How to save money on electricity in England.

"Use a timer to control the heating, preferably for a few hours in the morning and a few in the evening. The most important thing is that it is not on when you’re out of the house."

- 10 ways to keep your electricity bill low

In England it's really common to turn your heating off in a room that is not used or when you leave the house. I get that it saves you money and that it's better for the environment but the perception of heating in England differs COMPLETELY from the Swedish view of heating.


When you enter a home in Sweden, during winter, it's warm. We have heaters in probably every room and I have not heard of many people turning their heaters off when they're gone for the day. Hey, maybe lots of people do it, but I'll take a wild guess that in general, people leave it on. You could never imagine a middle class family living in an apartment in central Stockholm being cold, just doesn't add up!


My mother is a sucker for heating. She thinks our apartment is cold even if every heater is on full blast. I actually turn the heater off in my room because I like sleeping in a cooler temperature.


However, in England, the cold seems to be as normal as baked beans on toast. Enter a house in England and it's cold. It's JUST cold and you will have to deal with that. They either use the heating sparsely or (because of their stone buildings) it does simply never heat up properly. You rather not walk barefoot (like me) in an English home and if you do you're odd, because why? BECAUSE IT'S COLD. I have a policy of ignoring the cold though and simply try think of something else. Like cream tea, for example.


Sweden may be a cold country during the winter but we sure know how isolate, heat and keep ourselves warm. I'm not saying that the English are rubbish on heating but it seems to be  a custom to accept that during winter in England you'll be cold - indoors. Probably why they drink so much tea.


So sorry mother, moving to England is not a good idea.