# Keeping warm in the winter!



## leannewhite_llw (Jan 4, 2011)

Hi guys,

Having received an enormous electricity bill this month, I was wondering if anyone has any tips on how to heat your house in the winter without running your bills into the hundreds? We have a large gas heater downstairs, but in the bedrooms it is blooming freezing, and there's no way we could fit that behemoth of a heater in our room! We've been using an electric radiator to dry our clothes as well, as we have no covered area in our garden... I'm sure plenty of you guys have had to face this problem, any advice would be greatly appreciated  
Also, any tips on tackling damp? It's fast becoming mould... And I'm not enjoying scrubbing the walls daily!
Thanks guys!

Lee x


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## Guest (Jan 11, 2011)

Thicker duvets for the bedrooms
Dry your clothes in a south facing sunny room or keep an eye on the weather and bring it in when it rains
Make sure you open windows during the day and you should avoid the damp, the gas heater won't help matters there

We don't have any heating, well we do.. we have an electric "underfloor heating system" which is installed in the ceiling (don't ask!) and we rarely have cause to use it thankfully

If all else fails just spend more time down the local warmest bar!


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Spray a solution of diluted bleach to remove the black fungus that is caused by condensation, then after a while wipe clean.

Cannot help with the heating though, we do not have or need any, not a fireplace in the house, we have an oil filled radiator, but we haven't used it for over three years. I guess the only real solution is to move south,

Hepa


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

From what I can see, Spain is very much a place where people huddle around a fire in one room, unlike the UK where houses are simply kept warm and draft free - with carpets, central heating, insulation, damp courses etc. What we do it put a gas fire on to warm the room and then occasionally put a halogen heater on if it gets chilly and to compensate for any condensation cause by the gas fire.

In the bedroom I occasionally use an oiled filled radiator or a halogen thingy if its really chilly. We've only been in this house for a couple of months so its difficult to dewtermin what our leccie bill will be, but so far I'd estimate about 120€ a monthish - altho we heat our water with electricity which I'm sure bumps it up considerably

Jo xxx


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Bosslady informs me that our electricity is €1.53 one Euro fifty three cents daily. Everything is electric,

Hepa


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

leannewhite_llw said:


> Also, any tips on tackling damp? It's fast becoming mould... And I'm not enjoying scrubbing the walls daily!
> Thanks guys!
> 
> Lee x


Call me a slob, but I occasionally squirt some bleach solution on the damp patches. I'll have a proper clean when it dries up a bit!! 

Jo xxx


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

I bought electric blankets from Amazon.. 3 double bed washable electric blankets delivered to Spain for 42 pounds sterling.
Keeps the bed aired and of course your nice and warm


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## djfwells (Sep 28, 2009)

I'm not entirely sure that there is a solution with this one. I have only just got to grips with battling against the symptoms, let alone finding a cure.


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## leannewhite_llw (Jan 4, 2011)

Thanks for the tips guys, the electric blanket could be a winner, thanks Maiden! Do yours use less energy than an electric heater do you think?
Do you think it's best to buy things like electric blankets and heaters in the UK and get them shipped over or is there anywhere over here to buy them at reasonable prices? Everything I find here seems to be extortionate!
Jojo - from my experience this month I would really advise getting a timer for your boiler if you haven't already, or just turn it on as and when you need it. That seems to be what pushed our bill through the roof, as it was on 24 hours a day - it was never a problem at our old place, but that's Spain for ya, no consistency!

Lee x


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

leannewhite_llw said:


> Thanks for the tips guys, the electric blanket could be a winner, thanks Maiden! Do yours use less energy than an electric heater do you think?
> Do you think it's best to buy things like electric blankets and heaters in the UK and get them shipped over or is there anywhere over here to buy them at reasonable prices? Everything I find here seems to be extortionate!
> Jojo - from my experience this month I would really advise getting a timer for your boiler if you haven't already, or just turn it on as and when you need it. That seems to be what pushed our bill through the roof, as it was on 24 hours a day - it was never a problem at our old place, but that's Spain for ya, no consistency!
> 
> Lee x


We've thought about that, but my husband is of the opinion that tfor it to keep cooling down when turned off and then re heating when its turned on again would be as expensive, especially as we're a family of four who bath/shower too often lol!. I dont know. Its only a small boiler and it does heat my daughters bedroom cos its on the wall behind her room?!?

Jo xxx


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

leannewhite_llw said:


> Thanks for the tips guys, the electric blanket could be a winner, thanks Maiden! Do yours use less energy than an electric heater do you think?
> Do you think it's best to buy things like electric blankets and heaters in the UK and get them shipped over or is there anywhere over here to buy them at reasonable prices? Everything I find here seems to be extortionate!
> Jojo - from my experience this month I would really advise getting a timer for your boiler if you haven't already, or just turn it on as and when you need it. That seems to be what pushed our bill through the roof, as it was on 24 hours a day - it was never a problem at our old place, but that's Spain for ya, no consistency!
> 
> Lee x


Sounds like you have a problem with your boiler, thermostat perhaps. Ours is outside in the wash house, it runs 24 hours daily all year, heats all the household water and has done for the past ten years. It is a 25 litre Ariston. Like I said in a previous post daily cost of electricity is a minimal €1.53.

They are not expensive to renew and very easy to fit,

Hepa


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

leannewhite_llw said:


> Thanks for the tips guys, the electric blanket could be a winner, thanks Maiden! Do yours use less energy than an electric heater do you think?
> Do you think it's best to buy things like electric blankets and heaters in the UK and get them shipped over or is there anywhere over here to buy them at reasonable prices? Everything I find here seems to be extortionate!
> Jojo - from my experience this month I would really advise getting a timer for your boiler if you haven't already, or just turn it on as and when you need it. That seems to be what pushed our bill through the roof, as it was on 24 hours a day - it was never a problem at our old place, but that's Spain for ya, no consistency!
> 
> Lee x




Buy the blankets at Amazon and have them delivered... Aldi Spain has special offers on electric blankets at the moment but they are 30 euros, previously I bought a double blanket dual controlled in Spain for 52 euros.
The blankets according to the manufactures buff are 2 p a nights running cost.
You can leave them on all night.
You can also buy gas water heaters for about 200 euros and run your hot water on bottled gaz. they only heat the water you use plus of course your buying the bottles so no huge big bills.

Maiden


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

jojo said:


> We've thought about that, but my husband is of the opinion that tfor it to keep cooling down when turned off and then re heating when its turned on again would be as expensive, especially as we're a family of four who bath/shower too often lol!. I dont know. Its only a small boiler and it does heat my daughters bedroom cos its on the wall behind her room?!?
> 
> Jo xxx


Hubby may be wrong on this occasion.

We had our water on all the time when we first moved here on the basis that the thermostat would sort it out. Our electricity bills were suprisingly high.

So we put it on a timer, three hours in the morning, two in the afternoon, and one in the evening, and the bills reduced. Water heaters here are well insulated as opposed to the copper type UK ones, and they tend to retain the heat well.

After a series of "tests" we found that the biggest users were the water heater, and the oven/rings. The oven died last year so we bought a fan assisted oven and those glass rings and we expect the bills to come down again. The old oven used to take some 45 mins to get to heat sometimes, and the rings were rubbish.

We used an oil fired radiator when needed in the lounge during the day, and at night when its cold we have a log fire. Electric duvet on the bed, and to deal with an signs of mould we have a dehumidifier. As a result, we have no mold in the house at all and the bottom meter of the outside walls is treated with a clear sealant


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Stravinsky said:


> Hubby may be wrong on this occasion.


NEVER That simply cannot be LOLOL :tape2:

I'll look into it 


Jo xxx


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## fourgotospain (May 4, 2009)

We have gas central heating and after the enormous bills last winter we have switched it to hot water only. This winter to keep warm we are using our massive wood burning fire (invaluable, would not rent house without one again), we ALL have electric blankets on the beds, on timer switches purchased from the ferreteria so that they come on around 1-2 hrs before bedtime. When it was really cold at night a few weeks ago I had them coming on for 30 mins in the night as well just to make sure the kids stayed toasty. 
We all have rubber soled slippers/ugg type bootees that are NOT to be worn outside and so are fine on the furniture. For cold mornings we have a little fan heater, and there is one of those walll mounted in the family bathroom too. Our house is pretty good as the bedrooms are small but the living space (where the big fire is) is large so it's easier to heat this way. An english house with lots of little rooms would be hopeless.
re: washing, I feel your pain, luckily up here on the Costa Blanca we have been blessed with a dry winter so far unlike the south so it's been no problem. I've always wondered why industrial 'tumble dry' units like launderettes haven't caught on as the winter is so humid...

Hope you are toasty warm soon. Definately amazon is the way to go with the electric blankets. Measure the dimensions carefully as cheap ones are often very short.


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

fourgotospain said:


> We have gas central heating and after the enormous bills last winter we have switched it to hot water only. This winter to keep warm we are using our massive wood burning fire (invaluable, would not rent house without one again), we ALL have electric blankets on the beds, on timer switches purchased from the ferreteria so that they come on around 1-2 hrs before bedtime. When it was really cold at night a few weeks ago I had them coming on for 30 mins in the night as well just to make sure the kids stayed toasty.
> We all have rubber soled slippers/ugg type bootees that are NOT to be worn outside and so are fine on the furniture. For cold mornings we have a little fan heater, and there is one of those walll mounted in the family bathroom too. Our house is pretty good as the bedrooms are small but the living space (where the big fire is) is large so it's easier to heat this way. An english house with lots of little rooms would be hopeless.
> re: washing, I feel your pain, luckily up here on the Costa Blanca we have been blessed with a dry winter so far unlike the south so it's been no problem. I've always wondered why industrial 'tumble dry' units like launderettes haven't caught on as the winter is so humid...
> 
> Hope you are toasty warm soon. Definately amazon is the way to go with the electric blankets. Measure the dimensions carefully as cheap ones are often very short.




my daughter spent 700 euros on wood last year.. and that was for one fire.
Do you mind saying how much you are paying for wood and where you get it from?

Maiden


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

I actually dont like the winter in Spain! Its neither one thing or the other! It is damp, the houses (in the main) arent built for cold, we have torrential rainfall and high winds and even when its warm outside the houses stay cold. I hate to admit it, but I prefer the UK in the winter, you know its gonna be cold and the houses are built for it!

Jo xxx


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## fourgotospain (May 4, 2009)

We get it from a wood guy along the 'garden centre road' - I can't remember the name but it's a local road so named as it has Viveros Tocal plus many others along it. We buy only olive and it costs around 300 euros for a lorry load. To put it in perspective we just had some delivered I would expect it to last us now til around April, we shared the load we had delivered in October so that will have cost us around €450 for the winter (6 months). Last winter we were using €200 of gas (4 bottles) every 5-6 weeks!!! And that was only taking the 'chill' off the house morning and evening, not walking around in t-shirts!! We light the fire around 5pm every night - you need to get it going well before the sun goes down to make sure the house stays warm. We are prettty lucky with a south facing glazed naya too...I have a card somewhere at home for a wood guy near here, I'll look it out and pm you.


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

fourgotospain said:


> We get it from a wood guy along the 'garden centre road' - I can't remember the name but it's a local road so named as it has Viveros Tocal plus many others along it. We buy only olive and it costs around 300 euros for a lorry load. To put it in perspective we just had some delivered I would expect it to last us now til around April, we shared the load we had delivered in October so that will have cost us around €450 for the winter (6 months). Last winter we were using €200 of gas (4 bottles) every 5-6 weeks!!! And that was only taking the 'chill' off the house morning and evening, not walking around in t-shirts!! We light the fire around 5pm every night - you need to get it going well before the sun goes down to make sure the house stays warm. We are prettty lucky with a south facing glazed naya too...I have a card somewhere at home for a wood guy near here, I'll look it out and pm you.




Thanks that would be great.... there are two pine trees in the olive grove that we dont need and I have suggested they are cut down now and dried for next winter,
I know pine is not great for burning but it will be free


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

MaidenScotland said:


> Thanks that would be great.... there are two pine trees in the olive grove that we dont need and I have suggested they are cut down now and dried for next winter,
> I know pine is not great for burning but it will be free


do you think he'd deliver from Jávea??


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

MaidenScotland said:


> my daughter spent 700 euros on wood last year.. and that was for one fire.
> Do you mind saying how much you are paying for wood and where you get it from?
> 
> Maiden




Lol i hadn't noticed the location nor indeed given it any thought


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

I'm surprised at the cost of wood for the winter. We get about €120 of wood for the winter. Next door had a truck load delivered for €400, and I'm pretty sure they will still be using it next winter


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

It is impossible to heat our house. The salon has a 10 metre ceiling with a sort of minstrel's gallery with a tower-like thingy above it, there are corridors and passageways and marble floors and staircases. No way could you do anything other than find a smallish room and heat that...which is what we now do.
Last year we tried wood, the year before electricity. Expensive and ineffectual.
So now we use.....a paraffin heater to heat the room we use as 'winter quarters'.
I never thought I would use such a contraption but technology has moved on. These heaters are stylish -as heaters go - the paraffin doesn't smell and they are cheap to run. They give more than enough heat.
So far we don't need to heat any room in the day as we get the sun and in any case we're out and about most days.
I would definitely recommend these paraffin/kerosene heaters over gas bottle ones.


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

mrypg9 said:


> It is impossible to heat our house. The salon has a 10 metre ceiling with a sort of minstrel's gallery with a tower-like thingy above it, there are corridors and passageways and marble floors and staircases. No way could you do anything other than find a smallish room and heat that...which is what we now do.
> Last year we tried wood, the year before electricity. Expensive and ineffectual.
> So now we use.....a paraffin heater to heat the room we use as 'winter quarters'.
> I never thought I would use such a contraption but technology has moved on. These heaters are stylish -as heaters go - the paraffin doesn't smell and they are cheap to run. They give more than enough heat.
> ...




Yes my daughter uses those too.. no condensation with them either.
Is it the type that has the electric switch and you set the temperature that you wish the room to go to?
Maiden


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

MaidenScotland said:


> Yes my daughter uses those too.. no condensation with them either.
> Is it the type that has the electric switch and you set the temperature that you wish the room to go to?
> Maiden


No, we got a 'special offer', half-price, 99 euros so quite basic.
But we are considering getting a posher one as the room gets too hot and we have to open the window! A thermostatically-controlled one would be much better.
I cannot get over how surprised I am at how efficient and cheap they are. We usually light up around 7pm until midnight and get 18 litres of fuel for around 30 euros. That lasts us for just under a month.


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## fourgotospain (May 4, 2009)

Asking around our wood 'requirements' seem about normal up here for a 4 bed, 2 bath villa. We ONLY use the wood and our electric and water are really low. The gas boiler is mega effiecient as long as you don't use the heating!!! We haven't bought any bottles since last April


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

MaidenScotland said:


> Yes my daughter uses those too.. no condensation with them either.
> Is it the type that has the electric switch and you set the temperature that you wish the room to go to?
> Maiden


Paraffin heaters definitely produce water vapour.


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

xabiachica said:


> do you think he'd deliver from Jávea??


You'd be surprised how far some will deliver ! Around here most olive wood is 130-160€ a tonne. We had some delivered at the end of october from a man who advertises in a local market . lots of spanish & english have been using him for years. 8,1tonnes 550€ delivered from Quesada in jáen, 3 hours away ! More than enough to last us for next year as well. 
We've got an old cortijo, single storey & from the outset had a cast iron wood-burner in the lounge which worked well. I changed it last year for a Hergom spanish make that I bought for 50€ 's ( they are 1200 €'s+ new  ) What a difference it makes , not only heats the lounge but out into the hallway , much easier to keep in overnight than the other one , plus most of the time it is nearly shut right down & acts as a radiator. In the bedrooms we don't use anything except duvets , water & cooking is gas , & our electric bill is similar to Hepas around 70-80€ for 2 months. Although at the moment they owe me for 1500 kw/hrs that I've overpaid this year. I'm waiting for the price to go up so I can make a profit!


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

leannewhite_llw said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> Having received an enormous electricity bill this month, I was wondering if anyone has any tips on how to heat your house in the winter without running your bills into the hundreds? We have a large gas heater downstairs, but in the bedrooms it is blooming freezing, and there's no way we could fit that behemoth of a heater in our room! We've been using an electric radiator to dry our clothes as well, as we have no covered area in our garden... I'm sure plenty of you guys have had to face this problem, any advice would be greatly appreciated
> Also, any tips on tackling damp? It's fast becoming mould... And I'm not enjoying scrubbing the walls daily!
> ...


Been there, done that ... our first winter here we had a massive leccy bill plus €10 a week for a propane gas heater. We don't use the radiators in the bedroom or bathroom any more; a thick duvet, hot water bottle, passion-killer pyjamas and a big thick fleecy dressing gown instead, and a quick blast on a fan-heater while you're getting dressed/undressed.

Mould needs 70% humidity to grow, so always open the windows whenever you can, and get a dehumidifier. Try to reduce condensation by not drying clothes indoors or boiling saucepans on the stove.

NEVER BRUSH BLACK MOULD OFF WHEN IT'S DRY. This releases toxic spores and can be harmful to your health. Always spray it or sponge it with a bleach solution to kill the spores, leave it for an hour or so, then scrub it off. There is something called Astonish which you can get in general stores, works wonders.


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

jimenato said:


> Paraffin heaters definitely produce water vapour.




The don't in my daughters house or in the casita

I run a paraffin heater in the casit and there is no condensation what so ever... and the main door is metal as is the door into the hallway.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

MaidenScotland said:


> The don't in my daughters house or in the casita
> 
> I run a paraffin heater in the casit and there is no condensation what so ever... and the main door is metal as is the door into the hallway.


It does produce water vapour - a litre of paraffin will produce a litre of water. But if the heater is doing its job and warming the room up nicely, then the water will stay in the air and not form condensation.


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> It is impossible to heat our house. The salon has a 10 metre ceiling with a sort of minstrel's gallery with a tower-like thingy above it, there are corridors and passageways and marble floors and staircases. No way could you do anything other than find a smallish room and heat that...which is what we now do.
> Last year we tried wood, the year before electricity. Expensive and ineffectual.
> So now we use.....a paraffin heater to heat the room we use as 'winter quarters'.
> I never thought I would use such a contraption but technology has moved on. These heaters are stylish -as heaters go - the paraffin doesn't smell and they are cheap to run. They give more than enough heat.
> ...


Blimey Mary... what you living in? A cathedral? jjaja


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## Guest (Jan 12, 2011)

mrypg9 said:


> It is impossible to heat our house. The salon has a 10 metre ceiling with a sort of minstrel's gallery with a tower-like thingy above it, there are corridors and passageways and marble floors and staircases. No way could you do anything other than find a smallish room and heat that...which is what we now do.
> Last year we tried wood, the year before electricity. Expensive and ineffectual.
> So now we use.....a paraffin heater to heat the room we use as 'winter quarters'.
> I never thought I would use such a contraption but technology has moved on. These heaters are stylish -as heaters go - the paraffin doesn't smell and they are cheap to run. They give more than enough heat.
> ...


I want house photos!!! Sounds like your salon is bigger than my dear "_pisito_."


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