How to live without heating - save £000s

dealyboy

This is a welcome reminder of your great thread HertsLad, lots of good information and advice here.

I think the loss of the Winter Fuel Payment for pensioners not eligible for (includes me) or claiming Pension Credit is a complicated subject and there are parallel threads on the Pensions forum and Energy forum regarding Martin's thoughts, looking at the issue from differing perspectives. From what I have read there will be between two and three million who will be impacted by such a loss, and of course there are other matters being discussed in the media at the moment which could affect the same group of people.

The timing of all this makes it a worrying time and I believe it is incumbent on all of us here on MSE to do what we can, what we're good at, to help those who are facing stark choices. We are probably the most informed community to give good money saving and money making advice, in our personal lives as well as on the forums. 

Eldi_Dos

HertsLad said:

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.

With the loss of the heating allowance I imagine you will be looking for good deals on the skiing trip. Ever tried the Carpathians ?Cortina might have a lot of building work ongoing at the moment.

fiddlesticks0

I thought I'd be ok with using lots of thermal layers, wearing a hat and using a heated blanket during the day and night and I've just about got by, but the temp in winter was at best around 16/17 and went down to 11-ish overnight. In the last year I have had some mould develop however, so it's not really worked. I thought the fact my double glazing is quite old and the front door isn't well sealed would at least mean the air inside the flat would be 'recycled', which should help with mould prevention, but clearly not. To have my central heating on enough to maintain, say 18 degrees would likely  tripple/quadrouple my already expensive energy bill and I can't quite imagine doing that. Clearly I'll need to look to improving the windows and door but I dread to think what the prices will be. I paid for some other urgent work to be carried out on the property earlier in the year and half a day's work with minimal cost for materials was £1k. Prices for just running a home at the moment are scary and it's not going to get any better.

Spies

HertsLad said:

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.

You don't heat your house anyway so why should you get the £300?

The heating allowance should have always been means tested, my dad and my grandmother aren't short of cash (like really really comfortably well off) so they shouldn't be entitled to it, and I've have no issue telling them that to their faces.

But in their eyes, big bad labour are taking away something the Tories gave them 

If they chose not to do means tested heating allowance, then they should pay the money directly into the energy providers account rather than giving it to the individual, then it will have to be used for energy, and not for swanning off on a holiday somewhere.

FreeBear

fiddlesticks0 said: Clearly I'll need to look to improving the windows and door but I dread to think what the prices will be. I paid for some other urgent work to be carried out on the property earlier in the year and half a day's work with minimal cost for materials was £1k. Prices for just running a home at the moment are scary and it's not going to get any better.

Spent about £6K replacing doors & windows on a 3 bed semi. Made a huge difference in comfort levels. The main reason being the elimination of cold draughts. Have a couple of spots prone to black mould, and insulating these walls has reduced the problem. Costing me around £1K to do each room, but I'm doing all the grunt work myself and going for a total refurb (all walls & ceiling reboarded/plastered, extra sockets, and so on).

Not cheap, and won't save enough on heating costs to cover the investment, but the improvement in quality of life makes up for it.

BarelySentientAI

Spies said:

HertsLad said:

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.

You don't heat your house anyway so why should you get the £300?

The heating allowance should have always been means tested, my dad and my grandmother aren't short of cash (like really really comfortably well off) so they shouldn't be entitled to it, and I've have no issue telling them that to their faces.

But in their eyes, big bad labour are taking away something the Tories gave them 

If they chose not to do means tested heating allowance, then they should pay the money directly into the energy providers account rather than giving it to the individual, then it will have to be used for energy, and not for swanning off on a holiday somewhere.

You do understand that cash is fungible?

Paying the WFA into someone's energy account does not stop the exact same amount of money being spent on a holiday, which is essentially the thing you are trying to prevent?

Scot_39

fiddlesticks0 said:

I thought I'd be ok with using lots of thermal layers, wearing a hat and using a heated blanket during the day and night and I've just about got by, but the temp in winter was at best around 16/17 and went down to 11-ish overnight. In the last year I have had some mould develop however, so it's not really worked. I thought the fact my double glazing is quite old and the front door isn't well sealed would at least mean the air inside the flat would be 'recycled', which should help with mould prevention, but clearly not. To have my central heating on enough to maintain, say 18 degrees would likely  tripple/quadrouple my already expensive energy bill and I can't quite imagine doing that. Clearly I'll need to look to improving the windows and door but I dread to think what the prices will be. I paid for some other urgent work to be carried out on the property earlier in the year and half a day's work with minimal cost for materials was £1k. Prices for just running a home at the moment are scary and it's not going to get any better.

If you want to use heat - many articles say need 14C to prevent black mould.

It might be cheaper not to heat many rooms not in use and open a window for hour on  milder /  days - or use fans to stop cold so damp spots forming in corners etc - or remove dampness by using a dehumidifier.

Even the normally cheaper refrigerant type will work at 16/17 - but might struggle at 11C.  For cold spaces dessicant types better.

I bought a cheap at time "bottom end of full sized" c£150 model - but saw one of an intermediate size other day for iirc £59. I use mine 2 hours on its timer (maybe c0.6 kWh) for 1-2 days in spare bedroom or hall when used for airing heavy  laundry like towels, bedding etc.  Makes a massive difference to condensation levels.  (My single glazed front door panels soaking wet on cold morning before - running down door at times). Others run daily in bedrooms etc

Swipe

I have both desiccant and refrigerant dehumidifiers and find that the latter ones is still effective even at 11C but it does seems to defrost cycle more often.

lilac_dawn

HertsLad said:

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.

That depends on the person though. In very cold weather, my heating has previously struggled to get above 16 degrees at full pelt (old storage heaters).It's down to 8 at night.  I wear heatgens as a matter of course, and I do find it patronising when someone says just put on another layer, especially if I have on heatgens, under the thermals, then normal layer, then wool jumper (as they are warmer) 2 layers on feet plus slippers, then top it off with a throw or an Oodie. Thermal curtain linings at windows, thick curtains, electric blanket... we all know these things but the bottom line is that some people feel the cold more than others and suffer more. 

Scot_39

@Swipe

Thanks for the defrost - not sure ever noticed it on mine even at 14-15C - but I set timer and leave it to its own devices.


Manufacturers tend to rate the removal rate at high temps and rh hunidity..

Some big name Manufacturers  like Meaco - give breakdowns of performance at a range on temps on websites.

I couldn't find similar date for my Curry's or the Argos one bought sister months later.  At the time there seemed to be a rush on them - couldn't get lower priced big name models in local stores.

A similar sized to mine  smaller model of theirs  like this one

https://www.meaco.com/products/meacodry-abc-range-12l-dehumidifier

If Select the extraction data link it generates a table.
 
Has an expected much lower water extraction rate at 10C vs 20C.  

Temp of space - one that Which reviews and others makes a deciding factor in choice of dehumidifier type.

Add those two together - get my "may struggle" comment.

Those energy figures look lower than mine too.

And in an unhet basement or garage used for storage etc temps could get even lower than 10C in winter.


Iirc from posts above the op returned to c7C in normal rooms one winter.