I have a gas water heater on demand that is 98% efficient as it works as a furnace, and it has saved me greatly in gas costs. It only costed 200 usd and you set a temperature and it always gives that temperature. It's pretty much instant as my plumbing is all very direct and efficiently laid out (with all wet areas in my house being in a 5 meters radius.
I pay 10 usd natural gas a month on summer (including 5 usd fixed service cost) and about 80 on winter with a gas whole home heater and a mini split (that we have 4 450watt solar panels for so we also don't pay a lot for electricity).
We also cook with gas for three people.
Stuff can be much more efficient than it is without breaking the bank.
I used to spend about 40 usd a month on summer with a water tank heater.
I would agree to a flat tax (even as high as 50% or higher if enough provisions are made) if there was a universal basic income to ensure nobody goes without it's basic necesities met.
As I understand it it also coincides with the distance to the sun and the fact that the southern hemisphere is mostly water keeps temperatures there more steady.
I was wrong on the first part, in fact the sun is closer un the southern hemisphere's summer than in the northern, but the difference in distance is minuscule. So the only reason is the water distribution.
I think my earliest one was going to the doctor once when i was like 2 years old, I know it happened before dad came back from the US and that was when I was 2 and I also have memories of that day.
I think coldest was -18°C during the coldest winter we've had, curiously it didn't even feel that cold when walking outside but that might be because there was no wind and you started feeling the coldness inside you instead of outside.
Hottest is I believe around 40°C but that one's not as crazy so I'm not really sure of the actual figure, probably higher or lower by a small amount of degrees.
I live in Chihuahua, Mexico, where it usually means dry heat so pretty much anything works but it also means you can use a thing called swamp coolers that pretty much just increase humidity by humidifying air and shooting it quickly. They are incredibly efficient.
Sad part is when it gets humid (in monsoon times) it really doesn't sufice, so an AC is required or just remove as much clothing as possible.
Clothing does help a lot with dry heat, you can use thin fast-drying clothing and that helps evaporate sweat which takes away most heat. Again in humid heat you really can't cool unless you dehumidify with an AC (which is incredibly efficient the more humid the area is, and can be inverted to be used as heaters for much cheaper than gas or normal resistive electric heaters).
In the UK I think your best bet is a reversible heat pump.
I have a gas water heater on demand that is 98% efficient as it works as a furnace, and it has saved me greatly in gas costs. It only costed 200 usd and you set a temperature and it always gives that temperature. It's pretty much instant as my plumbing is all very direct and efficiently laid out (with all wet areas in my house being in a 5 meters radius.
I pay 10 usd natural gas a month on summer (including 5 usd fixed service cost) and about 80 on winter with a gas whole home heater and a mini split (that we have 4 450watt solar panels for so we also don't pay a lot for electricity).
We also cook with gas for three people.
Stuff can be much more efficient than it is without breaking the bank.
I used to spend about 40 usd a month on summer with a water tank heater.