How to live without heating - save £000s

dealyboy

HertsLad said:

dealyboy said:

Doing OK here @HertsLad, much better than last year and so far I think I've had mild chilblains once on my right hand's fingers.

So first of all I'm using heating overnight with two oil-filled radiators (E7 off-peak about 6 kWh per night). My bed has several duvets plus a heated throw for luck and both myself and my cat are plenty warm (until he gets kicked off).

In the front room I arrange any washing that's not dry from hanging outside onto an airer/dryer (but not switched on) and have one radiator about a foot away and a dehumidifier on 'smart' another foot away (unless the forecast is for below zero temperatures which might cause the dehumidifier to freeze up). I also have the airing cupboard door open (cylinder not on).

Regarding warmth in bed, I noticed hot water bottles on sale for less than £3 a few days ago, at Home Bargains. So I bought one to double up on the bottle I already have. I heat up two saucepans with water to about 75C using the gas hob, then place the hot water bottles in my bed about 15 minutes before I go to bed. Two are defintely better than one and the warmth is at least as good as when using an electric blanket, just to pre warm the bedding.

I started to get lazy in terms of hand washing clothes in buckets of heated rain water. I have been using the largest washing machine at a local launderette, instead. It's not very expensive to wash a 100 litre duffel bag full of clothes. Before I went skiing, I then dried some of the gear using a tumble drier, but that's more expensive. I am now thinking about building my own wood fired tumble drier and/or using the additional energy provided by my additional solar panels to bring my dehumidifier back into play.

Re. heated throw vs hot water bottles ... it's for the cat (honestly).

Re. local launderette ... I thought they were all extinct ... none in my town or the next ... so handwashing for me, fortunately I have a large round 'aluminium'? sink and draining board.

Re. wood fired tumble drier ... fire station approval? 

YoungBlueEyes

With the length of this thread now I forget if it's been mentioned or not - but according to other threads on here a duvet under your bottom sheet is a wonder, so you're sandwiched between two duvets. Very comfy and cosy apparently. 

MultiFuelBurner

Or a warm bloodied partner to put your stone cold feet against?

QrizB

MultiFuelBurner said:

Or a warm bloodied partner to put your stone cold feet against?

Combine both options and you'll never want to get out of bed again!

badger09

MultiFuelBurner said:

Or a warm bloodied partner to put your stone cold feet against?

This made me lol. 

I often have ice cold feet & hands (Reynauds) & used to warm my feet in bed, very carefully, on a certain part of my husband’s anatomy. He said he found it surprisingly refreshing🤔  

I’ve now reverted to a hot water bottle, resulting in warm feet all night with no contortions or cramps. OH has to find alternative refreshment😂

bob2302

YoungBlueEyes said:

With the length of this thread now I forget if it's been mentioned or not - but according to other threads on here a duvet under your bottom sheet is a wonder, so you're sandwiched between two duvets. Very comfy and cosy apparently. 

I do something similar with  a king size duvet folded in two on a single bed - that's even more cosy.

Green_hopeful

There was a discussion on the old Navitron Forum about how many animals are needed to keep you warm. A classic response was something along the lines that they could get a woman but they could be a lot more bother than a cat or dog. I miss the old navitron forum. 

QrizB

Green_hopeful said:

There was a discussion on the old Navitron Forum about how many animals are needed to keep you warm. A classic response was something along the lines that they could get a woman but they could be a lot more bother than a cat or dog. I miss the old navitron forum. 

I have no idea how trustworthy this link is:

https://totum.com/talks/home-finance/you-can-get-paid-gbp140-000-a-year-to-be-a-professional-bed-warmer

drphila

YoungBlueEyes said:

With the length of this thread now I forget if it's been mentioned or not - but according to other threads on here a duvet under your bottom sheet is a wonder, so you're sandwiched between two duvets. Very comfy and cosy apparently. 

I've found that the 6" memory foam mattress topper I recently bought also makes a huge difference to downwards heat loss

HertsLad

Will the loss of the winter heating allowance (£300 in my case) lead to more people getting cold or even dying this winter? See here:

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/a-bad-winter-would-finish-me-off-the-pensioners-facing-fuel-poverty/ar-AA1pm2Wh?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=d5ebe278ac524058a6d52463f6d069b5&ei=19

Anyone familiar with this thread will probably guess my opinion. For a relatively small outlay on some base layers, plus down or Thinsulate insulated clothes on top, nobody needs to get cold at all. That's provided they are reasonably fit and healthy without underlying medical conditions. Basic message: don't waste money heating the home or even a single room but be sure to keep your core body temperature at a safe temperature.