This winter is going to be difficult for a lot of people in the UK.
On the forum how are people preparing?
I'm going to replace all my bulbs with LED bulbs (been meaning to for a while), buy draught excluders for my external doors and the main bedroom and living room, and determine whether I can add more insulation to my roof.
Also I had my gas boiler service a few weeks ago and the fella said that it is actually more efficient to have the boiler on continually to heat up the house (like set the thermostat at 18 degrees) as it uses less gas than only trying to heat up the house at particularly times.
One of my vices is that I like living in old houses (more character, bigger gardens), so sub-optimum insulation and giant windows that let out heat are something I put up with in windy, cold Scotland. Heating a house is something I've spent a lot of time looking at in embarrassingly tedious detail, in part to ensure no dampness issues (my first house turned out to have rising damp which I couldn't afford to fix so I had to mitigate it). Plus home working let me work out some things about the most efficient way to heat a house over 24hrs. My personal experiences are:
[Scotsman]
- Shut all internal doors at all times (this helps with condensation which loves hot air meeting cold air) and use draft excluders for your heated rooms.
- keep all radiators at a minimum of 1 out of 5 on the the heat toggle to keep a baseline of warmth in all rooms (roughly 10 degrees). You use very little additional energy to keep a room at that level and it helps preserve your building.
- in multiple houses I've had boilers seem unhappy if they are on for a long periods where it isn't being asked to create hot water (loud unhappy noises and/or deactivating until I run the hot tap for a while). I think it's a myth boilers are happier to be kept on all the time and I know it's not cheaper.
- the biggest daily expense by far is your first time heating of the house for the day (as you are heating from a cooler overnight temperature), subsequent top ups by switching the central heating back on use a lot less energy. If you are skint and your home is going to be empty early in the morning I'd be tempted to skip central heating entirely in the morning (using localised electric heaters instead if needed) and leave the first use of central heating until you are back at work or a lot of energy will be wasted.
- switch heating off 90 mins before bed (giving the bathroom and bedroom a wee burst before you switch it off for the night)
- 3 out of 5 (~20 degrees) should be ample as a radiator setting for any room you are spending time in. Its winter, you should not be wearing shorts and t-shirts indoors. Getting a few nice fleeces with a furry interior can be a boon.
- footwear. Get a combo of an oversized fur interior slipper boot things and a thick woolly/insulated sock to wear over your normal socks and you will feel far, far warmer than in just socks or normal slippers. Combine this and the fleece and this is the single biggest money saver by a mile in my opinion, more so even than insulation or shutting curtains. Plus it's just so cosy and comfortable when the icey wind is blowing outside.
- that said, shut curtains on cold evenings, particularly windy ones, to minimise the draft
- if you are absolutely desperate then fingerless gloves, a blanket/throw and even a woolly hat might be options to reduce the amount of time you feel like you need to have the heating on for. You could also spend longer in morning and night in a thick dressing gown. "Throw on a jumper" is a saying for a reason.
- if it's a chilly night that is forecast and your house has some condensation issues then consider a dehumidifier. Cheap to run, prevents moisture, sucks up moisture in bathrooms and kitchens without having to open windows and did you know rooms heat up more quickly the lower the humidity level (as in, it is more energy efficient to keep the house at lowish humidity). If you are really nerdy (guilty!) look at the met office website for humidity levels and open windows to get a through draft in your house for 20mins a day if there are times when humidity is less than 70% outside (obviously not heating the house for a few hours before you plan to do this). This will help keep on top of humidity and condensation levels through winter and, counter intuitively will be a money saver because of the savings in heating rooms with lower humidity is more cost effective.
- get a hygrometer to measure humidity and make sure you keep it at a max of 67% so damp can't spread and mites that can damage your breathing can't breed. If you've got kids its worth £10 on a hygrometer just to make sure your house is healthy for their lungs.
- if you have a sunny room, keep the blinds open on sunny days
- working out keeps you warm for a surprising amount of time. Do more workouts at home rather than at the gym in wintertime.
- get a high tog winter duvet for winter.
- eat more in winter. A few more tatties per meal, don't feel bad about having a 'dad bod' for a few of the darker months if the year.
- drink hot beverages in winter. Fruit juice etc will bring your body temp way down.
- porridge for breakfast in winter. Half cup oats, half cup milk (yes, milk doesn't make you a wimp), 2mins 10 in microwave stirring two thirds through and you are heated right up.
- don't keep appliances you arent using on standby
- look into grants etc for insulation. I've had two lofts done for free.
[/Scotsman]
Good luck to anyone feeling the pinch.
