[Misc] Suggestions to save energy this winter…

[severnside gull]

We have a woodburner - 6.5Kw .
Last winter we only switched the central heating on for 2 days

 

[pearl]

[MENTION=5306]Questions[/MENTION] - Wrap pensioners in kitchen foil
[MENTION=41643]Eric the meek[/MENTION] - heat the person, not the space

Yes! Sauna suits!

 

[Eric the meek]

[MENTION=5306]Questions[/MENTION] - Wrap pensioners in kitchen foil

[MENTION=41643]Eric the meek[/MENTION] - heat the person, not the space

Yes! Sauna suits!

Get it patented, quick. You could reinvent the shell suit with your own range of crisis wear. Hey, that would be a good brand name - Crisis.

I'd like to offer you all the money, but I want 40% of the business.

 

[Audax]

Thanks.

Just from looking at our baseline usage when on holiday - c2.5kWh a day, it could very well be using c2kWh a day, I think.

The only other things we think were left on in the house when we were away were the router (which could have been turned off) and a small fish tank filter/light/heater.

We’ve tried to isolate the latter and the usage is very low indeed. Not to mention we were away when it was scorching here, so it’s unlikely the heater would have kicked in at all.

(If you use the Loop or Hugo Energy apps you might get all your historic usage data as it comes from the smart meter. I think it’s supplier agnostic).

If it helps at all, when we went on holiday recently (first half August) our baseline import (so excluding power used by the solar) was around 1.8kWh per day. We've got an under-counter fridge (a reasonably recent, efficient one), under-counter freezer (a cheap pile of shite installed by previous owner), and a full stand-up combo fridge/freezer (recent, efficient) (might look at whether we can consolidate our freezer stuff to the upright and switch off the under-counter, now I think about it!). It's hard to say how much of the solar used while we were away was baseline, unfortunately, as we have a system that redirects unused solar generation into our hot water immersion tank and we left that switched on and our daytime solar consumption was around 4kWh per day. If we assume 12 hours with solar, 12 hours without, though, a fair estimate might be around 3.5-3.6kWh per day including the 3 fridge/freezer plus router, TV on standby (couldn't be bothered unplugging it as it's on the same power brick as the router) and all the electrics related to running the solar and EV charger setup (but excluding the actual consumed solar generation).

 

[Wozza]

We're being offered a smart meter. There's no disadvantage to that with gas and electricity, right?

 

[Mannakin]

We're being offered a smart meter. There's no disadvantage to that with gas and electricity, right?

None.

 

[Rogero]

Four times over the years we have had smart meters finished and for some reason they can never get them going and change back . The engineers spend a day each time . Our neighbours have smart meters so we cannot understand it .

 

[The Clamp]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p189MYNRDSw

 

[Questions]

Four times over the years we have had smart meters finished and for some reason they can never get them going and change back . The engineers spend a day each time . Our neighbours have smart meters so we cannot understand it .

Have you tried turning it off and then back on again ?

 

[Arthur]

View attachment 151415

Nice one. This was exactly what I was looking for.

I have a 32in television in my home office that I use nearly all day but only to listen to radio/spotify. Think I'm going swap the Amazon dot I have in the office for the echo I have in the bedroom and use that instead. Not a massive saving but every little helps and all that.

 

[1066familyman]

My work cover it, so yes, yes it is.

Did not like tone of that post at all. Should someone working full time not be able to also have a gym membership to try and stay fit and healthy?

Run or cycle to the gym, claim your money back, run or cycle home. Job's a good 'un

 

[Titanic]

Ouch... 1900 litres of heating oil delivered... £1775

Going to be watching the gauge like a hawk to keep an eye on consumption this winter.

Reduce the hot water hours, turning the room stats off / down... extra jumper, lighting the fire in the sitting room in the evenings... still no chance this will get us through the winter.

 

[Weststander]

We're being offered a smart meter. There's no disadvantage to that with gas and electricity, right?

https://davidicke.com/tag/smart-meters/

 

[Barnet Seagull]

I used some leftover foil underlay insultation from a laminate floor install behind the radiators in our lounge. Not sure there's any savings as such it but it seems to have helped heat the room quicker.

 

[Bozza]

I used some leftover foil underlay insultation from a laminate floor install behind the radiators in our lounge. Not sure there's any savings as such it but it seems to have helped heat the room quicker.

If you've got the heating on already, that should probably be where you're looking first.

 

[Weststander]

If you've got the heating on already, that should probably be where you're looking first.

 

[Audax]

We have an "upside down house", with bedrooms downstairs and living areas upstairs. Great in the summer, as the cooler bedrooms are comfortable for sleeping.

But it took us ages to balance the levels in the winter - with the room thermostat set for cosy upstairs, it left the bedroom too cold, even with the downstairs radiator thermostats on max. We resolved this by moving the (wireless) thermostat downstairs and setting a comfortable temperature for the bedroom (radiators still on max). The upstairs rooms were then limited by the radiator thermostats, providing a decent balance and better controllability.

But that means we're unnecessarily heating the bedrooms all evening when the central heating is on - it just needs a boost on waking and before bedtime. Any suggestions how to get a decent balance?

Have you looked into smart thermostat valves for the radiators? Last I looked ta them they were expensive, but might be worth a look.

 

[Bozza]

If it helps at all, when we went on holiday recently (first half August) our baseline import (so excluding power used by the solar) was around 1.8kWh per day. We've got an under-counter fridge (a reasonably recent, efficient one), under-counter freezer (a cheap pile of shite installed by previous owner), and a full stand-up combo fridge/freezer (recent, efficient) (might look at whether we can consolidate our freezer stuff to the upright and switch off the under-counter, now I think about it!). It's hard to say how much of the solar used while we were away was baseline, unfortunately, as we have a system that redirects unused solar generation into our hot water immersion tank and we left that switched on and our daytime solar consumption was around 4kWh per day. If we assume 12 hours with solar, 12 hours without, though, a fair estimate might be around 3.5-3.6kWh per day including the 3 fridge/freezer plus router, TV on standby (couldn't be bothered unplugging it as it's on the same power brick as the router) and all the electrics related to running the solar and EV charger setup (but excluding the actual consumed solar generation).

Cheers.

It's amazing how much this seems to vary. If [MENTION=24507]Bodian[/MENTION] is using just 3.75kWh on a day when he's cooking a roast and the washing machine is on, then our home using 2.5kWh when no-one is home and pretty much everything is turned off means something isn't right somewhere.

 

[Eric the meek]

How to find draughts in your home. Good bit of kit this !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbdE54-XHWo&ab_channel=BCHydro

 

[Rogero]

Consider winter holidays rather than summer . Turn everything off except the fridge freezer .