Soaring heating costs, what's your plan.

You were commenting on your increased costs VS. I commented that, unlike most of us, you are young (GN being for over 50s) and still working, not retired and on a fixed income. I’m not offering sympathy - far from it. I’m sure many of us wish we were your age and able to work in order to increase our income.

An article in today"s "Times" extolled the health benefits of maintaining lower temperatures in the house, while at the same time spelling out the danger of hypothermia for "the elderly". Thick socks are apparently a "must", with an electric blanket or hot water bottle rather than heating the whole bedroom. We have lit our log burner twice recently, just enough to heat the room and then let it die down - lovely! No central heating on as yet, just a vest or two!

Germanshepherdsmum

Crikey VS, you’re 25 years younger than me. At your age, and for a good many years afterwards, I also had dependants and was working my backside off. Most people here are retired, on fixed incomes, too old to earn much if anything. Pardon me if I don’t get my violin out,

I'm not sure I understand your comment?

I'm don't need or want your sympathy

I shared what I am doing to stay warm

You questioned

I answered

What is it that you wanted me to say?

I bought a heated throw last year and thoroughly recommend them, I use it on those evenings when I would have had heating on and it's brilliant. My dog agrees! I also use a hot water bottle, popped into bed well before I am and I don't need heating upstairs. Decent warm socks are also good at keeping me comfortable when the temp drops as are layers and I'll wear bed socks if it's really cold.

Crikey VS, you’re 25 years younger than me. At your age, and for a good many years afterwards, I also had dependants and was working my backside off. Most people here are retired, on fixed incomes, too old to earn much if anything. Pardon me if I don’t get my violin out,

MissAdventure

Germanshepherdsmum

Be careful MissA, you don’t want to be put on a pre payment meter.

That would really rile me!
I'll have to make a small payment each time it gets close to that.

Fingers crossed it won't get to that point.

Miss A

Can you come to some kind of arrangement with your energy supplier? They are supposed to be "listening".

You don' want to live with that threat hanging over you, and from what I understand, you pay more with a pre-payment meter. If they are aware that you are vulnerable / at risk, and you are deemed to be making an 'effort', I'm pretty sure they'll hold off with such a meter.

I need the heat for my widespread OA and joints become very stiff almost frozen..have had throws on legs for past few weeks. the weather is mild outside in many places but if you have a condition, it often feels colder inside...but feel people are making others feel panicked.. thats my opinion anyway!

Don’t let the house get stone cold the cold air will do you harm, if it gets really bad keep one room warm, live and sleep in it. We are getting help with heating make sure you use it

winterwhite

My DH is unco-operative about keeping heating costs down. His circulation is poor, but he insists on using the coldest room in the house for his study, sitting at his desk most of the day and turning up the thermostat for the whole house whenever he emerges. Not to mention having it come on at dawn and stay on till midnight.
I've just negotiated a new way of organising our joint finances whereby I contribute only a third rather than half to our energy bills. ?✅ To be fair he agreed cheerfully.

If your DH has poor circulation, his study and the rest of the house need to maintain a warm ambient temperature.

Low - cold - temperature restrict blood flow and that means your heart has to work harder to pump it around the body, which increases blood pressure and heart rate.

Of course, the resulting energy bill might also raise your blood pressure somewhat so it's good that you've negotiated a deal with him!

I'm 46 so very much still working

I also still have dependents

Our electricity bill has gone up by £70 a month and they are saying it isn't enough and heating oil is about £1200 for 1000 litres, an average for a home my size would be 2000 litres a year.

Cost of living expenses, petrol for work, food, other bills... have all gone up

I'd love to be warmer and I would be could I afford to be. I'm certainly not trying to compete on energy frugality

VioletSky

We aren't all getting help GSM

I have heating oil which has more than doubled in price and I don't have the option to get very far in debt, they just won't deliver.

I think we can trust most people to know their own circumstances, how warm whatever the temperature setting is for their individual house and whether even the energy caps and subsidies are enough for them

Indeed VS. But you will get help with your electricity bill and if you were in receipt of SP you’d be getting more, but I believe you’re somewhat younger than most of us here?

Forbes: UPDATE 1 OCTOBER: Energy Price Guarantee Effective From Today. The government Energy Price Guarantee has come into effect today, replacing the Ofgem energy price cap.

The guarantee limits the annual bill for a household with typical consumption levels to £2,500 a year for the next two years. However, it is not a cap on bill size – those who use more energy will pay more, those who use less will pay less.

Crucially, the quoted typical bill will be lowered to £2,100 for 2022/23 because every household will automatically receive a £400 reduction in their electricity bills, spread over six months from October to March 2023.

The Guarantee caps the amount energy companies can charge for units of gas and electricity, and for associated standing charges for each type of fuel.

Every household will receive £66/ month for 6 months?

Am I correct? Or am I mistaken?

Germanshepherdsmum

Be careful MissA, you don’t want to be put on a pre payment meter.

That would really rile me!
I'll have to make a small payment each time it gets close to that.

Fingers crossed it won't get to that point.

Casdon

Germanshepherdsmum

People should listen to MOnica. She knows what she’s talking about. These threads seem to be almost a competition as to how low the thermostat is set and who can hold off turning the heating on for longest. It’s dangerous. Help with fuel bills is being given.

The help with fuel bills doesn’t cover the rise in costs though GSM. Not everybody can afford to maintain their house at a constant 18. Any tips people can give to help those who are unable to do so are surely helpful - not in a hair shirt sort of way, but practical ideas which work.

Exactly. And it's not just about the rise in energy bills, it's all the other rising prices taken as a whole. For some people, holding off turning on the heating as long as possible isn't some kind of game, it's a reality.

My daughter lived for 7 years without putting her heating cold, she just wrapped with layers believe me it was t good BUT she survived winter after winter just mainly sitting in a cold house, how she did it I don’t know,. She died this year but it had nothing whatsoever to do with her cold house, just that she wouldn’t take certain medication and died from sepsis. Just saying

My DH is unco-operative about keeping heating costs down. His circulation is poor, but he insists on using the coldest room in the house for his study, sitting at his desk most of the day and turning up the thermostat for the whole house whenever he emerges. Not to mention having it come on at dawn and stay on till midnight.
I've just negotiated a new way of organising our joint finances whereby I contribute only a third rather than half to our energy bills. ?✅ To be fair he agreed cheerfully.

I'm in the north of Scotland and it has already started to get chilly with a sharp wind so I have been putting the heating on in the morning when I get up to warm up the house and then nip back to bed to have a cup of coffee. I keep it on for an hour maximum and it really does make a difference. If I don/t do that if I am going out fairly early I seem to feel the cold all day. I have looked out a heated throw which I bought a few years ago when my late DH was poorly as, even if the heating was on all day, he felt the cold. It is absolutely brilliant as I read a lot and I believe it costs between 2p-4p to run. I don't really want to go back to hot water bottles as it brings back memories of my father when he was unemployed filling one for me to sit with my feet on when I came home from school as we couldn't afford to put the fire on until evening!!

I have put it on here and there but we both work so there is no need for it to be on in the day and my dog wears a fur coat

We have oil so I can see how much I am using and how much it is online

It's early October. I am no martyr, but haven't felt the need to put the heating on yet. I will when I do.

Germanshepherdsmum

People should listen to MOnica. She knows what she’s talking about. These threads seem to be almost a competition as to how low the thermostat is set and who can hold off turning the heating on for longest. It’s dangerous. Help with fuel bills is being given.

I second that.

Doodledog

That all sounds lovely 3dognight! Your house will be really cosy.

Thanks Doodle, I really hope so.

We aren't all getting help GSM

I have heating oil which has more than doubled in price and I don't have the option to get very far in debt, they just won't deliver.

I think we can trust most people to know their own circumstances, how warm whatever the temperature setting is for their individual house and whether even the energy caps and subsidies are enough for them

Germanshepherdsmum

People should listen to MOnica. She knows what she’s talking about. These threads seem to be almost a competition as to how low the thermostat is set and who can hold off turning the heating on for longest. It’s dangerous. Help with fuel bills is being given.

The help with fuel bills doesn’t cover the rise in costs though GSM. Not everybody can afford to maintain their house at a constant 18. Any tips people can give to help those who are unable to do so are surely helpful - not in a hair shirt sort of way, but practical ideas which work.

That all sounds lovely 3dognight! Your house will be really cosy.