warm places for the elderly to go to because they are not getting the winter fuel payment

Before she goes out in the morning she turns the heating off.

There’s no evidence that the woman wasn’t about to turn it on again when the neighbour called round apparently soon after the woman got home at 5:00pm. OP posted just after 6:00pm by which time her friend had already reported to her that they had been around to see the neighbour.

I don’t leave my heating on if I am going to be out all day. I worry about the cost of heating just like everybody else (just as this woman does) but that doesn’t mean I can’t afford it. If it’s cold when I get home, I switch it on and by the time I’ve make a cuppa and got myself sorted out, shopping put away or whatever, the house is warming up nicely. I am not knocking those who prefer to leave the heating on all day as a low temperature. It's just how I prefer to do things.

While I applaud the neighbours for their care and concern, we don’t know the whole story and neither do they - whether this woman is in genuine fuel poverty or is just trying to be economical. I imagine that quite a lot of us grew up in cold houses and liked the outdoors. I am used to cold, prefer it to heat and find constantly heated rooms and buildings uncomfortable, sometimes suffocating but I accept that we are all different and that health conditions can necessitate using more domestic energy - but there’s no mention of that here.

I also have what some might regard as an ancient boiler as it’s almost 40 years old but the engineer who services it annually says it works efficiently and there’s no need to change it.

Similar to what Franbern has said, someone living on their own should have income of £218.15 pw. A 20W boiler burning gas all the time - which it won’t be once the thermostat temperature is reached - costs around £1 an hour.

This from Octopus OctoAssist talking about the economy of using electric blankets but mentioning the cost of heating the whole house per day.

One of our boffins realised that some customers were paying to heat their entire homes, even if they lived alone. He did some calculations and found out that where heating a whole home costs around £4 a day, an energy-efficient electric blanket can heat a person for just 2-4p an hour.

So £4 a day, £28 a week which would still leave someone with minimum income £190 a week for everything else. That number accords neatly with my own January bill which covers three weeks of December and one of January. Total gas charges were £110 including standing charge and VAT so just over £25 a week.

Grammaretto

I spend far more on heating than on food. Despite a new boiler and thermostatically controlled radiators, I can't function if my extremities are freezing.

It's minus 6 tonight. I'm sleeping in my sitting room with the heating on in here and I'm snug as a bug. I had the fire lit earlier.

I'm recovering from a hip replacement a week ago so I am treating myself.

I wish you a full and speedy recovery.

However, it’s not “treating yourself” to keep yourself and your home warm in the winter, it really is the only sensible thing to do.

This really isn’t the first year we’ve discussed heating one’s home and it’s not just down to WFP being withdrawn for the majority of pensioners.

I don’t agree with it being withdrawn so suddenly nor the low criteria for keeping it BUT rather than continually Labour bashing, let’s look out for those who are difficulty and see if we can help in some way.

Those I feel most sorry for are those out in rural areas reliant on very expensive oil based heating.

P.S. forgot to say, many energy suppliers will provide a free heated throw for elderly customers. I know British Gas and Octopus do but, I understood, many others do as well.

MissAdventure

There were warm spaces last year.
There are food banks.

It's £4 a week.

👏👏

Some good advice on this thread.

I would say get a heated throw - perhaps your friends are in a position to buy one for their elderly neighbour. You can get a reasonably priced one - doesn’t have to be fancy.

Also, your friend could contact (or help the lady to contact) the local council and Age Uk. There are warm home funds available which she may qualify for - particularly if she has an old boiler and a badly insulated house e.g. no double glazing.

There is help out there. It sounds like she just needs someone to advocate for her, which your friends seem in a position to do. Well done to them

I do the same for an elderly neighbour.

I really am annoyed at the way the media has gone out of its way to brainwash older people into believing that they have to choose between 'heat and eat' this year.
People on the state pension, whilst definitely not having money for any sort of extras, should be able to do both comfortably. If they are on the lower pension (and have no other income whatsoever - private pension etc), then they should be claiming Pension Credit. If on the higher pension then that should allow them to keep their home properly warm and to eat home prepared good meals.

Obviously, if people have extras like, running a car, smoking, foreign holidays, having a pet - then that is where they are choosing to spend their money. That is down to them, I have actually had people tell me they would rather be really cold in their homes in the winter so they can get on their cruise ships holidays in the summer!!!!!

If people have such large old properties that they find them difficult to heat then they really should have 'future-proofed' a long time ago. Understand people do not want to leave their life-time homes, but they do need to understand that it is costing them more by letting it get very cold each day and heating it up for the evening. A basically warm home all the time, is better for them, better for the property and better for their bank balance.

I would agree that our pension in UK is far too low - should be tied into Living Wage, but I really challenge the idea that pensioners are unable to heat their homes properly. We know that older lungs (as do very young ones), need around 18 degrees at the least.

Think the first thing the OP needs to do with their neighbour is to point out that their way of heating is probably costing them more than if they kept their home at a basic rate, and it is probably not as much as they fear to do so. If they are that hard up then they may be entitled to other benefits which they need to claim.

Georgesgran if you have used your money to just survive over the rest of the year there will be no savings possible.

I think there are several issues here - the withdrawal of the WFA which will affect some, not all.

Those who say they are just above the pension credit have to accept that a ‘line’ has had to be drawn at some point on the income scale. I feel that even if this is raised, the same comments would be made by those just over that limit?

Like others, I think this lady’s finances need to be examined - not easy in these days of secrecy and mistrust. A lot of people I know make an effort to live within their income, but have substantial savings to access when it comes to a holiday or new car. Could this lady have savings that she’s reluctant to use? I hope her kind neighbours can help her, if she does qualify for PC and the other benefits that would access.

As for the heating debate - yes, it’s better to leave it on all day and perhaps opt to build up a credit balance with the supplier during the summer, to offset cold weather costs?

It sounds good though that she can get out most days and enjoy the company of others. Many can’t.

karmalady - you can't make people put the heating on.
My mother-in-law is financially able to but won't have any heating on after 10pm or before 7am.
She is 100

My husband called her last night to try to persuade her but she said as a compromise she wouldn't open the window!
It was -5°

Fleur20

Surfingsal.. can you persuade her to get a heated throw?. Yes its a big outlay but they cost pennies to run and would keep her safely warm in the evenings, even if the room temperature is low.

Also an electric blanket on her bed that is safe to leave on overnight. I would suggest, too, a heat pad for her armchair. All these things help to keep the person warm cheaply. As Fleur20 says they cost very little to run. Could a neighbour go in to turn these on before she gets back?

People on a low income cannot 'save' money for winter.

What a ridiculous comment.

It is false economy turning the heating off when you go out, it takes more fuel to get the house back up to a reasonable temperature.
My heating engineer asked how I managed my central heating and I said it is on 24/7 and I just turn down the temperature on the thermostat. He said it is far better to have background heat at all times especially for the elderly.

Gentle suggest to this lady that she gets some financial advice. Is she claiming everything she is entitles to?

No - if you are even just a few pence over the very, very low Pension Credit threshold you won't qualify for a bean.

Oreo

Libraries are warm and you can take ages to choose books or sit and read them.

Yes, but in recent years so very many branch libraries have closed due to the dreaded funding cuts and the premises sold off. Some pensioners will have to go quite a way to find an accessible library.

When home have heating on all day from 5 to 9. My bungalow keeps the heat in over night but if I wake in the night and it's chilly I put it on . The energy company wanted me to reduce my payments during the summer but said no as I was building my credit ready for the winter.

At the moment in hospital but my daughter has popped in everyday to put the heating on for few hours . There is a timer but as she pops round anyway she says it no bother.

The winter of 2023 I only had the heating on 3 hours a day because of cost . But not since . As I finally got PIP and became a pensioner last year and managed to get bit of pension credit so had fuel allowance.

But all pensioners should have the winter fuel allowance. We don't need £10 Christmas bonus wonder how much that would save if they didn't give it and used towards giving the fuel allowance.

The up and down temperatures that some are advocating is not at all good for old lungs and circulation. A gentle warmth is good, not hot but just warm enough to be safe. Warm refuge during the day followed by a cold walk home and a very cold house, that is not a good system

It is better to keep house input on a low gentle heat, night as well as day. Putting ch on for a house that has developed deep cold during the day is not good, the boiler will work overtime and cost will be no different, whereas comfort and safety will suffer. Houses have thermal mass, walls floors and ceilings, all of that mass needs to be warm before the actual air inside becomes warm and that takes hours and days

The standing charge is what is keeping energy cost high

A few go to shopping centres here but usually because they have air con and it is too hot. You could easily spend a day in some of them, they are huge. Mind you, food isn’t that cheap there these days.

I spend far more on heating than on food. Despite a new boiler and thermostatically controlled radiators, I can't function if my extremities are freezing.

It's minus 6 tonight. I'm sleeping in my sitting room with the heating on in here and I'm snug as a bug. I had the fire lit earlier.

I'm recovering from a hip replacement a week ago so I am treating myself.

Sadly much of the worry has been caused by the MSM and people on social media suggesting "pensioners" will not be able to afford adequate heating. They will be to blame if people reading dare not switch their heating on. Positive information, on the other hand, is worth-while.

keepingquiet

I am bewildered by this. Taking someone out to a warm place and going home at night to a cold house?

It makes no sense- better to be home in the daytime with no heating and put it on at night?

Better still- use the heating you have when you need it, all day long if necessary. What is the point of having it if it isn't used?

I am bewildered by this. Taking someone out to a warm place and going home at night to a cold house?
It makes no sense- better to be home in the daytime with no heating and put it on at night?

Sitting at home shivering on your own? Isn't it better to go somewhere where there is company, hot drinks, probably something to eat? Some elderly people might spend the time cold , miserable and alone but warm spaces offer not just warmth but warm company too and so much more.

Wetherspoons sell mugs of tea, coffee, hot chocolate etc for £1.56, with unlimited free refills. I have seen older people in there with their own sandwiches. The staff turn a blind eye.

I am bewildered by this. Taking someone out to a warm place and going home at night to a cold house?

It makes no sense- better to be home in the daytime with no heating and put it on at night?

Better still- use the heating you have when you need it, all day long if necessary. What is the point of having it if it isn't used?

Ilovecheese

They need to have a bit more common sense than to let themselves get so cold.

I agree. It’s ridiculous. We all knew winter was coming so we need to make sure we have saved enough money to afford keep warm. If not, then we can get pension credit.

Thank you surfingsal yes, I understood that particular situation but someone up above had mentioned Warm Banks and someone else the Asda "soup and a roll" offer. I was just putting it out there for others.

My advice would have been be to look at altering the boiler to come on at 3.30 or 4pm but someone has already suggested that.