Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Cost of living

Stretching your budget? Share tips and advice to discuss budgeting and energy saving here. For the latest deals and discounts, sign up for Mumsnet Moneysaver emails.

Original poster

Help! Where can we save electricity

159 replies

ilkleymoorbartat · 03/10/2022 21:51

Two adults and two children, adults at home all day working on computers. We're using around 20kw per day of electricity which seems a lot compared to others. I'm fastidious about switching off lights. We're trying not to use the tumble dryer. Dishwasher goes on once a day and a load of washing probably 4 x week.

I didn't think switching off all plug sockets made a difference so I don't do that.

We have a separate water tank that goes on for an hour twice a day.

OP posts:
Original poster
ilkleymoorbartat · 03/10/2022 22:39

Ok just googled. We have a Valliant ecotech boiler which says it's a combo boiler. And then a JAB unvented cylinder, which now I'm thinking isn't actually an immersion heater? This energy crisis has made me realise how bloody ignorant I've been about everything.

OP posts:
ditalini · 03/10/2022 22:43

Why are you using electricity to heat your water when you have gas central heating? Surely you should be using your gas boiler?

We're an all-electric household (2 adults, 2 children 3 bed flat) and are using about 15 units per day at the moment (no heating on). We don't have a tumble dryer or a dishwasher but probably do more loads of washing than you.

It's more like 30 units per day when the heating comes on (storage).

Heating and hot water are the vast bulk of our usage. Getting rid of the dryer saved about 5%.

FfayeN · 03/10/2022 22:44

Our water goes on for 20 mins once a day (around 4:30am). That does us for a couple of washing up loads and at least 2 showers. Reduce it and if you find you're running out of hot water or it's not got enough gradually increase until you use the minimum amount of time heating for what you need. I also bill cook meals, saves on the electricity later in the week as you're then just hearing them through x

ditalini · 03/10/2022 22:45

If you're not in fact using electricity to heat water then that definitely bears investigating as it does seem crazy high.

Original poster
ilkleymoorbartat · 03/10/2022 22:45

I don't know if I am actually using electricity. I reloaded this thread is showing me up to bea TOTAL idiot, but prior to this I just had the boiler on timed and didn't really think about how it was working (a privileged position I realise). But now we can't afford our ever increasing bills so I'm trying to cut down by working out where the usage is going.

OP posts:
NewBootsAndRanty · 03/10/2022 22:45

ilkleymoorbartat · 03/10/2022 21:56

I need to check about whether they're energy saving. We don't have light fittings with lids of bulbs, but the kitchen has spotlights. I thought they were quite low energy though (the small ones with pin type fixtures).

Halogen bulbs?
I think they're a lot more expensive to run than LED energy savong bulbs.

Ladymuck · 03/10/2022 22:49

Your unvented cylinder Will have two elements, one on a timer and then a second to boost. Do you ever use the 2nd boost switch?

a single element is 3KW per hour, so 2 x 1 hour is 6KW per day. I guess you would know if you had the boost switch on. Do you all bathe morning and evening (if you need an hour in the evening?). It will be costing just over a £1 per hour.

Honeyroar · 03/10/2022 22:50

I have noticed a difference when we don’t use the dishwasher

Original poster
ilkleymoorbartat · 03/10/2022 22:51

Thanks so much @Ladymuck
We don't ever use the boost. Kids shower in evenjng, me and partner in the morning or during the day.

OP posts:
Original poster
ilkleymoorbartat · 03/10/2022 22:52

Just checked bulbs and they're LED

OP posts:
TabithaTittlemouse · 03/10/2022 22:55

Honeyroar · 03/10/2022 22:50

I have noticed a difference when we don’t use the dishwasher

I’m beginning to think that we need to stop using our dishwasher. I will miss it.

Clovacloud · 03/10/2022 22:55

Ancient Fridge Freezers can cost a fortune to run. We measured my parents old one and it was costing over £35 a month to run, and that was at the old rate. We bought them a new one and their bills have dropped significantly.

Games consoles and Sky Boxes plugged in 24/7 are also expensive. Does your microwave need to be on when it’s not being used? Make sure all your lightbulbs are LED’s. Dead cheap to change over, just buy them in bulk from Wilco or Amazon.

Ladymuck · 03/10/2022 22:56

Did you work out the size of your cylinder? That will help work out how long you need to heat it for. It will be measured in litres eg 300l.

HerkyBaby · 03/10/2022 23:01

Re the hot water. Look at the control panel for the central heating is there a section for hot water ? If so use that to set times for heating up hot water as this will obviate the need to use immersion heater for hot water tank.

Original poster
ilkleymoorbartat · 03/10/2022 23:05

@Ladymuck thank you I'll look at that tomorrow

@HerkyBaby I'll check that too. We have a serrated thermostat downstairs for the heating, and one next to the boiler for the water.

OP posts:
PriamFarrl · 03/10/2022 23:06

What is heating the water for the shower? If that’s not coming from the immersion tank then do you need that on at all.

Think about it. Other than the shower when do you need instant hot water? To wash up, then boil the kettle. If you are washing your hands then it’s almost never running long enough to get hot. Other than that when do you really need hot water? The dishwasher and washing machine will fill from cold.

caffelattetogo · 03/10/2022 23:11

What's your electric water heater for? Can you not use your gas combo boiler to heat water?

summergone · 03/10/2022 23:11

Are you using your oven every day ?

Original poster
ilkleymoorbartat · 03/10/2022 23:13

I'm going to call our plumber tomorrow to get the answer to some of these questions. You've all been so helpful! Thank you so much. I'll update just in case it's helpful for anyone else.

OP posts:
Original poster
ilkleymoorbartat · 03/10/2022 23:13

@summergone most days yes.

OP posts:
ShipwreckSunset · 03/10/2022 23:49

I couldn’t work out what was causing our high electric billls and discovered there was an electric immersion heater turned on that we didn’t realise. Hate to see how much that was costing next month!

I’m also tempted to get a plug to understand how much our 12 year old American fridge freezer is costing…

ShipwreckSunset · 03/10/2022 23:51

@Ladymuck i never know how long we should have hot water on for, and completely distorted due to the electric immersion that we didn’t realise was heating water.. how long would you estimate for a 250L tank which is apparently well insulated? 1hr a day? We never ran out of hot water but I now realise that was due to the bloody immersion heater!

ApolloandDaphne · 04/10/2022 03:39

If you have a combo boiler I can't see why you would need an immersion heater too. Good idea to check this out.

BarbaraofSeville · 04/10/2022 04:26

Dishwashers aren't necessarily expensive to run if they're full and save a huge amount of time and water. Ours uses 0.7 kWh on the eco cycle.

As it happens I'm just checking the consumption of our 20+ YO fridge freezer and it looks like about 2 kWh per day or over 700 per year.

The best selling one on ao.com is 242 per year so just over a third of the cost. At 35 p a unit, that's about £170 per year saving so a new one will pay for itself within about 3 years.

That's the kick up the arse I need to run down the freezer and buy a new one, and will now aim to do that this year.

sashh · 04/10/2022 05:09

ilkleymoorbartat · 03/10/2022 22:18

This is a really daft question, but I'm guessing we need to have the immersion heater on to have hot wateee.

That depends, do you have central heating? If you have gas heating it's usually cheaper to use that.

My landlord has just changed my boiler to a combi, so the water is only heated when I run a tap.

Is your water tank well insulated? It's not just about getting the water hot but a well insulated tank will keep it warm for longer.

If you have some spare cash an electric shower is normally cheaper to run, but obviously you need to buy and fit one.

Do turn the plugs off at the sockets, lots of things use as much power on stand by as they do when working.

Do you boil the kettle every time you make tea? Do you make it in a cup/mug?

Get a proper old fashioned tea pot and a tea cozy and make a pot of tea. If you boil a full kettle put the left over water into a flask and use that.

Swipe left for the next trending thread