4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Olly]

I thought rather than resurrect the 13 pages of Penguinmad's original thread, I'd start an update!

 

Last year I held off putting the heating on for as long as possible, and decided not to have it on so often. I also had a woodburning stove installed in November. It hasn't been too bad, I was surprised how quickly I got accustomed to a much lower temperature (around 16 degrees usually, but sometimes lower) in the house. Had to weaken a few times, especially when I had visitors, but generally I have felt ok with a fleece or jumper on. I also have not had a bad cold all winter!

 

Last week I got an estimated gas bill, so I read the meter ... and they have estimated £90 more than I actually owe them! I haven't yet done a direct comparison with what I used last year, obviously their estimate may be exaggerated, but I am very pleased and surprised. This next quarter will be interesting especially with the predicted cold snap.

 

I'm planning to go and saw lots of wood this morning, so I can have the woodburner going tonight and tomorrow! How are the rest of you getting on?

[Redwing]

Our new house has storage heaters which are modern so pretty efficient however we are trying to keep bills to a minimum (the mortgage is ) so we have just three switched on very low) we don't use the one in the living room as we light the open fire most nights, the open fire heats the chimney up through the bedroom which is a bonus too!

 

The price of wood is shocking at the moment but we have a big store full for next year as we have been doing some work on the bank of trees in our garden so it should be cheaper next year. I am finding coal good value for money though

 

I had the spare money for a woodburner but spent it on the removal van fee

[Phoebe]

Is coal not cheaper than wood for an open fire ? I know its dirtier and not as nice, but we found when we had one that it would roar through wood like "Ooops, word censored!"ody's business, but a fire banked up with coal would stay hot for ages without a lot of topping up

 

as for heating, my family sit around a lot and get very cold so our oil boiler blasts away and I get hotter and hotter

[Old Speckled Hen]

My oil fired heating is on from 5.30 am (as hubby gets up early for work) till 9 then again from 4.30 till 9pm.

Since Christmas I've had the multifuel stove in the kitchen on during the day.

We've been here a year now and so far haven't had to buy wood. We find plenty in the roads after a windy night and hubby brings home pallets to saw up (they just throw them away there) I have had the odd bag of coal and my sister in law let us have a tree she chopped down.

Our oil bill is £1200 a year. I was going to get an oil AGA ... Thank god I didn't

My range cooker runs on bottled gas and 1 large bottle lasts all year.

[Shirl]

Our heating is on for about an hour in the morning and a couple of hours in the evening. We have the multifuel burner going most days. We generally burn coal because it lasts so much longer. I guess it is a lot more expensive than if you are just collecting wood but unless it is seasoned hardwood I'd be topping the fire up every 15 minutes. We use wood in the evening sometimes if I haven't had the fire on in the day.

 

I'm all for being environmentally friendly but when you have a near 2 year old running around with only half her clothes on most of the time it just isn't feasible.

[Omletina Kyckling]

We aren't using the central heating at all, and haven't for about a month now. We have a gas fired Rayburn which provides heating/hot water, but we don't run it unless we have visitors. It's on low all the time so that we can cook in it, and it gives off a bit of heat in the kitchen though.

 

We have a multi fuel burner in the lounge and light that at about 4pm to warm us in the evening then run up to bed to jump in! In a morning I have a shower, and have an electric heater on whilst I shower and dress.

 

The temperature in the house at the moment is 5 deg C (typical daytime temperature here as the house in big, old and draughty), but I have thermals on and a big fleece, and so long as I keep moving it's ok!!

[Olly]

5 deg C? Crumbs, I thought keeping my house at 14 degrees was cold!

 

I have just spent an hour sawing up pallets, that should keep my woodburner going most of today and tomorrow evening. I'm so warm now that I don't need any heating on!

[miffy]

I am staying ay my sisters house in Devon, looking after her daughter, they have gas and the heating was put on after lunch. Its lovelly and warm here now , but bitter biting wind outside.

[Charlottechicken]

Well, I take my hat off to those of you survivng in temperatures of below 16c . I like a temperature of 16c to 18c and find 18c lovely and cosy. Most rooms in my house are about 15 to 16c at the mo, with the heating on, moving up to 18 in the evening for the living room only.

 

I couldn't put the heating on until October as I didn't have a boiler, so saved lots of money then, which I think I am spending now due to the cold weather outside However, I did find mould in odd places, something I have never had a problem with before, so am wondering if not turning the heating on at all may be a false economy if it creates other problems.

 

Hopefully, I can have a little multifuel burner (and some chimney work) next year.

[Blackrocksrock]

5 degrees is so so cold for a house - my bedroom with the window open and no heating was 10 degrees this morning!. It causes condensation as I have had this and it condenses on the roof in rooms and if you check it will be damp in the corner so heating off is a false economy in the long run as you need to keep the body of the house warm.

[Guest]

Well as promised I didn't put the heating on till January. Now I have it on for 2 hours in the morning and 2 in the evening. It's supplimented with the Aga, wood burner and the odd halogen and calor gas heater. As well as thermals, quilts etc.

 

It's dead annoying when "softies" come from their little centrally heated houses and I have to keep blasting the heating to stop them complaining that it's cold.

[Tessa the Duchess]

It's dead annoying when "softies" come from their little centrally heated houses and I have to keep blasting the heating to stop them complaining that it's cold.

 

'Softie' here I feel the cold terribly, I have Reynauds in my hands and they go blue if it is even slightly cold Our house is Edwardian it has really high ceilings and is very costly to heat, we try to keep the temp at 18 but it sometimes creeps up to 20 if it is really cold, like now. We also have a 4 month old baby in the house, so it has to be kept warm, well that's my excuse. If I lived in a house which was 5 degrees I would never get out of bed

 

Tessa

[bigmommasally]

The temperature in the house at the moment is 5 deg C (typical daytime temperature here as the house in big, old and draughty), but I have thermals on and a big fleece, and so long as I keep moving it's ok!!

 

5 deg !!!!!

 

That's the recommended temperature for a fridge! And the temperature at which I hibernate my tortoises.

 

I spent the afternoon bunny bonding in my conservatory with the windows open and the temperature in there was about 7 deg, I was freezing with 4 fleeces, a hat, gloves, 2 pair of socks and ugg slippers on! So I don't how you live in 5 degrees!

 

I am now snuggled up in the lounge at a lovely toasty 20 degrees - AAhhhh.

 

[BarbaraJ]

i choose to be warm i'm afraid coming from a house as a child that was always cold i vowed mine wouldn't be. You spend your money on things that you deem important and being warm to me is important where as other things are not !

[Ygerna]

i choose to be warm i'm afraid coming from a house as a child that was always cold i vowed mine wouldn't be. You spend your money on things that you deem important and being warm to me is important where as other things are not !

 

Thats so true. I remember our house, a concrete, prefab council house being horrible, cold, damp and draughty. The bed sheets always felt dampish and I would go to bed in two pairs of pj's socks and a dressing gown with an extra blanket and STILL be cold. Its depressing even recalling it. I try not to have the temperature go above 21oC, and I dont like it below 16oC. That said I am already in bed and my feet are freezing, so I am off to find my bedsocks

[Minnie the Moocher]

I'm with Barbara and Tessa.

 

I have Reynauds in my hands and I feel so miserable when I'm cold. We have super efficient underfloor heating which is on 24 hours at a very LOW temp, and our house benefits from solar gain as it is orientated to the south with lots of glass on the south side. We did all this deliberately to create a lovely warm home which was cheap to heat, and it keeps me happy!

 

I would not live in a house that was below 18 deg - I would move!

[Old Speckled Hen]

I'm with Barbara and Tessa.

 

 

I would not live in a house that was below 18 deg - I would move!

 

When I was little the windows used to freeze up on the inside in winter and the only warm room was the steaming kitchen.

When my sister and I got up for school we used to get dressed in front of the gas oven which was thrown open at full volume.

I love the heat. Daft place to retire to ... Cumbria ... really

[Gamebird]

Are we of the same age DA?

 

It's beginning to sound like the Monty Python sketch of the Four Yorkshire men "we had it tough", but I do remember the freezing windows and getting dressed for school in the morning in front of the living fire.

 

Happy days.

[Blackrocksrock]

I think most of us remember the cold houses - my mum did not have central heating as most people did not either and yes the bedroom window which was metal framed was always frozen in the inside - mum got up at 6 a.m. to light the fire in the lounge and we had an electric bar heater on the wall in the loo so remember running to the toilet to get washed and dressed - we loved it when the duvets came in but I missed the weight of blankets for ages.

I dont like the bedroom warm as cannot sleep so go for a cold room and a hot bed with 2 hot water bottles!! big softee up here I am afraid and if cold in the lounge I just fill a hot water bottle and put it at my back! while watching tv or on the puter!!

[Old Speckled Hen]

Are we of the same age DA?

 

It's beginning to sound like the Monty Python sketch of the Four Yorkshire men "we had it tough", but I do remember the freezing windows and getting dressed for school in the morning in front of the living fire.

 

Happy days.

 

As I was posting the Monty Python sketch flashed by me.

 

I like the bedroom cold and at the moment my hormones keep me warm at night

[abwsco]

Think we put our heating on in November but only on low, only a couple of rads and only when needed.

[fluffyknickers]

Wow I am reading this in shock! I obviously have this house way too warm. Its attached both sides and has three bedrooms so isnt massive and we have central heating.

 

The heating is on 24hours a day but I turn the thermostat down before bed to about 20.5! At the moment in the lounge its 22.5 degrees.

 

I was bought up in a warm house too so suppose, wrongly, I have never given it too much thought. Maybe we should start turning it down and wearing more to keep warm.

 

x

[abwsco]

Wow I am reading this in shock! I obviously have this house way too warm. Its attached both sides and has three bedrooms so isnt massive and we have central heating.

 

The heating is on 24hours a day but I turn the thermostat down before bed to about 20.5! At the moment in the lounge its 22.5 degrees.

 

I was bought up in a warm house too so suppose, wrongly, I have never given it too much thought. Maybe we should start turning it down and wearing more to keep warm.

 

x

 

Omg, I couldn't cope with that temp. Do you not find that you get ill? I always feel ill if the heatings on for too long.

[PapaJuliet]

My OH keeps turning the heating down because he doesn't like being too warm. Plus we've turned the radiators off in a couple of rooms because they are being used as storage so there are things piled up against radiators.

 

The result is that he sometimes sits around in a tee shirt while I am wearing a jumper and a fleece!

 

On the plus side I am getting more used to the cold (I find the office unbearable warm if I wear a jumper) and I bet our heating bills we be much lower this year.

 

PJ

[BarbaraJ]

i look after kids so can't have a cold house, my heating is rubbish and i dont have a thermostat so have no idea how hot it is. i have a dial under the fire (back boiler) which goes from 0-6 and keep it on 24hrs at 2 1/2. works better as we are on the end and gets very cold when turned off.