Hacks to reduce energy costs

Some of us are T1D and others are T2D, and variations of these conditions, but we all use energy. We have a common interest in reducing the cost of that energy especially at the moment, so I am starting a thread where we can discuss this area of concern, and possibly offer hints and tips to help others reduce the burden. Please join in the discussion so we can collectively help to reduce the stresses that this is causing.

I will start the ball rolling. I usually have TWOMAD, a breakfast that is a fried English breakfast with toast and butter, and a grilled meat with potatoes and veg in the evening. I have been doing this for 7 years now since I started LCHF, and its a routine I have that suits me. But I have recently churned the energy consumption figures on how I do this, and it gave me a shock. This is something I repeat daily 365/annum so in a year and at present energy costs (pre October) my breakfasts cost me £90 p.a. and my evening meals cost £98 p.a just for the energy, My daily coffee cups cost me £200 p.a. because I use a kettle. This cost will almost dounble in the autumn.

So I looked at other ways I can reduce these costs. The obvious way is to migrate as much as I can to the microwave, which at 800W is quick and efficient. So far I have migrated my cups of coffee by just heating the mug of cold water for 2 mins and it makes a reasonable cup of coffee and its hot. I have successfully cooked my mushrooms at 2 mins in butter, Yep. So far so good. What I have not yet done is the bacon and the toast. The toast will remain being done in the toaster since that is better than the grill on the cooker. I await the arrival of the bacon crisper utensil for the microwave, but it should be possible to achieve a result. So yes my breakfast will transisition to the microwave, Cost will be around £20 pa, which is a saving of £70 at today;s prices.

Doing similar for the evening meal, I will be able to steam my pots and veg in the microwave, and I will try the meat crisper thingy for chops and burgers, but the fish will probably be steamed or poached instead of grilled. So its doable. Cost expected to reduce from £98 to £23 pa. My daily coffee habit reduces from £200 to £25 pa.

It will take a bit of getting used to, and involves a bit more utensil washing up but not too big a problem and I estimate to save around £300 pa off my bill today, and at least £600 pa from Jan 2023.

What I am not sure of transitioning is eggs (they can be poached or scrambled) or sausages or steaks. Salads don't fare well in a microwave either. But apparently stirfry and chicken is possible.

The oven will be needed at Christmas, and what I am doing may only be feasible as I am a household of one and the cat eats whatever I give him so long as its cold and smelly.

My daughter has to have a night light on. But she leaves it on when she gets up and although it is only 11 watts, over the year it adds up to over £30. So I invested in a plug in timer that only cost £15, so I should be quids in by Christmas. I also got a timer for my mobility scooter so that it only charges up overnight, and this will benefit me when my supplier offers off peak rates via my Smart Meter as they are considering doing. I also invested in some PIR lights that I can use during my nightly excursions so they detect my movement and light my way to and from the bathroom without needing to switch the main lights on. Not very useful for reading while on the loo, though.

lovinglife said:

An obvious one is batch cooking, making sure when you have your oven on it’s full of the same or different dishes, then portion and freeze for the microwave. Slow cooker doesn’t use much electric so be inventive with the way you use it. It’s not just for casseroles. A tiered steamer on the hob can cook a few things at a time. Fish, chicken, veg, then portion and freeze if not going to use in 2 or 3 days.

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Yes, I was using a tiered steamer and it worked well, but when I churned the energy calculations, it showed I was using a 1 KW hob at full pelt for 20 to 25 minutes at a time, whereas a double steamer in the microwave does the same job in half the time at 800W. I do also have a 4 tier self propelled steamer unit, but it too is 1KW and takes the longer time. It does more than the hob one, so better for batch preparation.

Question, how do you do fish in a steamer? I presume it should go on the bottom rung. But if cooking meat then it too would need a drip tray? I am a novice to cooking.

Because I live on my own, I can please myself. One hack I have made recently is to invest in a floor stand reading light beside my armchair. This is only 11 watts, but gives enough light local to my 'office' so I can read and use the keyboard and navigate the room without needing the main light on. Its a bit gloomy and my daughter has a fit when she visits me. But then she has always put all the lights on in the house just in case she has to enter a room for any reaon. Its like Blackpool promenade when she is here.

I used to have a solar charging PIR light, but it got nicked by someone. But it didn't charge except in direct sunlight, so it was pretty useless anyway. No good as an internal safety light.

Outlier said:

You may not want to cook fish and meat in the same area, as the fish smell tends to overcome the meat, and it's not pleasant.

Possibly it might suit you to boil a full(er) kettle and put the leftover water in a flask. Worth a try.

A friend has been gifted a small portable solar light thingy (technical term) that absorbs daylight (doesn't have to be sunny) then emits it as required. She says it's amazing, and gets around 5 hours of light that is more than enough to light her way from room to room and do household tasks. I might go for one of these as well.

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Actually I am finding microwaved water is working out. The coffee actually tastes less bitter and I can cut down on sweetener. I tried the flask idea, but I made the mistake of filling the flask with made coffee instead of just water. Tasted / smelt foul after a while. Tried with water only, but the powdered coffee benefits from piping hot water, and the flask temp dropped fairly quickly.

carty said:

We use coal and wood for heating and hot water I just ordered more coal because it usually goes up in price in September .The coalman says that the next lot of coal that he will need to buy is due to go up £10 per bag so I am glad I ordered now Also next May we won't be able to buy normal coal only smokeless .One tip I read was to switch off the microwave at the plug when not in use even on standby it costs .Thanks for starting this every little helps
Carol

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For those planning to use an open fire this year, I found a firm that makes sheep plugs that fit up the chimney and cut down draughts up the chimney. Easy to remove when using the fire, and smelly and smoky if you forget to do so, Simple idea. I recently had the roof redone and felted, and so we have plenty of wood to burn this year.

Last year we filled the gaps between floorboards with draught excluder strips, and again it cut down on draughts noticeably. My energy bills last year were about 40% down on previous year, but then it was a fairly mild winter.

A couple of years ago, We had a boiler that was G rated, and got itself condemned by the engineer. We ripped it out and installed a condensing boiler with a smart controller. I decided to go for remote control zone heating, so we have 7 zones that are independantly controlled. I can set different temperatures in all the living rooms and different on/off times, and I can do it from my phone. It works well, and means I am not wasting heat in spaces I am not using. I notice it in my bills. I am currently paying less than I used to pay a couple of years ago and that is even after the last price rise. This house used to be freezing in winter, with extra stand alone paraffin heaters and 2 bar electric fires, but now we don;t need them except in emergency. Mind you, a powercut is pretty drastic, so I need to think about solar panels.

BrianDoc said:

I am currently on a two year fixed deal with Scottish power that covers gas and electricity, for £100 a month, £1200 a year .... it ends at the end of October, I can then renew it with a 1 year fix at £400 a month, £4800 a year .... I don’t have enough appliances to turn off to save £3600 a year !

This winter will be a financial catastrophe for many.

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Check their standard variable rates. It is the one that has the cap applied. They can charge what they like for fixed deals. I pushed back on mine, and we agreed a lower rate for repayments, and so far I have still added to my account balance every month since. So I have a spreadsheet that I use to estimate what my consumption is likely to be based on last years readings, and so I can immediately feed in the uplifted new rates to see what I reckon I will need to pay. My spreadsheet also lets me compare my KWh on month by month basis, so I can see if I am still on track or entering deficit. So far this year I have used some 20% less each month than last year.

So, coming up to the end of Day 1 of my revised cooking regime. Coffee and mushrooms for breakfast were a success. daily coffee routine worked out ok. Could not microwave the bacon this morning but the crisper was delivered today so will try tomorrow. Since I cooked it on the hob today I also added in the egg.

The evening meal almost worked. The pots and the veggies were fine, but the tuna steaks were grilled as usual since I bottled out after reading up about clostridium botulinus and I did not want to risk it.

I am suddenly scared about cooking pototoes and meat in the microwave because of the risk of nasties. The microwave does not kill off the bacteria it seems. The other thing I am being scaredy cat over is exploding food. Apparently it is very easy to do a scattergun paint effect due to superheated steam, and I need to research this in detail. Another no-no is ketchup and tomato paste. I also do not have a temperature probe so cannot tell if meat has reached the correct temperature internally.

Help!

lucylocket61 said:

you also need to beware of this when unwrapping cooked food or talking lids off, even partial lids.

I am researching slow cooking brisket joints. My past efforts have been tough even after 8 hours of cooking. Maybe the supermarket joints werent good enough??

I have also spent some time trying to convince people that the fat of the chicken and meat is very good and healthy. I fear malnutrition for some this winter, and the low fat mantra isnt going to help with that.

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We used to have a slow cooker, but it never gave us satisfactory results either. As an audience of one, I would find a stew or casserole would last me weeks, and I would probably end up chucking it in the bin. When I was a student I would make a stew on Sunday, and top it up through the week and end up with either spagbol or curry on the Saturday, but I don't do that now.

I am now a Gentleman of Leisure, and as such I can spend most of the day vegetating and contemplating my navel. So for me, an electric overblanket is an essential item to keep me snug and cosy during the winter. This is an obvious tip, but it is one that my energy supplier likes, and their hardship support fund is providing electric overblankets to needy customers in distress. They are also offering to loan out infrared thermal cameras to help improve insulation of homes. These guys are in the forefront of the government plan to offer reduced rate power to Smart Meter homes during off peak periods (like Economy 7 but not requiring rewiring). I will be volunteering to be a guinea pig for that. They also trialled scheme to offer cheap rates to houses living close to wind turbines, but we are far away from any whirlygigs here.

AndBreathe said:

Have you considered an air fryer? They cook meat beautifully and the chamber style (as opposed to a drawer) can hold a fir amount. Ours has up to 3 shallow, but movable and removable shelves.

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Yes I am considering it since the microwave I have got has no grilling capability, and my cooker grill is 2kw so an air fryer would be cheaper to run. But my go to snack is cheese on toast, and I suspect this is not something an airfryer would resolve. I am concentrating in transitioning my current diet regime to the microwave since I can do that with minimum investment required as I already have the main characters in play. I have just ordered a meat probe and my steamer should arrive on Wednesday. My new dishwaher gets installed on Tuesday and that will save me money as it is Class C rating, and replaces my old Class G machine that has started sulking and needs a dishwasher whisperer to get it going. I have spent sufficient this month.