Have You Put Your Heating On Yet ?

[Bottesford]

Yes letting your house drop low will encourage damp and how do you dry your clothes? They can't go outside much anymore (unless you get a lot of sun in your garden and you put them out early enough) so they have to go on the radiators. If you just hang them in a cold room they don't dry - then they start to mould/not smell so fresh.

[Nick L]

Just fired up the heating for the first time to see if the thing works! Thankfully it does. Will probably put it on for an hour of a morning and evening from now on when it's a bit chilly. Drying clothes aren't a problem for me though, I just put them on a clothes airer in my room - gets sun pretty much all day and is a greenhouse by lunchtime!

[Bottesford]

Lucky you! With sunlight only gracing our house ~8:30am to ~10am this time of year (garden in permanent shadow now) and then you'd have to move the clothes horse every few mins to catch the beams it's not practical for drying big towels and such!

[Don]

Heating has been on the last couple of nights, although haven't needed it during the day.

[Coast]

From the Daily Mirror:

Fuel poverty kills more people than road accidents

AT least 2,700 people die every winter because they can’t afford their soaring heating bills.

More people lose their lives because they are too poor to heat their homes than are killed in road accidents, a Government-commissioned report has revealed. Professor John Hills of the London School of Economics, who led the study, said the figure was a “conservative estimate” and could be much higher. The damning report comes after £30billion profits made by the Big Six power companies over the last five years were exposed. But while the energy companies have been making a fortune, fuel poverty in the UK has soared.

In 2004 1.2 million people were living in fuel poverty – defined as where more than 10% of a person’s income is spent on heating their home – but this year the figure has jumped to 4.1million. Between 2004 and 2009, the fuel poverty gap – the extra amount families in badly insulated and poorly heated homes would need to spend to keep warm – increased by 50% from £740million to £1.1billion. Professor Hills said: “The evidence shows how serious the problem of fuel poverty is, increasing health risks and hardship for millions, and hampering urgent action to reduce energy waste and carbon emissions.

http://www.mirror.co.../#ixzz1bP2zHnpY

[swipe]

I dry my clothes in the conservatory all year round, it works a treat. In the dead of winter they will sit in there for 2 days and then I just air them off by the woodburner overnight.

Edited October 21, 2011 by swipe

[Snowangel-MK]

I dry my clothes in the conservatory all year round, it works a treat. In the dead of winter they will sit in there for 2 days and then I just air them off by the woodburner overnight.

I've got a 'pulley maid' in my utility/laundry room - the boiler is in there so my washing dries overnight in the winter months when it's too cold or wet to peg out on the line.

http://www.pulleymai...othes_Airer.htm

[Lynxus]

Finally had to put the heating on the last few days Wanted to hold out until Nov really..

[Aaron]

I find that article from Mirror ridiculous to be honest. A standard UK winter is not cold enough to kill a person, this isn't Russia or Sweden we're talking about.

I'm on a low income yet heat my home no problem, what am I doing that other people aren't? I really have no idea. Maybe people are cheap.

[Guest]

I find that article from Mirror ridiculous to be honest. A standard UK winter is not cold enough to kill a person, this isn't Russia or Sweden we're talking about.

I'm on a low income yet heat my home no problem, what am I doing that other people aren't? I really have no idea. Maybe people are cheap.

You obviously haven't heard of hypothermia - it doesn't occur at any particular temperature and it doesn't have to be sub zero temperatures, though obviously cold enough to feel cold - it's where your body goes into a downward slope of loosing heat. The UK winter temperatures are quite sufficient to induce this, especially in older people where their body regulating system is not as efficient as it once was and it does kill.

[TonyH]

Central heating on since yesterday as it was chilly and damp feeling. Only on first thing and for a few hours in the evening until the first proper cold weather arrives next month.

[Team Jo]

Got Back from the Dominican Republic early hours of Monday morning, going from a 30c heat down to 3c at Gatwick means that the heating has been on and off ever since. I usually have it on a timer between 4am and 6am for warmth in the morning and then 5pm-7pm when I get back from work.

If I'm honest, I tend to leave it on past 7.... but not too late, I'm in a 1 bed flat so it retains the heat quite well & gets a bit stuffy otherwise. I would rather eat ketchup on toast and save money on food than be cold.

The other thing I'm a huge fan of are micro fleece blankets, I've got 4, only cost about a tenner from costco, and they are super super instant warm. Couple on the bed and a one on the sofa!

Pops swears by his electric blanket, but the one time I tried it I felt like I was in a sandwich toaster....

[jean91]

I find that article from Mirror ridiculous to be honest. A standard UK winter is not cold enough to kill a person, this isn't Russia or Sweden we're talking about.

I'm on a low income yet heat my home no problem, what am I doing that other people aren't? I really have no idea. Maybe people are cheap.

Well if some really put 10 %( which may certainly be the case)

of income in heating i do understand if they are not heating it everyday or even every week.And if these are eldery people this can in fact take upon their health( especially if they have chronic deseases)

Also a much colder winter than usual can kill many ( during those 1985 and 86 winters there was an increase of deaths . But yes it is for extremes winters as for extreme summers ( 2003 was really a disaster in France with nearly 15000 dead ) and not for average winters or summers.

Sorry for this out of subject point.

Edited October 21, 2011 by jean91

[stewfox]

Open the window last night so warm reminded me of summers long ago

[Dorsetbred]

Must have turned cold last night the heating came on for the first time this season.

[greybing]

Unfortunately for me I live without central heating and also ,at the moment,my mobile heater has broke.Going to have to get one soon before the weather inevitably turns a lot colder.To answer the original question ,''i wpould have had heating on if i'd hsd thhe option''.

[Coast]

The combination of unseasonal warmer days and colder nights is causing conflict among households across the UK over whether to turn the heating on or slip on an extra layer of clothing, according to research by MoneySupermarket.com. Research from Britain's number one comparison site found a third of UK adults (31 per cent) argue with their family about turning the heating on. A fifth (19 per cent) admit they get irritated because someone else switches the heating on before they want to, while on the other hand, 12 per cent admit to rowing with family or housemates because they want to turn the heating on sooner than everyone else. A whopping three quarters of those arguing (76 per cent) stated the reason for disagreeing about turning on the heating is they or the people they live with are concerned about the rising cost of energy this winter.

The research also found over 26 million prudent adults would rather wear extra layers this winter than turn on the heating. Those in the South West take the top spot when it comes to wrapping up warm, with two thirds (63 per cent) preferring to put a jumper on over turning the heating on.

Scott Byrom, energy expert at MoneySupermarket said: "The temperature may be dropping, but households across the country are getting heated. Arguing over whether to switch on the heating or not seems to be hot on the agenda for struggling bill payers. Unsurprisingly, many consumers are concerned about the high cost of energy, especially as the latest round of price hikes saw an extra 17.4 per cent added to the cost of gas and 10.8 per cent to the cost of electricity. The average annual standard bill now stands at a wallet-busting £1,287 and people are quite rightly scared - as we move into the winter months energy consumption is at its highest with bill payers using around 40 per cent of their annual usage during these months, this could see huge bills of around £514.80 land on doorsteps after the expensive Christmas and New Year period

http://www.marketwat...osts-2011-11-08

[Bottesford]

Certainly sparks off some debates in our house the heating does!

Missus: It's freezing in here I'm cold!

Me: It's not cold, the heat's been on anyway

Missus: I don't care I'm cold and look its only 19c! I want 21c.

Me: Actually it's almost 20c (19.8c...) and its fine if you move around a bit.

Missus: I'm sitting on the computer and I'm in a jumper already.

If I'm in a confrontational mood...

Me: Well I'm in a t-shirt and am about to hoover the floor so tough

Otherwise...

Me: I blame the naff thermostat for being so inaccurate I'll notch it up to warm it a little before we start shouting...

You could rinse and repeat this conversation from early October right through to some time in April. And you wonder why I prefer heat...

[kernowman]

My heating went on for the first time this season yesterday, it was a cold day, much warmer today so no need for the heating to be back on again.

[sparky1972]

i am not one for having the heating on until the cold weather arrives, but i must admit after just returning home from a week in cancun i might just have to put it on for a while.

[Upgrade]

heating definitely not on yet. most years it comes on by early / mid Nov . latest in the last 5 years is 17 November (2006) Wonder whether this year will beat that record!

[cheeky_monkey]

i am managing to just have the heating on for 1 hour 1st thing in the morning and for an hour btween 6-7 pm..even though it got down to -16c on sat night and gets well below freezing every night the house seems to retain heat pretty well so far.

[Crepuscular Ray]

i am managing to just have the heating on for 1 hour 1st thing in the morning and for an hour btween 6-7 pm..even though it got down to -16c on sat night and gets well below freezing every night the house seems to retain heat pretty well so far.

Cheeky you naughty monkey, if you've seen temps of anything lower than +3 I'll be gobsmacked.

Edit. Oh bum, I just realised that you're in Alberta currently, not Essex. Crepuscular Ray=numbskull! Goes hang head in shame.

Edited November 8, 2011 by crepuscular ray

[Methuselah]

Still a 'no'...

[wimblettben]

Have been having it on recently but only occasionally.

May put it on this evening as although it isn't particullarly cold, the house can drop in temperature due to no more high daytime temperatures.