Living without central heating this winter?

[teuchter]

Whereabouts in the Highlands Danny? We lived in Fort William, which despite the Gulf Stream led to iced windows in the Winter.

I too grew up in the Highlands, 70s bungalow with little insulation, very primitive double glazing. Regularly had frozen condensation on the insides of the windows each morning.

It had a system of hot air blown through ducts under the floor, into the rooms via vents in the floor. The heat came from a kind of central, electric storage heater. It never really worked very well and so heating in reality was mainly a collection of electric bar heaters. No mains gas anywhere nearby.

In that same house I've experienced many power cuts on cold winter nights, and on one occasion I actually found it slightly frightening how quickly you could feel the cold coming in. It's not unusual for it to drop below -10 outside. Recorded minus-20-something once.

 

[Artaxerxes]

If you do have the heating off you’ll need to have your windows open a crack in the mornings on dry-ish days - the breeze dries out the condensation on them and the wall edges. A couple of hours should do it.

 

[Sasaferrato]

I too grew up in the Highlands, 70s bungalow with little insulation, very primitive double glazing. Regularly had frozen condensation on the insides of the windows each morning.

It had a system of hot air blown through ducts under the floor, into the rooms via vents in the floor. The heat came from a kind of central, electric storage heater. It never really worked very well and so heating in reality was mainly a collection of electric bar heaters. No mains gas anywhere nearby.

In that same house I've experienced many power cuts on cold winter nights, and on one occasion I actually found it slightly frightening how quickly you could feel the cold coming in. It's not unusual for it to drop below -10 outside. Recorded minus-20-something once.

Our house (Mrs Sas and me, not my parent's house), had the same system, and fucking useless it was. It was an SSHA house, I would imagine they all had the same heating system.

 

[Sasaferrato]

If you do have the heating off you’ll need to have your windows open a crack in the mornings on dry-ish days - the breeze dries out the condensation on them and the wall edges. A couple of hours should do it.

That is the bugger, isn't it? If rooms get too cold for too long, they get damp.

 

[Artaxerxes]

That is the bugger, isn't it? If rooms get too cold for too long, they get damp.

It’s early mornings and evenings, if your inside it warms up a little regardless and it all hits the colder windows and next thing you know it’s damp.

I’ve always been of the stance that heating is a last resort (I’m a cheap fucker) so it’s a problem I’ve had to deal with over the last couple of decades since moving out. Not always successfully in this climate or with the shoddy design of British flats.

 

[two sheds]

If you do have the heating off you’ll need to have your windows open a crack in the mornings on dry-ish days - the breeze dries out the condensation on them and the wall edges. A couple of hours should do it.

Added to checklist although that's actually difficult because of the secondary glazing. I could perhaps open top of dutch door downstairs and velux window upstairs.

 

[danny la rouge]

Whereabouts in the Highlands Danny? We lived in Fort William, which despite the Gulf Stream led to iced windows in the Winter.

It’s too small a place to announce on the boards. That would lead to my immediate identification! But you do know, we’ve discussed it before.

It’s in the geological Highlands rather than Highland Region, the local government division.

 

[AnnaKarpik]

How much you feel the cold is affected quite a lot by how active you are. This seems obvious but someone recently told me she never really understood why everyone complained about a certain house being freezing until she had children ... At which point she had extended periods sitting inside and not moving much.

Especially if you're doing something like working from home at a desk job, I think it can help quite a bit to go out for a walk first thing in the morning and maybe at lunchtime too. Helps reduce that feeling of never being able to get a bit warm no matter how many layers you put on.

I do this, working from home (with no CH) I miss the walk from the car to the office so I go for a walk around the village instead twice a day.

 

[David Clapson]

I'm sure I've read of eco homes which stay warm using just the radiated heat from the occupants. But perhaps I'm imagining that. Are there any low cost insulation tips which could be used by tenants with minimal involvement of landlords? Somebody upthread mentioned Sempatap insulating wallpaper, which is £20 per square metre. And Friends of the Earth has this to say:

"internal thin wall insulation...can be as much as 70-80% as effective and can be DIY fitted. A recent government report rated 1.3cm thick high-tech aerogel  best of the bunch (much better than the latex rolls I’ve fitted) and only costs around £80 per M2. Woodfibre (Pavadry  or Diffutherm ) works just as well, is cheaper and has a lower carbon footprint but has to be double the thickness to deliver the same energy saving" .

Eco heating: what are the options? | Friends of the Earth

My cat is a little furnace, always very warm to the touch. If I could use her as a heater it would be less distressing to pay a whole pound per day for her prescription food.

 

[Siouxsie]

I've never really been a fan of modern central heating, it dries my skin out and makes me nesh
I grew up in the an old 5 bedroom farmhouse, massive slate floored, 12" thick stone walled kitchen with only an Aga for our heating, water and cooking.
I can't remember feeling cold as a child but looking back on it I must have been, but we just got on with it......playing noughts & crosses on the iced up window panes as I lay in bed with my sister was a game to us We always wore socks and flannelette pyjamas, my sisters and brothers had hot water bottles, I used to have our massive, long haired German Shepherd in bed with me, whether I wanted him there or not! he was like a big cuddly bear and I never felt cold snuggled up to him
My parents are still there and the first thing I always do on cold days when I visit, which is every day! is take off my wellies and sit with my feet in the warming oven. Thinking of it now my mums house never feels cold.
Mine though, a 5 minute walk down the lane, has modern heating and radiators all over the cottage but it still feels a bit nippy on winter days.
Myself and Mr S will ride what the weather has in store for us, if it gets unhealthily cold we will put the heating on until we feel that it's not needed and on the days/ nights it's not too bad we'll wrap up well, I'll run on the treadmill to get my circulation kicked in and we'll watch telly/ internet in bed with 15tog duvets and tealights dotted about to add to the ambience along with icicle tipped noses
We'll cope.
Myself and my siblings make sure my parents oil tank is serviced and full coming up to winter....that makes me feel settled and happy knowing they will be warm if nothing else

Please don't compromise your long term health for the sake of a few extra pounds, it really isn't worth it in the long run....yes I know that's easy for me to say, I'm not in other peoples situations.

 

[existentialist]

do you have pets? if so, they may not like it...

I have houserabbits. They don't, frankly, seem to give a fuck

 

[teuchter]

I'm sure I've read of eco homes which stay warm using just the radiated heat from the occupants.

Yes, eg built to the passivhaus standard

What is Passivhaus?

What is Passivhaus?

www.passivhaustrust.org.uk

Are there any low cost insulation tips which could be used by tenants with minimal involvement of landlords?

Not that would get you anywhere near what you'd need to heat completely passively. But obviously any improvements are good, compared with nothing. Trying to eliminate significant drafts (leaky windows, under doors, etc) is a good place to start.

 

[teuchter]

I've never really been a fan of modern central heating, it dries my skin out and makes me nesh

This is another example of the term "central heating" being un-useful.

If some form of heating causes problems like this, it's not likely to be to do with whether or not it's "central heating" - more likely the type of heaters, how they are distributed, and other things like the construction of the building and how it is ventilated.

 

[gentlegreen]

I’m looking at putting in a sold fuel burner in the front room and only using that.

You might want to do some research.
Electricity is expensive but it's 100 percent efficient in terms of converting to heat - in the most extreme example as an electric blanket.
I may go to bed early in winter to save energy, but often it's lying on the bed with the covers off and lightly dressed and getting all the warmth I need from 100 watts ..
Even before you get to the issues about doing the polluting in an urban environment.

 

[muscovyduck]

As has already been written about to death on this thread, not heating your house in winter is technically do-able, but usually a false economy. You're looking at more time off work sick for a start and higher chance of illness that has long lasting impact on your ability to make or save money (like bad pneumonia or similar). As well as problems with mold and so on

If possible, after insulation and so on, you're better off trying to pick up extra work to pay for the heating. But if this is an option this is something you need to think about now while we're on the approach to Christmas and the economy is still functioning rather than January when everything slumps.

 

[gentlegreen]

As has already been written about to death on this thread, not heating your house in winter is technically do-able, but usually a false economy. You're looking at more time off work sick for a start and higher chance of illness that has long lasting impact on your ability to make or save money (like bad pneumonia or similar).

really ?

Good grief. If I was that fragile I would give up on life.
I hate to sound like a boomer, but I was raised in an uninsulated unheated home in the 60s and 70s when we actually had winters.
I was a baby during one of the worst winters of the last century.

 

[WouldBe]

Are there any low cost insulation tips which could be used by tenants with minimal involvement of landlords?

Set up a large arctic grade tent in your living room. You can always take it with you when you move.

 

[Leafster]

I’m looking at putting in a sold fuel burner in the front room and only using that.

You might want to do some research.
Electricity is expensive but it's 100 percent efficient in terms of converting to heat - in the most extreme example as an electric blanket.
I may go to bed early in winter to save energy, but often it's lying on the bed with the covers off and lightly dressed and getting all the warmth I need from 100 watts ..
Even before you get to the issues about doing the polluting in an urban environment.

One of the reasons I keep thinking about a solid fuel burner is to have a back up if my primary heating fails. My old gas boiler broke down twice (the second was terminal) but in both instances I had no heat for almost a week in the winter (they ALWAYS breakdown in the winter, never when it's warmer!) I was able to use a couple of fan heaters each time the boiler broke down but it wasn't ideal.

However, there's also the possibility of power cuts (I know the chances are remote) but with either gas or just electric heating you need electricity for them to work. A solid fuel alternative would provide that little extra bit of insurance.

I live on a wooded hillside and there isn't a year that goes by without some of my neighbours having tree surgeons to attend to their trees so I'd probably be joining my other neighbours with wood burners scavenging the logs.

 

[bellaozzydog]

I was on a key meter last winter and it was costing me 49 quid a fortnight in gas to keep the place reasonably warm. In hindsight that was probably quite cheap

4 bed Victorian maisonette with old rattling windows is going to sink me I reckon.

I’ve got a fireplace in every room which I suppose I could try and upgrade/service/put wood burner in but it’s all gonna cost whatever I do

Small savings graces, I live on the coast in a micro climate which rarely gets frost. Downstairs shops emit heat and should help a bit

 

[two sheds]

I'm sure I've read of eco homes which stay warm using just the radiated heat from the occupants. But perhaps I'm imagining that. Are there any low cost insulation tips which could be used by tenants with minimal involvement of landlords? Somebody upthread mentioned Sempatap insulating wallpaper, which is £20 per square metre. And Friends of the Earth has this to say:

Eco heating: what are the options? | Friends of the Earth

My cat is a little furnace, always very warm to the touch. If I could use her as a heater it would be less distressing to pay a whole pound per day for her prescription food.

They look interesting.

PAVADRY - Soprema United Kingdom

PAVADRY is a natural and ecological, innovative thermal insulation board based on wood fibre bonded with hardboard for dry fit installation. The integrated vapour control, together with the hygroscopic properties of the wood fibre, ensures a controlled moisture transport which prevents the...

www.soprema.co.uk

Internal and external wood fibre insulation boards – Diffutherm - Back to Earth

Diffutherm wood fibre insulation boards are:-

www.backtoearth.co.uk

Not sure whether they'd work for me, though. The Pavadry seems to have a vapour control layer (foil or plastic as I understand it) which I'm not sure whether it is breathable, which I'd need.

The Diffutherm says it needs to be fixed to flat walls which I don't think I have because of the age of the place.

I did look at other materials recently but they seemed to have foil vapour barriers or need plasterboard over the top - Sempatech you can paint or wallpaper straight onto it. I'm not sure how Sempatech works without a vapour barrier but it seems to, and as I recall the adhesive has mould inhibitor in it.

 

[muscovyduck]

really ?

Good grief. If I was that fragile I would give up on life.
I hate to sound like a boomer, but I was raised in an uninsulated unheated home in the 60s and 70s when we actually had winters.
I was a baby during one of the worst winters of the last century.

Read the thread mate, we've all lived in uninsulated unheated shitholes

 

[Artaxerxes]

really ?

Good grief. If I was that fragile I would give up on life.
I hate to sound like a boomer, but I was raised in an uninsulated unheated home in the 60s and 70s when we actually had winters.
I was a baby during one of the worst winters of the last century.

Yes but a) you had a better immune system as a kid b) your parents probably made sacrifices to keep you warm and c) your current house may well be of a lower standard than the one you grew up in.

 

[two sheds]

And people with asthma and the like are susceptible, as are ..... older people

 

[gentlegreen]

.

 

[two sheds]

I got flu when I had no heating in the house over winter. It was fucking dire.

 

[gentlegreen]

Yes but a) you had a better immune system as a kid b) your parents probably made sacrifices to keep you warm and c) your current house may well be of a lower standard than the one you grew up in.

Did you miss what I said. ?
It was a badly built new house with one open fire.

 

[gentlegreen]

I got flu when I had no heating in the house over winter. It was fucking dire.

The worst flu I ever had in recent decades was in 2019 - in April.
I used to get flu because I was working in a university, not because I sometimes got cold.

 

[two sheds]

I don't think I got flu because I was cold, though, it just made it feel a lot worse.

 

[David Clapson]

Part of it is motivation. If you're on a small boat or up a mountain because you've chosen to have a bit of challenging recreation, you can be a bit gung-ho when going without heat. You put on all your expensive high tech layers and congratulate yourself because you're not dying. Not many people can sustain that enthusiasm for hardship when they're at home. Although there are one or two in this thread.....

 

[gentlegreen]

I don't think I got flu because I was cold, though, it just made it feel a lot worse.

But you make your own heat when you have flu
I've upped my game recently.
When I lived downstairs where it was draughty and unventilated, I used to have to treat it like camping and sleep in a sleeping bag.
Electric blankets and duvets FTW -