Gas fire been disconnected, what is suitable heater for person with dementia?

rose_of_york

Registered User
Mar 22, 2008
94
0
York
My mother has dementia and lives alone, with visits from carers four times per day. There was a living-flame type gas fire in the house which was on almost constantly except when the carers turned it off as the room was too hot.

Mother thought it was a real fire and threw paper and rubbish on it. Of course it got bunged up, so on the recommendation of Social Services I have had it disconnected. It is OK at this time of year, but as soon as it gets cooler she will need some form of heater. Soc Servs suggested leaving the central heating on all the time, but this would be too expensive - mother never goes to bed so it would have to be on 24hrs.

I was thinking of getting some kind of electric convector type heater, but have no idea what type. Something easy to use but which is not easy to tamper with and not likely to set the house on fire. I don't want to have the gas fire taken out as it is fairly new, so a free-standing one would be preferable.

I've looked at suppliers of equipment for the disabled but can't find any heaters, so wondered if anybody had any ideas?
Thanks
 

Grannie G

Volunteer Moderator
Apr 3, 2006
81,443
0
Kent
I had the same problem when my husband was home. He too threw rubbish on the living flame gas fire.

I now have one with a glass front which is very safe. It also has a much easier switch , which is a side lever.

It will still look cosy for your mother and should fit into the same space as the old fire.
 

kazza73

Registered User
Feb 11, 2009
878
0
Perthshire Scotland
How about one of the oil filled heaters that plug in? I know my granny has a couple of these rather than convector typre heaters as she insisted on hanging washing on the heater once and covered the vent bit on the convector which almost caused a fire + resulted in seriously singed clothes! The oil filled ones are quite heavy so not easily knocked over - again this was an advantage with granny as she is in an electric wheelchair and is forever crashing into things and we worried a lighter heater would be easy to knock over.
 

Margarita

Registered User
Feb 17, 2006
10,824
0
london
Soc Servs suggested leaving the central heating on all the time, but this would be too expensive - mother never goes to bed so it would have to be on 24hrs.

Has the central heating not got a timer that can be set to go off on or a
temperature control ?


I know you say your mother " never go to bed " but no matter what further heating you’re going to get for your mother she is going to find it hard to learn new skill in how to use any new heating you give her to turn it off on .
 
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Margaret W

Registered User
Apr 28, 2007
3,720
0
North Derbyshire
I'm not sure that leaving the central heating on would be expensive. Once the boiler and radiators are up to speed, it is usually cheaper to leave it all on and let it tick over. I am not a heating engineer, so I might be wrong. Electric fires are usually the most expensive type of heater, unless just used for an hour or two a day.

I hope this helps.

Love

Margaret
 

Tender Face

Account Closed
Mar 14, 2006
5,379
0
NW England
Yes – with Kazza on the dangers of convector heaters. Have you looked for ‘panel heaters’? – they can be wall mounted – or stand alone like a screen – perhaps in front of the fire even? And have safety cut-outs etc ...... Not sure about the cost of running - but keeping the CH on constantly to warm a whole house (severe weather excepted) if you are really only concerned about one room seems an absolute waste of money apart from anything else?

Good luck, regards, Karen, x
 

nitram

Registered User
Apr 6, 2011
30,075
0
Bury
If radiators are fitted with Thermostatic Radiator Valves (TRVs) either replace the heads with anti-tamper versions or if these are not available use a small self tapping screw to lock the heads. For some valves you can also buy anti tamper covers.

If TRVs are not fitted fit anti tamper ones.

Either way you can you can set the main room(s) to a comfortable living temperature and the remaining rooms to a background temperature.

Any heating engineer should be able to sort this out, anti tamper controls are used in most schools and many other places.
 

cragmaid

Registered User
Oct 18, 2010
7,936
0
North East England
My Mum won't use the fire now, she has forgotten how to turn it on, but the heating ..Oh Boy!!! If they flew over with one of those thermo reading cameras, her house would glow like a star. :DBut she is on the "staywarm" scheme.....a government sponsored scheme ( google Staywarm) which applies to houses with no more than 3 bedrooms and a limited number of occupants. She pays a fixed sum for gas and electricity all year irrespective of consumption, so hers is always like a furnace. She has thermostatic valves on the radiators upstairs though. I do reduce the room thermostat every time I go in, and after I've removed some layers she might say, " I'm not very warm in here"!!
 

grobertson62

Registered User
Mar 7, 2011
581
0
Sheffield
dad was on staywarm from eon. you pay one figure per month & you can have heating & electric on 24/7 & there is no change to the cost £85pm for dads 3 bed semi

therefore no worrying about getting big bills for either of the utilities. so you could perhaps look into this,

we took his gas fire out & replaced with electric with an easy side switch

hope this helps

Gill
 

sussexsue

Registered User
Jun 10, 2009
1,527
0
West Sussex
I too would make sure she has thermostatic valves on individual radiators. Turn them off if there are rooms that are never used, but use the central heating as the main heat source.

Having said that mum does have just a little electric plug in radiator which for when she needs a top up of heat, or during the summer when it suddenly gets cold. It is very effective but not cheap to run. I also make sure she has plenty of throws and shawls around so that not only can she wrap up in them but she can also indulge in her favourite hobby of folding them :rolleyes:
 

rose_of_york

Registered User
Mar 22, 2008
94
0
York
My Mum won't use the fire now, she has forgotten how to turn it on, but the heating ..Oh Boy!!! If they flew over with one of those thermo reading cameras, her house would glow like a star. :DBut she is on the "staywarm" scheme.....a government sponsored scheme ( google Staywarm) which applies to houses with no more than 3 bedrooms and a limited number of occupants. She pays a fixed sum for gas and electricity all year irrespective of consumption, so hers is always like a furnace. She has thermostatic valves on the radiators upstairs though. I do reduce the room thermostat every time I go in, and after I've removed some layers she might say, " I'm not very warm in here"!!

Have checked and she's not eligible for Staywarm because she uses so much gas - fire on all day every day saw to that. She sits in one room all the time and will not go to bed, occasionally dozing in a chair. I've tried leaving throws and rugs things for her to wrap herself in but she just hides them.
 

cragmaid

Registered User
Oct 18, 2010
7,936
0
North East England
I am surprised that your Mum does not qualify under the Staywarm scheme.
You can join StayWarm if:

You, or someone in your home is over 60 years of age
Your home has 3 bedrooms or less
Four people or less live in your home
You take both electricity and gas from E.ON
You agree to pay by monthly Direct Debit
This is taken directly from their own web site. I think that you have been given poor advice, unless they've changed their rules, because I can't find any mention of joining limited by usage. Just as well, Mum has her heating on most of the time and 24/7 during the winter. I would suggest you ask again, also have a word with your local Gas Supplier, not least because your mum needs to be listed on their records as a vulnerable customer in case of power cuts etc.
 

DozyDoris

Registered User
Jan 27, 2009
395
0
Suffolk
Hi Rose of York

We have digital thermostats in my parents bedrooms and sitting rooms, they can be set and locked to a temperature time programme. Does your Mum not have radiators? The gas bill will be crazy with a gas fire on all the time :eek:
We have one heating system in our place and as with most 'mature' people my parents like to live in exotic temperatures, and we end up like lobsters:rolleyes: The digital stats have been a god send, our end on slow cook, theirs on furnace setting :D
Most councils now operate a trusted trader scheme so you don't end up with some cowboy coming in to do it.
This year we are thinking of having a Hawaiian themed Christmas :p
 

Nebiroth

Registered User
Aug 20, 2006
3,510
0
One solution would be thermostatically controlled central heating, combined with a timer boiler. Thus whilst the heating is "always on" it is not constantly using the boiler. That will only come on at certain times of day, as determined and programmed by yourself, and will only maintain a given temperature.

If the existing system is old then you could look at having it updated - the WarmFront scheme offers grants to elligible persons for either new heating systems or to replace outdated boilers etc with modern efficient ones. I did this for my mum (who doesn;t have dementia, but does have Parkinsons). The boiler only comes on during "daytime" hours and the thermostat is set to a comfortable temperature. It massively cut our fuel-bills as previously we had horrible old storage heaters.

I generally dislike the idea of standalone heaters because of the potential for accidental misuse and burns. If you really need one, look at types that have a thermostat control and which can be permanently attached to a wall or floor to eliminate the possiblity of it being knocked over. Preferably, have it fitted inside a cage of some sort to make it tamper-proof.
 

rose_of_york

Registered User
Mar 22, 2008
94
0
York
I am surprised that your Mum does not qualify under the Staywarm scheme.
This is taken directly from their own web site. I think that you have been given poor advice, unless they've changed their rules, because I can't find any mention of joining limited by usage. Just as well, Mum has her heating on most of the time and 24/7 during the winter. I would suggest you ask again, also have a word with your local Gas Supplier, not least because your mum needs to be listed on their records as a vulnerable customer in case of power cuts etc.

The scheme is run by EON - and is not open to "high users" - I was on the phone to them for an hour this morning trying to work out predicted usage from the present supplier - they say she uses too much gas - current monthly payment for dual fuel is £170
 

rose_of_york

Registered User
Mar 22, 2008
94
0
York
One solution would be thermostatically controlled central heating, combined with a timer boiler. Thus whilst the heating is "always on" it is not constantly using the boiler. That will only come on at certain times of day, as determined and programmed by yourself, and will only maintain a given temperature.

If the existing system is old then you could look at having it updated - the WarmFront scheme offers grants to elligible persons for either new heating systems or to replace outdated boilers etc with modern efficient ones. I did this for my mum (who doesn;t have dementia, but does have Parkinsons). The boiler only comes on during "daytime" hours and the thermostat is set to a comfortable temperature. It massively cut our fuel-bills as previously we had horrible old storage heaters.

I generally dislike the idea of standalone heaters because of the potential for accidental misuse and burns. If you really need one, look at types that have a thermostat control and which can be permanently attached to a wall or floor to eliminate the possiblity of it being knocked over. Preferably, have it fitted inside a cage of some sort to make it tamper-proof.

Thanks - the boiler is new I had it replaced about 18 months ago. It will need to be on 24 hours as she sits in the living room all the time, there are thermostats on the radiators so they could be turned down in the bedrooms as nobody ever goes in there. It would be much easier if she could be made to go to bed - but she thinks she does.
 

AlsoConfused

Registered User
Sep 17, 2010
1,952
0
Have you checked whether other suppliers might give your Mum a more generous deal, plse? My central heating is left on all year, admittedly at a low temperature (18 degrees) and my heating bills are apparently exceptionally low.
 

FifiMo

Registered User
Feb 10, 2010
4,703
0
Wiltshire
You might find that it is a generational problem in that they still associate heat with there beiing a fire and not central heating. Could you not replace the living flame fire with a more conventional gas fire for that reason and put theremostats on the radiators in the sitting room which are set to low. Then you would get the balancing factor in that the central heating would only kick in if the temperature was low overall. Your mum however might feel "warm" due to the fire being on. My mother's gas fire has a glass plate on the front of it so you can't actually get to the flame. Many years ago this annoyed her because they used to light their cigarettes straight from the fire !

Fiona