The Great British "not put my heating on yet" brag

MultiFuelBurner

So looking at the weather app (I know it's never right) but Friday/Saturday for our area sees a drop down to 2oC and highs only in the single figures.

It then goes back to being quite mild for November through til 21st supposedly.

I can see why people may try and hold off to December but not all of it will be bravado it will be out of necessity and fear. Media fear ramping up and lack of knowledge of how to get the very cheapest energy available.

RelievedSheff

We don't do being cold at home. Our heating went on mid October when I was off work for a few days with Covid and we have not turned it off since.

We have built up a fair amount of credit on our account over the summer months to see us through the winter months comfortably.

Luckily our home is very well insulated and takes very little heating but it does feel chilly if it drops below about 17 degrees. We have the heating on a timer and a thermostat and it only comes on as necessary.

We do genuinely feel sorry for those who can not afford to heat their home. But have no sympathy for those who can but see it as some sort of brag that they have managed without. It really isn't something to be proud of! 

Swipe

RelievedSheff said:

But have no sympathy for those who can but see it as some sort of brag that they have managed without. It really isn't something to be proud of! 

I doubt those who can afford it but choose not to are looking for sympathy, they will be doing it for their own personal reasons.

EssexHebridean

Swipe said:

RelievedSheff said:

But have no sympathy for those who can but see it as some sort of brag that they have managed without. It really isn't something to be proud of! 

I doubt those who can afford it but choose not to are looking for sympathy, they will be doing it for their own personal reasons.

Oh it's definitely not a search for sympathy - more like admiration! I suspect it's a little bit like the refusal from certain demographics to wear coats even in the coldest of weather!

We are in a slightly different scenario to some because we moved into a new house at the beginning of September - moving from 20 years of heating via storage heaters and hot water via an immersion. I mostly ignored the GCH system for the first month we were there other than ensuring that the temperature on the thermostat was knocked down to a level at which I felt it would reduce the possibility of the heating kicking in until I was ready to tackle programming the thermostat. On going away overnight in mid October, and knowing that we were forecast to have a cold snap that night with  forecast front (which did indeed materialise) I tweaked the temperature up to 18 degrees - and sure enough it came on that following morning for a short while.

Standard temperature for us is 18 for an hour or so in the morning, and then it is set to drop to 14 through until the time we finish/get home from work when it reverts back to 18 until around a hour before we head up to bed. Weekends are slightly different timings to take account of times we are likely to be indoors. We are also fortunate enough to have an open fire in our front room - and have been tending to light that at weekends. The chimney runs up through the centre of the house and it definitely makes a difference to the overall temperature and how long the heating fires for the next morning when it has been lit, we're keen to continue to make use of that as the house would originally have used that for a good part of its heating - we can definitely feel the effect of it heating the fabric of the building. 

I'm with RS and the others who have said that we are in the fortunate position to be able to afford to heat to a level where we are comfortable - we are also people who very definitely revert to "long sleeves and a jumper" before looking to use heating too! 

ArbitraryRandom

EssexHebridean said:

Swipe said:

RelievedSheff said:

But have no sympathy for those who can but see it as some sort of brag that they have managed without. It really isn't something to be proud of! 

I doubt those who can afford it but choose not to are looking for sympathy, they will be doing it for their own personal reasons.

Oh it's definitely not a search for sympathy - more like admiration! I suspect it's a little bit like the refusal from certain demographics to wear coats even in the coldest of weather!

Post men (it's always the men) and shorts! 

Glad to hear the fire is working well, I wondered how you were getting on with it  

One other thing that's occurred to me related to this thread is how our diet/eating habits change seasonally and how that effects the heating - it's porridge for breakfast, hot toasted sarnie or soup lunches, chilli, stew, carb heavy main meals, and not skipping meals etc, and the other day when I was 'forced' into a more summer meal arrangement (no breakfast, cold butty at lunch and quick omelette for dinner) due to work logistics I was freezing and had to have the heating cranked right up.

Is it just me?

EssexHebridean

That's an interesting one - I'd certainly agree that the type of meals I plan definitely change during the winter months, and there are certain things that I generally only cook during the colder weather too - stews are a good example. For us though, certainly on weekdays, breakfasts and lunches are much the same year round - the only weekday that differs is a Friday when I don't work, so summer breakfasts are usually toast, with autumn > Spring being more likely to be porridge.  I'd not specifically noticed if differing types of meals mean I feel warmer through the day though - that's worth further thought. 

And yes - the fire is lovely! Annoyingly though it does appear that we are shortly going to have to purchase more kindling though - the bag I thought we still had in the shed wasn't there when I looked, I'm guessing we've taken that for lighting fires on campsites at some stage! There may yet be logs I can split down though, we'll see!

dealyboy

@ArbitraryRandom said:

@EssexHebridean said:

Swipe said:

RelievedSheff said:

But have no sympathy for those who can but see it as some sort of brag that they have managed without. It really isn't something to be proud of! 

I doubt those who can afford it but choose not to are looking for sympathy, they will be doing it for their own personal reasons.

Oh it's definitely not a search for sympathy - more like admiration! I suspect it's a little bit like the refusal from certain demographics to wear coats even in the coldest of weather!

Post men (it's always the men) and shorts! 

Glad to hear the fire is working well, I wondered how you were getting on with it  

One other thing that's occurred to me related to this thread is how our diet/eating habits change seasonally and how that effects the heating - it's porridge for breakfast, hot toasted sarnie or soup lunches, chilli, stew, carb heavy main meals, and not skipping meals etc, and the other day when I was 'forced' into a more summer meal arrangement (no breakfast, cold butty at lunch and quick omelette for dinner) due to work logistics I was freezing and had to have the heating cranked right up.

Is it just me?

That is definitely a point, possibly missed or not emphasized in all this 'heat the person' dialogue. I suppose it's another form of it, that again our parents and grandparents knew well  .

I have to be careful though as I'm on an intermittent fasting diet for weight maintenance.

Scot_39

MultiFuelBurner said:

So looking at the weather app (I know it's never right) but Friday/Saturday for our area sees a drop down to 2oC and highs only in the single figures.

It then goes back to being quite mild for November through til 21st supposedly.

I can see why people may try and hold off to December but not all of it will be bravado it will be out of necessity and fear. Media fear ramping up and lack of knowledge of how to get the very cheapest energy available.

Exactly the sort of weather moves that are a pain in the proverbial - for my old and dumb "manual" dual dial regulated NSH (charge brick temperature input - and passive convection vent cover output adjustment).

 

It doesn't quite annoy me enough to spend the £1000s on upgrades - and over the years have got quite adept at how far to wind them up / down accordingly - but it's certainly a factor in the mix - and a nuisance many would not tolerate these days.

They obviously need to be precharged ahead of the cold snap (easier for me to tweak / adapt with 3 charge periods a day than those only with one overnight) - and if not careful - end up over heating rooms - when the weather reverts - for 1-2 days - even without taking any fresh charge in some slots those days.

So I now - given current electric pricing - adopt a deliberate under shoot policy from NSH - and rely on plug ins - and my E10 afternoon and evening slots - at same rate as NSH charging - to boost room temps whilst in / awake etc.

Those on E7 have less of an option - at balanced costs - as plug ins in afternoon / evening are at often premium day rate (some in the 35-40p range cf single rate 27p).

In fact already been using the plug in in living room (oil filled radiator) - and bought a second one for upstairs if needed - but yet to commit to activating any of the NSH  - (tested 2 downstairs were still charging just for a few minutes - just as a precaution - before winter really hits) as even on min - input and output - they can make space overly warm by my winter standards - on marginal heating days - common as weather swings back / forth.

But I am using a little heating - not willing to struggle to survive(*) -  on and off - and last week - was around 10kWh above equivalent week in 2022.  And that goes back into early mild October - when we also had some forsty mornings / nights close to zero.

(*) Last winter - really tried to minimise heating - as it was as a low user - the EBSS £400 covered a lot of my winter heating - and at times felt the impact on my circulation and feet / hands got too cold for comfort.  No chillblains or worse (I know the early signs etc from years of winter walking / climbing in highlands in my youth). Despite the higher forecast net billing (about £250-300 at July rates without the £400 help) have no plans to repeat such lows.

Doesn't mean I'm not going to wrap up to save - my winter leggings and long sleaved t-shirts as vests - already seeing service - it just means not willing to be "uncomfortable" even after doing so.

Spoonie_Turtle

I saw this video and thought of the forum - not really sure where else to put it but it's about how they heated roundhouses near Stonehenge (the location is specific because the chalk is a factor).  The power of a small fire in a well-designed building was interesting
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzV_dAVMvCk/?igshid=MXR3YWRmMXRwejdm

If even stone age people put the heating on … !!

Stubod

..started lighting a fire in the evening a couple of weeks ago, but Economy 7 still very much "off" until temp drops below 10 degrees on a regular basis. We always run the bedroom "cold", but have installed the heated underblanket today....