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Hacks to reduce energy costs

I live alone & before all these price rises, I was already using as little electric as possible & my flat is all electric.

I pulled the fuses on the heating in February, knowing I would never be putting them back for the foreseeable, as it was costing £170 just for that then & that was on the lowest setting 1, as there is no option to turn off. :woot: I got the bill down to £45 not inc SC, until April.

I only have LED bulbs, my parents taught me well, as even though they're LEDs, I never leave any on if not in that room. In the kitchen, I have two USB charging under cabinet LED sensor strip lights, they're brilliant & work very well. I don't have a regular oven, only an 1800W air fryer, the oven style & a double plate plug in induction hob, love 'em both. :cool: Only have a washing machine, no tumble. Nothing in the kitchen, apart from the fridge/freezer is left plugged in. Hot water is via an immersion heater & I've just had that turned down to 55° from 65°, can't get to the plug for that, actually, I can't even find it. :confused:

Being disabled, I use smart plugs & an Echo Dot in the lounge, makes life so much easier. The Dot, Sky box & router are the only things left on & the TV I've chosen to leave on standby when not in use. I'd rather pay the little cost on that than risking any problems caused by it being on/off, couldn't afford to replace it & it didn't seem too keen on being unplugged.

My riser chair, computer, lamp, phone etc., are switched off via Alexa at night. Wheelchair is only charged when I've been out (Sadly, new batteries in the offing for her :nailbiting: ). Oh & I have a clock radio on in the bedroom.

There is nothing else I can trim down that I can see. My usage is between 210 - 225kWh a month. Leccy company sent a letter last week to say from Oct 1st a unit would be .37, okay. I went online yesterday to input a meter reading, as advised to in the letter, they had that a unit would be .5051!! :facepalm: Tomorrow morning I will be in a very likely, long queue waiting to politely ask WTH is going on!
 
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jessj said:
I live alone & before all these price rises, I was already using as little electric as possible & my flat is all electric.

I pulled the fuses on the heating in February, knowing I would never be putting them back for the foreseeable, as it was costing £170 just for that then & that was on the lowest setting 1, as there is no option to turn off. :woot: I got the bill down to £45 not inc SC, until April.

I only have LED bulbs, my parents taught me well, as even though they're LEDs, I never leave any on if not in that room. In the kitchen, I have two USB charging under cabinet LED sensor strip lights, they're brilliant & work very well. I don't have a regular oven, only an 1800W air fryer, the oven style & a double plate plug in induction hob, love 'em both. :cool: Only have a washing machine, no tumble. Nothing in the kitchen, apart from the fridge/freezer is left plugged in. Hot water is via an immersion heater & I've just had that turned down to 55° from 65°, can't get to the plug for that, actually, I can't even find it. :confused:

Being disabled, I use smart plugs & an Echo Dot in the lounge, makes life so much easier. The Dot, Sky box & router are the only things left on & the TV I've chosen to leave on standby when not in use. I'd rather pay the little cost on that than risking any problems caused by it being on/off, couldn't afford to replace it & it didn't seem too keen on being unplugged.

My riser chair, computer, lamp, phone etc., are switched off via Alexa at night. Wheelchair is only charged when I've been out (Sadly, new batteries in the offing for her :nailbiting: ). Oh & I have a clock radio on in the bedroom.

There is nothing else I can trim down that I can see. My usage is between 210 - 225kWh a month. Leccy company sent a letter last week to say from Oct 1st a unit would be .37, okay. I went online yesterday to input a meter reading, as advised to in the letter, they had that a unit would be .5051!! Tomorrow morning I will be in a very likely, long queue waiting to politely ask WTH is going on!
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I suspect you are seeing the first installment of the £400 assistance payment which is spread over 6 months.
 
I am one of the very fortunate few who took out a 2 year fixed tariff before all this started. Ends next March. Am rather worried about what my total bill will be then. I live alone and an mostly at home. Live in a flat so need to use the drier for some items.
I know what I have worked it out at but no doubt it won't tally with the energy company. At least the heating will be on this winter.
 
I ignored the ‘do not fix’ advice in April when a previous fix ran out and am glad I did, as while I paid slightly over the odds over the summer, I’ll be paying well below during the winter.

My energy company is simply reducing direct debits in line with the government £400 rebate for the next six months. I’ll be transferring the monthly reduction to a savings account so that a) I get a small amount of interest and b) I’ll have a reserve incase bills are higher than anticipated, and if not I’ll have a little pot to enjoy at some point.

Living in a tiny ‘box’ with decent insulation has its benefits when it gets cold!
 
If it wasn't for the war in Ukraine, it will soon be the move away from fossil fuels pushing the price up, so we will be forced to get heat pumps and go all electric in the next few years anyway. Just had my car MOT'd, and it may be the last time I do that not because it is scrap, but because it is no longer economical to keep. My new central heating system will need to be ripped out and replaced. Exciting times ahead.

Hydrogen is what the Tories are pinning their hopes on. Trouble is you need a lot of free electricity to make hydrogen, and that electricity is better used as it is without losing it both through inefficiency of the conversion of water to hydrogen, but also hydrogen in pipes leaks more than methane or natural gas so losses will be high. Very ineffficient that. Hydrogen is also not as good as methane when burnt so again energy wasted.
 
jessj said:
I live alone & before all these price rises, I was already using as little electric as possible & my flat is all electric.

I pulled the fuses on the heating in February, knowing I would never be putting them back for the foreseeable, as it was costing £170 just for that then & that was on the lowest setting 1, as there is no option to turn off. :woot: I got the bill down to £45 not inc SC, until April.

I only have LED bulbs, my parents taught me well, as even though they're LEDs, I never leave any on if not in that room. In the kitchen, I have two USB charging under cabinet LED sensor strip lights, they're brilliant & work very well. I don't have a regular oven, only an 1800W air fryer, the oven style & a double plate plug in induction hob, love 'em both. :cool: Only have a washing machine, no tumble. Nothing in the kitchen, apart from the fridge/freezer is left plugged in. Hot water is via an immersion heater & I've just had that turned down to 55° from 65°, can't get to the plug for that, actually, I can't even find it. :confused:

Being disabled, I use smart plugs & an Echo Dot in the lounge, makes life so much easier. The Dot, Sky box & router are the only things left on & the TV I've chosen to leave on standby when not in use. I'd rather pay the little cost on that than risking any problems caused by it being on/off, couldn't afford to replace it & it didn't seem too keen on being unplugged.

My riser chair, computer, lamp, phone etc., are switched off via Alexa at night. Wheelchair is only charged when I've been out (Sadly, new batteries in the offing for her :nailbiting: ). Oh & I have a clock radio on in the bedroom.

There is nothing else I can trim down that I can see. My usage is between 210 - 225kWh a month. Leccy company sent a letter last week to say from Oct 1st a unit would be .37, okay. I went online yesterday to input a meter reading, as advised to in the letter, they had that a unit would be .5051!! :facepalm: Tomorrow morning I will be in a very likely, long queue waiting to politely ask WTH is going on!
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Please take note that any stored hot water needs to be at a minimum of 60C to kill off legionella bacteria. But an Ascot heater or a geyser system. or a Qooker point of use heater can be 55C, but an immersion or boiler tank should be at 60C min. I have just taken my thermostat back up to 60C for this reason.
 
Brekkie said:
I’ve just had a new boiler put in last year and there’s no way I want to shell out further. Had to do it though as repairing the old one was turning out to be more expensive than having a new one...
In my opinion anyone struggling to survive in these hard times is not going to care about government energy efficiency targets when they got to put food on the table. Goal posts are always changing.
I remember reading an article about how petrol got introduced and how they switched from diesel and how much resistance there was but look at that petrol run cars are the norm for ages. It’s a never ending rat race. More inequality in society than ever before.
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Seems one has to be stinking rich to get government help nowadays. I wonder whose fat will be trimmed in time for Xmas. Not the goose that is laying the golden eggs, thats for sure,
 
Oldvatr said:
If it wasn't for the war in Ukraine, it will soon be the move away from fossil fuels pushing the price up, so we will be forced to get heat pumps and go all electric in the next few years anyway. Just had my car MOT'd, and it may be the last time I do that not because it is scrap, but because it is no longer economical to keep. My new central heating system will need to be ripped out and replaced. Exciting times ahead.

Hydrogen is what the Tories are pinning their hopes on. Trouble is you need a lot of free electricity to make hydrogen, and that electricity is better used as it is without losing it both through inefficiency of the conversion of water to hydrogen, but also hydrogen in pipes leaks more than methane or natural gas so losses will be high. Very ineffficient that. Hydrogen is also not as good as methane when burnt so again energy wasted.
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New builds will not be permitted gas boilers from 2025. Otherwise existing boilers can be repaired or replaced until then.

Anyone going from an existing gas boiler to a heat pump will find that isn't the end, because heat pumps work at lower temperatures, meaning a need to size up in terms of radiators.

Whilst hydrogen may be the way to go, I would not want it in my home. The fitting and maintanance of hydrogen systems will have to become more regulated, to prevent gung-ho builders and DIY enthusiasts dabbling.

(This was a topic of discussion with the technician servicing our boiler on Friday.)
 
My plumber heating engineer came and did my boiler service a few days ago.
Another friend had been told by people who replace pipes that we are going to have hydrogen at some point.
My plumber said all the external pipping needs changing if metal.
They are planning to have an initial 80/20 mix of gas and hydrogen. But he said it would take a further 10 years to convert us all to 100% hydrogen.
My boiler is fairly new . Can't have anything but a gas boiler here so hoping next time I need a boiler I can still have gas/hydrogen.
 
Goonergal said:
As I understand it, the ban only applies to new builds: https://www.edfenergy.com/heating/advice/uk-boiler-ban
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If they do decide to pipe hydrogen instead of fossil fuel, then that is the time we will need to replace the boiler since existing installations will not be safe with hydrogen, which is a lighter gas and smaller molecules so it leaks more. It is colourless and odourless, so will need extra sensors to detect buildup in the living space. At present natural gas has a distinctive perfume added for this reason since methane is also not noticeable. I think the whole gas grid will need to be replaced. Of course the other way of making hydrogen at scale is by using steam and natural gas so increases our fossil fuel dependance. We also use natural gas to make CO2 for the food and drinks sector. Wonder what they are going to use instead? Simple, its Ammonia, but we need that for fertiliser, and that too is made from natural gas and coke. Zero carbon is not easy is it? There are ships that have been converted to run on ammonia,but the trouble is it is corrosive and rots thestorage tanks and pipework.
 
According to the UK scientists you need three times as much hydrogen to replace natural gas, so the plan to add 20% hydrogen will reduce natural gas consumption by 7% But hydrogen is more expensive to capture, so the price will be much higher.
 
Brekkie said:
Hi @AndBreathe

As I only had my boiler fitted last year will I keep my boiler until it konks out or have to replace it by 2025? Replacing a boiler isn’t cheap...
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No, you can have your boiler repaired and/or replaced up until 2035. The only thing scheduled to be happening from 2025 is any hew houses built cannot have gas boilers.

Heat pumps are fine in brand new houses with state of the art insulation.

As I understand it, one can continue to use a serviceable gas boiler beyond 2035, but from then any breakdown would just about mean replacement.
 
Brekkie said:
Hi Guys

Anyone considering this gadget for energy saving?

www.bbc.co.uk

The DIY gadgets that could keep your energy bill down

With a little know-how people are tuning their home heating to reduce their gas consumption.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk
Click to expand...
My installation already incorporates this function, along with an adaptive controllee that fine tunes the boiler response to how each room warms up and cools down.

The above gadget is not needed if you have individual radiator thermostats, Modern combi boilers do not really benefit either because they only provide heat on demand, and are not constantly firing. Also, they have a direct feed from the cold water supply, and that temperature is not really weather sensitive. So modern combi boilers heat cold water and only store heat in a hot water tank which is not used for space heating. Most combi boilers allow you to alter the outlet temperature But if your boiler supplies tap water too, then the minimum temp is 60C to kill off bacteria and this device could be putting you at risk if it lowers the outlet below 65C.

the gadget is usefull for older standard installations.

Modern control systems such as Hive, Tado, Nest and EVOHome incorporate this function. But you need a boiler that understands the IFTTT communications protocol for the Internet of Things
 
Weather compensation is of benefit. It turns my A+ energy rated stystem into an A++
 
Good joke in the paper today.A reader sent the following in.

MY ENERGY -SAVING tip -
'cook the Christms turkey with a candle'. - has one snag:
I have to start cooking it next week!
 
Brekkie said:
Sorry guys I also wanted to ask that this energy discount that are being applied is it going to be automatic. My bill is from Feb-Oct but I can’t see anything about a discount. Advice on this please of what to do.

Thanks.
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If you pay by Direct debit then the discount will be aitomatically applied to the next bill AFTER Oct 1. It is applied monthly at something like £66 a month, but a 6 monthly payee should see the full £400.
 
It depends who you are with, my energy company - can’t remember if it’s Eon or EDF are not reducing at source of direct debit but are going to credit your bank account you pay with at £66 per month for 6 months, others are taking off at source
 
lovinglife said:
It depends who you are with, my energy company - can’t remember if it’s Eon or EDF are not reducing at source of direct debit but are going to credit your bank account you pay with at £66 per month for 6 months, others are taking off at source
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Cunning Beggars. Tbey get paid by the Government, then they bill you, then they wait a little while for you money to come in, then they pay out. So they have an influx of funds that they can claim interest from all their customers. Freebie time.
 
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