Advice on heating

InhaleMood

Hi,
I'm sure I'm not the only one, but I'm terrified of turning the heating on and wondered if I could get any advice.
We've just moved into a new house, 2 bed, mid terrace.
We have a smart meter (IHD?) and I've been checking the Scottish Power app.
The first couple of weeks we've had the thermostat set at 17c and in November that was working out at about £7/8 a day.
Now that the colder weather has hit, that jumped up to £10/11 a day....which is unaffordable.
So, we have dropped that down to 17c for 5 hours in the morning (I work from home), then turn it off for the rest of the day.
We do have an open fire which we've been lighting at about 4pm and we just use lots of blankets on the sofa in the evening. But going to the loo or kitchen and getting into bed is freezing. Doing this has brought it back down to £8.
Any suggestions? Would it be better to leave the heating on at say 16c for a few more hours be better?
I know everyone is in the same situation but I'm just not sure what to do!

FreeBear

tanyasharma said: Any suggestions? Would it be better to leave the heating on at say 16c for a few more hours be better?
I know everyone is in the same situation but I'm just not sure what to do!

Insulate, insulate, and then insulate a bit more.

The first place to target is the loft. 270-300mm is the current recommended level. If you have 100mm, it is well worth getting a few top up rolls from somewhere like B&Q or Wickes. It is not difficult to fit yourself as long as you are reasonably fit & active. No special tools are needed.

Plug the draughts. Any unused fireplaces, shove a chimney sheep up there or an old pillow inside a bin bag.

The above are the low cost DIY fixes. A bit higher on the budget is decent double or even triple glazed doors & windows if you don't already have them. Even if you do, it is worth checking around the frames to make sure they are properly sealed and any mastic isn't failing.

Wall & floor insulation is the final one - But this is highly disruptive, and needs to be tackled carefully. If you have solid brick walls, I'd recommend woodfibre or cork internally topped off with a lime plaster. Not cheap, and isn't going to save a massive amount on the heating bills.

Replacing the open fire with a small stove is another option - Again, not cheap, but you go from ~20% efficiency of an open fire to 70-80% efficiency of a stove. So more heat being pumped in to the house for the same amount of fuel. You also plug another exit route for all that air you have just spent a fortune heating.

Alnat1

Thermal linings on curtains can help and also think about fitting a curtain over the front and back doors if they are draughty. Close all curtains at dusk.

macman

An electric blanket or throw will sort the bedroom temp out. Costs maybe 8p an hour, put in on an hour before bed.

InhaleMood

Thank you all, I'll definitely have a look at all of those suggestions!

Mstty

Definitely electric under and maybe over blanket for the bed that will help but the loo will feel cold in the night still.

If you get a personal electric blanket you can also use that when working from home if it's an at PC type of job and they don't cost much to run.

Krakkkers

When you say new do you mean new or new to you? As a new house should be very well insulated.
Also you did not mention whether its electric or gas?

InhaleMood

Krakkkers said:

When you say new do you mean new or new to you? As a new house should be very well insulated.
Also you did not mention whether its electric or gas?

Hi,
It is new to us... It's a Victorian property.
Gas central heating, electric hob/oven.
Thinking of trying to pick up a cheap airfryer to save putting the oven on

InhaleMood

Mstty said:

Definitely electric under and maybe over blanket for the bed that will help but the loo will feel cold in the night still.

If you get a personal electric blanket you can also use that when working from home if it's an at PC type of job and they don't cost much to run.

Good idea, I'll look on marketplace. Thanks