Please share your gas and electricity saving tips

janninew

Dave101t wrote: »

check the wattage on the back, mine is:
170w=0.17x15p=2.55p/hour to use it.
(im guessing electricity is 15p/KwH)

also, put on your laptop or tv and the heat from them is enough to heat the tv room so turn off the radiator.

I've found that my TV throws out loads of heat if its been on for awhile. I very rarely have the fire on in my lounge when the tv's on. So I reckon it saves me money on gas!

Freddie_Snowbits

Jumpers and beer next to the real fire down dog and duck

Sorted, and now we have moble phones, a quick call to Freda and she picks me up

oldskoo1

Best thing i did was get a energy plug meter from maplins for £7 in a big sale. Yes it costs money but its weirdly interesting (to me anyway).

Anyway, my
42inch Plasma - 260Watts (variable)
26inch LCD - 50watts consistent
Xbox - 120Watts
Valve amp - 300 Watts
Kettle - 800 watts
Laptop plugged in - 20-40 watts
Mobile phone chargers - 4-8 watts
Set top box - 11watts standby / up to 20 watts on.
Internet router - 8 watts.

This is all interesting to know but the key thing i do is turn everything off, completely off at the plug after using it. Its so easy to do. It might take a few weeks to get use to it, but just DO IT!

The watt reading from my valve amp and plasma also reminded me to just turn it off if i go off and do something else. Even just putting it on standby (still uses about 10 watts) does help when you add all these occasions up over 1 month. Also get used to turning off lights when you leave a room. At first its labouring but you just do it naturally eventually.

When i go to bed the only thing turned on is the fridge, the phones and the house alarm. I even turn the cooker off at the wall. It feels strangely good to go to sleep with nothing on.

Anyway for gas. Drafts! Get all those dodgy doors sealed up. We already had UPVC DG and wall insulation and i added well over the recommended thickness of insulation layed with cross hatching. The lack of drafts mean the thermostat is effected less. Put your gas boiler on max so it heats up QUICK and turns off sooner. I also leave my heating on 24/7 on low and turn up to boost. Last year it was on 18ish all day every day. This year now our little one is a bit older its on 16 and then we turn it up to 18 in the evening. Keeps the house at a v.nice / comfortable temp. We also have a gas cooker and heat our water to 50dC for 20mins in a morning and 30mins in evening which provides more than enough v.hot water for 4 of us. We have that on timed obviously.

I also spent some time balancing the rads last year and that really producing great even heat. Make sure you air your system too. Keep the windows closed too.

So far we are doing fine. Just worked out, i'm using 70p of gas a day (on my rate). And our elec is similar. Usually between £19 and £26 a month.

dawnie1972

Hi
This is my first winter in my new house, its a small old cottage, no double glazing, old wooden doors that don't fit flush to the wall, apparently i've been told i don't have cavity walls either. You turn the tap on and in a few seconds have hot water you don't have to heat the water in the tank first. My gas over the summer has been very very low (i have gas central heating and gas cooker). What i'd like to know is, would it be better to leave the heating on 24/7 on low (if so what temp) or just have it on when i need it - the walls of the house get very very cold. I work and am out all day and am asthmatic so don't like heat during the night.

KimYeovil

dawnie1972 wrote: »

What i'd like to know is, would it be better to leave the heating on 24/7 on low (if so what temp) or just have it on when i need it - the walls of the house get very very cold. I work and am out all day and am asthmatic so don't like heat during the night.

You're out during the day. You want it off overnight. You want to know whether it would be better to put it on for the three to five hours in the evenings when you need it or leave it on twenty-four hours per day where at least fifteen of them on a weekday are unwanted. Do you really need to ask the question?

dawnie1972

KimYeovil wrote: »

You're out during the day. You want it off overnight. You want to know whether it would be better to put it on for the three to five hours in the evenings when you need it or leave it on twenty-four hours per day where at least fifteen of them on a weekday are unwanted. Do you really need to ask the question?

Err YES!!! Because i was told that if i leave it off, it will use up more gas trying to warm the bricks etc to get to the required temperature!!!

baby_frogmella

Foggy wrote: »

... but I can see the difference a dishwasher going through a 65C cycle compared to a 35C quick wash actually makes. Yet the pots look just as clean but maybe not as dry. In fact while I'm on the subject why does a dishwasher have to dry anyway? Can't it just end after the rinse and let me dry them manually after most of the wet has dripped off?
.

Absolutely spot on! My Miele dishwasher (G1143SC) uses about 1.3 kw on a standard sensor wash and this drops to 1 kw on the energy saving wash. However i have now started to use the 40c quick wash program (only uses 0.7 kw) which washes just as well as the standard & energy saving programs but doesn't dry dishes...not a problem as i leave the door open at end of program and let the dishes drip dry, if they're still wet/damp a few hours later, i'll give them a quick wipe

Wickedkitten

dawnie1972 wrote: »

Err YES!!! Because i was told that if i leave it off, it will use up more gas trying to warm the bricks etc to get to the required temperature!!!

It won't use more gas than leaving it running all the time will.

ccvictim

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1963421

katieoliva

dawnie1972 wrote: »

Err YES!!! Because i was told that if i leave it off, it will use up more gas trying to warm the bricks etc to get to the required temperature!!!

I was also advised by many people to leave my heating on low during the day to 'keep the bricks warm' and then turn it up when I am in the house. I live in a modern house but the only way to tell what works is to try different methods. For one week I tried their advice and watched the meter and then I tried turning on on the heating when I actually need and compared the units used. The meter never lies! lol! Anyway for me it was a lot cheaper to turn on the heating when I actually need it but my house does heat up quicker than an old house would. I wouldn't fancy freezing while I waited hours for my house to heat up. So my advice is to test out the different theories for your own peace of mind. Hope this helps