But first let me share the helpful graphic which illustrates this post. I would just say that the prices it estimates are based on the *times* on the left hand side so may not represent your situation if you use appliances for different times. I also think that heating a whole house for six hours for £6.76 is at best optimistic but I can't fault their comparative costs. There is also an excellent guide here.
But the two things nobody is saying that are doing my head in are:
1. There are LOADS of clickbait ads trying to get you to buy small fan heaters saying they are cheaper than central heating. Don't be taken in; fan heaters are horrendously expensive to run. If you want to buy an electric heater to heat a small area your best bet is to use a convector heater, and what's more the old Queen agreed with me.
Not one of the media sources which has talked about turning off heating that I have seen has made any reference to this basic principle of physics.
Finally in case you are despairing that things will be resolved in the UK without another 300,000 people being killed by the government, have a happy memory of the days when politicians were real politicians. Anyone who has read this blog for any length of time will know what a compliment it is when I say I would have trusted this man with my life and the wellbeing of the country. He's also looking quite sensible in comparison to the cunts we've got in now.
Running a vacuum cleaner seems surprisingly cheap (I guess I can't use expense as an excuse for not doing it, now. Bah!), and the tumble dryer unsurprisingly expensive. On the plus side, both of these appliances will also heat one's home while they're in use!
ReplyDeleteAs for turning radiators off in unused rooms, I expect the damp may not be a problem for people who live in newer, well insulated homes? (As one central/downstairs radiator can be enough to keep the whole place at a reasonable temperature.) But there are so many older, solid-walled homes around that it's definitely an issue. And the cold and damp will not only ruin your home & things, but can also affect your health. Let's hope we get a mild winter!
Ooh just to clarify that that's not what I meant which was when you turn the radiator off in an unused room and close the door so it's unheated.
DeleteThis is related to why water magic is fucking scary.
And don't even start me on insulation and double glazing which persuade people there homes aren't full of the moisture they can't see suspended in the air!
This is where sewing is an essential skill. Heavier curtains to retain the heat, maybe even put them up as room dividers for large spaces, and I forget what they are called, but basically bolsters against the bottom of exterior doors to keep out the drafts.
ReplyDeleteAnd just like that you've brought up a happy memory of the last cat we had in the house I grew up in, who used to fight my mother for a draught excluder she bought from the Christmas fayre one year. He wanted it so would drag it from the door and curl up with it in front of the fire. I've added a picture just under Screaming Lord Sutch. The cat's name was Splodge.
DeleteThat is adorable! I guess the cat picked its own Christmas present that year and another draft excluder is needed for the door.
DeleteYes. Of course you can immediately tell that Splodge was a proper character can't you!
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