Winter is here.. Heating bills go up... What do you do?

craig_t · 2 Dec 2015 at 22:01

Now that winter seems to be in full effect and houses are colder just wonder what 'method' people use on their heating?

Do you have it scheduled?
Do you set it to a certain temperature each time you turn it on, or vary?
Smart controls?
On 24/7?
etc..

Mine comes on around 5am-8am to take the chill off for whichever shift I am on it covers it, goes on for an hour at 11am then on again at 4pm-11pm. I have my thermostat set in hallway at 22C pretty much the whole time, unless I want to turn it off then I turn it down.

I have TRV's in every room, on 5 in all rooms downstairs, 4 in my bedroom, 3 in the other 3 bedrooms. Last Sunday - Sunday I used around £25 gas, I am not sure if this is what people would expect. I don't use the bath, just one shower per day.

Nitefly · 2 Dec 2015 at 22:03

Get cold... turn on heating.

Working hours / where I'm staying (at home or elsewhere) isn't known until the day/evening, so see no point on setting it regularly. Some clever clogs will tell me why it's better on everyday, no doubt!

Firestar_3x · 2 Dec 2015 at 22:04

craig_t said:
Sunday I used around £25 gas

£25 Gas in one day?

Mynight · 2 Dec 2015 at 22:06

Put on a jumper!

I've still got my windows open

.

TheVoice · 2 Dec 2015 at 22:08

Heating is included in my rent, which is superb as I do feel the cold quite easily. That said I still have it set to drop the temperature a bit during the night and while I'm at work, no point wasting energy needlessly.

craig_t · 2 Dec 2015 at 22:11

Firestar_3x said:
£25 Gas in one day?

No.. It says 'Last Sunday - Sunday' as in from Sunday to Sunday

craig_t · 2 Dec 2015 at 22:12

Nitefly said:
Some clever clogs will tell me why it's better on everyday, no doubt!

This is what I was wondering, what would come of peoples answers if I am better to have it on more, less, etc.

Kutter · 2 Dec 2015 at 22:14

Burn wood, to supplement the heating oil. luckly i can bring home quite a lot of oak from work and i also have a cord of oak ready that i bought last spring.

shatpank81 · 2 Dec 2015 at 22:16

i have storage heaters, so its either hot or cold in my flat lol
when its chilly, i just grab the duvet and sit on sofa with it

MrMoonX · 2 Dec 2015 at 22:18

It's not even cold

Mynight · 2 Dec 2015 at 22:19

MrMoonX said:
It's not even cold

Women do get cold easily though.

G-MAN2004 · 2 Dec 2015 at 22:20

Wear more clothes...

Fuzz · 2 Dec 2015 at 22:21

Smart controls
Day time/night time - Set to keep 10°C if it drops below that.
Morning and evenings Set to keep 20°C if it drops below that.
I just let the boiler get on with it really.

DJMK4 · 2 Dec 2015 at 22:28

Hot water on at 6:50am off at 9am then on again at 4pm - 8pm

Heating with thermostat currently on around 23 degrees on at 06:50 off at 09:00 then on again at 16:00 until 20:45 although the gap between 09:00 and 16:00 we use the + 1 hour button to stick the heating on for an hour. End of the night at 20:45 radiators will keep heat until about 21:15-21:30 ish when most people are snuggled up in this house lol. I don't like sleeping when its hot to br honest

With 3 people living here if you include the cooking gas were using £65 gas per month so far since its been colder. Summer was much cheaper

Although I don't pay for it I top it up and take it out of rent money

bitslice · 2 Dec 2015 at 22:37

It's not cold enough to put the heating on yet, the snow drift hasn't even made it to the first floor windows, get a grip man!

Although this year I've bought a new duvet and a new electric blanket, so toasty bed.

craig_t · 2 Dec 2015 at 22:43

Fuzz said:
Smart controls
Day time/night time - Set to keep 10°C if it drops below that.
Morning and evenings Set to keep 20°C if it drops below that.
I just let the boiler get on with it really.

Do you find any differences in your bills from before having smart controls?

Neil King · 2 Dec 2015 at 22:55

lol, winter in full effect, we've had one air frost all autumn, its currently very mild after a very mild November, still got fan on.

Minstadave · 2 Dec 2015 at 23:09

Chuck logs in wood burner, when it gets face meltingly hot turn it down a bit.

bainbridge · 2 Dec 2015 at 23:17

craig_t said:
etc..

Mine comes on around 5am-8am to take the chill off for whichever shift I am on it covers it, goes on for an hour at 11am then on again at 4pm-11pm. I have my thermostat set in hallway at 22C pretty much the whole time, unless I want to turn it off then I turn it down.

Pretty much what I do. It's warm when I get up, warm when I get home but if I come home early it's chilly but after advancing the heating it's warm in an hour.

My gas is 35 quid per month and I wander round in shorts at home!

It is an upstairs 1 bed flat though, with cavity wall insulation, loft insulation and double glazing.

LeeUK · 2 Dec 2015 at 23:30

I put heating on if I'm cold I don't have set routines when it is on or off. All radiator TRVs are set to 6 and the heating just blasts out. In old houses like mine different rooms have different temperatures and it is impossible to keep them all the same what with different extensions built on over the years and various flat roofs etc. Obviously in a modern air tight sealed euro box this is a different matter.