Although my mum is not needy enough to get transport to and from the hospital for operations, she is it seems needy enough to get a warm front grant.
They have installed central heating in her house for free.
She is not sure if she will be able to afford to run it yet, but at least it is there.
Anyone who is on any kind of benefits can get a grant and you don't just have to be on "income support" (this has various new names these days) , you can get it if you are old or have children as well.That's lovely A nice boost for her after her operation.
Does this mean you will spend Xmas there with her if it snows, all cosy?I'm glad your mum got the heating. I'm dubious about the principle too, but she is a deserving case. Not a lazy drug dealer etc
It's a bit worrying about the cost if prices continue to rise, but she may find that central heating costs less than whatever she had before if she is careful with it.
I've been in the position of having seperate heaters and while it seems reasonable that it should be cheaper than heating the whole house it never seemed to work out that way.
I think it works out most economical when you heat the whole house to a medium temperature and keep it there so the central heating only has to top it up.I am sure she will save money overall as she has visitors who barge in and put the fire on full and it won't be so easy to do this with the central heating. They can turn the thermostat up I suppose as long as she had the heating on.
I suppose the gov have run out of work for their little friends to do now that all council houses on our estate have had central heating and double glazing put in, and they have to recuit some house owners now. It is about time homeowners got something.
Meanwhile in other news, my sister has been allocated a new council house. It already has central heating and double glazing but is on the list for a new kitchen and bathroom. The city centre estates must be a stage further on the nice homes for the chosen ones road than suburbia. It needs decorating so they are buying the paint for her and having it delivered to the house.
I really do feel I am missing something.
It needs decorating so they are buying the paint for her and having it delivered to the house.
You mean she will have to decorate it herself?Well Yes. But it is still a step up from people in their own homes who have to buy their own paint.
The days when they decorated for you are long gone, but even then they only did one room a year. So with 8 rooms it would take a long time, and she never stays anywhere more than 3 years.Well the central heating is costing a lot to run, it cost a few pounds a week just for the pilot light when my mum was away. Even with the thermostat on very low it costs a lot.
It seems the only way to reduce costs is to turn the thing off entirely, so I reckon you are better off with stand alone appliances as they cost nothing until used.
So I don't think Warn Front is a success, I suppose it has helped the fitters get jobs fitting it, but if old people have to turn the heating off it is not a success.
Perhaps they were basing the "it will be cheaper" promises on people who had fires blaring for hours on end not on people already being economical.Maybe it will be cheaper after this bad winter. This has been exceptional.I think it is quite efficient while actually being used but they make up their money by charging you too much while you are not using it.
Compared with being charged nothing while not using the old heating appliances the costs of running it 24/7 mount up, a sort of standing charge for central heating.
I had considered trying for the boiler scrappage scheme. I don't have a boiler only a water heater but I thought I could get a combi boiler and use it just to heat the water and then get radiators when I can cope with it (strategically not financially , e.g. where would I move out to while it was done). Perhaps I won't if it is costing so much to run.My boiler isn't a combi. It heats a well lagged hot water tank for about half an hour a day before I get up and that's enough to wash, do the dishes and do a weekly wash. I shower electric so I don't need it for that. When the central heating comes on there's a little valve that turns to send the water round the pipes instead of to the tank. The boiler is now around 17 years old and has failed once. There's no pilot light - when the thermostat calls for heat the gas turns on and a spark ignites it. It was the spark thing that failed several years ago. Apart from that one time it's been a very nice little boiler. My house is a small two bed semi and moderately insulated, although I could do with a loft top-up. All rooms are heated but all radiators have thermostats. The back bedroom is rarely used and is only heated occasionally to air it out. All the other rooms are heated to 60F except the lounge which is 72F. When I go out during the day it all goes off. Usually my trips out involve exercise so it's no hardship to get back to a cool house as my internal heating takes over while the house warms back up. Someone offered a loft top-up for £200 on the back of the Warm Front initiative last week. I said that I'd consider it and they said they'd ring me. In the meantime I did the sums and worked out that the return period was about 6 years. I would be over 65 by then and probably eligible for the top-up with 100% grant so I said 'no' when they called back. I pay E'On £58 a month for dual fuel, and so far I'm still in credit, just. So, central heating need not be expensive, but it depends on the house that it's put into. Getting the loft insulated on a 100% grant if you can get it is definitely a good idea.Next Page...
A nice boost for her after her operation.