Winter should mean warmth, twinkling lights and easy laughter. For one couple, it now means sheer cold and dread. Every drop in temperature turns their home into a place of worry. Taped windows and stacked blankets replace simple comfort on the sofa. As energy prices rise while pay refuses to follow, they juggle each bill. They keep the thermostat off and hope the next icy blast will not push them into deeper debt.
Christmas joy replaced by worry about the heating
For Claire and Gareth Ferris, Christmas has stopped feeling joyful in their three-bedroom home in Warwickshire. Each new cold spell brings a knot of worry instead of excitement. Energy bills keep rising while the house leaks heat, so falling outdoor temperatures now mean fresh fear rather than celebration.
Now, they go hours at a time without turning on the radiators, even on frozen evenings. The couple will huddle together beneath duvets, beneath blankets, while watching TV: theirs coats still on. There is comfort in carefully arranging their lives within the confines of….what room can be kept just a little warmer than the rest.
New windows and doors are far beyond their budget, so the old frames must stay. They press duct tape along every crack, hoping each strip traps a little more heat inside. Yet the effort feels like a losing battle and now weighs heavily on their mental health.
Living with cold air leaking through old windows
Their windows are more than thirty years old, with thin frames and tired seals that no longer grip. Condensation forms between the panes until the glass turns cloudy, so some mornings they can hardly see outside. Each winter, fresh draughts slip through the gaps and chill every room.
To fight draughts, they spend each winter lining the frames with strips of duct tape. They replace it again and again, hoping each strip holds a little warmth behind the glass. Some days, she says outside air feels less cold than the air in their living room.
Claire says they’re “making do,” but the stress has left them feeling both depressed and drained of energy. She tries to stay warm—without touching the thermostat—including wrapping herself under blankets and duvets on the couch. She says the house often feels frigid because of a constant winter draught and not having any money to change the windows or doors.
Low income and long shifts squeezed by rising bills
Gareth, 64, works as a security guard in a shopping mall attractive £1200 of monthly income, which makes the couple’s annual income £14500. Due to ill health, Claire cannot work, so Gareth’s wages have to cover food, housing, transport and energy.
Since the pandemic, their bills have been rising as a result of rising energy costs. For example, their monthly electricity bill went from £57 in 2020 to about £85 now. They changed suppliers in order to get a lower tariff. Faced with these increases, they often leave the heating off and rely on extra layers instead.
Inside, the temperature can drop below freezing so the air turns cold and harsh. They sometimes see their breath while sitting on the sofa. They say it can even feel warmer on the street than in the living room. Claire wishes energy were cheaper because every bill, she says, seems to “go up and up”.
Limited help that still leaves homes cold
In October, the energy regulator Ofgem increased the price cap on bills by two per cent. A typical household in England, Scotland and Wales with average usage now pays £1,755 a year. For families like the Ferrises, that is an additional £35 for gas and electricity.
The government provides assistance, such as a one-time grant of £150 via the Warm Home Discount Scheme. In severe weather, some households also receive cold weather payments of up to £25 a week. Yet even with these schemes, and after changing suppliers, Claire and Gareth say they still keep the heating off.
Ofgem recommends some practical steps – such as reducing the temperature of heating in rooms that are unoccupied. It also recommends running washing machines at 30C and closing curtains in the evening for instance to contain the warm air inside the home. For households like the Ferrises, these savings help but rarely feel enough to justify turning the radiators back on.
A wider picture of debt, anxiety and energy hardship
A survey by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero shows the Ferrises’ struggle is not unique. It reports that forty-seven per cent of adults are worried about paying energy bills. That share is down from sixty-six per cent in 2023, when prices spiked after the invasion of Ukraine.
A report by the Money Advice Trust paints an equally stark picture. It found that seven million adults in the UK were behind on at least one household bill. Thirty-five per cent said they had cut their energy use, including heating, to try to keep up with payments.
Last week, Ofgem said domestic consumer energy debt had risen to £4.4bn, up twenty per cent from last year. Behind those figures are households that keep rooms cold on purpose because they fear arrears more than discomfort. For Claire and Gareth, that pressure feeds anxiety and deepens their sadness when winter returns.
Why no one should face winter in a taped-up home
The story of Claire and Gareth is not just about one struggling household. It raises questions about how a wealthy country treats people who work long hours yet still cannot afford safe warmth. No one should spend winter while cold air creeps through taped windows and every minute of heating is rationed. Better insulation, fairer prices and faster support could turn homes like theirs back into places of comfort, not quiet fear.
