Cold in winter
 

HI,
Can you tell me if spain is really cold in the winter months!!!!!! :)

Re: Cold in winter
 

Depends where you are,

Here in Marbella, it doesnt get that cold. The apartments can get cold with the marble floor though.

Re: Cold in winter
 

Hi,
I am moving about 25 to 30 minutes inland from marbella and was told you need some heating not sure if i get a log burning fire in the house or hot and cold air con, i will be moving to a typical spanish house with thick walls so unsure if i should get heating put in.
Thanks For taking time to reply :)

Re: Cold in winter
 

Certainly in Nth Costa Blanca its very chilly at night and heating is essential. We have a log burning fire in the lounge, warm air aircon & I am going to buy a couple of gas bottle heaters to be safe.

Re: Cold in winter
 

Yeah thats what i thought of doing, even though Costa del sol is meant to be warm i think if our body adjust to the warm and the cold we will find it chilly :)

Re: Cold in winter
 

Hi

I live inland from Cadiz and we have a very old house, with very thick walls they were designed by the Arabs to be cool in the summer and warm in the winter. We dont need air con, and heating in the winter is minimal just a portable gas heater or an electric one. I hope that helps

:)

Re: Cold in winter
 

Thank you for your replys and help :)

Re: Cold in winter
 

Well I must admit last winter there was one day when there was a very slight covering of ice on a puddle on the waste ground opposite, but gone before 9am. Plants that would be frost tender and die off in about October keep flowering outside through the winter. However we are on the Costa Blanca, if you went inland 6 miles, then they had a few slight snow coverings, enough for people from here to go out to see the snow. :beer:

Re: Cold in winter
 

Last winter was freezing! We live 2 minutes from the coast and when you get a little bit of wind you really start to feel the cold.

Log fire or heating and rugs are essentials in the winter...we'll be installing central heating for this winter...no doubt about it.

Re: Cold in winter
 

We will be living 40 mins inland Marbella this winter in a typical village house. Yes it does get cold when the sun goes down. To help keep the chill off we put down extra rugs, use a portable calor gas heater and from time to time electric radiators. But wouldn't be without the heated under blanket brought over from the U.K.

Re: Cold in winter
 

Hi,
Thanks for everyone's advice i gather i really should get some sort of heating thought i might just was not sure.
Thanks Guys :)

Re: Cold in winter
 

We're about 90 miles inland from San Javier.....and it gets very b****y cold!
Last year they had a fair bit of snow...but it doesn't hang about for days like uk.

Re: Cold in winter
 

I don't like the gas burners, mainly because you can use alot and I hate the smell. I brought a log burner and found it much better, and wood wasn't that expensive and being inland you might find it cheaper. I'm slightly in the mountains, so the temperature does drop. Electricity is expensive so may look at that with regard to the air con etc, I manage without it, even in summer, but then again I like the heat. I don't like central heating, and even in it have the window open, so if you are like that make sure you have plenty of blankets, lol.

Re: Cold in winter
 

I agree, and our main source will be the log fire & aircon but the gas burners will be a backup, maybe one in the hallway

Re: Cold in winter
 

Its strange really, you think how can it get cold its much hotter in the winter than UK, but when you get acclimatised to the heat in summer, you really do notice the difference :D
Its a good excuse for a cuddle though ;) ;)

Re: Cold in winter
 

Oh well......my oncologist is changing my drugs and a side effect is hot flushes......at least we'll be warm in winter!!!!:D
Mary

Re: Cold in winter
 

Has anyone taken a Super Ser heater to Spain, and can they be easily converted to Spanish type bottles....is it just a matter of buying a new regulator and tube ?

Re: Cold in winter
 

Here are year-round climate/temperature/rainfall descriptions and tables for the regions of Spain and various cities within them, that should give you a good idea right across the country, though topography can change so dramatically in a short distance that you'd need to take that into account for nearby towns not covered.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/c...ml?tt=TT008040

Re: Cold in winter
 

This will only give average info,

I live in Northern Murcia about 40Kms inland, and about 600mtrs up,

Year before last -12C recorded, and the fountain in the town plaza, froze solid, first time in living memory, (so I am told)
Last year, 6" of Snow, cut roads of for three days, ( claimed to be the first snow for 54 years!!)

In the four years I have been here, would say the winters can get very cold with late Jan Feb being the coldest, temps at night can drop below freezing, Gnerally though the sun is out and you pretty soon forget, and it never seems to last for more than a few days.but you need to be geared up for it

Central heating in various forms plus insulation is now the norm on New builds.


Yep it gets B****Y cold!!

Re: Cold in winter
 

It's not unusual to see people here on holiday in Dec, Jan and Feb walking round in shorts and t shirts on sunny days, while the people who live here are in jeans and jumpers. Something we had been told about and saw for ourselves last winter, our first here. Having said that the market stalls selling plants are selling petunias for window boxes, plants that wouldn't survive in the UK in winter, and I was picking strawberries at the beginning of February.

Re: Cold in winter
 

In Madrid it is between 10 and minus 6 normally in January and February. :eek:

Re: Cold in winter
 

Altitude has a lot to do with the weather; we’re at almost 1200 mtrs. I’ve been able to ski through our village every year since we arrived six years ago.
The house has central heating, a log burner and an open fire.

No probs
shoo

Re: Cold in winter
 

I depends where you live: Central and Northern Spain get VERY cold, with snow, and here on the Costa Blanca it gets cold in Jan/Feb.
I doubt that the Southern coastal area often does, but others will be able to give personal experiences.

The problem in this area is that we seem always to be 'surprised' by a cold snap, and our houses are designed to keep cool rather than warm(very little CH and tiled rather than carpeted floors).

I've had to buy a warm dressing gown & slippers, which I never needed in SE UK :)

Our first Winter here was the coldest for 50 years and we had ice on the paddling-pool at 11am :eek:

Re: Cold in winter
 

I suppose it does depend on where you lived in the Uk, we came from Lincolnshire, and it was very cold in winter with days when the temperature only just got over freezing, so to come here to the Costa Blanca was, for us, coming into the warm. We were so much warmer here, no central heating which was on all day in the UK, we rely on catalytic gas heaters now, but only need them on in the evening. we do have a duvet, but found that we really only needed it for about 6 weeks in Jan, Feb, then went back to just a bedspread. :beer:

Re: Cold in winter
 

Hi,
We are from lincolnshire and today it is freezing, to be fair all week the temputure has dropped so i am feeling it.

:beer:

Re: Cold in winter
 

Well it's nice and hot here, bit windy, but temps still well up. A/C on this evening.

Re: Cold in winter
 

I have a restored town house 5km inland from the coast (East of Malaga). Yes, it gets cold at night during winter but I've never needed any heating during the day, and manage fine with a portable gas heater in the living room plus electric fan heaters to use in the bedrooms just whilst getting up/getting ready for bed. I tried the electric oil filled radiators but found them useless. The coldest rooms are the bathrooms - I have a heat/light fitting which has an infrared heating element, and I wouldn't be without it. Just switch it on a few minutes before I want to take a shower, the room is lovely and warm.

Some winters are colder than others (just like in UK really) - last Christmas/New Year I only had the gas heater on 1 night out of 9, but the 2 years before that were really cold at that time of year. At least you only need heating for 3 months of the year - I put my central heating on last night in Lancashire as it was so chilly. You'll never need heating in Spain in August, that's for sure.

Having said that, the old houses with their thick walls stay cool in the summer so you probably won't need air conditioning. We don't have it and the temperature is fine during the day, keep all the sunblinds closed and the windows open. We just use floorstanding or desktop fans in the bedrooms at night.

Re: Cold in winter
 

Glad you mentioned the infrared heat/light fixture you use , I wondered if I should take mine with me if/when I move, is there any problems with connection to the Spanish wiring system ? (to provide an earth )

Re: Cold in winter
 

I would definitely take your heat/light fitting with you, I have never seen them on sale in a Spanish electrical shop, and we did ask in a few before we bought ours in England and took it out, but no-one had them. I've bought 2 spare heating elements for mine to keep in case the original one wears out!

No good asking me about wiring, I can't even change a plug, but a friend fitted my heat/light fitting in Spain and it took him about 15 minutes so it can't be that complicated.

Re: Cold in winter
 

I spent January in the house this year, and the Spanish were going around well wrapped up. We have a wood burning stove which I recommend as the metal flue acts as a giant radiator, and it is more efficient than an open fire. At night we adjusted it to simmer and combined with an electric radiator in the bedroom we were very warm. Add a few rugs and it would have been perfect.

Re: Cold in winter
 

As for the locals going around well wrapped up, many of the Spanish ladies who live near me go to the corner shop in their winceyette pyjamas and fleece dressing gowns after 9pm or before 12 noon in the mornings - I'm not sure I'll ever be integrated to that extent!

Re: Cold in winter
 

Great news Lyn.. I have always fancied going out in my pyjamas... though I am not sure wincyette are my style!!!

Re: Cold in winter
 

Well you never know - I never thought I'd be seen dead pulling a shopping trolley on wheels, but I do now! At least it's not a tartan one. The days of zip up fleecy lined slippers can't be far off, what an awful thought.

I also get approving nods and smiles from the Spanish old ladies when they see me sweeping and mopping the pavement outside my house and cleaning my rejas.

Maybe we should start a new thread, 'What moving to Spain does to your sense of style' or some such.

Re: Cold in winter
 

Shopping trollies are all the rage here, when Carrefour opened near me they gave everybody one full of stuff on the first day. :D :D

Re: Cold in winter
 

Go ahead then start it...... :D

Re: Cold in winter
 

Can you give me a web site where I can view these as our bathrooms are freezing and I am going back mid September for a couple of days.

Re: Cold in winter
 

Hi Glynis

I searched all around Lancashire where I live but could not find one anywhere so I ended up buying one in my partner's home town of Grimsby, from a really good old fashioned electrical retailer called Halls of Wellowgate. I don't think they have a website (haven't been able to find one anyway) but when I went back to buy the spare heating elements they said I could ring up and order one over the phone and they would be pleased to post it to Spain. The light fitting wasn't heavy at all (I took it to Spain in my hand luggage) so they might post one of those. I think it cost £40. If you want to try ringing them, their phone no is 01472 342619.

Just one warning note - check your bathroom ceiling is high enough to take one, a friend of mine bought one after seeing mine (same one who fitted mine, funnily enough) and found he could not use it in his bathroom as it was too close to the shower rail and curtain and could have been a fire risk!

Re: Cold in winter
 

My friend lives in Grimsby so if she is coming out she may bring one for me. If you see a picture at all can you email it to me please.

Re: Cold in winter
 

I love the small shopping baskets on wheels with the long handle you get in the supermarkets.

Re: Cold in winter
 

Here is a link to an infra red heater bulb, will save all that complicated wiring :scared:


http://www.infraredheaters.com/ese.htm for the idea

and these might sell you some

http://www.bltdirect.co.uk/hshclear.htm