First winter heating bill — is it just me or are these houses not built for cold?

Tariq, you have my full sympathy. Nobody warned Sue and me that the Portuguese coast, which looks so sunny in all the brochures, has houses built entirely for August. Our first January we wore our coats indoors and I seriously considered moving the bed into the kitchen because it had the oven.

What actually helped, roughly in order of how much difference it made:

• thick curtains, floor to ceiling, closed the moment the sun goes down
• draught strips on the doors and a proper door snake for that gap you describe (ours was big enough to lose a cat through)
• heating one room properly instead of the whole house half-heartedly
• a dehumidifier, which surprised me, but dry air feels warmer and it stopped the mould in the bedroom

None of it was expensive and the landlord was perfectly happy with all of it. We still get a big bill in January, but it's one I can open without sitting down first.

reading this from the netherlands in august like it's a horror film trailer. taking notes on the door snake

Coming from Denmark I assumed Spain would be the easy part of the year. The houses here are cold in a way Danish houses simply aren't, because they're built to keep heat out, not in. Ben's curtain advice is exactly what worked for us too.

Ben, the image of you moving the bed into the kitchen made my wife laugh for the first time since the bill came, so thank you for that alone. We ordered thick curtains for the living room and a door strip today. The one-room idea makes a lot of sense. We've been trying to keep every room warm and failing at all of them.

Interesting how it flips. In Sweden the houses are so well insulated that our first winter bill was lower than in Germany, but the darkness got us instead. I'd take the cold house, honestly.

share house here, same thing. one heater for four people and a rota

One thing from the nursing side, since you mentioned the kids and the hallway: keep an eye on damp and mould in the bedrooms, especially where it's cold and the windows stay shut. We see a lot of chesty coughs in winter that come down to damp homes. Ben's dehumidifier point is a good one, and airing the room for a few minutes each morning helps even when it feels like the wrong thing to do.

Electrician here. Before the landlord conversation, check the split systems have had their filters cleaned. Clogged ones run all evening and do very little.

Ewan, you were right. Both filters were grey. Cleaned them on Saturday and the living room unit is noticeably better. Also asked the landlord about the back door gap and he's sending someone next week, so that went better than I feared.

Two Canadian winters taught me to love a heated mattress pad more than I love most people. Cheap to run compared to heating a whole bedroom. Glad the landlord came through, Tariq!