Why did I bother?

clothahump

I hope this might be useful to some of you, here's how I reduced my monthly electricity bill by £95.

For the last ten years I have been paying through the teeth for electricity, my monthly direct debit was £160 and I knew I had to do something, various suggestions have been made as to why our usage was so high, after all there is just the two of us in a small cottage.
The main culprit for excessive usage was the night storage heaters and in general the economy 7 system, this had to be dealt with but I was not happy switching as I was assured by Atlantic I would have to have the meter changed if I wanted to lose the economy 7 which would cost me money, they also assured me that removing the heaters and economy would not save me much money, how wrong could they be.
On a trip to Tesco back in October 2009 I was accosted by a salesman for E.ON, thinking it was a waste of time I said "No Thank You" and continued with my shopping, as I was leaving I decided to have a chat with the man, he told me I could keep the meters exactly as they were and just supply two meter readings, this was just what I wanted to hear so signed up from home on the Net, the switch was smooth and easy.
So what have I saved in the last 3 months? our monthly bill has dropped from £160 to £65, this all because of a total rethink on heating the cottage.
I purchased a new chainsaw for £200, a new woodburner for £250, a flat panel heater for the bathroom for £25, this set on 1 just to keep the frost off and increased when we have a bath, and an electric blanket for £25.
The wood for the burner has cost me a small amount for diesel for the Discovery and two stroke for the saw, living in the country means all I do is keep my eyes open for wood on the side of the road, we have survived without the storage heaters and overall the cottage has been warmer.
I realise if you live in town or city you will find this hard to achieve but it is well worth looking at alternatives.

Premier_2

clothahump wrote: »

...all I do is keep my eyes open for wood on the side of the road, ...

You can't just go taking other peoples wood - it all belongs to someone.

Taking it without permission is theft.

greyster

Premier wrote: »

You can't just go taking other peoples wood - it all belongs to someone.

Taking it without permission is theft.

if a peacock lays an egg in your garden, whos egg is it? yours or the peacocks?

clothahump

Premier wrote: »

You can't just go taking other peoples wood - it all belongs to someone.

Taking it without permission is theft.

So probably best to leave it where it is so it can just rot or get tangled up with passing traffic, you are obviously rich enough not to have to do such things just to survive.
Oh to be Rich like yourself.

Viper_7

How large was the property?

I have E7, and the QUARTERLY bill is only around £250 for a 3-bedroomed property.
Have no gas, so everything is electric.

and yes, you can't just take wood from the road side, or from wooded areas even if it has fallen to the ground. You should obtain permission.
Also have to be careful what wood you burn. sure it's carbon neutral (apart from collecting it in a vehicle), but burning wood can give off many dangerous byproducts.

Great you have found an alternative, but at what price? Imagine if we all started burning wood?

If you were using so much for heating, I'd be checking out the insulation first

Viper_7

greyster wrote: »

if a peacock lays an egg in your garden, whos egg is it? yours or the peacocks?

The peacocks
Like overhanging btranches that fall in your garden - they belong to the neighbour.

you can cut back any overhang - but you must give them back!

clothahump

Would one of the Mods please remove this, I never expected so many negative comments.
Last time I bother looking on this website.

Viper_7

Negative or constructive that you don't agree with?!

Premier_2

clothahump wrote: »

So probably best to leave it where it is so it can just rot or get tangled up with passing traffic, you are obviously rich enough not to have to do such things just to survive.
Oh to be Rich like yourself.

I'm not rich, but there are plenty of good moneysaving tips available on this site without people having to resort to theft.

clothahump

You accusing me of Theft now, best you phone the Police.

Premier_2

greyster wrote: »

if a peacock lays an egg in your garden, whos egg is it? yours or the peacocks?

I'm not quite sure what this comment has to do with gas and electricity, or indeed the theft of wood, but I'd be most surprised if any peacock were to lay an egg