Consider the humble hot water bottle.

[Astro Pen]

For the last few days I have been taking a furry hot water bottle to bed. My girlfriend gave it to me and I laughed at it. But I'm not laughing any more.
Used to having a radiator on, and a quick blast of fan heater, I have been doing a quick energy cost comparison.
To boil a 2 kw kettle takes 3 mins - one tenth of a kw hour. Maybe 3 pence?
This is peanuts in the scale of domestic heating.
I woke up up at 4 in the morning and, to my surprise, that little furry gadget was still warm. - (careful )
For those in dread of impending energy bills I would recommend giving one a try. Cocoa optional.

 

[Montero]

I'm devoted to hot water bottles, sometimes have two. As of last Autumn added a heat pad to the sofa - just warms my back - but it is far lower cost than running a fire, and far more convenient than making a hot water bottle and isn't lumpy and heavy. Bottles are fine in bed, but more awkward when sitting up.

 

[Pyan]

Try one of these* - from Amazon...

*The hot water bottle, not the model...

 

[HareBrain]

Yup, big fan here. I've been making more use of them this winter, and running the central heating only for an hour each morning. (Why heat the whole house, especially if you live alone, when you can just heat something you hold next to you?) Last month my power company reduced my direct debit by about 15%.

Bottles are fine in bed, but more awkward when sitting up.

One advantage though is you can put them under your feet.

 

[Montero]

@HareBrain True.
@Pyan - interesting but would still be quite heavy


One new thing I bought this winter- HotRoxx - electric hand heater, charge it up, press a button, heat comes out for about three hours. Can alternatively be used to re-charge (well about half re-charge) a mobile phone - so useful in a power cut. Makes such a difference having something hot to wrap my hands around (and not a brunette model either) and my gloves are big enough I can slide one into each glove. When outdoors and the easterlies are really biting, and the ends of my fingers are painful despite the gloves, makes all the difference. The rest of me stays warmer too, just for warming my hands.

 

[Christine Wheelwright]

"Bottles are fine in bed...."

Really? I've had problems dozing off and then waking up later to find the gin spilled all over the sheets.

 

[KiraAnn]

Personally, I like electric blankets. With a bottle, I would be concerned about it leaking, making me add to the liquid in bed

 

[Montero]

Well, the upside of a hot water bottle is that providing you have a fire or a petrol stove or the like, if you have a power cut, you still can have a hot water bottle. For some strange reason, winter storms, freezing easterly gales - power cuts.

 

[Astro Pen]

Personally, I like electric blankets. With a bottle, I would be concerned about it leaking, making me add to the liquid in bed

Which is why I would advocate for the "overblanket" version.

 

[Alex The G and T]

I fancy a BBW* Runs on a wide variety of readily-available fuels and white wine.





(* Biological Bed Warmer)

 

[Christine Wheelwright]

I fancy a BBW* Runs on a wide variety of readily-available fuels and white wine.

(* Biological Bed Warmer)

And in the morning - if you have it well trained - it will make breakfast too!

 

[Danny McG]

I remember way way back and there were metal ones.
You had to put them in like a big sock or wrap them in a pillow case/ towel, if they slipped out of the cover you leapt out of bed going "yowch!" because of a burning foot!

 

[.matthew.]

One new thing I bought this winter- HotRoxx - electric hand heater, charge it up, press a button, heat comes out for about three hours. Can alternatively be used to re-charge (well about half re-charge) a mobile phone - so useful in a power cut. Makes such a difference having something hot to wrap my hands around (and not a brunette model either) and my gloves are big enough I can slide one into each glove. When outdoors and the easterlies are really biting, and the ends of my fingers are painful despite the gloves, makes all the difference. The rest of me stays warmer too, just for warming my hands.

I have one of those! Different brand but same idea. Used to use it at work when it hit minus temperatures in winter. I also got some fingerless gloves that could be plugged into its USB socket and they were heated too.

 

[Montero]

Did the gloves have an on/off switch?

 

[Dave]

I fancy a BBW* Runs on a wide variety of readily-available fuels and white wine.





(* Biological Bed Warmer)

Except that mine has no "on/off switch" and runs constantly (and sometimes makes rough running noises.)

I find that socks and extra blankets work fine.

 

[Pyan]

Except that mine has no "on/off switch" and runs constantly (and sometimes makes rough running noises.)

And requires a lot of investment, time and money, to get running smoothly again...

 

[Pyan]

I remember way way back and there were metal ones.
You had to put them in like a big sock or wrap them in a pillow case/ towel, if they slipped out of the cover you leapt out of bed going "yowch!" because of a burning foot!
View attachment 87414

Visiting my grandparents in winter, I was given this at bedtime. Not only could you burn your feet, but there was also the chance of a badly stubbed toe or three if you were careless...

 

[mosaix]

@HareBrain True.
@Pyan - interesting but would still be quite heavy


One new thing I bought this winter- HotRoxx - electric hand heater, charge it up, press a button, heat comes out for about three hours. Can alternatively be used to re-charge (well about half re-charge) a mobile phone - so useful in a power cut. Makes such a difference having something hot to wrap my hands around (and not a brunette model either) and my gloves are big enough I can slide one into each glove. When outdoors and the easterlies are really biting, and the ends of my fingers are painful despite the gloves, makes all the difference. The rest of me stays warmer too, just for warming my hands.

Excellent at football matches too.

 

[Montero]

@Pyan. I have one of those in a box somewhere that was one of my late father's treasures. It's two tone - has a brown band around the top.

 

[CupofJoe]

I've never understood the Hot Water Bottle.
The few times I've tried one, at the start, it was so scalding hot you couldn't get close to it.
When it cooled down it became a lump in the bed, that just seemed to be in the way all the time.
Maybe the secret is that I have never tried a furry Hot Water Bottle!
Oh... And Electric Blankets are the work of the devil!
There again, I am the person that sleeps with the window open all year round and never turns on the central heating.