Not putting the heating on – how’s it going…?

Everyone should get a pair of leather ‘mule’ slippers. I got a pair 4 years ago ,free and they’re still going. They really bring the stairs alive,too:-)

I got through last winter with no central heating and aim to again, Herbert that’s only possible through the extended use of two wood burners and a huge wood pile. I have had the stove lit the last 3 evenings, will again tonight but hoping the next week it won’t be needed. I know it’s not long now though until at least one stove is lit every day and often quite early. I like a lot of what is involved, cutting and splitting wood, tending a stove… But lugging the wood in from the stack is a ballache when it’s done all winter!

I’m cold, working from home in kitchen, wife is in the spare room today. Waiting for October before heating gets turned on though.

Loving all the ‘I’m not putting the heating on’ posts followed by the ‘but I light one of these all winter fueled by half a forest’!

Heat of any sort is putting the heating on! Whether you turn a dial or light a match. 🙂

I’m well aware how it works thanks. it was amusing that the PM demonstrated that she doesn’t!

Ah OK! Put another way, half the country will pay more than £2500…

Furry crocs from Aldi are brilliant. Need washing occasionally mind.

Heating on for an hour morning and about the same early evening – just 18c. It’s off by 6:30pm otherwise the bedrooms would be too warm !

You know there’s an energy crisis when peak STW is discussion the deterioration curve of Mongolian slippers.

That needs putting on tbe spine of the magazine….

It isn’t. That’s the expected average cost based on the price capped rate.

Does anyone actually think it’s a cap in the other sense?

In the same way no one bothers to write a paragraph to correct you that the price capped rate isn’t the actual rate either and will vary around the country as the standing charges are regional?

Ah OK! Put another way, half the country will pay more than £2500…

I’ve not actually seen it stated anywhere if its mean/median/mode?

Does anyone actually think it’s a cap in the other sense?

My bet is lots of people think exactly that. It’s been widely reported as the ‘price cap is going up to blah-thousand pounds, or the ‘the government has fixed the price cap at £2500’, or similar, without the explanatory caveat, so who can really blame them?

Some ‘research’ around some supposedly clever people at work suggest that yes, the general public do not have a bloody clue what a ‘price cap’ is, how it works, or what all the press are referring to.

Including, even, someone who beleived that “well, the price cap is based on an average house, and we have quite a big house so it works out quite good value for us, I feel sorry for all the people in smaller houses that will pay the same as us”.

By dumbing down the information, they are just dumbing down the population. The only ‘information’ that is distributed should be the actual information – IE The cost will be XXX pence per kwh.

It like BP and Shell advertising ‘Get 400 miles of driving for £50’.

Oh and top tip for those who WFH –

Position electrical equipment that is ‘wasting’ energy carefully to maxmise the benefit of that wasted energy. When sat at my desk, my feet rest nicely on top of my CCTV recorde0r living under the desk which gives off a lovely low warmth through its metal case!

Does anyone actually think it’s a cap in the other sense?

I think you overestimate the financial literacy of the general public. even the prime minister can’t work it out.

When I first heard the term price cap being used, I thought to myself that seems terribly unfair as at the time my bills were well under the cap. I think it was someone on here that corrected me and pointed out it was a unit cap, not an absolute cap.

Since, I’ve explained to quite a few people the difference when they’ve complained how large their bills are compared to the cap.

I don’t get the ‘waiting till X month’ for hearting but each to their own. If I need the house to be warm enough to work comfortably, then I do.

My heating has technically been ‘on’ all year but the thermosat has been set to 17 degrees overnight and 18 during the day. So far it has popped on a couple of times this week for a little over 10 minutes.

The only ‘information’ that is distributed should be the actual information – IE The cost will be XXX pence per kwh.

Yeah I got shot down the last time I suggested some thing as sensible as that on here. They walk amongst us even here.

Yeah I got shot down the last time I suggested some thing as sensible as that on here. They walk amongst us even here.

Didn’t that argument revolve around price comparison sites and their opacity? In which case my point was that (AFAIK) the standing charge wouldn’t change between providers as it’s set regionally. So if you lived in a difficult to supply area with a high standing charge then the unit rate would be lower (based on that average cap) but there’d be no difference between providers as long as you were on the standard rate? And if they were different (because one provider seemingly had an excess of flats or mansions with swimming pools), then as long as the market is vaguely functional it’d correct itself each time they issued new products).

Unless it was a different discussion you’re referring to.

So we can’t apply a factual number to it so to appease the public and make it seem like we give a shit – we will make it an arbitrary number based on magic and sorcery that no one seems to under stand. – and you WILL like it.

Makes sense.- but in a world where folk use a calender to work out the temperature I don’t even know which way is down anymore.

So we can’t apply a factual number to it so to appease the public and make it seem like we give a shit – we will make it an arbitrary number based on magic and sorcery that no one seems to under stand. – and you WILL like it.

I’d put good money that the number of people misunderstanding the concept of the ‘cap’ is a lot lower than the portion that have a clue what their unit rates or unit consumption is. I’m definitely not sat in front of the TV doing 3371 x 34 in my head, but I can just about do £2500/12 and then guestimate based on knowing my consumption is a bit below average.

e.g. this doesn’t even stand the simplest of scrutiny, why would the news be full of people scared to put the heating, kettle, oven, etc on if it didn’t cost anything. If this person really is that dim then I’m surprised they can read the instructions on the back of the food packet anyway.

Including, even, someone who beleived that “well, the price cap is based on an average house, and we have quite a big house so it works out quite good value for us, I feel sorry for all the people in smaller houses that will pay the same as us”.

Well, Mrs K’s new heated clothes rail has been on for 7hrs at 330w per hour and the clothes aren’t dry yet. Another 3.5hrs and it’ll reach the cost of 1 x Tumble dry.

Hmmm.

Well, Mrs K’s new heated clothes rail has been on for 7hrs at 330w per hour and the clothes aren’t dry yet

Has it got a cover on it? If not, chuck a duvet cover or similar over it, makes a big difference

Not on in my house yet I’m aiming for the 28th of October as it’s my wife’s birthday.

but in a world where folk use a calender to work out the temperature I don’t even know which way is down anymore.

Well it is generally colder in winter than in spring, summer or autumn 🙂

I’m aiming for the 28th of October as it’s my wife’s birthday

That’s bleak

Oh and top tip for those who WFH –

Position electrical equipment that is ‘wasting’ energy carefully to maxmise the benefit of that wasted energy.

I’m half tempted to get some flexible ducting to channel my pc towers exhaust fans to use as a foot warmer under the desk hahah!

Is your PC blowing hot air out? Mine doesn’t. My MacBook Pro does though, 2hen it probably shouldn’t. If I put it on my lap it does make me very warm.

Well it is generally colder in winter than in spring, summer or autumn 🙂

That comment remind me of storage heaters.

The premise being Predict how cold you want to be tomorrow based on yesterday’s weather.

But I’ll stick to a thermostat to measure the temperature rather than basing it on the month of the year…. After all if you move to the southern hemisphere your calender rotates in the other direction when you take the plug out

Trying to avoid the central heating but having regular fires (in the fireplace)… but wood running a bit low.   Off to France soon for a few weeks and have a big woodburner there… and wood.!

Loving all the ‘I’m not putting the heating on’ posts followed by the ‘but I light one of these all winter fueled by half a forest’!

Snigger.  Happy someone else pointed out

Furry crocs from Aldi are brilliant. Need washing occasionally mind.

Bicarbonate of soda is your friend

Not on in my house yet I’m aiming for the 28th of October as it’s my wife’s birthday.

You know how to spoil a lady

Is your PC blowing hot air out? Mine doesn’t.

When I’m playing a game yes.. My cpu and graphics card can get to about 80c.

All that precious warm air gets pumped out of the rear.

If not, chuck a duvet cover or similar over it, makes a big difference

Doesn’t the moisture the just go I to the duvet cover – which then needs to be dried?

I would have thought that there is some basic physics that says that x amount of water (in the clothes) requires x kilowatts of heat to evaporate it.

When I’m playing a game yes.. My cpu and graphics card can get to about 80c.

All that precious warm air gets pumped out of the rear.

Are you playing games all day instead of WFH? 🙂

There was me feeling chuffed that I’d saved loads of energy by using a tiny PC and GeForce Now. But that energy would have been in a perfect place to heat me whilst I sit at my desk so it might not be such a saving!

I would have thought that there is some basic physics that says that x amount of water (in the clothes) requires x kilowatts of heat to evaporate it.

There is, but it’s how you get the heat into the clothes that matters. In a traditional tumble drier the exhaust air is still hot, so only some of it gets into the clothes, the rest is wasted. In a heat pump or condenser drier, the clothes just get warm and the air is recirculated and cooled at the cold side so far less heat is wasted. In my washer drier the cold side is cooled by tap water which then leaves via the drain, so heat is wasted but less than in a traditional one.

With the clothes rack, it’ll be something like oil filled tubes that are heated via a thermostat. If the clothes are in contact with the rack perfectly it’ll dry really quickly, but that won’t happen. If you have a pair of jeans on there then the bit folded over the rail will dry really fast but the pockets and waistband will stay wet for ages cos they aren’t in contact with the rail. And heat will be leaving the rail via the dry clothes and not taking any water with it.

I’m aiming for the 28th of October as it’s my wife’s birthday
That’s bleak

I thought that was quite romantic 😁 not going to suggest it though Nov23rd.! I’d be out on my arse

And where is all the moisture in the clothes going? Off to the coldest part of the room to condense on the wall and grow black mold on the back of a wardrobe probably
Or hang in the air, making it more humid and harder to heat as a result.

We air-dry clothes at the top of the stairs. I don’t know where the water vapour goes, but the house isn’t damp anywhere at all, which actually surprises me. Wet air is heavier so it must be flowing down and presumably exiting via the usual draughts. Perhaps the downward vapour pressure is forcing it out via the letterbox and leaky downstairs windows. We have a cold tiled floor in the ground floor and that never seems damp no matter how cold it gets, and that is where I would expect it to condense.

Oh and – absolutely 100% serious suggestion: do some strength type exercises – kettlebells, yoga, body weight etc – in the evening. That’ll keep you warm all evening and warm the room too. Just done mine and I’ve had to strip to the waist I’m that hot. Heating still not on!

I need to tap the ‘adult kids’ gaming machines heat, given they use about 3-4 KWh of our energy every day.. 200w idle, 400 watt gaming x 2 machines….

In a traditional tumble drier the exhaust air is still hot, so only some of it gets into the clothes, the rest is wasted. In a heat pump or condenser drier, the clothes just get warm and the air is recirculated and cooled at the cold side so far less heat is wasted.

Sadly I didn’t actually know that!
Ta 😀

I’ve just bought a condenser dryer of eBay (£42 and it’s mint!) for one of my daughters at uni…. Now I want one to replace our traditional one here 😩

Wet air is heavier so it must be flowing down and presumably exiting via the usual draughts.

Actually it’s lighter (this caught me out too despite being a chemical engineer).