This day I love.......: warmth

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Our heating is playing up again. When we moved into the house almost 3 years ago one of the methods to improve our energy efficiency rating was to replace the boiler. It is certainly on our to-do list but we just keep putting it off. I am guessing we are not alone in this. Spending a few hundred pound here and there to replace parts, call out charges and fix the issue. In some ways this is very much false economy.

Most of the parts for our boiler are now obsolete which means we have to go to specialist places for parts. This increases the costs associated with our boiler even more and I am guessing it is only a matter of time before we can no longer source parts. What interests me is that we have been really energy efficient in other areas. We have individual thermostats on each radiator, so we can control individual room temperatures, we have fitted a wireless control system so we can control the boiler remotely ensuring the heating or hot water is under our control and we have even installed solar panels in a bid to be more energy efficient. Our loft and cavity wall insulation have also been done, so why therefore have we not replaced the boiler?

I guess one of the main reasons is that initial upfront expenditure, although we could always look into finance options like the ones from Eco Energy. When you break down the finance it could cost us as little as £7 per week for a new boiler with no interest. This certainly does make it very appealing. I have been looking further into replacing our boiler and am slowly coming to the conclusion that it could actually be cheaper to replace with a new energy efficient boiler, rather than keep repairing it. Let me explain why.

According to the energy savings trust website around 55% of my energy bill is the boiler. I would imagine ours to be more as other than the gas hob we have no other gas appliances. They also estimate a saving around £340 a year to replace my old boiler with an A rated condensing boiler. A new energy efficient boiler would save me money on my bills, help the environment by reducing co2 emissions and create a reliable warm house. New energy efficient boilers also come with guarantees so I would not have repair costs for a few years.

Within 4 years, and probably still within guarantee, a new boiler would have paid for itself with savings. A new energy efficient boiler really is a cost effective solution and certainly the benefits of replacing our boiler are becoming clearer. Now all I need to do is persuade the other half.

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My eldest daughter seems to feel the cold very quickly. So when we go swimming, to our local pool, she shivers and clings to me. She is more than capable of swimming unaided, but the cold really puts her off. I have searched high and low for a product that would keep her warm, and would not alter her buoyancy.

The girls were sent a Konfidence Baby Warma and a Warma wetsuit for them each to try. Both the Baby Warma and Warma wetsuit are rated to give high UV protection and give warmth. As well as not altering the buoyancy. I was keen to get the girls in the water to try them out. Our local pool has a no photography policy so I could not take photos in the pool, but here are the girls ready to go.

My eldest is in the Warma Wetsuit. The Konfidence Warma Wetsuit is 2.5mm thick soft flexible neoprene. It is very easy to get on [and off again when wet], and features Velcro straps on the shoulders. These straps are adjustable giving room for growth. My eldest is in a size 2-3 years and she is almost 4, but there is still plenty of room for her to grow into. I loved that she was still able to swim, thanks to the fully flexible nature of the suit. She did not show any signs of discomfort and wanted to stay in the pool even after we had been there for an hour. This shows to me that she was warm.

My youngest is in the Baby Warma which is 2mm thick. I love that the Baby Warma opens up completely flat. So it is incredibly easy to get a baby into, also its great for access for a nappy change. My youngest wasn't too sure about the Velcro strap between her legs, but once in the water she soon forgot about it. The suit did not alter her ability to swim and she swam unaided for 2M. I also saw no change in her buoyancy.

Both suits have no internal ridges meaning the suits are comfortable to wear and there is minimum chance of rubbing, and therefore causing discomfort. I would say the suits are comfortable to wear as neither girl noticed them whilst in the pool and have tried to put them on whilst in the house. I did notice that when I took the suits off, the water beneath them felt lovely and warm.

I was very impressed with the Warma wetsuits and my girls have even asked to go swimming again with them.

I was sent a Baby Warma and a Warma wetsuit to review. All words and opinions are my own.

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