Hacks to reduce energy costs

[MrsA2]

I live in a large Victorian 4 bed house that has stone walls, wooden floorboards and high ceilings, no cavity walls, old fashioned sash windows etc

Economically, moving to a smaller more energy efficient property, or taking in lodgers seems sensible. Or installing solar panels
But I do realise there may well be emotional reasons why you aren't ready for that yet

 

[Oldvatr]

Not really a viable solution when you take into account the solicitors fees, the conveyancing charges, the estate agents fees, and stamp duty, then this will outweight the savings especially since the high energy costs will be moving with me. I will wait to see what the new UKGOV does for us in terms of reprise. After all if they do too little, then there will be a lot of vacant properties on the market, and very few buyers anyway. And with mortgage rates going skyward, not many will have the ability to raise the capital to buy this property. Emotions don't come into it. Hard nosed cash rules.

 

[lovinglife]

many towns/villages are opening “warm hubs” a place usually a community centre or church where you can go to chat, get refreshments and keep warm through the day. Check to see if there is one in your area. I don’t know much about them I think they’ve been going a few years here and there but many more councils are looking into the idea

 

[Oldvatr]

many towns/villages are opening “warm hubs” a place usually a community centre or church where you can go to chat, get refreshments and keep warm through the day. Check to see if there is one in your area. I don’t know much about them I think they’ve been going a few years here and there but many more councils are looking into the idea

Yes we have one in the local shopping centre. They are an altermative to Citizens Advice.

 

[Goonergal]

I have have very simple air fryer from Lidl. Was only £29.99. Perfect for 1 or 2 people. Who needs 2.5 kg of chips at one time?

No-one, but you might need 2.5kg meat and that cooks fabulously in the versions with shelves/rotisserie function - and that’s many cuts of meat, not just chicken. Pork crackling to die for.

 

[Oldvatr]

Does crackling to die for survive a couple of months in the freezer? and the subsequent thawing and warming cycle after? Anyway, I have false teeth so crackling is not advised for me. It could end up being expensive, and not acheiving the aim of my OP. Batch cooking suits some, but I find I lose track of what was done when and with what The by whom is usually pretty obvious in my household (any Cluedo afficionados here?). I still have turkey left over from Xmas, and I baulk at using it now. Tried some on the cat and he say it fails the sniff test. But maybe I should have thawed it first.

Batch cooking is a valid way of cutting down energy costs (but not in a microwave since portion size affects time duration and thoroughness of cooking).

 

[Goonergal]

Does crackling to die for survive a couple of months in the freezer? and the subsequent thawing and warming cycle after?

No idea. It never survives more than a few minutes before being eaten.

 

[Oldvatr]

When I lived in Germany, there was a renowned take away chicken emporium in our town in the days before MaccyD, and they used a gas blowtorch to give the finishing touches to the crispy chicken wings etc. this same hack was used by a Michelin chef for his creme brulee and crackling. So maybe I could adopt this technique for my microwave cooking efforts. It would be cheaper than running an airfryer. I wonder if it crisps lettuce? Certainly sees off blowflies and aphids.

 

[Hopeful34]

Does crackling to die for survive a couple of months in the freezer? and the subsequent thawing and warming cycle after? Anyway, I have false teeth so crackling is not advised for me. It could end up being expensive, and not acheiving the aim of my OP. Batch cooking suits some, but I find I lose track of what was done when and with what The by whom is usually pretty obvious in my household (any Cluedo afficionados here?). I still have turkey left over from Xmas, and I baulk at using it now. Tried some on the cat and he say it fails the sniff test. But maybe I should have thawed it first.

Batch cooking is a valid way of cutting down energy costs (but not in a microwave since portion size affects time duration and thoroughness of cooking).

I could be wrong, but I'd have thought that if you did 3 different dishes in the oven at the same time, say mince/veg, pork/veg, chicken in some format, and then froze them individually (labelled saying what it contains and date cooked), defrost and then just heat for a very short time in the microwave this would be cheaper.

It takes seconds to write a label and sellotape it on the outside of reusable plastic freezer boxes, so you never forget when it was cooked, and what it contains.

 

[Oldvatr]

One essential hack to add for anyone trying my microwave hack. Steaming and boiling water in a microwave creates steam and water vapour in the cavity. Leave the door ajar when you leave to help it dry out else the cooker will suffer premature demise from rust.

I solved the problem over the eggs. Now I put the mushrooms with butter in a microwave pot, then I cook for 2 mins, then I break an egg into the same pot and stir it in, Cook for 1.5 mins and serve. There is no sticky egg to scrape off the defunct non stick frypan- it slides out of the cookpot in one lump with no mess like a poached egg. Simples. And saves time and energy without compromising my nutrient intake.

Now that my new gas boiler is in the upstairs toilet and is balanced flue, I can block off the airbricks in the living room where the old boiler used to be,

Another new hack that applies specifically to me and possibly unique to me but shows how pedantic I can get. I used to heat the kettle in the morning for my first coffee of the day,and also to provide warm water to wash the glue off my dentures. I have adapted to heating a cup of water for the coffee in the morning, but it suddenly struck me that the pot I keep my toothbrush paraphanalia in is an old microwave pot so the penny finally dropped. Stop adding heated water to warm up the cleaning water when 30 secs in microwave does the job nicely. The kettle is now redundant.

I am still a long way away from solving my energy crisis. but making inroads. My spreadsheet is showing around £300 a year savings are possible, which will escalate to £500+ next month

 

[Oldvatr]

I could be wrong, but I'd have thought that if you did 3 different dishes in the oven at the same time, say mince/veg, pork/veg, chicken in some format, and then froze them individually (labelled saying what it contains and date cooked), defrost and then just heat for a very short time in the microwave this would be cheaper.

It takes seconds to write a label and sellotape it on the outside of reusable plastic freezer boxes, so you never forget when it was cooked, and what it contains.

We tried this with pots of soup that I batch cooked for my wife who had eating difficulties. The sellotape did not stick well to the polythene containers, and kept falling off when rummaging through the collection and when handling. We ended up using permanent marker pens on the plastic but it was not too successful especially if frosted over. we tried a number system but kept misplacing the crib sheet that told us what the numbers meant. Our dustbin has a microchip embedded in it, and the binmen scan with a rfid reader to keep track of collections. This is so the council can introduce pay as you go collections in the future.

 

[AndBreathe]

We tried this with pots of soup that I batch cooked for my wife who had eating difficulties. The sellotape did not stick well to the polythene containers, and kept falling off when rummaging through the collection and when handling. We ended up using permanent marker pens on the plastic but it was not too successful especially if frosted over. we tried a number system but kept misplacing the crib sheet that told us what the numbers meant. Our dustbin has a microchip embedded in it, and the binmen scan with a rfid reader to keep track of collections. This is so the council can introduce pay as you go collections in the future.

We use sticky labels. Just the cheapest from the pound shop.

In terms of preserving moist cooked meats, a vacuum sealer is excellent. Gammon lasts a long time,vac packed. It can also be very useful for saving space in the freezer as one isn't freezing the space in containers.

There are lots of hacks to create brisk/block shaped bags for efficient stacking.

 

[Goonergal]

We tried this with pots of soup that I batch cooked for my wife who had eating difficulties. The sellotape did not stick well to the polythene containers, and kept falling off when rummaging through the collection and when handling. We ended up using permanent marker pens on the plastic but it was not too successful especially if frosted over. we tried a number system but kept misplacing the crib sheet that told us what the numbers meant. Our dustbin has a microchip embedded in it, and the binmen scan with a rfid reader to keep track of collections. This is so the council can introduce pay as you go collections in the future.

I use masking tape which seems to stick well enough and several rolls of it for £1 at Poundland.

 

[lovinglife]

in my dads last couple of years in his own home, by himself with blindness and early dementia I had to batch cook and put his meals in the freezer with big white stickers so I could write really big telling what was in them, how long to cook it in the microwave and to make sure it was hot. I used reusable plastic containers, large white stickers from Rymans and a freezer pen. Worked a great, sometimes too well as I used to have to scrub the stickers off to reuse the containers in case it confused him lol

 

[Oldvatr]

The idea of using a vacuum sealer (sous vide sealer) is of interest, and low wattage, but high priced. I did find one that may be suitable. However, I currently use freezer bags rather than containers since most of what I freeze has low liquid content. So space saving is probably not high on my priority list at the moment.

The self stick labels can be good, but modern ones seem to be weaker then the ones I remember using years ago. Most labels in our local shop seem to be lick and stick variety.

Maybe this winter I will start making more stews and soups, so I have some ideas here that may help. Thank you.

PS I find masking tape difficult to write on. Are you using it just to stick a paper label? It is quite sticky so I can see it helping.

 

[Goonergal]

PS I find masking tape difficult to write on. Are you using it just to stick a paper label? It is quite sticky so I can see it helping.

I stick it on vac packed items (plastic) or plastic bags that don’t lend themselves to direct writing.

 

[AloeSvea]

I hope you don't mind a foreigner (ie non-Brit) coming in here and making a comment. I started reading this thread because I have just gone through a winter and had to do some 'hacks' to keep my power bills as low as I could, so was interested what you all had to say on the subject. (I think the main hack is really - going colder than is comfortable. Which is sad.) Then I got to the bit about 'warmth banks' and felt very alarmed. So this morning I went onto youtube and caught up with the British energy crisis, and my alarm bells went to full-strength for you all. (And panic that a government here might follow suit...) (we do that sometimes). If businesses are talking about closing down, and hospitals and schools, because of these new price hikes, and more being promised to follow - I can't see how this is sustainable for your country. Especially when the businesses include care centres. And then - talking about the cost of labels for the freezer - well. On the outside looking in, I can't see how this situation can go on. Can it?

 

[Goonergal]

I can't see how this situation can go on. Can it?

Quite agree. It’s ludicrous. And the fact is even if one switched power off completely, the standing charges have risen to the extent that you’d still be paying way more than a few months ago. Those are supposedly paying the costs of the failed energy companies.

 

[AndBreathe]

Last night, after a bit of clickery (you know the sort where you start googling something and before you know it you are an expert in dinosaur droppings). Anyway, the gob smacker of yesterday evening was the costs of running a dehumidifier versus tumble dryer. The reductions in cost are such that anyone tumbling regularly would recoup the purchase costs of a decent appliance in short order.

We are fortunate to have only ever run our tumble dryer about twice - ever, between line drying and using a spare room with a rack.

If only I could find the link, but actually Googling this morning there are plenty articles out there.

 

[Oldvatr]

Last night, after a bit of clickery (you know the sort where you start googling something and before you know it you are an expert in dinosaur droppings). Anyway, the gob smacker of yesterday evening was the costs of running a dehumidifier versus tumble dryer. The reductions in cost are such that anyone tumbling regularly would recoup the purchase costs of a decent appliance in short order.

We are fortunate to have only ever run our tumble dryer about twice - ever, between line drying and using a spare room with a rack.

If only I could find the link, but actually Googling this morning there are plenty articles out there.

<<< Useful button >>> Are you talking about condensing driers here? They are more efficient., but still take energy in large amounts. I use an electric drying rack that is down in the tens of watts and just creates a convection airflow past the clothes and gently dries them. It is not the fastest but it is quite cheap to run. <<< Belly button fot the description of your browsing habit >>>

Edit to add: drying rack is like a 60 watt lightbulb under a normal drying rack