The cost of living... what can we do?

We normally keep all doors open , especially at nightime..I like to know and hear what's going on.
it's the same with windows too ....I need to feel space and breathe.

 

I've never understood heating on and windows open.
Spend money on double glazing and insulation etc.
Then open a window.

 

We have the benefit of permanent screens.

 

I'm guessing that draughts become colder in cold weather, so you need to put more heat in to feel the same.

Although not particularly draughty I do find that the house is colder in windy weather.
Just opening the door loses heat, moreso in windy weather.

 

It will do: as the wind "draws the heat out of the outer layer of the exterior wall" so the temperature gradient between inside and outside becomes steeper and heat moves out faster. As you are still putting heat in at the same rate the inside wall feels cooler.
Same reason as when you are outside getting out of the wind always feels warmer, even if you've only moved behind a hedge or wall.

 

I don't get much condensation except in the coldest weather.
The single glazed steel framed crittal windows used to have puddles on the window sills in the mornings and often frozen inside.
Over where my sister lives they have condensation all the time and run a dehumidifier often, i do know their house is situated where the water table is pretty close to the surface.

 

Our floors are concrete with no insulation or underfloor heating. We have fitted carpets that help a little to stop the floors becoming too cold.
We have double glazing in all of the flat but no wall insulation. The windows are big for a flat and we have always liked it that way, that is until my wife had cataract surgery, now the bright lights bother her so much that she wears sunglasses on sunny days and has to close the blinds in the kitchen and the curtains in the living room. We now live in twilight most of the time.

We seem to have found the right temp in the flat but, on particularly cold windy days, have to increase it a degree or two. When the weather changes again we lower it again. We never heat our bedroom, with all the doors open it warms up enough. We don't put it on in the morning as we are hardly in it after getting up. Nor do we put it on before going to bed.

 

Very few places over here have radiator heating. Some ancient apartment buildings still have it and the radiators were almost always located under windows.

On the main floor, it is cool to the feet but that is because the cellar is only minimally heated and the insulation at the outer walls of the cellar only reaches down 36" below the ground level and the cellar has 8' ceilings and a concrete floor. I don't spend much time down there so comfort levels in that area are moot.

I have either tile or wood floors on the main level and also area rugs where one might be sitting for long periods. My upstairs is fully carpeted so warm on the feet however the carpet has not aged all that well.

I have taken to wearing slip on sneakers inside and that pair of shoes does not go outside. Except once, I accidently wore them outside and then had the task of scrubbing the soles to clean them up again. Over here it is considered a dirty habit to wear shoes inside that have been worn outside. Guests quite often bring a pair of slippers with them when visiting in the winter.

I think one of my biggest savings is on my water bill now that my overwintering plants and soon, new seedlings, are kept hydrated with capillary hydration. I also keep the watering can in the laundry room tub and I run the water into that until it is hot and before starting the first clothes wash of the day. The washer has a heater, an electric one so I want to avoid it having to kick in to electrically heat the water which instead, I can initially supply preheated from the gas water heater. I do the same with the dishwasher. Run the water at the sink next to it until the temp comes up because the dishwasher also has a an electric heater in it. I use the water in the cans to supply my plants so nothing is wasted.