Back in April, I purchased my first pair of USB heated gloves off the back of advice from Martin Lewis’ Money Saving Expert team to ‘heat the human’ instead of the home. And save for an hour in the morning and if - and only if - every member of the family is in maybe an hour in the evenings, we’ve not put the central heating on this winter.
As a home-worker, I’m the only person in my home most of the time, and as such, I won’t heat the whole house when I’ll spend the majority of it at my desk. Instead, I’ve invested in a number of no or low energy devices that will keep me toasty, from Oodie dupes and hot water bottles to USB heated slippers and gloves.
According to the MoneySavingExpert guide, USB heated gloves are one of the cheapest heating options on the list, with an initial investment of around £5, costing less than 1p an hour to run, and around 5p a week to use, based on being used for five hours a day.
READ MORE: H&M shoppers running to get ‘adorable’ £15 Disney sweater going viral on TikTok
Back in April, I bought a pair for £9.99 from Amazon , which were ideal for the Spring, but I’ve gone and ordered a second, thicker pair for winter now that the temperatures are really dropping.
I have to admit, I’ve struggled to find a pair for less than a tenner online and any priced at £4.99 are typically hit with large delivery fees that push them over £10 anyway, so you are looking at around £10-15 for a pair - but it’s a worthy investment for how much you’ll save.
I first bought these gloves because I suffer from Raynaud’s, which affects blood circulation and when I’m cold, blood struggles to reach the ends of my fingers, causing them to go pale and quite often numb, which naturally makes my typing job very difficult. These gloves have been a godsend in keeping my fingers toasty and warm, allowing me to work quicker and avoid the thermostat.
Heated gloves are really simple to set up and all you need for them to work is a USB receiver, which can be on a laptop, or, for portability, a powerbank.The USB wire then splits into two wires each leading to a fingerless glove, which also has the option to convert into a mitten.
Inside the gloves are two heating elements that are stitched into the gloves, and sit on the palm of your hand to keep them warm. The gloves heat up immediately, taking around five seconds to reach a comfortable hand warming temperature. Although the element doesn’t surround the entire hand, the heat definitely radiates to keep the tops of your hands and fingers warm too.
When it comes to working on a laptop, these do take some getting used to as a result of the extra fabric around your fingers. But the half-finger design certainly offers more flexibility for typing, texting, and, for example, eating that packet of biscuits at the desk. While they take some adjusting, my hands have never been so warm, and I’ve started to take them everywhere.
Now, when I visit the city centre for the Manchester Christmas Markets or to do Steal Their Style, I take these gloves with me and use a portable power bank to keep them warm throughout the day. This means they last longer than the microwavable options, keeping me warm all day long.
The mitten part of the gloves can be buttoned out of the way or folded over the fingers for full cosy coverage, allowing me to keep my fingertips warm, but allows me to access my appendages when I need to take photos or make a note of something.
I found that as soon as the gloves are detached from the power source, they cool almost as quickly as they warm up, which is great from a safety point of view. Sizing is no issue either, as they fit both my petite hands, and stretch well to fit my dad’s much larger hands, so anyone can use them.
Other products I’ve recently been using to keep warm is this foot warming hot water bottle from Aldi, and a furry duvet set which means I rarely need the heating on throughout the night
As well as USB gloves, I’ve also tried out USB slippers, which work in a very similar way. These heated winter warmer USB slipper boots were originally £29.99, but have been slashed to £8.99 on the deals site Wowcher - a saving of around 70 per cent.
The fluffy boots come in pink or grey, going up to a size 9, so I opted for grey, purchasing a voucher through the deals site before using the link in my emails to purchase the slippers.
The USB fits into the laptop, then has two jacks that plug into receivers that stick out of the side of the slippers. The wire leads to a zip-up compartment at the base of the slipper, in which a ‘high conversion carbon fibre’ heat pad is stored. Two wires heat the copper strips inside, which warms the sole of the slippers, thus keeping your feet warm.
These do take longer than the gloves to heat up, taking around 20 minutes, and are better for keeping your feet warm, rather than trying to warm them up. But they still make a significant difference while saving on energy costs.
You can pick up your own USB heated gloves to stay toasty and warm here.
READ NEXT:
- Home Bargains shoppers running to order heated airer that costs 7p to run
- I saved £35 on a hotel room with booking loophole that takes seconds to check
- Paul Heaton told 'do the right thing' after England World Cup match clashes with AO Arena gig
- Shoppers can’t get enough of 'miracle in a tube’ cream that vanishes eye bags instantly
- Aldi stocking 'perfect' mulled wine gadget than costs 68p an hour to run
