Energy saving tips

[Sunflowers765]

With the horrendous increases in energy we obviously looking at ways to cut back usage. But it is causing some conflict in our house.
I have loads of ideas but DH doesn't want to live like a caveman!
What are people's plans for saving gas and electric? Have you got your family on board?

Have you got a combi boiler (ie heats hot water with no separate tank)? Fitted in the past 15 years? If so turn down the flow temperature (note: this is not the same as turning down your thermostat). Lots of detail on how to do this on this blog post.

It's not a huge saving (c. 8% on the gas bill if your boiler isn't optimised) but it's 30 minutes of a one off job and won't change how comfortable you are. If you can bear to knock a degree off your thermostat and stop heating some rooms then you can cut back your bill even further, but obviously that's going to affect you more.

Pin point where you can make the biggest saving on your usage - for us it was reducing the length of time people were spending in the 10kw electric shower - and zero in on that one thing. Don't waste your nagging capital on turning off energy saving lights - they don't touch the sides in comparison.

How do you work out cost of shower usage please?

It depends what model of show you have, it should say in the manual if not on the unit itself. A 10kw shower will use 1 kWh every 6 minutes. A 6kw will use 1 kWh every 10 minutes.

I'm only ironing things that are absolutely essential, kettle filled only for our needs, trying to reduce cooking times, delaying hoovering a day or two, delaying washing towels and bedding a day or two as well, as wearing some items again if I can. I've shorted my shower time a bit, DH tells me he's having a cold shower but I doubt that'll last. The above might not make that much difference, but anything that can be saved is a plus. We're going to delay putting our heating on, and I certainly won't be giving in during the day and turning back on - we did this before when funds were tight and I wore a dressing gown on top of my clothes which really helped.

Also, looking at other options here. We've reduced use of car - I'm doing food shopping on foot and our days out are local walks taking our lunch with us. I'm being careful what I buy. Haven't raised it with DH, but he's declined coffee and biscuit a couple of times recently and he's on at me to make sure things are used up, which they usually are.

I live 5 minutes walk from goodsize supermarket with another 2 a few minutes walk further on but often drove to that one / another one as could not carry enough stuff.

I bought a wheel along trolley and it's been fantastic. I never need to use car and as I usually go at yellow label time I can fill up on all that without worrying I cannot carry it home.

It also makes it easier to nip to the different ones to get cheaper bits in each as it's all tucked away in my trolley.

Not sure I will
Need to check

Think it is a mixer shower

I’m interested in these responses too. Looking at seriously cutting back on our energy consumption and just cutting back costs in general.

I’m planning to use our air fryer much more than we currently do. I have done a two-weekly meal plan and so far we’re actually sticking to it. Only 6 of the meals require us to turn the oven on so hopefully that will make a difference.

Endure no GCH for as long as possible and wear an oodie/extra layers instead.

Hot water (system boiler, so water tank is separate) on one hour only Wed, Fri and Sun.

Full washing machine loads only, cold wash and half recommended detergent.

Sit in dark as long as possible - lamps only, ceiling lights never on at same time.

Short showers, bathing a rarity.

Kettle on gas hob.

Looking at getting a microwave.

I am going to be more careful about things like ironing and cooking, but for me, the big savers are going to be (planned) massive reductions in the length of time and the temperature of the central heating and use of tumble dryer.

Only boil the kettle for what we need. Use the combi microwave instead of the oven for basically everything. Reduce shower and baths. Only heat one room and a bit of heat in the shower room to stop it going mouldy. We think these things won't impact our standard of living too much so will see what bills look like on that before taking more drastic action. Two children aren't babies anymore thank god so they can bundle up in warm clothes and lots of bedding.

We're going to have the heating on a bit less but really it will be cutting back on other things in order to pay energy bills as we are pretty low users already.

The things which really suck up electricity are ovens, dishwasher, washing machine and tumble drier. Our induction hob is pretty energy hungry too.

Things on 'stand by' are really using f all in the grand scheme of things.

Bought base layers for me and the whole family… £6 for a top and £6 for trousers (adults) from decathlon. Hopefully mean we can avoid heating a bit when WFH during winter.

www.decathlon.co.uk/search?Ntt=Base+layer

Lidl is the cheapest supermarket and if you spend £250 there is a month they give you a £12 voucher.

Sorry they have changed it. It is 10% off the next shop which if you are carefully could be very useful.

Yep, cutting down or stopping using the most power-hungry appliances will make the most difference: not heating rooms you’re not in. Turning down the thermostat to as low as you can bear. Restricting the number of hours the heating is on. Only putting in the kettle the precise amount of water you need. Rest the tumble-dryer or only use if absolutely necessary. If you can choose do laundry at the lowest temperature possible. The heater on my washing-machine broke down so I’ve been doing laundry in cold water for some time now. Nothing bad has happened.

Concerning yourself with switching lights off isn’t going to make much difference compared to the above

I don't even have an iron, hang t-shirts etc up as soon as they come out the wash. Nobody has ever noticed! 15 minute cycle for anything that doesn't really need more than that.

Only use tumble dryer for towels otherwise they go all stiff. I hang bed linen over the dining chairs and use a clothes horse for everything else.

Baths - forget it. Shower all the way.

This is something I only do because I had them left over from a party... but I saved loads of washing up by using paper plates for things like sandwiches and toast. £1 for 100 in some places!

Try to wear clothes that can all be washed together, darks etc. Wear two or three times if possible.

Cook in bulk, big things like chilli bolognaise etc and just heat up when needed.

Don't use lights when not needed.

Only heat essential rooms like bedrooms and lounge, turn off radiator in hallway, bathroom and kitchen.

Battery operated radios last for ages - use these when nobody really wants the telly.

Fuck the dishwasher.

Charge phone in the car whilst driving.

Cut down on tea and coffee or boil enough water for a big flask.

Stock up on hot water bottles, throws and put curtains up behind doors for insulation.

As for saving money cancel the TV license. You can still watch ITV, C4 and C5 just not live. Go with Netflix OR Disney Plus.

I have no children and live alone so I say this without credit really... but most of my friends admit their kids will have their TV on in the background, whilst the Xbox is also on... whilst they are texting on their charging phones. Try to get them to understand although I imagine it's probably easier said than done!

Just bought an air fryer, hoping this will save a bit of money
Planning on using the microwave more.
I'm actually liking the idea of doing less ironing
Trying to hold out before we put the heating on, that is going to be a struggle though
Not having baths often, just showers. I love a hot bath so that will be hard
I work out of the house out and about, taking food out with me, saying that I cannot do without a cup of tea especially when its cold, but will try and stick to Greggs and McDonalds I have the Greggs app
I've stopped paying to have shopping delivered. I dont drive and I already have a shopping trolley so not too bad. Also I'm in and out of Supermarkets for my work so not too bad.
Full loads of washing only
Stopping using the dryer as much as possible. Need to buy an airer, but getting things dry is going to be a nightmare when we haven't got the heating on much
May need to cut down dishwasher usage, but thats a real drag cause of time.

@SwissRole123 I love the paper plates idea, especially when they are so cheap

Going to use the coal fire more, it's tended to be for decoration until now but it does heat our lounge well so teen may have to cope with our company or freeze! Concerned that that DH works at home now however he's quite a warm body and he's usually the last one to turn the heating on anyway!

I have one of these octopus47
Travel mug it's paid for itself many times over as it keeps drinks hot for ages. Will be cheaper than even Gregg's to take your own drink.

Washing my hair over the side of the bath with only cold water - feels amazing and hair so smooth and shiny afterwards. Couldn't tolerate a cold shower but this is totally doable and quite nice!

Heating off as much as possible. I have thermals in the drawer in preparation.

Plastic insulation sheeting over the windows. Need to get it up. Will go to the edges of the frame so should stop the draughts as well.

Have switched from Tesco to Asda (who have recently started delivering here). This week's shop is £40, about a half of what I was paying at Tesco. Quality seems to be on a par.

Rarely use oven as I have a worktop hotplate cooker thing, and I'll try to get more into microwave cooking. Need to sort out freezers so I can turn one off.