How to live without heating - save £000s

Green_hopeful

I think it’s interesting how our perception of cold or warm constantly changes. We keep the rooms we use at 15 degrees and increase the temperature to 17 for a bit morning and evening. Sometimes 15 seems ok and sometimes 17 or even 18 can seem cold. There doesn’t seem any sense to it. The same temperature can seem ok one day and not the next. I suspect there is a scientific explanation but I don’t know what it is. 

Netexporter

Relative humidity. Using a dehumidifier can help with comfort, if you are in a generally humid area.

masonic

Green_hopeful said:

I think it’s interesting how our perception of cold or warm constantly changes. We keep the rooms we use at 15 degrees and increase the temperature to 17 for a bit morning and evening. Sometimes 15 seems ok and sometimes 17 or even 18 can seem cold. There doesn’t seem any sense to it. The same temperature can seem ok one day and not the next. I suspect there is a scientific explanation but I don’t know what it is. 

As well as humidity, it will depend on you: level of activity, whether you've eaten recently, circadian rhythm, stress level, your health etc.

QrizB

masonic said:

I actually saw someone walking home from a night out wearing not much more than that in the early hours one morning last week. The mind boggles!

Ah, the beer overcoat! Keeping drunks warm since forecver.

Green_hopeful

Yes I thought about the humidity. We run a dehumidifier in our bedroom at 60% RH. I also noticed that if I move around I am warmer even if I am not doing much. And that if I do a bit more so I am properly warm I will cool down a lot when I stop even if I am not really sweating. Just observing because I have recently retired (unexpectedly) so not quite got into a routine of things to do. 

drphila

Gerry1 said:

Apologies, can't remember whether it's been answered in the previous 85 pages, but how do you avoid mould, damp walls, damp clothes and voiding your building insurance?

Yes there was an excellent detailed discussion on this including a contribution from a professional constructional engineer.

From what I can remember, the general consensus was that it is repeated temperature cycling which causes the real problems. For example, someone visting their winter holiday home every other weekend, putting the heating on full blast for 2 days and then disappearing for another 2 weeks.

This is probably why Herts Lad (and others such as me) says he doesn't really have mould problems.

I think it would have to be an extreme case to void building insurance.

Swipe

Many insurance companies say homes should be heated to at least 10C but it's never going to be an issue unless you get a burst pipe and it would take a good few very extreme continuous sub zero days for that to happen in a home with no heating.

deano2099

snowqueen555 said:

Do people heat their whole home or mainly the rooms they're in a lot? Kitchens are always cold and with open plan kitchen living rooms being the common choice in new builds I kinda expect them to be colder. I try to keep my bedroom warm as I am in there the most as I work from there for convenience.

I will at some point be moving into electric only so I'll probably follow the same routine to save £ 

I find if it's just me using a single room (like WFH in an office room) it's worth just heating that room. But by the time it gets to two of us using a room each, the savings become minimal compared to just heating the whole house (as heat gets lost into adjoining rooms anyway). At least, if we then have to heat the whole house again from cold in the evening. I guess if you're going straight out after work it's probably better not to heat.

mumf

deano2099 said:

snowqueen555 said:

Do people heat their whole home or mainly the rooms they're in a lot? Kitchens are always cold and with open plan kitchen living rooms being the common choice in new builds I kinda expect them to be colder. I try to keep my bedroom warm as I am in there the most as I work from there for convenience.

I will at some point be moving into electric only so I'll probably follow the same routine to save £ 

I find if it's just me using a single room (like WFH in an office room) it's worth just heating that room. But by the time it gets to two of us using a room each, the savings become minimal compared to just heating the whole house (as heat gets lost into adjoining rooms anyway). At least, if we then have to heat the whole house again from cold in the evening. I guess if you're going straight out after work it's probably better not to heat.

We heat just the rooms needed. Electric now. Our home  is made of smaller ( doored) rooms,which are heated as needed. It’s 130 years old and always been like that. We are quite comfortable , and contrary to critics here who consider fuel above a penny per KWh to be a rip off,it’s quite affordable- and we aren’t lottery winners either 🤣This last couple of Winters have been noted by expensive fuel. It’s going to get no better. As the world keeps drawing upon current fuel systems,that fuel will get shorter in supply. This is ( in my opinion) the start of it. We have a housing estate being built nearby. The homes are *nice* ,but big ,floor tiled open rooms that look as though they are in Southern Spain🤣 are going to struggle to heat in the future. We had a rare social housing estate built some time ago too. Guess what? Excellent insulation and small rooms. The big new builds have next to no insulation. 

  The future ( which unfortunately I won’t see) will be down to insulation and electricity IMO. Even my gas - fitting neighbour agrees. 😉

dealyboy

@mumf said:

deano2099 said:

snowqueen555 said:

Do people heat their whole home or mainly the rooms they're in a lot? Kitchens are always cold and with open plan kitchen living rooms being the common choice in new builds I kinda expect them to be colder. I try to keep my bedroom warm as I am in there the most as I work from there for convenience.

I will at some point be moving into electric only so I'll probably follow the same routine to save £ 

I find if it's just me using a single room (like WFH in an office room) it's worth just heating that room. But by the time it gets to two of us using a room each, the savings become minimal compared to just heating the whole house (as heat gets lost into adjoining rooms anyway). At least, if we then have to heat the whole house again from cold in the evening. I guess if you're going straight out after work it's probably better not to heat.

We heat just the rooms needed. Electric now. Our home  is made of smaller ( doored) rooms,which are heated as needed. It’s 130 years old and always been like that. We are quite comfortable , and contrary to critics here who consider fuel above a penny per KWh to be a rip off,it’s quite affordable- and we aren’t lottery winners either 🤣This last couple of Winters have been noted by expensive fuel. It’s going to get no better. As the world keeps drawing upon current fuel systems,that fuel will get shorter in supply. This is ( in my opinion) the start of it. We have a housing estate being built nearby. The homes are *nice* ,but big ,floor tiled open rooms that look as though they are in Southern Spain🤣 are going to struggle to heat in the future. We had a rare social housing estate built some time ago too. Guess what? Excellent insulation and small rooms. The big new builds have next to no insulation. 

  The future ( which unfortunately I won’t see) will be down to insulation and electricity IMO. Even my gas - fitting neighbour agrees. 😉

Gas, oil, coal, fracking, nuclear, new fuels ... there are many options to provide cheap and plentiful energy, reduce taxes and charges and secure supply ... 20 years ago governments new this and maybe now they're beginning to wake up.