Avoid using Gas and Electricity

Gigervamp

Really!? Would that be suitable for a house with no chimney or anything???

I think those need to go on an outside wall. They make a hole in the wall, poke the flue through it, then it goes up towards the roof.

rosekitten

katP its not so bad as your washer
is probably only using around 15p
a wash.Is it on cold fill or does it
take water from your immersion ?
cold fill is much cheaper,its really
easy to change it to cold fill.then
the water going in takes in the
exact amount and heats it to the
right temp for the wash.

To cut it down more is there
anything you can wash on cold
cycles.I do my curtains,woollens,
delicates etc If somethings not
marked.the sheets maybe a higher
temp a couple of times a month.

On my machine I use the shortest
programes and then make sure I spin
out the water as much as poss especially
in the winter months.Not so bad in the
Summer when you can line dry.

I dont know if it will work but you know those
timer switches/plug that you can set lights etc
to come on when you are out would one of those
enable you to set it for your machine to switch
on during the night ?

Olliebeak

KatP wrote: »

........Has anyone got any better ideas for running the washing machine? That don't involve buying a new one (we will but not until this one breaks and we will look for one with a timer function and a 30degree cycle too).

Any other ideas for making the most of our E7 rate?

Thanks

I was also going to suggest a 'timer switch' for the washing machine - would it work for you?

mardatha

Had our meter man this morning, worked out the bill is £85 WHOOHOO ! I got some extra saved and can buy winter shoes now :T

MORPH3US

Hi guys, quick question on saving gas / elec....

Is it better for me to just boil the kettle for hot water to wash up in, or to use the water heating system to give hot water?

In summer we only need hot water to wash up in so I thought it was pointless heating the whole hot water tank, but saying that, that is heated by gas which is cheaper than the elec that heats the kettle....

Look forward to your feedback.

randomer

Does a computer on use much electricity? Similarly although we are encouraged not to leave things on standby are they actually consuming power?
I'd be very grateful if anybody could answer these questions. I have asked loads of people and my supplier but narturally I can't get a straight answer.

I'm doing the big things like hardly touching the drier but could do more.

mardatha

I got told that anything with a light is burning elect, even if it's just a teeny wee red standby one .

Confuzzled

mardatha wrote: »

I got told that anything with a light is burning elect, even if it's just a teeny wee red standby one .

i once read somewhere (probably here!) that a good portion of units on standby consume up to 85% of their original power :eek:

i'm really tight when it comes to that, everything gets switched off at the wall, i don't care if it doesn't have a light, i'd rather not make assumptions!

i even turn off my bt phone/broadband unit every night, i've never used the fancy cordless phone that comes with it either as that would require me to plug it in and keep it going to use the phone, why do that when i have a perfectly operable standard phone that doesn't use any electricity at all?

i did finally get one of those meters that checks individual machines and i am going to try and find out exactly how much it costs to fire up my computer and how much it costs to let it run so i can tell at what point i'm better off shutting it down vs leaving it running.

overall i'd say we do quite well here. it's me and my nearly 8 year old daughter. i do some work from home and we home educate so the computers are on quite a bit with a bit of telly each day. other than that the main electricity hogs are the fridge which i have set at 2.5 and the washing machine which i use about twice a week on the 30 degree wash on the shortest cycle (about 30 minutes i'd say) i rarely use the cooker choosing instead to use the forman grill, slowcooker and microwave for most things. i'd say i only use the hob for approx 2 hours a week if that much.

our current tarrif is nearly 12p/kw and we use approx 1 quid a day in electricity, i'm quite happy with that, now i wish i could do more about the gas bill but the landlord won't get a decent boiler so instead i'm replacing my landlord by moving

Fire_Fox

randomer wrote: »

Does a computer on use much electricity? Similarly although we are encouraged not to leave things on standby are they actually consuming power?
I'd be very grateful if anybody could answer these questions. I have asked loads of people and my supplier but narturally I can't get a straight answer.

I'm doing the big things like hardly touching the drier but could do more.

Big desktops do, as they kick out a lot of heat and heat wastes energy. Newer laptops use very little. Standby is not an issue if you only have one or two items, but if you have a family with all the usual TV/ DVD/ games machines/ kitchen appliances etc. the cost can add up. The actual KWHs have been calculated and posted on the 'Gas and Electricity' board if you run a search

Fire_Fox

Not sure if this has already been mentioned but we have an electric underblanket on our bed which costs pennies to run. This means we didn't heat the flat at all the first two winters, only one room this last cold winter and even it was off during the milder days in January! My electricity bills (no gas) are currently £34 a month, up from £26 last year. :T

On the negative side we have halogen lamps everywhere which eat energy, and I am terrible for leaving lights on. Plan is to get a motion sensor for the hall so I won't have to turn the lights on or off (the switch is in a stupid place).