IT WAS -7C here last night and the money in my pay-as-you-go meter is dropping like crazy. I am on disability benefits and fuel has become a luxury that can only be used for 3 to 4 hours a day.
I worry that my pipes might freeze as it is supposed to be even colder tonight. We have mold in the bathroom that needs tackling every couple of weeks. I am completely housebound and at home all day. Wrapped in blankets with a hot water bottle trying to stay warm. My fingers are freezing.
I got my daughter some fingerless gloves to wear indoors.
Electric blankets are too expensive as is getting a heater to be able to just heat one room, the same for a dehumidifier to stop the mold.
We have insulated the windows, put draft excluders around every door in the house, and hung a long curtain over the front door, it took us 3 years to pay for it bit by bit. We batch cook and use hot water bottles and warm drinks but it is not enough. The house is so so cold. We treasure the 2 hours of heating the lounge at night but upstairs is icy.
We have done everything they say we should do from various recommendations. My daughter started looking at youtube of how to make DIY indoor
flowerpot indoor heaters but I worry about the safety of these things.
How are people with babies and toddlers and really old people coping? Please check on your neighbors. Maybe help out with extra blankets and a thermos of soup or let them warm up for a little while in your place if you can. Or give them a lift to the nearest warm bank/library. We all have to help each other because the government surely doesn’t give a s*%t.
Be excellent to each other. Stay warm.
Urgh, rags like The Guardian always lay out exactly how people are suffering, but then give the answer as the government should slightly tweak how the proceeds of capitalism are distributed. The reader shouldn’t do anything, just watch the drama and vote for the right to party at the next election. As if electoral politics could ever fix the structural inequality present under capitalism
With the Soviet Union gone, there’s no socialist state on the doorstep showing workers thatbthey don’t have to be exploited and poor. The government isn’t going to reinstate the benefits of social democracy. All major parties will only continue to dismantle the welfare state
The cold will kill more than covid the government don’t care at all
Of course one of the colder winters happens to occur when people are struggling the most. It might be my imagination but I swear the past winters have been comparatively mild. Country can’t seem to catch a break.
I can afford to heat my house (great way to spend savings) and I still worry. Chins up everyone. Hope those who struggle get through it.
Warm banks are now springing up everywhere. That just sums up 2022 in a nutshell really: living standards are now so poor that people are having to go to community centres to just not freeze in their own homes. Naturally, there will be no apologies from the party that allowed this to happen after running the country into the ground over the past twelve years.
Plenty of borrowed government money spent on arms that will end up in Ukraine- another 200 million+ spent today.
No money for nurses salaries though.
Meanwhile many taxpayers can’t afford to heat their homes.
Is it too cold to survive? Obviously not. Do you want to just survive? Probably not.
What not a lot of people are taking Into consideration is the £66 granted. My DD for gas and electric is £92 a month. It will be increasing to £150 tomorrow BUT take away the 66 and I’m back to where I was.
You need to take other things into consideration though. Mold and damp. If you don’t have the heating on you need air flow and air flow will make it feel even colder.
Our electric blanket uses about 7p an hour full whack at the mo and the dehumidifier uses about the same.
Dry air by using a dehumidifier is easier to heat up than damp air.
Also heating is more cost effective to maintain than on off. It’s really expensive turning it up to 20 then turning it off and turning it back on again at 12. You’re better off letting it be stable at 15.
Also check your boiler preassure and temps. Not many people realise they can change the heat of the water in their pipework. Some boilers have comfort modes too which keep hot water circulating. To save money and up effecenciy turn comfort off and take your radiator temp from 75 to 65. Lower the water temp from 60 to 50. Especially as most taps in the UK are mixer taps. What’s the point in heating the water to 60 only to have to mix it with cold when it comes through.
Making these small adjustments can increase savings and warmth. A correctly adjusted, bled and balanced boiler once up to temp will happily chug along at surprisingly low rate.
A badly programmed boiler with air in the system, pumping our water above it’s effective working temp to heat the house then cool will cost you an absolute fortune.
Even better is a smart system or IFTTT Integration.
I have a carefully timed dehumidifier & boiler timer where I’ll let the dehumidifier run to get it to 65% humidity which will generally raise the room temp by 2 degrees by time I’m home. Then when the boiler turns on the dry air is easier to warm. It will pulse for 4 hours then it’s time for bed and my electric blanket is on a smart timer to turn off at 11:30.
Knowing how to use TRVs is also important. Most people think they are just heat dials, that’s wrong. 2-2.5 on a good TRV, maybe 3 in the room you’re in and 1-1.5 in vacant rooms just to keep above few point.
Installed a multi fuel stove on the cheap a few months ago and fuel it with free wood from work. Last couple of gas bills have been £23 & £24 a month. Not sure how I’d manage otherwise.
Although the years lately have been onerous, this is the logical outcome of allowing Tories to rule for 12 years unopposed.
The UK is turning into a massive shit hole. I want to leave. Because it can’t be fixed.
My smart meter just ticked over £15 for today, that’s maintaining 16c on off in the house (end of terrace Victorian)
I’ve turned it down another couple of degrees now to see if it’s helps
“We’re all in it together” – Some more than others I guess.
My Hottub costs £4 a day to run. or 14Kw per day.
Havent needed to put on the central heating yet as ive been running my log burner a lot.
Ive got a small semi fully insulated. No gas only electric.
Counting my lucky stars to be honest. 350Kw per month is my avg usage this year.
My bill for gas and electric is now £220 a month. So the heating can’t stay on. When the price rises again that will be all my money going on bills. I work and I live in an energy efficient home. I’m falling back into poverty and I’m in a better position than a lot of people. It’s a fuckin disgrace. People will die of cold and hunger while corporate profits are at an all time high.
so cut the windfall tax and corporate tax already. At least 75% extra is being paid as tax.
But the government has money to send to fund foreign wars
Lord farquaad may aswell run our country.
“Some of you may die, but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make”
Anybody who gets normal bills would surely be better off heating their home to at least a temperature that isn’t likely to be damaging their health, then worrying about the bill later.
There’s no point reducing your bills if you die before they arrive.
20 comments
IT WAS -7C here last night and the money in my pay-as-you-go meter is dropping like crazy. I am on disability benefits and fuel has become a luxury that can only be used for 3 to 4 hours a day.
I worry that my pipes might freeze as it is supposed to be even colder tonight. We have mold in the bathroom that needs tackling every couple of weeks. I am completely housebound and at home all day. Wrapped in blankets with a hot water bottle trying to stay warm. My fingers are freezing.
I got my daughter some fingerless gloves to wear indoors.
Electric blankets are too expensive as is getting a heater to be able to just heat one room, the same for a dehumidifier to stop the mold.
We have insulated the windows, put draft excluders around every door in the house, and hung a long curtain over the front door, it took us 3 years to pay for it bit by bit. We batch cook and use hot water bottles and warm drinks but it is not enough. The house is so so cold. We treasure the 2 hours of heating the lounge at night but upstairs is icy.
We have done everything they say we should do from various recommendations. My daughter started looking at youtube of how to make DIY indoor
flowerpot indoor heaters but I worry about the safety of these things.
How are people with babies and toddlers and really old people coping? Please check on your neighbors. Maybe help out with extra blankets and a thermos of soup or let them warm up for a little while in your place if you can. Or give them a lift to the nearest warm bank/library. We all have to help each other because the government surely doesn’t give a s*%t.
Be excellent to each other. Stay warm.
Urgh, rags like The Guardian always lay out exactly how people are suffering, but then give the answer as the government should slightly tweak how the proceeds of capitalism are distributed. The reader shouldn’t do anything, just watch the drama and vote for the right to party at the next election. As if electoral politics could ever fix the structural inequality present under capitalism
With the Soviet Union gone, there’s no socialist state on the doorstep showing workers thatbthey don’t have to be exploited and poor. The government isn’t going to reinstate the benefits of social democracy. All major parties will only continue to dismantle the welfare state
The cold will kill more than covid the government don’t care at all
Of course one of the colder winters happens to occur when people are struggling the most. It might be my imagination but I swear the past winters have been comparatively mild. Country can’t seem to catch a break.
I can afford to heat my house (great way to spend savings) and I still worry. Chins up everyone. Hope those who struggle get through it.
Warm banks are now springing up everywhere. That just sums up 2022 in a nutshell really: living standards are now so poor that people are having to go to community centres to just not freeze in their own homes. Naturally, there will be no apologies from the party that allowed this to happen after running the country into the ground over the past twelve years.
Plenty of borrowed government money spent on arms that will end up in Ukraine- another 200 million+ spent today.
No money for nurses salaries though.
Meanwhile many taxpayers can’t afford to heat their homes.
Is it too cold to survive? Obviously not. Do you want to just survive? Probably not.
What not a lot of people are taking Into consideration is the £66 granted. My DD for gas and electric is £92 a month. It will be increasing to £150 tomorrow BUT take away the 66 and I’m back to where I was.
You need to take other things into consideration though. Mold and damp. If you don’t have the heating on you need air flow and air flow will make it feel even colder.
Our electric blanket uses about 7p an hour full whack at the mo and the dehumidifier uses about the same.
Dry air by using a dehumidifier is easier to heat up than damp air.
Also heating is more cost effective to maintain than on off. It’s really expensive turning it up to 20 then turning it off and turning it back on again at 12. You’re better off letting it be stable at 15.
Also check your boiler preassure and temps. Not many people realise they can change the heat of the water in their pipework. Some boilers have comfort modes too which keep hot water circulating. To save money and up effecenciy turn comfort off and take your radiator temp from 75 to 65. Lower the water temp from 60 to 50. Especially as most taps in the UK are mixer taps. What’s the point in heating the water to 60 only to have to mix it with cold when it comes through.
Making these small adjustments can increase savings and warmth. A correctly adjusted, bled and balanced boiler once up to temp will happily chug along at surprisingly low rate.
A badly programmed boiler with air in the system, pumping our water above it’s effective working temp to heat the house then cool will cost you an absolute fortune.
Even better is a smart system or IFTTT Integration.
I have a carefully timed dehumidifier & boiler timer where I’ll let the dehumidifier run to get it to 65% humidity which will generally raise the room temp by 2 degrees by time I’m home. Then when the boiler turns on the dry air is easier to warm. It will pulse for 4 hours then it’s time for bed and my electric blanket is on a smart timer to turn off at 11:30.
Knowing how to use TRVs is also important. Most people think they are just heat dials, that’s wrong. 2-2.5 on a good TRV, maybe 3 in the room you’re in and 1-1.5 in vacant rooms just to keep above few point.
Installed a multi fuel stove on the cheap a few months ago and fuel it with free wood from work. Last couple of gas bills have been £23 & £24 a month. Not sure how I’d manage otherwise.
Although the years lately have been onerous, this is the logical outcome of allowing Tories to rule for 12 years unopposed.
The UK is turning into a massive shit hole. I want to leave. Because it can’t be fixed.
My smart meter just ticked over £15 for today, that’s maintaining 16c on off in the house (end of terrace Victorian)
I’ve turned it down another couple of degrees now to see if it’s helps
“We’re all in it together” – Some more than others I guess.
My Hottub costs £4 a day to run. or 14Kw per day.
Havent needed to put on the central heating yet as ive been running my log burner a lot.
Ive got a small semi fully insulated. No gas only electric.
Counting my lucky stars to be honest. 350Kw per month is my avg usage this year.
My bill for gas and electric is now £220 a month. So the heating can’t stay on. When the price rises again that will be all my money going on bills. I work and I live in an energy efficient home. I’m falling back into poverty and I’m in a better position than a lot of people. It’s a fuckin disgrace. People will die of cold and hunger while corporate profits are at an all time high.
so cut the windfall tax and corporate tax already. At least 75% extra is being paid as tax.
But the government has money to send to fund foreign wars
Lord farquaad may aswell run our country.
“Some of you may die, but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make”
This is well worth a read, fascinating stuff about how we got into this mess. https://diem25.org/yanis-varoufakis-picks-apart-the-corrupt-european-energy-system/
Is this only people who are on preapid meters?
Anybody who gets normal bills would surely be better off heating their home to at least a temperature that isn’t likely to be damaging their health, then worrying about the bill later.
There’s no point reducing your bills if you die before they arrive.