AIBU

We never turn our heating off. Hubby bought thermostatic valves for all our individual radiators and they are set to different heat at different times of the day. For instance, hubby hates a cold bathroom in the morning, but I would be melting in it if I went in straight after him. Now it is set to x degrees for him, then it goes down for me and rest of the day, so it is comfortable. Same as bedroom, maybe gets a bit warmer before we go to bed, then automatically turns itself down a bit during the night. Could never live in a cold house now and would hate to have to wear layers and layers of clothes inside. Am reading these posts imagining some of you must be like the folk in the ads they used to run about older folk being too scared of high bills to heat their homes, so they advised you to wear hats, gloves, scarves and so on indoors.

I am similar to you, driverann. 22 during the day and 20 at night. The boiler switches itself off at lunchtime as the house in warm enough and it doesn't come on again. We have the gas fire on in the evening, then put the thermostat down to 20 overnight. It rarely comes on as our house is very warm.

DH has spent all winter in thin trousers and a T shirt while complaining about how hot it is. I am wearing a vest, jumper and cardigan and still cold most of the time! I did leave the heating on overnight when it was below freezing because he actually found the bedroom a bit chilly (and the cats liked it)

We all have our different body thermostats don't we? I prefer to wear layers and can't bear being too hot - it makes me feel ill.
My sister's husband feels the cold, he's diabetic and doesn't like having cold feet, so the temperature in their house is too high for me. Luckily I can stand it for a short visit.

I understand your worries as we too are managing on my pension alone until next year, when DH gets his too.

Heat is the one thing we regard as a priority, as neither of us can cope with being cold.

It should be possible to work out what your heating actually costs, so you don't need to worry about a large extra bill, or perhaps even can put money aside for it. You don't mention what type of heating you have, but sounds like it is supplied by a municipal plant or the like, so a phone call to them should help clear up the costs. You may be able to pay off an extra bill in instalments, especially if you have a word with them now.

We have a wood-burning stove as well as the central heating supplied by the municipal plant and use the stove when the weather is as cold as it is now.

Could you perhaps close off a room or two, leaving only enough heat in the closed off rooms to keep them frost-free?

Otherwise, hanging old blankets or the like up on the inside of all outside doors does help.

Travelsafar.You could get £140 off your electricity bill for winter 2017 to 2018 under the Warm Home Discount Scheme.

The money isn’t paid to you - it’s a one-off discount on your electricity bill, between September and March.

You may be able to get the discount on your gas bill instead if your supplier provides you with both gas and electricity. Contact your supplier to find out.

The discount won’t affect your Cold Weather Payment or Winter Fuel Payment.

Eligibility
There are 2 ways to qualify for the Warm Home Discount Scheme:

you get the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit - known as the ‘core group’
you’re on a low income and meet your energy supplier’s criteria for the scheme - known as the ‘broader group’

Haven’t read through all. But not sure why you need heating on when in bed.
Get: Hot water bottles? Duvets? Nice slinky blankets. Socks
Do you know how many polar bears are dying because of your wanton heat habits?
Yea I am like the greenpeace activist of gransnet. But seriously you guys need to help out.

^ IMO, the government is extraordinarily generous in helping older people in this way.^
It was a way of appeasing those in receipt of state pensions because they lag behind those in the rest of Europe - and it is not subject to the triple lock either.

Some people may have more difficulty in moving around than others and would need their homes heated just that bit more.
It has been -2C here during the day so I have not been walking round in a cami top and bare feet with a large window open!

Leaving the 'boiler' on minimum 24/7 is not the view of BG but it depends on how many hours you spend in the home.

21/22c (as one GNer prefers is far too warm. The ambient temperature should be 17/18c. To have an overheated home isn't good for your health.
Currently, I do not have any heating on and it's not been on since between 7-8pm yesterday.
I'm wearing a cami top and cotton pj bottoms, bare feet and have a casement window partly open in the sitting room whilst typing this.
Yes, I prefer cool to hot but I like fresh air to circulate and always sleep with a window open. I believe it aids good sleep.

I prefer to wear light clothing indoors and have the thermostat set at 17 and the times programmed. Even though, I am warm whilst my wife, wearing anything she can lay hands on, is cold. I will put the heating on boost if I think it needs it but won't put it on 24 hours as it gets a bit stuffy. I like it warm but am comfortable at lower temperatures than the wife! You need to sort out what's the best for both of you as both of you have to live there.

I believe that the allowance for 2 people is £300 (age dependent) therefore I doubt very much whether you would use that much on central heating in 3 months or even 4 or 5 months...unless your home leaks heat like a sieve.
It's easy to work out your own bills by reading the meter, taking the recent reading from the previous one and, using the figures on your bill which tell you the cost per kWh then adding the standing charge pd X number of days since last bill.
Add together then add VAT@ 5% and you will be able to know if your current credit as shown on the app ( if you have one) is covering your usage.
That way, you can keep on top of your payments/usage with no nasty surprises.
I should think most couples would be thrilled to have an extra £300 to spend on heating and, IMO, the government is extraordinarily generous in helping older people in this way.

My son in law is a plumber and has always told me to the leave the boiler on minimum at all times. It ensures constant heat , no problems with pipes and it's cheaper than switching on and off.

Our heating is on 24/7 21 at night 22 in the day of late with the the snow.

Lakeland sell heated throws that cost very little to run. You can switch heating right down or even off in the evenings if you are sitting watching TV. You are only heating the area around your body. They really are a Godsend.

Have always understood that having the heating on 24/7 around 18, perhaps more or less sometimes, hardly adds too much to the bill. Will know about this after the winter as last year it was turned off at night but then the weather was not so harsh. I believe older people need to keep warm as most of us have ailments and although we can layer up, its the heating that takes the chill from the air.

I might be having a problem next week, we have a house in the UK we otherwise live in Sweden, when heating is on 24/7, it has to be.When we go to the UK during the Winter my Husband wants the heating on all day, we only have thermostats on the radiators, so I am permanently turning them off and on, the boiler we have on a timer two hours in the evening and two hours early morning, however we have had a new bolier installed three weeks ago, with a thermostat so life should be easier once we are shown how to use it, I think DH may be staisfied with this new contraption, he is always frozen when in the UK regardless of the season. I am usually always warm, having been born in the UK with no central heating etc during the winters in the 40,s so I am used to it I suppose, I am always too warm here, I suppose we are never really satisfied.Lets hope the weather will warm up in the UK next week! The man who installed the boiler assured me it will make a big difference to our energy bills, so heres hoping.

I am hot most of the time and my husband feels the cold we pay £115 per month gas and electric in a fixed 2 year deal. We have central heating plus my husband lights our open log fire most evenings “Cos it’s nice and cosy”. I think it’s his ploy because the hotter it becomes the less amount of clothes I have on.

Anyone who is eligible can claim PIP
If you are in reiceipt of PIP and your other half is also disabled there is nothing to stop him from claiming

Can your other half claim PIP

We keep GCH on during day and also as fire in lounge as well. I can't stand the GCH on overnight though as it dries out the air. We switch it off just before going to bed. We love leccy blanky though. Talk to your dh and tell him you are a bit worried about the expense and see if he will agree to switch it down 1 degree during day and off at night.

I'm always cold - I wear several layers, socks, jeans or thick jumpers and fur lined leggings/tights. By mid afternoon the heating has gone down to 16 deg and I have to put my slanket on as I'm sitting at the computer working all day. My right hand is always cold using the mouse so I have a USB plug in heated mouse mat which helps a bit although I have worked in fingerless gloves too. The heating is set to 21 deg 5am to 12 and then comes back up again at 4pm to 10. I sleep in fleece bedding so am warm during the night. My husband is usually hot although even he complains he's cold if sitting and will go and put another jumper on. I think it's difficult if couples have different internal thermometers and perhaps a bit of compromise is needed on both parts.

We have underfloor heating in our conservatory. The first Winter we had it, we ran it most days. Our electricity bill doubled . So now we have an oil filled radiator supplemented by a fan heater as required. Bills are back to sustainable levels.

We have underfloor heating, and it's recommended that we keep it on 24/7 at 22deg in the living areas and 19deg in the bedrooms and bathrooms

I swear by M & S thermals: long-sleeved top and longjohns under jeans, thick jumper and socks.
Heating never higher than 18 degrees, usually off by early afternoon, but I do have an old but very efficient gas fire (the sort Homes under the Hammer order must be ripped out immediately) for afternoon and evening.
No heating at night, but two thin duvets, throw, brilliant cashmere bedsocks and a cat.