Soaring heating costs, what's your plan.

I have a heated throw which is keeping us warm and have an air fryer combined with pressure cooker I very rarely use the oven. We are lucky our house is well insulated, I have started to put heating on occasionally but just for half an hour and that combined with heated throw is keeping us warm. So far we have used £12.06 on gas & electric this month - we are £450 in credit on energy account but out direct debit is set to rise to £187 from £143 this month. We average £80 a month on gas & electricity so I will be contacting energy company at end of month to query this as we are so far not even using all the monthly direct debit. The energy company has also said they will review account May 2024 and not April 2023 as they feel 7 months is not long enough to calculate energy bills at the higher rate. I feel they are holding on to large credit balances to offset the debits on accounts of people who are struggling to pay their energy costs. We are on pension credit and our energy bill is almost 25 percent of out total income !

It hasn't happened yet, and I quite enjoy giving them the runaround. (small things please small minds)

We don't really have a plan. We'll light our boiler and put the heating on when it gets cold enough; use our electric blanket to warm the bed before we retire; and still use the washing machine, tumble dryer and dishwasher as needed. We also recently bought an Air Fryer which is already making a difference to our energy consumption.

We'll try to remember to turn lights off more diligently, and I bought some bedsocks as I have poor circulation and my feet get cold but in all honesty I don't expect them to stay on in bed. I also have two handmade quilts for the beds if it gets really, really cold.

As I usually wear t-shirts and light clothing right through the winter (plus a cardigan occasionally) I really don't want to be bundled up in layers and blankets etc.

We'll just muddle along and hope that we get through the winter with a bit of money left.

My lounge is always cool even in the hottest summers as it never gets any sun. So my heating comes on earlier than most people. Since our lovely summer disappeared this year it's been on every morning and for an hour or so every evening, occasionally during the day for half an hour for a quick thaw out. I cannot bear being cold.

Our boiler switches on to heat water only for the morning; we don't have it on again in the evening as we used to, and there is plenty of hot water if anyone wants a shower before bed. Wish I had tried this earlier. Also, I put the heating on for one hour if the evening is particularly chilly and the house stays warm until we go to bed. 'Just had a statement to say that gas and electricty have cost £60 this month - and we are paying £157 now that the government is subsidising fuel payments. I appreciate that we haven't used the heating much - today is a beautiful autumn day and quite mild - but I do feel encouraged that we can cut back quite drastically and not be uncomfortable...so far!
Incidentally, why does every thread these days seem to get aggressive and nasty at some point, with insults and a lot of seemingly unfeeling comments? It's fairly recent; are there new posters with particularly unkind personalities?

I think we are having a slightly easier time of it here in Denmark than you are in the UK, but that may change now as our government has been forced to schedule a general election on the 1st November and if they do not remain in power after the election and we finish up with a Conservative prime minister - well I don't need to paint the picture for you in Britain, do I?

I ordered a load of logs for our wood burner just after Russia waded in to Ukraine, although we should not need them this winter and am I glad now that I did?

Logs are three times the price now that they were in February-March of this year.

Our central heating is on, after DH came down with pneumonia. The house is colder than usual, as we have the individual theromostats lower than usual on each and every radiator, and some of them are still not warm at all.

We are hoping to avoid having to use the deferred payment scheme our government has brought in, but may be forced to. Using it, you pay the amount you paid last year, and can defer payment of anything in excess of that until 2024.

I have no intention of having less heating on, as the weather grows colder. I would rather die in debt later on to the electricity company or the government who is guaranteeing repayment of deferred bills, than die of hypothermia or pneumonia now.

Our municipal heating plant and our electricity company are mainly using wind-generated electricity so although our prices have gone up they are still far more reasonable than yours.

However, we are on a war-time footing - only one light on at a time in any room where one of us is, and all other lights turned off. The around-sound system in the sitting-room has been disconnected, no cooking or washing done betweem 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. when electricity is dearest, the tumble dryer is not used at present, but I may have to in the cold and wet weather that is coming. Maximum three warm showers each a week - you can wash in cold water on the other days, Oven filled up when it is (rarely) on.

Clothes are being worn a day longer before washing, bed-linen is changed slightly less frequently than previously.

I am more concerned about power outages. We all get a good amount this winter towards our heating costs. Penioners get £700 plus extra for certain people

I have recently ensured I have an alterntive means of boiling water and cooking simple food ,also enough fuel for my multi fuel fire for two years. Battery lights and radio sorted also candles. Hot water bottle and warm layers

House thermostats are set at a comfortable temperature, downstairs underfloor heating will be on constant 20.5 as it takes a long time to warm up and cool down. Hardly been on as yet as the sun is still warming. I will not be cold as am in a new build

I live alone & I don't work due to ill health. I was just discussing this with my sister, who also lives alone but works. We have to pay the same to heat our homes, as a couple or more people who live together, that have 2 or 3 wages, pensions or benefits coming in. So we tend to be more frugal.

Sane old same old...nastiness and bitchiness. Gransnet need to step in and sort this out and people need to grow up and realise everyone is entitled to their opinion without the sniping

Insulation/draught proofing as far as possible. Close unused areas. Check YOUR consumption last year and how much (with all the allowances) you'd pay this year. Many will be surprised how little difference. Hope for a mild winter. www.moneysavingexpert.com/energy/

Power outages are a good point.

We have a gas camping cooker and gas cylinders for it which are easy to get out in the event of a power cut. Handy for hot drinks and heating food.

We have candles and lights handy too. I have even read online about a way of getting heat from candles, though I haven't looked into it yet and am not sure of safety. Here's the link in case anyone is interested theprepared.com/blog/can-a-flower-pot-and-tealight-candle-create-enough-heat-to-save-you-in-a-cold-emergency/

It's probably sensible to discuss survival in the event of a power cut and also those tin foil survival blankets are really cheap to buy. A hat is a must. A good battery torch... having certain things to hand will help us all feel more safe in the event of having no power.

Actually it's probably unsafe to use candles as heat. Better to get a hot water bottle and use that. I need to buy some new ones. Then I can heat up water on the camping stove and we can cuddle a hot water bottle and snuggle up.

We have a rechargeable torch which stays plugged in (so is always fully charged) and lights up when the power goes off, so you can find it.

I have a primus and spare canisters upstairs, as well as bottled water and things like cup soup that can be made up easily in an emergency. I'll have to dig them all out and put them somewhere easy to find.

I used to have an 'emergency box' in the kitchen with all sorts of things like that, but my children systematically 'borrowed' everything in it for festivals and the like, so I started again . Getting the box back in order is somewhere near the top of my 'To Get Around To' list.

I am more concerned about power outages.

I'm wondering if that will be a problem too, karmalady

If the sun shines my conservatory is warm even on a winter's afternoon but if not I shall be wary of using the underfloor heating.

I'm hoping to buy a heated throw, and possibly an oil filled radiator.
I've bought draught proofing tape and also thinking of getting a tension rod and door curtain (the latter, possibly from a Charity shop).
I live in a rented property, no open fireplaces or wood burning stove.
I already use an Air Fryer and Slow Cooker. If I can, I'm looking to buy a Microwave too!

It's been on for three weeks. Layering up just doesn't work for me & could never go to bed in a cold room.

I haven't read all the posts but has anyone metioned a dehumidifier to dry the washing? It's far cheaper to run than a tumble dryer.
I line dry outside as much as I can though & maybe finish off with the dehumidifier, at this time of year.

I rarely put my heating on before November anyway and always put a jumper on first. I keep my thermostat set at 18C which is the recommended minimum for anyone who is either elderly or ill. My £65 arrived promptly from British Gas two days ago, credited direct to my smart prepayment meter - this will help enormously with my electricity costs. Frankly the government have done a lot to help everyone with energy costs this winter and are not getting enough credit for it. As well as the £400 over 6 months for everyone, there is the £300 extra for pensioners and the cost of living payment of £324 will be paid to those on benefits in November. Then there is the price cap - without it the cap would have risen by 80% this October rather than 25%, the 25% being offset by the £400 discount. The energy crisis is an international one - European leaders including Truss are meeting today to discuss this, in addition to other issues. We are paying the price for short termism when it comes to energy security across Europe, in addition to the war in Ukraine. Stay warm everyone!

I agree with you Georgesgran
I too think there has been a lot of scaremongering in the press.
Yes obviously it’s a fact that fuel prices worldwide have risen but the government has stepped in with a generous package of help for all including extra help for certain groups.

I do wonder though if some particularly vulnerable people have been scared witless by all this talk of a crisis, so much so that they will be terrified of turning any type of heating on and put their health at serious risk.

This is the ‘rainy day’ our parents and grandparents told us to save for isn’t it?

I do wonder what world some people live in

I will heat our home as normal, don’t intend to be cold all winter
Will fund with some of the holiday savings that we missed going on because of covid ..

Heating on for an hour or so now and then. A strategically placed ornament moved back and forth to remind us if it's on or off. But mainly electric throws. Fantastic.

I worked with families, and saw mothers trying to go back to work - one said that she felt people looked at her differently because she was having benefits, and although she was thirty pounds a month worse off by working, she ploughed on - and then the six week holiday came. Along with the loss of some benefit and free school meals, and no way of having her children cared for, she reluctantly had to give up working.

This is the ‘rainy day’ our parents and grandparents told us to save for isn’t it?

Which is all well and good if you have savings. Unfortunately, those most in need of help have probably been living hand to mouth from one month to the next, with no chance whatsoever to save anything.

So sharp Volver I take your point but really no need for the aggressive question.

Lizzie when I signed up to Octopus, in October ‘21, the chap warned that it was considerably more than I was paying with E-on, but I’d seen there were already warning signs of huge increases, so I took a gamble - it could have come back and bitten me on the backside!