Heating

not sure if anyone is with BG.. but when they re estimate your usage/direct debit payments...if you have more than £100 they are suppose to automatically refund you tell them otherwise, of course! you can leave it in your account as credit towards your next session. I asked for £100 from my electric and £100 from my gas as I was well in credit and my direct debits would not be changing (at the mo) £200 better in my account than theirs!

Our heating is on very low as DH reckons that as we are in a bungalow it's not a good idea to have some rooms colder than others and I'm not going to argue with that! The woodburner is our main source of warmth hence we use the sitting room more than any other. Our bedroom leads off from the sitting room so we leave the door ajar. One of the dogs settles down by the stove when we go to bed but she's always in our bed when we wake up on the morning. I don't know how she sneaks in so quietly but she never wakes us.

We are all electric and our DD is £100 per month. We buy coal but we are self sufficient in logs which is a blessing.

The winter fuel payment arrived on Monday which was welcome as we've already paid £160 for coal to help the logs along.

DH feels the cold more than I do as he's on warfarin but I hope we can keep the heating down as low as possible. I am happy to pile on the layers and wrap myself in a fleecy throw while watching TV but he says he hates wearing too many clothes

Granniepam Thanks for giving me that information, I shall have a look

Sorry to hear that Newist. We used to just ring up and order the oil when we needed it but now we either buy with a group of neighbours - if everyone wants some at the same time, or (more often) we order it from a company that will deliver within 12 days when and as it's delivering in our area. The wait is seldom as long as that though, it took just 36 hours this time. Look online.

Granniepam I wish I could get oil at the price you pay, mine was £130 more

Aka-- gasp at his cheek !

I pay the fuel bills. DH has just received his share of the Winter Fuel Payment (£100), shouldn't he hand it over to me? He says not.

riverwalk, there are questions about that twinsie that I hardly dare to ask - so I won't.

Even if I wasn't cold I would still have the heating on, it is not just keeping the person warm. Unheated houses become damp, clothes and furnishings develop mould and in the end cost more than the heating bill to remedy.

We do the same, granniepam. The heating goes back on again in the evening for an hour or so, though. I bank up the logburner before I go to bed and leave our bedroom door open, it's usually still alight the next morning. DH has an oil-filled radiator under his desk and that keeps him warm in his study. I worry about the fuel bills more than he does, because I know that he forgets how irritable he is when the bill is more than he expects it to be. We pay for our oil on a monthly direct debit, but not all oil suppliers will do that. I buy wood and coke in the summer when they are a bit cheaper, so have two coal bunkers to store the coke in. I think you think far more about how much you heat your house when you can see the logpile dwindling. I have had gas a couple of times and had the heating on all day.

fat finger syndrome strikes again ^^

nina I think they must estimate how much you are going to use based on your meter readings and ajust payments accordingly,when we first moved into our apartment I thoiught the heating bills where large considering it has only one bedroom,I mentioned it to an engineer who came to repair one of the heaters in the lounge and he took the time to explain the dials and output options on the heaters something that we had not been shown when we first moved in and since then we have to say our bills have been acceptable.
nonnie I don't need really cold weather to wear a onesie I could quite easily slob about all day in one they are so comphy.

This looks cosy!

double onesie

Just had 1000 litres of oil delivered. Took a big deep breath and paid the bill (£566.90) - we just use heating system to take the chill off each morning and heat up the water, then we keep the living area cosy with a log burner. So if one of us is cold they use the living area and the warmer one has the rest of the house. Oh, except DH has put an electric heater in the (ie his) study. It's me who worries about the bills......

The cold one could wear a onesie and the hot one a teashirt?

DH and I don't feel the cold either. We've only had the heating on twice this season, and that was to dry washing.
They are predicting much colder weather next week. So there goes the credit we currently have on our gas bill ! Why when they have £100+ of our money every autumn do they either keep our monthly payments the same or increase them

Its the opposite in our house OH is always cold and I worry about the bill.