Thinking Ahead To Winter

[Red Doe]

I`d really hoped for a decent summer to offset the last two severe winters we`ve had up here plus a washed out summer last year, but it seems the Icelandic volcano put the kybosh on that!
The below average temperatures, which mean I have the open fire on most days, got me thinking about next winter.
I have oil central heating in this house, (rental so not my choice) but last year it cost me £300 for 500lt which lasted a scant two months, so this year have decided to not buy any (can`t anyway) and buy the small free standing room radiators and instead put what cash I can into my electricity meter. Even though it`ll still be expensive it will be cheaper than oil! I was going to buy the oil filled rads but someone elsewhere recommended convector heaters instead so having looked online at the two, I`ll go with those.
This is a four bedroomed crofthouse with only two bedrooms in use, plus livingroom and kitchen and a concrete built, add-on 70`s bathroom that is like a fridge even in summer!
Health and safety would no doubt have a hissy fit but I intend to (and have done in the past) run an extension lead into the bathroom to plug a rad into, otherwise the room is near unuseable, in minus twenty degrees last winter not only could you see your breath in there, there was ice on the inside and you were in danger of hypothermia if you stripped off to bath!
Apart from that, I`m trying to get a store of peat and coal together but it`s hard, prices have gone up and we are needing the fire lit almost every day due to the weather being cold and wet.
And I`ll be buying paraffin lamps...can anyone tell me if I could burn vegetable oil in a paraffin lamp?
And candles, etc, plus making patchwork quilts for over our knees in the evenings.
Is anyone else thinking ahead to winter already?

[Ian]

I know it is difficult in older buildings but what insulation do you have, especially in the roof space. There is a thin film made which may be stretched over windows to 'double glaze' them. It works really well. Chase down and control ALL the draughts. Growing ivy over the outside wall was used as insulation and to keep the weather off the stone in times past, there is time to start that even in your current weather conditions.

Ensure that you have a RCD on the circuit used to run the cable into the bathroom, either in the consumer unit (best) or the plug-in type used for mowers on the end of the cable, to give you protection from shock.

We have an infra red panel which does not get hot (you can easily place your hand on it) and uses little power but you feel warm when in front of it. We used it built into the bathroom ceiling when in the same situation as yourself, ice on the windows and only using one room in the house. It meant we could use the bath not comfortably but tolerably. I will try and dig out details but I fear they are not now available.

[Ian]

There are a number of infra-red panel products out there but most seem to be pricey for what they are.

Ours is similar to this one:

http://www.cnmonline.co.uk/Veneto-425W- ... 37287.html

And certainly works. When you are a few feet from it you feel warm but there is no radiant heat sensible and the walls don't get warm so the room is still cold.

I know it is not, but imagine being inside a microwave cooker, only the food heats, not the cooker. Infra red IS NOT microwaves just a low temperature panel radiating heat at a non-visible but tightly controlled part of the spectrum. It must be exactly the same as an oil filled radiator in function but it feels better in use and does not radiate from the back so you can hang it on the wall or ceiling.

[Red Doe]

Thanks Ian, bit pricey for me though at the moment. The convector heaters seem to be the best bet so far as I`ll be able to pick them up fairly cheap. I`ve got one of those plug multi socket extensions that has a safety trip in case of anything going wrong, is that what you mean by RCD?

[Ian]

If it is an RCD it will have a test button on it. Otherwise if no test button it is just a circuit breaker with the same function as a fuse, it will protect the appliance but not you.

[itsybitsy]

Thanks Ian, bit pricey for me though at the moment. The convector heaters seem to be the best bet so far as I`ll be able to pick them up fairly cheap. I`ve got one of those plug multi socket extensions that has a safety trip in case of anything going wrong, is that what you mean by RCD?

I have a couple of the really, really cheap electric fan heaters from Argos - I think they were a tenner each. They will heat a room up in a matter of minutes. Probably not economical to keep them on for hours at a time, you would need to check what they consume against the rads, but would be ideal if you want to give the bedrooms a blast before you go to bed to take the chill off or to keep the kitchen warm if you are working in there.

[itsybitsy]

Is anyone else thinking ahead to winter already?

Yes! I am overpaying my gas DD each month so that when the winter comes (and we are predicted another harsh one) then I won't be stressing about my monthly payment shooting up to £100 or something bonkers like that...I hope!

[hobo]

Still hope for summer. netweather.tv are suggesting a good June/July http://www.netweather.tv/index.cgi?acti ... cast;sess=

Hobo

[smileyt]

Red doe, how about lining your curtains with the foil emergency blankets? Also, cover a clothes horse with one and stand it behind your radiator to reflect the heat back into the room and not out through the wall. I will pm you about this.

Curtains behind the doors? Could you put newspapers under the carpets as an extra layer of insulation? Hang curtains down the walls - a bit like they used to hang tapestries round castles, to insulate the walls. I plan to line my curtains this year with a foil blanket and then some lining, which should add substantially to the amount of heat they retain.

My winter preps so far include buying two extra pairs of boots, one in the January sales early this year, and a pair from Aldi. I only have diddy feet (a size 2) so I can buy children's shoes.

[Carrot Cruncher]

To save having the central heating and gas fire on too much last year we used Calor Fires to heat the living room / kitchen and used another one for 15 mins upstairs in the bedroom before going to bed. You get no bills because you pay up front for the bottles, and they do deliver to most areas, though I expect it depends how remote you are. We will definitely be doing the same this year.

We got the 3 calor fires and 4 empty bottles from freecycle. I think the 15kg Butane bottles go for around £30 - £35 as long as you have an empty bottle to exchange and last a good amount of time if you are carefull. The Calor also fits the camping stove I bought in case the supply goes off so it saves having different size/type bottles for different uses.