[Misc] Suggestions to save energy this winter…

[Giraffe]

Get my kids to read this thread.

and my wife. She gets cold in the summer. She is only happy at about 24 degrees or more.

More use of the log burner this winter, just got to sort out the chimney sweep and make sure the carbon monoxide alarm is working.

 

[Bozza]

Looks like the self-appointed thread police have arrived on their high horses.

Absolutely no need for a reply like the above.

Lol.

A couple of times I nearly chipped in early on in this thread, as I was fed up with the low-level political trolling that started almost inevitably. It's the same people time after time. Yes, you hate the ****ing Tories. We get it. I'm not too fond of the government either but, for the love of god, please stop posting it on Every. Single. Thread.

This thread was clearly started with the good intention of giving people ideas on how they can make their money go further in what is going to be a difficult time for many folk.

There will be people who opened this thread, soon saw the same old shite, and closed it again. It doesn't have to be this way. There are plenty of political threads for those views - just keep it there please.

(This wasn't aimed at you [MENTION=25402]Blue Valkyrie[/MENTION], I'm just sick of it)

 

[Arthur]

Looks like the self-appointed thread police have arrived on their high horses.

Absolutely no need for a reply like the above.

Lol.

Disagree. This thread is for practical tips not for political point scoring because it'll just end up getting derailed like most other threads on here.

If anyone wants to push their political beliefs on others or pick an argument there are PLENTY of threads to do so on.

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

Fair enough, I won't bother with this thread no more.

 

[Bozza]

Fair enough, I won't bother with this thread no more.

The only reason to "not bother with this thread" is because you don't want to share any money-saving tips you think may benefit others, or you have no interest in learning what others are doing to make their money go further.

Edit: ...which is perfectly fine, of course. There are plenty of threads on here I don't bother with, including nearly all of the political ones.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

I once lived in a shared house where some people were insistent they wouldn't turn the heating on because it was too expensive. When the temperature dropped that lasted about a day. People may not appreciate quite how cold a house can get in winter without heating, especially if you are not moving around much and staring at a blank TV because that is off as well. Wearing more clothes only goes so far, and who is actually going to wear a coat indoors (really)? There is very little point saving a few quid only to get ill and eventually die of exposure.

The "more snow tomorrow" thread may get even more attention than it already does.

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

Fair enough, I won't bother with this thread no more.

That would be a shame. I am genuinely finding this thread one of the most useful on NSC in recent times. All input much appreciated.

 

[KZNSeagull]

I once lived in a shared house where some people were insistent they wouldn't turn the heating on because it was too expensive. When the temperature dropped that lasted about a day. People may not appreciate quite how cold a house can get in winter without heating, especially if you are not moving around much and staring at a blank TV because that is off as well. Wearing more clothes only goes so far, and who is actually going to wear a coat indoors (really)? There is very little point saving a few quid only to get ill and eventually die of exposure.

The "more snow tomorrow" thread may get even more attention than it already does.

Our inside temp dropped to 13.5 last year when we had no power for 2 days after Storm Arwen. That was in November. 2 days of no power in Jan/Feb would be extremely unpleasant.

 

[el punal]

Burn a Tory.

I never realised you liked gammon.

 

[nickbrighton]

This subject has come up quite often over the past few years, and will certainly be more prominent this year. I can not wait for the well meaning politician, who comes out with some actually useful and common sense "tips" who then gets ripped apart for being out of touch.

Things like- put a long sleeve top on in the evening, or wear a hoodie, don't heat rooms you don't use, wear warm clothing in the house , leave the oven door open after cooking to heat the room, don't use a tumble drier all the time, turn the heating down by a couple of degrees etc Things we should all be doing anyway, regardless of the financial climate .

There will be the usual shouting and faux outrage that its not 1920 and how dare they tell us how to live.

The couple of posts re candles are spot on. Mr nickbrighton likes candles and makes his own, so we often have a couple in the living room, it is really amazing how much heat they put out

One tip i haven't seen yet, but i only skim read the thread, so may be in here, is that when cooking veg, I use a steamer , so can cook all of the veg on just one burner rather than on three separate ones, and then use the steamer water for the gravy- its very rare even when cooking for guests that i will use more than two burners, usually just one.

I used to work in a big office environment, and was allways amazed that in winter people would come to work in very light, short sleeved , single layer clothing, and then demand the heating be turned up! It was never received well when I would point out that if it was zero degrees outside, wearing a thin t shirt and lightweight trousers, or thin dresses was not the companies problem, and that the office was heated to an ambient temperature, and perhaps they should dress according to the weather rather than what they would wear on a summers holiday in Greece!

 

[Deleted member 37369]

Just three of us and we have had for water and heat. But this goes back to my posts on another thread: trying to determine why we are using so much above the U.K. average.

We were away for four weeks recently so I can now look at those days for a baseline of usage with the house pretty much turned off.

On those days usage was always between 2.3-2.5kWh.

Here’s a sample graph - pretty much typical for each day.

So is our fridge freezer likely to blame? It’s quite old - we bought it second hand when we moved back to Sussex as we needed something to ride us over in a temporary rented house. We’ve kept it just because it works.

(Monetary amount might be wrong but the kWh should be accurate)

I've just downloaded Loop Energy as you suggested.

This month we have been averaging between 10/14kWh a day ... which has increased since our son moved back in with us last month (so we also have 3 in our household). Higher days seem to be when we've used oven and sometimes having different meals.

We were away for just over 2 weeks last September - I turned off as much as I could beforehand. Looking back at those days it ranged from 2.2 to 2.5 kWh ... so very similar to your numbers. Our fridge freezer would only have been a year old at the time although we do have a smaller additional fridge which is older and probably not as efficient.

It's an interesting app. We do most of the things suggested. I do need to change a few halogen bulbs for LEDs in the room our son now uses. We didn't bother previously as the room wasn't really used. Otherwise we've LED in rest of house.

Mrs HS and my son know that I have downloaded the app and are so looking forward to my daily energy briefing

 

[Jim in the West]

Don't work from home, go into the office instead.
While in the office, charge all your phones, tablets there rather than at home.

Private Eye has a spoof this week...."Say goodbye to WFH and hello to LFO - that's Living From Office!"

But seriously, if I was still working full time I'd forget all this WFH lark (which seemed such a good idea over the past few years) and get back in the office every day of the week. At least from October to April.

 

[Cotton Socks]

I 2nd [MENTION=33955]nickbrighton[/MENTION] 's suggestion of the steamer, uses less water as well. Put the lids on saucepans when boiling water for veg, you can turn off the hob & put the lid on just before the veg or whatever has completely cooked & the heat that's already there will finish it off. Make sure you're using the right size burner for the pan, flames going around the side is just a waste.
Move any teenagers to any other relative & if that's not possible take out the bulb's in their rooms & give them a torch.

 

[Papak]

Think about targeting the heating - heating the person and not the space. So this winter, if you can stand it, don't put the heating on. Where a onesie indoors instead. Nobody's going to see you are they?

I also am aware of the usefulness of hats. Estimates of the heat loss from the head vary between 8% and 50%. Whoever is right, wearing a hat will help you keep warm. I've got a fur lined trapper's hat, which is the warmest hat I've ever had. It's often so warm, I can't actually wear it !

The best advice so far in this thread.

 

[Jim in the West]

I see a few have switched or going to be using log burners, isn't this a really bad pollutant? I think I read somewhere that they are being banned? I did read this recently as well:

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...ood burning in homes produces,from 38% to 17%.

"Other recent research has shown that wood-burning stoves in urban areas are responsible for almost half of people’s exposure to the cancer-causing chemicals found in air pollution particles. Even wood-burning stoves meeting the new “ecodesign” standard still emit 750 times more tiny particles than a modern HGV truck, another study found, while wood burners also triple the level of harmful pollution inside homes and should be sold with a health warning, according to scientists."

We can all start wood buring before getting in our "green electric cars"!

We've got a wood burner. Had it installed about 15 years ago, and it used to be one of the things I really looked forward to in the winter....a lovely, homely fire in the evening. But we've stopped using it - the health and environmental issues are overwhelmingly negative. I talked to an energy expert about converting it to electricity, but the costs involved are significant - both the conversion, then the on-going cost of the electricity (versus similar heat output from gas CH)

 

[Weststander]

Move to west Cumbria.

 

[Papak]

For me:

Already had LED lighting for years

Use slow cooker over oven - you can use cheaper cuts of meat and get a better or equivalent tasty meal.

Bulk buying non-perishables when on offer - I have a years worth of pasta, tomato puree, rice and many other tins and jars

Heat the person not the room - turning on the electric blanket for a few minutes (rock 'n roll lifestyle) sets you up for the night

Religiously turning off lights when leaving the room, nothing on standby unnecessarily

Go outside if it is really cold for 10 minutes, come back inside and you will appreciate the warmth

Get a timer for the shower (baths were banished years ago) to reduce time spent under hot water

Air fryer (estimated to be 1/3 of the cost of a gas oven) plus the residual heat can be directed where you want it not up the outside wall at the back of the cooker

Only flush the loo after a dump

I have Hive lighting and dual zone heating so this is optimised to minimise consumption e.g. DHW on once every 2 days lights on at dusk and turned off when sleep calls

Cover pans on the hob if you need to use them

Only fill the kettle for the required amount of hot water

Walk wherever possible

Batch cook and reheat in microwave for a couple of minutes versus multiple meals invididually

Wear shoes in the house

Buy wonky veg

Stack firewood against the house to improve insulation

Tape up draughts

Change exterior lights to be PIR

It's hard to believe we are probably 3 months from all this kicking in...

 

[WATFORD zero]

The best advice so far in this thread.

Sorry, best advice so far in this thread and seemingly a common theme throughout the thread

Move any teenagers to any other relative & if that's not possible take out the bulb's in their rooms & give them a torch.

 

[Papak]

Sorry, best advice so far in this thread and seemingly a common theme throughout the thread

That is also an option:

Move offspring to Uni where the costs are fixed for the next 12 months!

 

[Cotton Socks]

That is also an option:

Move offspring to Uni where the costs are fixed for the next 12 months!

You can't do that if they're in secondary school though.