we just heat the rooms we are using. Since the offspring flew the nest there are rooms I don't go in frequently, heat leakage from the rest of the house means I can go in to look for something without frostbite

The room will sink to the average outside temperature over day and night, depending on the thermal mass of the walls etc, then elevated a little because of the heat coming in from the room next to it, if heated. Intermittent heating will also mean the walls don't get the chance to absorb so much heat so they may be several degrees cooler than if continuously heated so will lose less heat to the outside.
Modern timber framed buildings have much lower thermal mass so have a wider temperature swing but should have been built with more insulation than an older house. Where there are internal stud walls rather than solid brick it would be desirable to put insulation into those too so that only the living room is heated and that more efficiently.

If unused rooms are not heated, the energy taken from the heat source will be less, since effectively the heat exchanger between the source and the receiver (The exterior in the case of a building ) will be smaller.

My former employers use movement sensors to turn on lights in area, only when movement was detected. Apparently, this did save electricity, although I wondered about the current surge when multiple fluorescent lights were switched on.

In a reasonably constant environment, reducing the temperature difference will produce a saving, since the rate of cooling depends on the temperature difference between the two areas.

So lowering the set temperature, and the time of heating will reduce the need for energy input, as we are being advised to do..

In terms of personal transport, walking or cycling will reduce energy input to out motor vehicles to zero, but possibly with an increase in energy intake from food?.

Howard

Phil H1 , a nice ex-Flying Fortress, electrically heated flying suit , is what you are looking for.

Problem is…..getting the rest of the household to wear one as well .

Good luck , and do let us know how it all works out.

We all may finish up wearing one before this energy thing is over.

Interesting links. Yes Mr Hancock. There are two young ladies here and the wife. At least one of them walks round in light clothing but keeps pressing the heating control. I think getting others in the house to consider an electric suit will be an uphill struggle.

Mad though isn't it? Why isn't everybody in a heated suit?

My central heating controller has settings for a set point. Any changes to the temperature setting only lasts for a limited period before it reverts to the set point. The time before this occurs can be set from 30 minutes to 120 minutes. I have remote control of the thermostat and settings on my phone and I also have a room controller (for one room) on my phone that restricts the heating if the room temperature passes a certain point. This is needed because of a couple of large windows that cause large increases in temperature when the sun shines in, even in the depths of winter. Since no one else has bothered to learn how the system is controlled and operated I have full control of the settings and resulting temperature.

Martin C

Lee,

A Xmas present from my daughter was a heated jacket as per the one you described, I shoot clay pigeons every Sunday morning and our range is on the edge of our local marshes and consequently very open and windswept. In the depths of winter it can be extremely cold plus sometimes you are standing in up to 8 inches of water if it’s a particularly wet winter, the heated jacket is a real bonus, it has three heat settings, I have yet to require the hottest setting it is a joy to wear and if anyone is minded to wear one they are available from Amazon, made in China of course, and very reasonably priced, a full charge of the rechargeable battery pack should last about 8 hours. Dave W

Howi, gas heating is quite inefficient. A lot of the heat goes out the chimney and into the atmosphere so 1kWh of electricity will put 100% of its energy into a room, 1kWh of gas will only put part of its heat into a room, some older systems were down towards the 20% mark. Add to this the fact that gas systems are more complicated and so require regular checks and maintenance for safety reasons and the cost of gas systems gets closer to that of electrical systems.

Martin C

some older systems were down towards the 20% mark

Yet some modern systems are up around 90% or more ? IIRC my condensing system boiler is over 90% efficient, with the flue gas being barely warm.

My house was built with a living flame gas fire in the living room that is more about effect than efficiency – less than 30% – it rarely gets turned on. But modern versions can be up to 94% & if I wanted to use a fire instead of the CH I would look to changing it.

Actually thinking of replacing it with a solid fuel fire, as (unusually for a fairly modern house (1989 build)) there is a proper fireback & chimney behind the living flame fire & I could then heat one room independantly of gas or electricity should the need arise. Like the current gas fire, running costs & pollution would be zero if it wasn't operating.

Nigel B.

I worked in a 'temporary' building (40 years old), which was heated by connecting it to the building next door. It had a big boiler room and pump. The thermostat for the whole building was in my office, and I like it cool. Soon learned not to touch it: uncomfortable people get cross!

A feral cat living in the pipe-well had at least 3 sets of kittens: guess it was warm and dry in there. All gone, demolished, it's a housing estate now…

Dave