the wires, the need for recharging or constant USB connection. But leaving the hassle aside, is it a reasonable way to keep warm? Or completely misguided? I'm no expert beyond my personal experience but I read that hands get cold as the body keeps limited warmth nearer to vital organs. So is heating your hands hiding the symptoms while your body may still be too cold? Or could blood flow be warmed by heated gloves? How does it work?

All I know is that when I am wearing enough layers in my unheated house, I never need to wear gloves because my hands are seldom cold. If they are cold, I know it's a signal to add more clothes. But when skiing I have always struggled to keep my hands and feet warm, perhaps due to the wind chill factor. I have solved the problem with my hands by wearing down-filled mountaineering mittens. But despite wearing more layers than ever before, in January 2023, my toes were still a little bit cold, so I just bought some heated socks to try them out. Does anyone else here use heated gloves or socks and, if so, how do you find them?