Turn that kettle off

[Onelife]

I thought this link would be useful for those feeling the pinch…

https://moneytothemasses.com/quick-savi ... am-i-using

[Mervyn and Trish]

Like all the other advice it is, to coin a phrase, pissing in the wind. When prices double saving 10% or 20% is trivial.

It's the same with the Green Party bleating about insulaton. Yes it's a good idea to insulate and not waste energy. But they are claiming better insulation could save consumers hundreds or thousands of pounds. The latter is only true if you own a completely uninsulated mansion. The bill for my reasonably well insulated detached house was around £1500 this year. Likely to be £3000 next year. To save thousands (plural) I need to cut my bill by 50% or more. Another inch or two of lioft insulation won't do that. Nor will turning the WiFi off.

[Stephen]

I just take the kettle with an adapter and plug it into next doors outside socket.

[Manoverboard]

Got a Ninja to reduce oven usage and changed all the light bulbs to LED ... that's all we can reasonably do. There is no way at our age that we will be sitting in the house shivering to save a few bob and / or the planet.

[Kendhni]

Some interesting numbers in there.

Many years ago I was complaining about the cost of electricity and started looking into how to reduce ... following various simple/common sense tips, I managed to halve my bill quite easily ... since then I have been trimming back even more. Our monthly summer bills this year have been about £35 (includes the price rise of 30% in June) ... I was disappointed this month it was £33.06 (inc vat ... we were on holiday for part of the time) and we have another 30% price rise this month. BTW we cook using electricity. I know this is about a third of what one of my brothers pays.

The government kindly paid for us to be connected to the gas mains in May so we have not used it yet for heating, but so far the bill has been running at just under £40 per month (I am expecting this to triple when we start using heating) ... and then I will learn how to trim this back as well. I have no idea what the norm is for gas though ... the guy from our supplier wanted to set up a direct debit of over £200 per month ... I laughed at the suggestion and just pay on bill.

[Onelife]

Like all the other advice it is, to coin a phrase, pissing in the wind. When prices double saving 10% or 20% is trivial.



Not if you are really having to cut corners it’s not.... some people have to go to extreme measures to save money…look what poor old Stephen has to do for a cuppa.

[towny44]

We have a smart meter, and it's quite alarming to see how much more our usage is costing us today, than it did yesterday. It's a good job the govt have stepped in with the rebate to help defray some of the increase.

[Mervyn and Trish]

We have a smart meter, and it's quite alarming to see how much more our usage is costing us today, than it did yesterday. It's a good job the govt have stepped in with the rebate to help defray some of the increase.

It's Stephen's neighbour's smart meter we need to check.

[Manoverboard]

The idea of peering at the Smart Meter every half hour and then tracing the reason for the movement cannot be good for one's mental health so unless it can be sited in the cupboard under the stairs next to a chair for Mobietta to sit on with a pencil and notepad we won't be having one

[david63]

The idea of peering at the Smart Meter every half hour

No need - just log into your account and the details are there - fairly easy to assess what was being used and when.

My two big uses of electricity are the electric shower and the electric oven.

[Manoverboard]

The idea of peering at the Smart Meter every half hour

No need - just log into your account and the details are there - fairly easy to assess what was being used and when.

My two big uses of electricity are the electric shower and the electric oven.

Logging on to one's Account will only show such details if one has a Smart Meter ... and this ' one ' doesn't. But I can read the numbers on the meter if I have a mind to which of course I do not.

We have a tumbler dryer for sale, any takers?

[david63]

We have a tumbler dryer for sale, any takers?

No thanks, already got one that is only used with cheap off peak electricity that you can have with a smart meter

[Kendhni]

I have been trying to give away a fully functional 46" plasma TV and can't get any takers ... next week it goes to the dump.
Being a plasma it can double up as a radiator during winter.

[Stephen]

Got a Ninja to reduce oven usage and changed all the light bulbs to LED ... that's all we can reasonably do. There is no way at our age that we will be sitting in the house shivering to save a few bob and / or the planet.

Agree

If things start to get tight and we can only have one cruise holiday a year then Mrs S might have to think about a second job

[Stephen]

The idea of peering at the Smart Meter every half hour and then tracing the reason for the movement cannot be good for one's mental health so unless it can be sited in the cupboard under the stairs next to a chair for Mobietta to sit on with a pencil and notepad we won't be having one

The same reason I won't have one. I think our energy company have given up with pestering me to have one.

[Stephen]

I have been trying to give away a fully functional 46" plasma TV and can't get any takers ... next week it goes to the dump.
Being a plasma it can double up as a radiator during winter.

Bensham33 might take it off your hands Ken, he's after a new TV

[Bensham33]

Not a 46" one. Too big for me. I'm looking for about 32".

[Meg 50]

we have a smart meter - it lives in a cupboard and isn't connected - it takes up 'juice' when plugged in - so we've stopped using it (actually stopped using it within a few days when the novelty wore off!)

[towny44]

we have a smart meter - it lives in a cupboard and isn't connected - it takes up 'juice' when plugged in - so we've stopped using it (actually stopped using it within a few days when the novelty wore off!)

I find it quite useful, not that it tempts us to use the heating less though, because if we are cold then the heating goes on. But it does show the difference in energy usage between the days we use extra like when we use the washer, or dish washer, and days when we don't use the oven, and I guess it has made us ensure that we use these now only for full loads, so I suppose it has helped us to save a modicum of energy.

[Mervyn and Trish]

Exactly our experience.

[allatc]

Our dishwasher has 4 settings - ECO 50 degrees which takes 3.5 hours at one end and 1 hour wash 65 degrees at the other.
Has anyone with a smart meter actually measured the energy usage of the different programmes ?

[Ray B]

Some interesting numbers in there.

Many years ago I was complaining about the cost of electricity and started looking into how to reduce ... following various simple/common sense tips, I managed to halve my bill quite easily ... since then I have been trimming back even more. Our monthly summer bills this year have been about £35 (includes the price rise of 30% in June) ... I was disappointed this month it was £33.06 (inc vat ... we were on holiday for part of the time) and we have another 30% price rise this month. BTW we cook using electricity. I know this is about a third of what one of my brothers pays.

The government kindly paid for us to be connected to the gas mains in May so we have not used it yet for heating, but so far the bill has been running at just under £40 per month (I am expecting this to triple when we start using heating) ... and then I will learn how to trim this back as well. I have no idea what the norm is for gas though ... the guy from our supplier wanted to set up a direct debit of over £200 per month ... I laughed at the suggestion and just pay on bill.

Ken, if you are not on a contract, that £200 may look realistic by January may be more.

[Mervyn and Trish]

Our combined bill has been about £120. Expecting that to at least double when our fixed price deal expires.

Yes we have probably saved around 50% on usage charge by various measures over the years. From zero insulation to a minimum of 30cm in the loft, cavity wall insulation, full double glazing, draught proofing, new more efficient boiler, programmable thermostat for different settings during the day, new more energy efficient appliances. The problem is any further improvement will be marginal. The other issue is standing charges, which should be made illegal. If we turn everything off and sit in the dark they still want £300 a year.

[Ray B]

We have just upgraded, done away with our zombie boiler, which other than gas usage has not cost us a penny in maintenance during it's 40 odd years of service. As an original Corgi engineer, serviced myself, we now have a all singing and dancing system boiler.
Installed solar panels on roof in April, washing machine, dishwasher, tumble dryer and general use for house, less than £1, some days just the standing charge. E

[Kendhni]

Some interesting numbers in there.

Many years ago I was complaining about the cost of electricity and started looking into how to reduce ... following various simple/common sense tips, I managed to halve my bill quite easily ... since then I have been trimming back even more. Our monthly summer bills this year have been about £35 (includes the price rise of 30% in June) ... I was disappointed this month it was £33.06 (inc vat ... we were on holiday for part of the time) and we have another 30% price rise this month. BTW we cook using electricity. I know this is about a third of what one of my brothers pays.

The government kindly paid for us to be connected to the gas mains in May so we have not used it yet for heating, but so far the bill has been running at just under £40 per month (I am expecting this to triple when we start using heating) ... and then I will learn how to trim this back as well. I have no idea what the norm is for gas though ... the guy from our supplier wanted to set up a direct debit of over £200 per month ... I laughed at the suggestion and just pay on bill.

Ken, if you are not on a contract, that £200 may look realistic by January may be more.

Thanks Ray, cheers me up no end ... it will be interesting to see what it is ... it will be our first winter using gas.
Even if it is £200 per month the executive will pay half of it this winter.