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Hacks to reduce energy costs

HSSS said:
Unless it is one designed to be left on when you are in the bed and is relatively new and undamaged please don’t do this. They are designed to warm up the bed before you get into it. I could have died in an electric blanket fire in my early 20’s living alone. My feet burning are the only thing that stopped the smoke inhalation being far worse than it was. The mattress didn’t survive and it was a while before I wore shoes again. A firefighter friend at the time estimated I probably came close to never waking up
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Indeed, if they are underblankets then they are not to be left on when in the bed. Mine is an overblanket and has safety cutoff with a limit timer.
 
lovinglife said:
I’m all electric with a smart meter, last year a normal winter day with all heating on, using the oven every day, washer & dryer on at peak times at least once usually twice, 2 showers every day, 1 hour heating water, usual 2 TVs fridges, freezers etc and charging devices. A normal day would be about £7 - £9 depending. We had a really cold snap I remember cost average £12 for about 3 days.

Fast forward 12 months to now, I’m washing and drying clothes in the middle of the night, getting up to swap them over etc (not getting up specifically I’m usually up for some part of the very early morning) water on every other day, not used my oven in 4 weeks since I got the air fryer. Only heating the rooms we are using and then just enough to take the chill off. Layering clothing and using throws and even hot water bottles. Not showering every day. My average day is now £17 - £19 depending and one day when I didn’t do the washing until the day time I hit £25!

I’m doing everything possible and can’t do much more so not sweating about it (scuse the pun) but my god it’s scary- I feel so sorry for those who have to watch every penny, I worry about people I don’t even know every day. I’m very lucky that we can weather the storm and I thank god every day for that blessing
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I presume you are on a standard or fixed tariff. So your smart meter is probably not doing much to help reduce costs. There are a couple of suppliers who are offering a variable tariff for smart meter users where the cost per unit varies through the day depending on time in the day. In general, the electric is most expensive between 4 pm and 7 pm, but also between 6am and 10 am. I am with Octopus, and they can read my smart meter every half hour, and they publish the days tariff charge intervals the day/ evening before, so I am intending to reduce use during peak hours, and defer activities to the rump of the day when it is cheaper. I have only just applied so I have not yet started, but I have been practicing for a couple of weeks now in anticipation. It will happen in due course. It why they are rolling out smart meters after all.

So i cook breakfast after 10 am and my evening meal after 7 pm. The dishwasher and washing machine get their chance to shine around midday, as a retiree I am able to follow this new rota quite easily.
 
Oldvatr said:
I presume you are on a standard or fixed tariff. So your smart meter is probably not doing much to help reduce costs. There are a couple of suppliers who are offering a variable tariff for smart meter users where the cost per unit varies through the day depending on time in the day. In general, the electric is most expensive between 4 pm and 7 pm, but also between 6am and 10 am. I am with Octopus, and they can read my smart meter every half hour, and they publish the days tariff charge intervals the day/ evening before, so I am intending to reduce use during peak hours, and defer activities to the rump of the day when it is cheaper. I have only just applied so I have not yet started, but I have been practicing for a couple of weeks now in anticipation. It will happen in due course. It why they are rolling out smart meters after all.

So i cook breakfast after 10 am and my evening meal after 7 pm. The dishwasher and washing machine get their chance to shine around midday, as a retiree I am able to follow this new rota quite easily.
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I’m on the economy 7 tariff - I’m on standard during the day of 34p per unit between 12 am and 7 am the tariff is 17p per unit, so doing things through the night rather than the day is definitely cheaper, my hubby can look on our account to see a daily graph of exactly how much we are using when. I’m waiting for new tariffs to open for electric car charging at home as hubby’s new company car arrives in January and it’s fully electric- none of the companies have those tariffs open at the moment. We will save a lot on tax and he will charge at work whenever he can as that is free, but he travels a lot and isn’t always at a main office
 
Stop Press.
I have applied for the Smart Tariff from my energy supplier, and I received the acceptance email today. Unfortunately, the price of the energy it provides is above the SVT tariff capped value, so it would mean running at a loss for most of the day, so I have had to cancel my application. At least now I know that i can apply and my Smart Meter is compatible. I have been accepted for the Government Energy Saving Scheme which means the occasional abstinence for short periods which is doable and helps reduce costs a bit. Cue exit stage left to the pub!
 
Oldvatr said:
Here is an interesting (n=1) experiment on heating
www.bbc.co.uk

Cold weather: What does an unheated room do to your body?

The BBC's health and science correspondent undergoes an experiment to find out how a cold home affects him.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk
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My bedroom has not got past 14 degrees, but last night I used a hairdryer to heat the bed up before hubby came up to bed! It was bliss! Main room gets up to 19.7 and stays there but after a couple of hours drops to about 16. I have been looking for mens slipper boots but cannot find them for love or money.
 
Cooking a pizza in oven takes a lot of energy instead try large flat frying pan with lid.
Spray on oil or fat bung pizza in put lid on great results.
 
If you have a modern boiler that gives you hot water on demand you can put this in your kettle instead of cold water.
I don't I have old immersion heater and copper boiler so it's a no no but the airing cupboard does come in handy for making yoghurt overnight.
 
I've got great emergency lighting off Amazon ready for the power cuts.
 
Oldvatr said:
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.
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Scrambled eggs work well in the microwave. I melt a little butter then add the eggs. You need to pause and stir frequently and watch like a hawk so they don't go over though. Hope this is useful.
 
JTL said:
Cooking a pizza in oven takes a lot of energy instead try large flat frying pan with lid.
Spray on oil or fat bung pizza in put lid on great results.
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This technique is what I use to cook omlettes under the grill to avoid needing to flip them.
SlimLizzy said:
Scrambled eggs work well in the microwave. I melt a little butter then add the eggs. You need to pause and stir frequently and watch like a hawk so they don't go over though. Hope this is useful.
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I have had some success doing fried egg in the microwave. I have a frying pan that sticks itself ro egge, so using the plastic steamer dish avoids lot of scraping and cussing You have to pop the yolk with a pointed thingy. My bacon crisper works a treat but one does need to cover it with something like kitchen towel to stop the spatter.
 
One problem I am having at the moment with this cold spell is a direct result of not putting the heating on. I miss melted buttter on toast. By the time I have boiled the water for my coffee in the microwave, poured it and added a splash of milk then carried it through to my living room it is tepid. So I find I am making it first, then doing a quick warmup session in the uwave, along with my stacked platter with fried thingies to reheat the congealed fat before the final sprint. Otherwise it is a bit like that trick of throwing boiling water into arctic air. Instant ice!
 
I just took part in my first UK.gov Energy Saving Scheme event. Two hours on mimnimum energy consumption.. I just hunkered down with my hot water bottle, and acted like the doornouse at the Mad Hatters Tea Party. Seemed apt, considering the madhouse that we call life at the moment. Not sure how much it has earned me, since it will take them a while to get round to reading all those smart meters. I am also due my next monthly invoice to drop into my inbox any day now.
 
Just received my November energy bill (gas+ electric) and once again my Direct debit exceded the capped charges by some £30, even though we are in a cold snap at the moment. Compared to Nov last year I used half the energy I did last year in terms of kwh for both fuels.

I feel more relaxed about the coming month where i will be entertaining the famly and friends (9 for Xmas holiday provided we get past the industrial disputes ok) I will need to go full blast on the central heating and blow the dust off the oven. I have built up sufficient credit to cover it,

Looking at last years figures, it is the Jan - March period where I used the most energy, so the storm is not yet over, but this is where the winter fuel payment will be handy. I am aiming for a soft landing in the Spring. Now I can afford to warm the cockles of my heart.
 
Well I’m having to heat my garage at the moment as the fridge and freezer has stopped working because it’s too cold, the pipes to my washer even though they are lagged have frozen twice, it hasn’t gotten above -3deg here for the last 9 days and it’s set to continue until at least Sunday - my smart meter showed I used £30 electric on Sunday, haven’t used less than £20 a day for ages, live reading showing now I’ve used £255 this month so far so expecting to reach the £500 this month

And do you know what I’m past caring, I’m doing everything I can like I’ve said in my past posts and I’m fed up of not being warm and cosy and worrying so about it. Today right now it’s -6 outside and I’m wanging the heating up, I’ll worry about the money in spring
 
Well, my one day of abstinence on my electric use has earned me a 2.5% reduction of my energy bill ( which is effectively almost 20% off my electric)
 
For some reason this morning I looked into my energy account. I was in credit at the last review last month, and remain so, so I was a bit perplexed (no, read miffed) to find my Direct Debit amount had been increased by over 50% from next month.

I then went onto the BG website to adjust that back down (reasons later), as I had done on previous iterations, only to find the only adjustment possible was upwards from the increased amount.

Fast forward a "conversation" with a Bot who didn't seem to grasp the concept of reducing a DDM, but eventually handed me off to a live agent who made the adjustment according to my wishes. He was keen to reinforce we "will" be in debit by the next review.

We leave UK next week, heading for warmer climes and hope the worst of any weather will be gone by the time we get back. Of course, there will still be energy usage during that time, but very minimal - the odd lamp in timers and heating set to just ensure not frost damage.

Anyway, anyway, could be worthwhile just checking your accounts. British Gas not not informed me in any way of this proposed increase. It wouldn't have hurt is financially, but it could cause discomfort in several ways for others.
 
Not surprised you're miffed at Bristol Gas doing that, I'd have been the same @AndBreathe

Have you got any room in your suitcase?!? It would be so lovely not to feel frozen every day. Hope you have a lovely time.
 
I wondered what my daughter was doing the other day. Turns out she was making marmite on toast. First she ran the hot tap in the kichen for several minutes until the water was hot (thus wasting 4o feet of pipe worth of cold water then leaving 40 ft of hot water in same pipes to cool down again. Reasoning - she had to have a warm plate for the toast. Then she toasted the slices in the toaster. Then she laid the butter on the bread. But it did not melt, so she ran the toaster again empty and laid the toast slices on top of the slots to melt the butter. Then she spread the marmite thinly on the toast. Then the plate was too cold and also went onto the toaster for a while. Then the plate was placed in the microwave to finish off the heating process. Result? hot buttered toast and marmite a la prefection.

Its all my fault for not running the heating at 24C minimum. She still boils the kettle because the microwave makes her tea taste funny and it doesn;t get it hot enough even after 3 minutes.
 
Hopeful34 said:
Not surprised you're miffed at Bristol Gas doing that, I'd have been the same @AndBreathe

Have you got any room in your suitcase?!? It would be so lovely not to feel frozen every day. Hope you have a lovely time.
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Thus far in my packing, I have 10kg "spare", so if you can get yourself to under 10kg, can charge my phone and iPad and dry my hair, there may be a chance. :)
 
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