How to live without heating - save £000s

elsien

I heat the whole house but adjust the temperature in each room so the room I work in is warmer during the day and then I turn it down when I’m not using it.
I do have an attic bedroom that’s rarely used. I thought about closing that room off, but it started to smell musty quite quickly as there’s no radiator in there so now I’ll leave the door open for any residual heat to take itself off up there. Yes, it will cost a bit more, but I’d rather that than a damp smelling room.

Scot_39

HertsLad said:

Scot_39 said:

GrubbyGirl_2 said:

HertsLad said:

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.

Maybe you could donate it if you don’t need it? I appreciate that you don't need it but the vast majority do but the cost of trying to determine those that don’t need it is huge compared to the cost of just giving it to everyone. One of my friends donates hers every year to the Trussell Trust, maybe you should think about it?

Or make it taxable at high end - just like child benefit - starts being taxed if in 40% band (taper 50 to 60k iirc)

Edit : as let's face it someone on 50k shouldn't be struggling to pay their bills.

And you have to pay taxes on pension including state if over PA.

The WFP was introduced in part to stop poor pensioners dying of cold- charity estimates suggest 10,000 less cold related deaths.

I have cut right back on donations to charity after I realised far too much money goes to the people running the charity, rather than the cause itself, Besides, I do need the money - for holidays like to Egypt last week and Tunisia next week.

I am a pensioner. My income is nowhere near £50K per annum, I should probably have paid in more money when I was working.

WFP = Winter Fuel Payment - not winter Flight payment.

MultiFuelBurner

Scot_39 said:

HertsLad said:

Scot_39 said:

GrubbyGirl_2 said:

HertsLad said:

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.

Maybe you could donate it if you don’t need it? I appreciate that you don't need it but the vast majority do but the cost of trying to determine those that don’t need it is huge compared to the cost of just giving it to everyone. One of my friends donates hers every year to the Trussell Trust, maybe you should think about it?

Or make it taxable at high end - just like child benefit - starts being taxed if in 40% band (taper 50 to 60k iirc)

Edit : as let's face it someone on 50k shouldn't be struggling to pay their bills.

And you have to pay taxes on pension including state if over PA.

The WFP was introduced in part to stop poor pensioners dying of cold- charity estimates suggest 10,000 less cold related deaths.

I have cut right back on donations to charity after I realised far too much money goes to the people running the charity, rather than the cause itself, Besides, I do need the money - for holidays like to Egypt last week and Tunisia next week.

I am a pensioner. My income is nowhere near £50K per annum, I should probably have paid in more money when I was working.

WFP = Winter Fuel Payment - not winter Flight payment.

The people that we know get it only ever buy their flights with it lol

HertsLad

Perhaps WFP should be re presented as WCP with C for clothing. The £500 could easily buy a full set of layers like I wear with spare items to facilitate washing. And unlike heat which is rapidly dissipated, the clothes should last at least 10 years by my reckoning.

Scot_39

Clothing doesn't help those with certain respiratory conditions susciptible to cold air of course.

Who couldn't tolerate the single digit figures long term you seem willing and able to.

HertsLad

Sorry I forgot to mention (once more) that it probably isn't suitable for a small minority of people with medical conditions, of course. If Government set the criteria, I would probably be excluded due to being over 65 years of age, but so far so good. A majority of people could almost certainly be deemed suitable but I know millions would use every excuse under the sun not to change their ways, e.g. walking around the home in summer clothes in the middle of a cold spell.

HertsLad

Scot_39 said:

Clothing doesn't help those with certain respiratory conditions susciptible to cold air of course.

Who couldn't tolerate the single digit figures long term you seem willing and able to.

My house is now at 9.5C upstairs and perhaps a bit colder in the kitchen, so into single figures.

When I got up at 4am, I put on down trousers and denim jeans below the waist, with a wool jumper, down filled jacket and fleece on  my top. All over my foundation of thermal base layers. Even that much had me feeling far too warm by 6am so I removed the down filled jacket. The main difference from when I struggled to keep warm at slightly higher temperatures in October is the down filled trousers. Insulation on the legs is so important. A few pounds spent on down filled trousers might be the best investment many people could ever make. Last month, I ordered another pair in the largest possible size, which is 5XL. Trousers in size L have split, yet my waist size is only about 30" The 5XL trousers still seem relatively small and I really don'tr understand Chinese sizing. They can be purchased for £14.90 at ali express,

Markc0011

Just discovered the Japanese live without central heating in sometimes wooden houses.
They use: pocket Warmers, yutanpo (japanese hot water bottle), kotatsu (low table with a blanket and a heater underneath), Heat-tech clothing, slippers, layering up, using masks

Green_hopeful

Markc0011 said:

Just discovered the Japanese live without central heating in sometimes wooden houses.
They use: pocket Warmers, yutanpo (japanese hot water bottle), kotatsu (low table with a blanket and a heater underneath), Heat-tech clothing, slippers, layering up, using masks

We stayed in Tokyo in January 2020. It was a very narrow tall terraced house with one room on each floor. It was so cold the first day we got into bed wearing all our clothes. It was still freezing so we dragged a mattress down a floor where it was a bit warmer. The only heating apart from the heated toilet seat was the air con units.  You could only use one at a time or it tripped. We kept our coats on indoors. 

On a brighter note my husband decided to buy some bottled water to drink. Not sure why because the tap water was fine. It was in a massive bottle. It tasted disgusting, especially in tea. Turns out he had bought some hooch that homeless people brought to keep them warm. Perhaps we could have used it to keep warm. 

I like the idea of kotatsu and have thought about doing that when I worked from home. 

Markc0011

that's interesting. What was the building made of? Was that wood?
I read they use kerosene heaters as well. And the younger gen are turning to heated blankets just like over here.