Energy costs, the way we were, and how we might cope today.

Hello, I'm back ?

Unfortunately, I don't know which threads I was on.

You can't spell it because it's spelt wrong. I had an IT glitch and had to rejoin with a slightly different name.

In fact I'm so fed up with it I'm going to try rejoining!

I can not spell your name right for love nor money, I always do the double l. Sorry.
I am not sure what I could hire him out for. Shouting at the news isnt really a skill that is missing in most peoples lives.

Enough for one winter?

You could hire him out, that might be more profitable ?

Very little I imagine Callistemon . Not sure I have thought it through.

Galaxy

I grew up in a freezing house. I would sell dh rather than return to that.

How much is he worth?

I grew up in a freezing house, too. Chilblains every winter.

I used to get dressed under the bedclothes to avoid the cold. I don't relish returning to that, either.

I grew up in a freezing house. I would sell dh rather than return to that.

I remember the days of just a coal fire in the house and ice on the window, in my early childhood.

I also remember hating getting out of bed and dressed as a five year old because of the cold, and of lying awake in the middle of the night when I was older because I was cold.

Then there were the frequent ear infections and catarrh that plagued me all winter.

Some of you might have been made of sterner stuff (or have poor memories / rose-tinted glasses), but I clearly wasn't, and I have no desire to live like that again.

I'm already as careful as I can be with energy usage - or as careful as my DH will let me be, anyway - but would only go back to the old ways if there was absolutely no choice.

New build homes in this country should be much more eco friendly with the emphasis on insulation, solar and wind power etc. I saw a programme on some eco friendly house where the owners spent nothing on energy bills because of the way it was designed . Why are not all new builds made to follow such principles?

I have health conditions where I really cannot stand the cold. However, I cannot stand a warm bedroom, so heating is rarely on there. Ive invested in new thermal underwear and intend to layer up if necessary.

I think people will have to adapt. I have noticed some younger people wear summer clothing with the temperature in their houses in mid 20s.
I hate to think that people may actually die from cold if they can't afford heating this winter.

I live in a modern 3 bedroom house and over the years I have spent a fair bit of money insulating it. I have solar panels so when the sun shines for a few hours I get free hot water.

I have the heating on low in every room upstairs but downstairs each radiator is on the highest. I have the thermostat set at 18C and that is fine for me. One problem here is the staircase in my living room and of course the heat rises.

I only have the heating on overnight if it is going to be -2C or lower as it is cheaper to heat the house than pay for a plumber to sort out frozen or burst pipes.

I recently bought an air fryer and already it is paying for itself because I no longer use my electric large oven.

My house is not like Blackpool illuminations-it is task lighting only.

A neighbour and friend popped in a couple of days ago to help me with my router etc. He was dressed for mid July with thin clothes and a short sleeved shirt. Heaven knows what the T was in their house.

I am careful and to date, not cold but I do have a very thick cardigan on.

Kim19

Great post MBM, full of practicalities and compassion. Just great.

Thank you Kim19

This- Rosie likes the idea too.
She starts the night curled up in her dog bed in the corner of the bedroom, but by morning I often find her curled up against the small of my back.

tanith

If you have a normal boiler i.e. one with a tank for hot water take a look at the thermostats fitted on the front of the tank it should be at 60/65* I checked mine ages ago and it was set at 80* so I turned it down to 60* which is fine for everything I need to use it for. Apparently some plumbers just set it higher for no good reason when they are installing it.
It might save a little bit off your bill and we really don’t need hot water to be 80+*.

We had a new condensing boiler fitted 2 years ago and I used to turn the thermostat up in winter. This year I’ve left both the heating and the hot water settings on eco, and there’s no appreciable difference in the heating. The hot water is also fine - the only difference is that the water in the bathroom is slightly lower in temperature because it’s furthest away from the boiler. I can live with that.

Great post MBM, full of practicalities and compassion. Just great.

I can still hear my mother saying "You're nesh" if I complained I was cold.

There was always a coal fire in the sitting room but everywhere else was chilly.

If you have a normal boiler i.e. one with a tank for hot water take a look at the thermostats fitted on the front of the tank it should be at 60/65* I checked mine ages ago and it was set at 80* so I turned it down to 60* which is fine for everything I need to use it for. Apparently some plumbers just set it higher for no good reason when they are installing it.
It might save a little bit off your bill and we really don’t need hot water to be 80+*.

I wear a couple of layers, always natural fibres too, and pop a hot water bottle in at night, don't heat unused rooms, etc., but I absolutely will not wear a dressing gown/coat/hat during the day, I think it is disgraceful that people have to do so. My adult children are used to living in poor quality housing after years of shoddy, rip off student accommodation and are very good at using throws, blankets on the sofas and keep their houses at a far lower temperature than we do.

I'm really worried, though, about anyone who's poorly or has reduced mobility. Many will die from cold this winter - unacceptable in this day and age.

My kids already think it odd that I don't keep the whole place at tropical temperatures.

Downstairs (where I live) is 18 degrees (16 at night) and the shower room is toasty with a heated floor. Radiators are at maximum in the living rooms, kitchen and downstairs loo.

Upstairs, they're set at 2, just to keep the chill off. I heat my bed with the electric blanket before I get in - and leave the foot/leg section on low if it's chilly.

I really don't want to spend a fortune on heat and I dislike stuffy rooms. I'd rather wear layers, slipper boots - and a hat if necessary. Of course, I ramp up the heat if I have guests!

I've never had my heating on in the daytime and switch on about 5 or 6pm when the place is at its coldest as I have windows open every day, all day.
You can get too accustomed to constant warmth so much so that you feel you can't, or don't function without warmth and that's not good if you're reasonably healthy.

I do have a circulatory problem but providing I don't sit for too long I'm okay as blood doesn't reach the extremities ( hands and feet ) but it could be worse
Anyone with real health problems will suffer greatly in more ways than one because in many cases it's vital to have warmth.

Personally I think the situation is appalling !

Realistically this isn’t going to happen, younger people know nothing else, and won’t go back to non centrally heated houses, particularly now home working is on the permanent increase. New homes don’t even have chimneys usually. I think most will scrimp on other things instead, I can see a rise in home grown produce, one car families, use of food banks, etc. before them being cold.

Along with others, yes, we had just the one coal fire in the ‘kitchen’, which was actually the living room. There were fireplaces in the two bedrooms and the front room. The latter was lit at Christmas and that was it. We maybe had our bedroom fire lit if we were ill in bed, the mumps outbreak comes to mind.

Later on, we had an electric wall heater in the bathroom, probably switched on just before our weekly bath, and switched off pretty quickly.

We wore vests, wool jumpers and socks, had hot water bottles in our bed at night. The winters must have been long and cold, but somehow we managed.

Teacheranne

I don’t have any source of heat other than central heating, no fire place for a gas fire, but I was wondering about buying an electric heater so I could top up the heat in my lounge without turning up the thermostat. I guess I need to do some sums!

I’m lucky though that although not really rich, I do have enough money in savings and investments to be able to afford the anticipated increases in energy bills, food and other things. My income alone is not sufficient but when I retired I decided not to take one of my additional pensions as an annuity but to use drawdown instead. The plan is to use those funds as and when needed for maintaining my house, buying large items such as a new car and having holidays but obviously I will now use some of it to pay increased bills.

I worry about my children, in their 30’s, they are both single but managed to buy their first houses in 2019 so have quite steep mortgages from just one income. I know neither of them overstretched themselves and they both have well paid jobs but these increases will have an impact especially if interest rates go up as well. There will be a lot of people like them who will struggle, it’s not just older people.

We bought an oil filled plug in heater - the type with ‘fins’ - for mum’s bedroom. So far so good, doesn’t seem to be adding much to the overall costs and has a built in timer so you don’t forget it.