Rising energy prices mitigation

Homes and Retreats
Yorkshire Andy
Posts: 8733
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2013 4:06 pm

Rising energy prices mitigation

Post by Yorkshire Andy »

So with the cost of gas / electric / heating oil / wood/ etc all going up :shock: what's our collective plans to save as much as we can.......



So far... I've taken to reading the riot act to the kids repeatedly the eternal House lights that never get turned off :evil: :evil: was tempted to put hotel type pneumatic dash pot switches on the landing lights they are always on even with a solar lamp at the top of the stairs they put the big lights on :tinfoil ...


I've had a good read of the boiler handbook and it's got 2x eco settings.. one on the boiler itself and another on the thermostat. The boiler one is the "optimum" burn Vs Max heat extracted via the heat exchanger... And the thermostat will run the heating for 10 minutes then knock off for 10 mins and then if the temperature doesn't rise to the preset will do the same again rather than grafting it's guts out until it hits the preset then shutting off the radiators will continue to give heat out and rise the temperature above the preset ... You then get a greater range of temperatures so you then "feel" the cold


All the bedrooms have thermal roller blinds plus curtains

Seen quoted savings with curtains between 15 & 25% depending on what site you read. . . So I'm guessing a thermal blind plus curtains will be at tye upper end of savings. Coupled with insulated exterior walls and uPVC double glazing.

Bathroom has a thermal blind too as does the kitchen

Both front & back doors have thermal door curtains both doors are also composite although being council fitted probably not the best fitted.....

Again door curtains save more money / reduce heat loss by a similar amount...

We will if it's a cold bright day open the easterly facing curtains in the morning to let the sun in but keep the west side closed or half drawn then late afternoon shut the eastern ones to trap the heat the sun has pumped through the glass .. and at dusk shut the west curtains / blinds cant loose the precious free warm ;)



All lights are led I'm happy on an evening just to sit with a smaller desk lamp on in the lounge which has a 3w led lamp in it ... Kids = big light + reading lamp + desk lamp + kitchen lights (and landing lights) :tinfoil


We keep the kitchen cooler via the radiator valve stat meaning the fridge and freezer don't have to work too hard likewise it keeps the pantry cool when cooking it soon warms up anyway...

All the outside lighting is solar


If I get my way the lounge will get 2 solar pendant lights put up even if I just use them on an evening as background lighting like I do with the desk lamp not much of a saving but every unit of electric costs .


One thing I do want to sort is the old loft hatch .. I've got some kingspan insulation asside at work to make a new lid probably in 20mm MDF and bond the kingspan to the top....

Plenty of glass wool in the loft too .


I thought it would be a good idea to get one of these

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.indepe ... html%3famp

Dont bother unless you move the clothes inch by inch every half an hour it's no faster than a normal clothier horse ....... We've got a small tumble drier but that only goes on if desperate plus the outside washing lines

Biggest uses are probably the electric cooker / washer / dish washer but there's not much we can do about that but the washer is A rated on energy if the kids didn't do a change of outfits twice a day we might reduce the time the washer spends on :lol: and I think social services would turn up if we didn't feed them :lol: and if you've had kids you'll know how fast the pots pile up but if I'm cooking I've usually got a bowl of hot water to handwash as I go along ...


Kids have fleece PJ's and this winter the wife will be educated into how to put a wooly jumper and slipper socks on.... If I suddenly vanish you know my advice has caused me to be laid to rest under the new patio I didn't know she wanted :lol:
If your roughing it, Your doing it wrong ;)

Lack of planning on your part doesn't make it an emergency on mine
lowlander
Posts: 31
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2021 2:18 pm

Re: Rising energy prices mitigation

Post by lowlander »

Easier with one, definitely.
Winter plans
- new thick heavy lined curtains ready to go up in living room
- need to make a door curtain for the kitchen/back door
- new pyjamas bought
- new woolly jumper on the needle- winter socks on the needles
- hot water bottles
- extra duvet plus thick proper top quilt
- wearing a hat in the house

I only light the room I'm in, and the hot water only goes on once a day if that, depending what I'm doing. Otherwise, just the fridge freezer, laptop, washing machine and judicious efficient use of cooker.

Oil lamps and candles

I'm hoping to go the winter without putting the (electric) heating on, will see how that goes.
jennyjj01
Posts: 3429
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2017 11:09 pm

Re: Rising energy prices mitigation

Post by jennyjj01 »

Yorkshire Andy wrote: Tue Oct 19, 2021 10:16 pm So with the cost of gas / electric / heating oil / wood/ etc all going up :shock: what's our collective plans to save as much as we can.......
Checking our energy usage, Surprised that the gas central heating was a lot less of a contributor. Using the smart meter, was able to deduce that Washing machine and tumble dryer were WAYYYYYY more of an expense than everything else put together. Electric oven trailing third, but that's not on so much.

Turn the oven off before the end of cooking. It'll still be hot.

Electric light cost so little, that I just don't worry about that.

Seriously.... Just log down what the smart meter tells you against what appliances you use, Very enlightening. Use excel of similar to chart the week, or even a paper diary over a week.
Graceful Degradation! Prepping's objective summed up in two words. Turning Disaster into Mild Inconvenience by the power of fore-thought

Not Feeling Optimistic. Let me be wrong
jansman
Posts: 13622
Joined: Thu Dec 30, 2010 7:16 pm

Re: Rising energy prices mitigation

Post by jansman »

jennyjj01 wrote: Tue Oct 19, 2021 11:46 pm
Yorkshire Andy wrote: Tue Oct 19, 2021 10:16 pm So with the cost of gas / electric / heating oil / wood/ etc all going up :shock: what's our collective plans to save as much as we can.......
Checking our energy usage, Surprised that the gas central heating was a lot less of a contributor. Using the smart meter, was able to deduce that Washing machine and tumble dryer were WAYYYYYY more of an expense than everything else put together. Electric oven trailing third, but that's not on so much.

Turn the oven off before the end of cooking. It'll still be hot.

Electric light cost so little, that I just don't worry about that.

Seriously.... Just log down what the smart meter tells you against what appliances you use, Very enlightening. Use excel of similar to chart the week, or even a paper diary over a week.
How much does the smart meter use? :lol: You don’t need one of those to tell you a tumble drier and washer use a lot of juice.
In three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life: It goes on.

Robert Frost.

Covid 19: After that level of weirdness ,any situation is certainly possible.

Me.
Nurseandy
Posts: 690
Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2018 7:12 am

Re: Rising energy prices mitigation

Post by Nurseandy »

Biggest energy use is two teenage daughters each spending 30minutes+ in the electric shower every morning :o :o :!: :!: :cry: :cry: although slightly offset by soap dodging teenage son spending about 30 seconds once a week in there :lol:
Arzosah
Posts: 6323
Joined: Fri Jun 22, 2012 4:20 pm

Re: Rising energy prices mitigation

Post by Arzosah »

These are good lists :) My action points:

- get the boiler serviced. Ahem. It's currently refusing to switch on, fault code 0F, which tells me it needs a service.
- bleeding the radiators - apparently that's something we should always do when heading into winter.
- remember to switch the oven off before I've finished cooking - and I cook more than I used to because I bought a *lot* of flour in the lockdown.
- use timer when I'm cooking on the hob for the same reason.
- I've been watching youtube videos about how to use a sealant gun - there are big gaps in a couple of rooms between the top of the skirting board and the wall. Most of the prep work now done, I'll see how it goes today.
- one set of curtains isn't lined at all, and I do have some leftover thermal lining. Even tacking it on by hand would help - if I try to do it on my inherited sewing machine, it won't get done before spring.
GillyBee
Posts: 1047
Joined: Tue Apr 07, 2020 6:46 am

Re: Rising energy prices mitigation

Post by GillyBee »

LED light bulbs are a lot less of a worry than the old incandescant ones for cost. Reducing washing machine/tumble drier use would have the biggest impact. e.g. no half loads and spot clean & air instead of a "proper" wash where appropriate.

LED Incandescent
Lifespan in hours 10,000 1,000
Watts (equivalent 60 watts) 10 60
Cost for 50k hours @ £0.20 kWh £100 £600 (Yes I know that 20p/Kw is now a b**** good price but I couldn't be doing with the maths for the latest cap and this makes the point)

Getting famiy on board with energy saving is a challenge. They have signed up to wearing lots of layers and using quilts on the sofa to keep the heating down wich is a start.
tarmactatt
Posts: 47
Joined: Sun Dec 01, 2013 3:56 pm

Re: Rising energy prices mitigation

Post by tarmactatt »

Length of time to pay back in savings is a key back of the envelope calculation I like to do in order to work out whether something really is saving money...

For example, I love the look of those Mr D thermal cookware pans, but I wouldn't ever 'save' money using them because the initial cost is so high.

On the other hand, LED bulbs in areas which are used a lot (eg kitchen) are a no-brainer.

When weather is nice I'll be line drying laundry more often, my time is valuable though (see above re. Cost:benefit) so it won't be every wash load.

Also need to insulate the loft hatch, sealing of draughty gaps is always on the to-do list, one of the joys of living in a Victorian terrace.
Vitamin c
Posts: 1070
Joined: Mon Sep 21, 2020 1:16 pm

Re: Rising energy prices mitigation

Post by Vitamin c »

Not payed for heating or hot water for over 25yrs I've a open fire with back boiler.
I burn scrap wood ie old kitchens factory offcuts anything but my worry is government will pass laws that you can only burn certain types of fuel .
I do see many folk getting log burners only for local councils to come snooping some time ahead .
Fill er up jacko...
GeraldTheBonzai
Posts: 17
Joined: Fri Oct 08, 2021 7:52 pm

Re: Rising energy prices mitigation

Post by GeraldTheBonzai »

Just getting some more jumpers out and turning the heating off…