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Have You Turned Your Heating On Yet ?


stewfox

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Posted
  • Location: Shepton Mallet 140m ASL
  • Weather Preferences: Cold, snow and summer heatwaves.
  • Location: Shepton Mallet 140m ASL

Heating has been on and off since last week of august when we had those very cold nights although only for around 1-2 hours at a time which we try to do until end of october. It has not been easy this last week though with house temperatures dropping to 15c and a little below at times. currently 17c in house but did have it on for an hour this evening. good.gif

By the time we reach november/december kind of time we can manage quite well with 12 - 15c with a few wolly jumpers however then comes xmas and the oldies and it gets pumped up to 21c for a week!

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Posted
  • Location: Shepton Mallet 140m ASL
  • Weather Preferences: Cold, snow and summer heatwaves.
  • Location: Shepton Mallet 140m ASL

If it's cold in July, I turn it on. If it's mild in January, it's off.

I'm never sure about this thread? Surely people turn it on and off depending on weather, not date??

Good point although you can often guage it by the time of year and personaly I always turn it on depending on the temperature rather than the weather...blum.gif

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Posted
  • Location: Purley, Surrey - 246 Ft ASL
  • Weather Preferences: January 1987 / July 2006
  • Location: Purley, Surrey - 246 Ft ASL

Well my last gas bill was £2.49.

I was away for 10 days of the month........but still! rofl.gif

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Posted
  • Location: Berlin, Germany
  • Weather Preferences: Ample sunshine; Hot weather; Mixed winters with cold and mild spells
  • Location: Berlin, Germany

I pay £48 per month but have fallen behind a bit this year doing that. Partly rising energy costs and partly the cold/wet spring, summer & now autumn! Not a good year for bill payers.

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Posted
  • Location: Purley, Surrey - 246 Ft ASL
  • Weather Preferences: January 1987 / July 2006
  • Location: Purley, Surrey - 246 Ft ASL

I pay £48 per month but have fallen behind a bit this year doing that. Partly rising energy costs and partly the cold/wet spring, summer & now autumn! Not a good year for bill payers.

Wow.....I have never paid that much in any month.

I suppose people just have different needs :)

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Posted
  • Location: Eastbourne, East Sussex (work in Mid Sussex)
  • Location: Eastbourne, East Sussex (work in Mid Sussex)

Someone came to the office today to bleed all the radiators. In doing so they had to turn them all fully on and it was like a a ruddy sauna in here for an hour or so. I've just gone 'round and turned them all off again, as people were objecting to me opening all the windows and turning the fans on. Jeez, it's still September you know.......

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Posted
  • Location: Napton on the Hill Warwickshire 500ft
  • Weather Preferences: Snow and heatwave
  • Location: Napton on the Hill Warwickshire 500ft

If it's cold in July, I turn it on. If it's mild in January, it's off.

I'm never sure about this thread? Surely people turn it on and off depending on weather, not date??

Date has a big psychological effect for me or affect .

Edited by stewfox
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Posted
  • Location: Whitkirk, Leeds 86m asl
  • Weather Preferences: Anything but mild south-westeries in winter
  • Location: Whitkirk, Leeds 86m asl

If it's cold in July, I turn it on. If it's mild in January, it's off.

I'm never sure about this thread? Surely people turn it on and off depending on weather, not date??

Exactly. Date is meaningless.

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Posted
  • Location: Berlin, Germany
  • Weather Preferences: Ample sunshine; Hot weather; Mixed winters with cold and mild spells
  • Location: Berlin, Germany

Wow.....I have never paid that much in any month.

I suppose people just have different needs smile.png

Or more to the point - different homes! I only use gas for hot water for washing up during the 3-5 months (this year just over 3 months) of it being warm enough to not need heating. Very inefficient being an old fashioned back boiler so my boiler man said yesterday as even the shower is electric.

I don't need 48 quids worth in summer of course but take a month like December 2010 and its burning half the North Sea gas supply to try to keep up (literally the boiler was burning constantly whilst we were in during that time and then *just* got the house to 21c after 5-6 hours solid burning after it fell to 13c during the working day). But despite the mostly mild winter the cold dragged on into June and has kicked off again mid-late Sept so its pushed it up this year.

For the first time this autumn the central heating is now on. We went out straight after work so meant the house is now cold. Normally on getting in at 6 I'd put the gas fire on to slowly raise it to 20c by bedtime. But coming in just now means I need to do it quickly or it'll be horrible to sleep in and worse to get up in tomorrow as I'm not yet setting the timer for morning.

Yes we are now looking for a new place to live as this place is horrible for efficiency and is only ever warm in heatwaves. Any of you out there who cringe & sweat when it gets above 20c come live here you'd be in your absolute element freezing your kecks off for almost all the year!

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Posted
  • Location: Derbyshire Peak District South Pennines Middleton & Smerrill Tops 305m (1001ft) asl.
  • Location: Derbyshire Peak District South Pennines Middleton & Smerrill Tops 305m (1001ft) asl.

I do feel for you Botty, must be a nightmare trying to keep the house warm. Maybe you could install a new central heating system....? I will say one thing, I installed underfloor heating at Baslow church which is not far from me and it's worked wonders and you want find a cooler building than a church. Also if you ever re-plaster your walls use Limelight renovating plaster backing, it's "very" insulative and would work wonders for a place like your's.

But it doesn't sound like you will be stopping there much longer...

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Posted
  • Location: Shepton Mallet 140m ASL
  • Weather Preferences: Cold, snow and summer heatwaves.
  • Location: Shepton Mallet 140m ASL

We have a similar problem as botty although I use oil instead of gas. Insulation is terrible and still have metal framed single pane windows on all of downstairs which in winter end up with icicles running down them! Doesnt help that in winter we lose all contact with total direct sunlight all sides of house.

Heating has been on for two hours this evening and temperature is only 16.8c now! In winter it drops to single figures by morning quite readily!

post-8911-0-27557500-1348693989_thumb.jp

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Posted
  • Location: Derbyshire Peak District South Pennines Middleton & Smerrill Tops 305m (1001ft) asl.
  • Location: Derbyshire Peak District South Pennines Middleton & Smerrill Tops 305m (1001ft) asl.

We have a similar problem as botty although I use oil instead of gas. Insulation is terrible and still have metal framed single pane windows on all of downstairs which in winter end up with icicles running down them! Doesnt help that in winter we lose all contact with total direct sunlight all sides of house.

Heating has been on for two hours this evening and temperature is only 16.8c now! In winter it drops to single figures by morning quite readily!

post-8911-0-27557500-1348693989_thumb.jp

Im all electric here as out in the sticks, and use storage heaters which are very good once you get to know how to use them properly. Have you tried fitting internal glazing as it's very cost effective?

Edited by Polar Maritime
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Posted
  • Location: Shepton Mallet 140m ASL
  • Weather Preferences: Cold, snow and summer heatwaves.
  • Location: Shepton Mallet 140m ASL

Im all electric here as out in the sticks, and use storage heaters which are very good once you get to know how to use them properly. Have you tried fitting internal glazing as it's very cost effective?

We thought about storage heaters although when no one is in house all day it seems a little pointless? Although maybe could have them timed to come on at mid day for the evening, then again its for all of about 3 or 4 hours use. House is rented so never really upgraded insulation much and won't dare ask because we risk large hike in rent which is currently £425 a month for a 4 bedroom house + over acre of land, stables, garage and conservatory which is very low for area. So we try lots of little things to help in winter without spending too much.

Only downside is heating bills :-(

Also storage heaters were for when electric was cheaper at night?? It's a standard price all day now.

Edited by mullender83
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Posted
  • Location: Derbyshire Peak District South Pennines Middleton & Smerrill Tops 305m (1001ft) asl.
  • Location: Derbyshire Peak District South Pennines Middleton & Smerrill Tops 305m (1001ft) asl.

My storage heaters tick over all day and charge during the night on eco7, as long as i tweak them according to the following night/day temp and open them up around 5/6pm and shut them down before i go to bed they are fantastic and very cheap to run to.

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Posted
  • Location: Shepton Mallet 140m ASL
  • Weather Preferences: Cold, snow and summer heatwaves.
  • Location: Shepton Mallet 140m ASL

My storage heaters tick over all day and charge during the night on eco7, as long as i tweak them according to the following night/day temp and open them up around 5/6pm and shut them down before i go to bed they are fantastic and very cheap to run to.

Thanks I shall have to look back into them :-) Oil is too expensive these days living in sticks.

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Posted
  • Location: Cheddar Valley, 20mtrs asl
  • Weather Preferences: Snow and lots of it or warm and sunny, no mediocre dross
  • Location: Cheddar Valley, 20mtrs asl

We have a similar problem as botty although I use oil instead of gas. Insulation is terrible and still have metal framed single pane windows on all of downstairs which in winter end up with icicles running down them! Doesnt help that in winter we lose all contact with total direct sunlight all sides of house.

Heating has been on for two hours this evening and temperature is only 16.8c now! In winter it drops to single figures by morning quite readily!

post-8911-0-27557500-1348693989_thumb.jp

We had a similar problem with the front door; despite the house being really well insulated, double glazed and always warm, the original '20's stained glass door and side panels always ran with condensation in the winter. Getting it double glazed would have ruined it so instead installed a thick, heavy curtain which is pulled as soon as it's dark, the difference it made was amazing, absolutely no condensation and a much, much warmer hallway. There's no need to replace your curtains, just add thermal lining to your existing ones. Steve Banes Fabrics, Christchurch Street in Frome, about £6 a metre.

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Posted
  • Location: Glenrothes,Fife,Scotland. 104m ASL
  • Location: Glenrothes,Fife,Scotland. 104m ASL

Curtain idea is a good one, my front door is straight into my sunroom, then a sliding door from the sunroom into the hall. The glass can get very cold during winter, a large curtain goes up every autumn and makes a huge difference. Double glazed or not, glass gets very cold.

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Posted
  • Location: South Yorkshire
  • Location: South Yorkshire

Bread an' taties, that's all y'need. Failing that,get a prepayment meter so you can get an instant reality check on how much you're using at any given time. I insisted on them for both leccy and gas. I must stress that they are not the reason I'm such a tight git with the heating, but it has opened the missus' eyes! I try to keep around a £150 float on both - no more outrageous bills every quarter that I've,ahem,failed to budget for!

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Posted
  • Location: Berlin, Germany
  • Weather Preferences: Ample sunshine; Hot weather; Mixed winters with cold and mild spells
  • Location: Berlin, Germany

I do feel for you Botty, must be a nightmare trying to keep the house warm. Maybe you could install a new central heating system....? I will say one thing, I installed underfloor heating at Baslow church which is not far from me and it's worked wonders and you want find a cooler building than a church. Also if you ever re-plaster your walls use Limelight renovating plaster backing, it's "very" insulative and would work wonders for a place like your's.

But it doesn't sound like you will be stopping there much longer...

It's a rented place so can't really do much about the heating system. I did get the landlord to put some roof insulation in as previously it was just bits of polystyrene thrown around in the roof space. Sadly this was after December 2010! Trouble is the roof is low with the pitch of it taking a corner out of each of the two upstairs rooms making it harder to insulate. We have to move soon as its a one bedroom house totally unsuitable for working from home (which is happening more for us both) and eventually to have kids in.

We thought about storage heaters although when no one is in house all day it seems a little pointless? Although maybe could have them timed to come on at mid day for the evening, then again its for all of about 3 or 4 hours use. House is rented so never really upgraded insulation much and won't dare ask because we risk large hike in rent which is currently £425 a month for a 4 bedroom house + over acre of land, stables, garage and conservatory which is very low for area. So we try lots of little things to help in winter without spending too much.

Only downside is heating bills :-(

Also storage heaters were for when electric was cheaper at night?? It's a standard price all day now.

Wow £425 a month! For all that space... I'm paying over £700 for our one bedroom detached 'coach' house with small kitchen and tiny but very private courtyard. We do however live in a private immaculately kept gas lit estate where all the wealthy people & footballers live. Plus its only 10 min walk to the main city square yet remains a very quiet and leafy place to be. So we are paying for location which is indeed perfect. To get much better around here you need to pay £1500+ a month so sadly we must move on soon. If you think that's pricey though don't ever look at London...

We have a similar problem as botty although I use oil instead of gas. Insulation is terrible and still have metal framed single pane windows on all of downstairs which in winter end up with icicles running down them! Doesnt help that in winter we lose all contact with total direct sunlight all sides of house.

Heating has been on for two hours this evening and temperature is only 16.8c now! In winter it drops to single figures by morning quite readily!

post-8911-0-27557500-1348693989_thumb.jp

Being built into the hillside, facing south east and being surrounded in massive Victorian houses & mature trees results in zero sunlight falling on the house itself after about 1-2pm. Even in late Sept it takes till gone 9am to even begin to fall on the house too which doesn't give it long to heat up. The garden is even worse now getting a mere 3 hours at very best of sunlight. Evening sunshine - what's that!? Winter - well maybe 1-2 hours at best between 10am and noon helped a little by the leafless trees.

Bread an' taties, that's all y'need. Failing that,get a prepayment meter so you can get an instant reality check on how much you're using at any given time. I insisted on them for both leccy and gas. I must stress that they are not the reason I'm such a tight git with the heating, but it has opened the missus' eyes! I try to keep around a £150 float on both - no more outrageous bills every quarter that I've,ahem,failed to budget for!

You know those prepay meters cost more per unit don't you? That's why once on them the utility companies will do anything to not switch you back to a regular meter. Be better with an energy watching device instead.

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Posted
  • Location: South Yorkshire
  • Location: South Yorkshire

You know those prepay meters cost more per unit don't you? That's why once on them the utility companies will do anything to not switch you back to a regular meter. Be better with an energy watching device instead.

Ye I know, but it's negligible and I think (nay,know) that over the long haul it saves money 'cos you have no choice but to watch consumption all the time. I think conventional bills encourage a sloppy, cross that bridge when I get to it attitude as well as not knowing to hand what the bill will be. But,for those who are disciplined enough to budget and save - good for you! I've never heard of an energy watching device, except for those bone idle buggers the agency sends to our works to witness me expending mine!

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Posted
  • Location: Berlin, Germany
  • Weather Preferences: Ample sunshine; Hot weather; Mixed winters with cold and mild spells
  • Location: Berlin, Germany

Some suppliers actually give you a meter that shows what power you are using as my parents have one sat in the kitchen. I think you attach a transmitter thing to the meter and it beams the info to the base unit. Not sure about gas but works for electricity. I want one but hoping my supplier sends one free rather than me buying one.

Info: http://www.which.co.uk/energy/creating-an-energy-saving-home/guides/smart-meters-and-energy-monitors-explained/

I'm very careful with power usage and do all I can to save it (much to the annoyance of the missus!). My weather station keeps me informed on indoor temps so I know the moment it gets warmer out than in that I must immediately open the door/windows to get the warmth in the house. Same goes as it cools - shut everything the moment it drops to 21c outside after a warm day. Got 4+ years of data logged on the place and corresponding spreadsheet - yep sad that I am!

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Posted
  • Location: Derbyshire Peak District South Pennines Middleton & Smerrill Tops 305m (1001ft) asl.
  • Location: Derbyshire Peak District South Pennines Middleton & Smerrill Tops 305m (1001ft) asl.

I have an energy meter i got free of British Gas last year and also had my loft insulated free by them to, stopped with them a year then switched back onto Scottish Power as they are much cheaper for my area for the eco7 tariff.

The energy meter is very simple, it's just a sending device that you clip around the input wire after your fuse box and powered by a small battery. The receiver sit's in my kitchen (the same as Bottys parents) but the signal is very strong so it could go almost anywhere in the house... A very good invention, and something everyone should have IMO just so "some" can see just how much power they are wasting.

You can buy the energy meters for a fiver off Ebay, and some work for gas/electric or both.

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