It really is easy to save gas!

Andy_Hamilton · 4 August 2008 at 10:39PM

I'm really on top of my energy use and thought to myself, "how can I save more money without resorting to not washing etc".

I have invested in products to save water/gas and I have seen the benefits directly.
Things I have done:

Fit a boiler jacket - Even though the boiler is only 1 year old the cupboard is getting warmed up not just the water. Total cost £7.50 and 20 minutes.
Adjusted the boiler times so it warms up at 6-7am (timer and tank thermostat). 2 of us have hot showers then the boiler does not dissipate heat all day. It comes on at 6pm for 1 hour for evening use. Total cost £0 and 5 minutes.
Fitted Ecocamel aerated shower head. This saves 30% of water going through the shower so saves losing hot water down the drain, It's 95% as good as previous normal showerhead. Total cost £27 and 2 minutes.
Fitted Spraymagic tap inserts. Saves water when just washing hands etc but works like normal when turned on further. Total cost £25 and 1 hour (bit more of a pain in the behind than I thought it would be but worth it!)
I have filled a water bottle and stuck it in the cistern until Northumbrian water send out the sava a flush things.

So that is a £59.50 investment, when will i break even?
Not including the water saved (probably 10% in my house)
I'm now saving 4.3KW per day just on gas.
That's 1569Kw per year, at my rate of 4.89p per KW

Total yearly saving = £76.75 :j

Over 5 years im saving £324 for a £60
I know people can find it hard to pull out £60 upfront but the payback time is so small it's worth doing it. I just wish I done it sooner!

[Deleted User] · 5 August 2008 at 8:12AM

Andy, are the tap inserts easy to fit or do you need a plumbing degree?

DGJsaver · 5 August 2008 at 9:01AM

also , has anyone got tips on how to save gas when you have a combi boiler ?

Andy_Hamilton · 5 August 2008 at 9:10AM

To remove the orginal tap inserts were a pain, If I had looked at it with a mirror I would have found that I could put a screw through the hole in the middle and pull, the second tap was dead easy. To fit the new insert you simply fit an o-ring and screw it in and it should go tight. My bath taps kept pushing the new inserts out so I put a little bit of silicon (bath sealer) around the o-ring. No more problems.
For the little effort i'm happy with the result but I don't know if I would put them on the bath again, for £10 these taps will normally be turned on full or off.
To be honest, if you can change a fuse in a plug you can fit these.

Andy_Hamilton · 5 August 2008 at 9:14AM

DGJsaver wrote: »

also , has anyone got tips on how to save gas when you have a combi boiler ?

As above- minus the boiler jacket Probably save you 15% of your water heating bill. It may even save you more by turning on the tap magic full will kick in the boiler then before your finished turn the tap down so the boiler turns off but still flows the hot water.

Ken68 · 5 August 2008 at 10:42AM

Good one Andy.

This site is useful.

http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/frugal.htm

Paul_J · 5 August 2008 at 10:59AM

DGJsaver wrote: »

also , has anyone got tips on how to save gas when you have a combi boiler ?

Wash hands using cold water instead of hot/warm.

For conventional systems though, I set the water to come on only for 20 mins in the morning and same again in the evening. Andy, your 1 hour setting twice a day seems alot. Maybe you'll be able to reduce that time now that you have bought yourself a nice new 'jacket'!

Andy_Hamilton · 5 August 2008 at 12:15PM

Thanks for the link, I'm now looking for a chest freezer to convert to a fridge. This would be a ideal solution as it would make my kitchen look bigger. Working in electronics it should be very easy and should save me around £100 per year in electricity.

I did look into solar heating but the payback time is just too great when you campare it to my condensing indirect combi boiler.
I have my hot water on for 1 hour intervals as the tank has a thermostat (set slightly lower than recommended) cuts the boiler gas off.

Next time I'm up at 6am, i'll see how long it actually takes to warm the water and adjust accordingly. It's probably not wasting much at all as the only real heat loss is the tank and lagged pipework.

1carminestocky · 5 August 2008 at 6:27PM

Excellent thread! Where did you get the boiler jacket from, Andy? TIA!

Andy_Hamilton · 5 August 2008 at 6:48PM

B&Q were selling them off when I was in there (not many people lagg there boilers in the summer) It is very easy and comes as 4 strips not one big jacket. You tie a knot on the top the tie the insulation around the boiler.

I seen the same product in my local tesco megastore. Still under £10.

Andy_Hamilton · 16 August 2008 at 10:49PM

Just a quick update.
I have totally missed judged how much energy and water I'm saving.
My electricity has not gone down - not suprised as I've not changed anything.
My gas is consistantly 23% down against not doing anything (should work out as £76 saved this year)

My water usage has gone down by 59%!!
This works out as a saving of £164!!

Total saving £240 for this next year

I really can't believe the figures myself but I'm s**t hot for reading and recording my usage and the figures are for a full month with the same 2 people living here.

I'm grinning from ear to ear whilst kicking myself for not doing it sooner:rolleyes:

It really is easy to save gas!

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