Switching off at the wall ....

stellagypsy

I'm sure there's been alot of stuff on here before but I'm panicing at the moment as just got a HUGE electric bill - is it really a significant saving to "switch off at the wall"? Has any one got any figures? We have all sorts of things left on standby, someone at work was on about it the other day and I wish I'd taken notice now. Need to significantly reduce this bill for the future so any suggestions considered! (we have gas CH / hot water but electric cooker and electric firre in lounge - 3 bed house, 4 adults living in it - me, OH + 2 grown up kids).

What about videos and sky box? Do they de-tune if I switch them off at the wall?

TIA, Stella xx

lynzpower

I was sceptical too TBH but since Ive started doing it I think Ive saved about 15 per quarter. Difficult to say though as I changed suppliers but from trying to fathom the lecky bill it looks like that.

Quintain_2

Take the electric fire out of the lounge .............

carrottopsuk

I put my computer to sleep quite a lot (its a mac) Does anyone know whether this uses a lot more electricity than if I had switched it off completely?

Thanks

heatherw_01

carrottopsuk wrote:

I put my computer to sleep quite a lot (its a mac) Does anyone know whether this uses a lot more electricity than if I had switched it off completely?

Thanks

Yes, it will be using electricity in sleep mode, and none if you turn it off.

FrugalJo

Our leccy bill came through today and we are in true shock, it's the same as our last quarter and really doesn't make sense as we never leave on standby, dishwasher has been broken for 6 weeks, tumble dryer has not been on have gas CH and fire, 3 bedrooms the usual playstations and computers etc. Admittedly the kids are not good at switching lights off but I really can't see how it can be the same as the last quarter.
Definetly going to query it and look to switch.
Jo

Glitterari

Sorry, I know this sounds thick - but what sort of things should we be turning off at the walls?

ie I know a tv in standby mode will still be using more elec than a tv switched off - but should that be turned off at the wall too? What about DVD players - they often have the time programmed in and would lose that is turned off at the walls.

What about things like elec alarm clocks? If these are turned off at the wall you can't tell the time!

What about energy efficient light bulbs - don't these cost more to turn them off and on? Should we use lower wattage or does that not make a difference

What about heating the house (ours will be elec heated - no gas at all in house) should I be turning the thermostat down by a couple of degrees in winter?

Aggggghhhh

Sorry for being dense but just wondering and will soon be paying for my own elec bills and want to keep them as low as poss!

squeaky

We have a board specialising in the utilities, their use, and costing and all sorts of good stuff.

There are some very knowledgeable posters there:-

Utilities Board (Gas and Electric)

Have a good browse because I suspect that somewhere there'll already be an answer for you

stellagypsy

I had a look on the utilities board and got some snippets of info about this but not exactly what I was looking for ...... OH is now saying that I am becoming anal about this like I did about the phone bill a couple of years ago..... I sorted that out and we pay next to nothing now so I will do it again for the gas and electric.

I can't get rid of the electric fire in the lounge as there is no gas pipe to it and it is fitted in to a marble suite - I haven't had it on much, will watch it's use very carefully.

It seems that it is only coppers a year to leave things on standby so I will still turn them off but will have to look elsewhere for more savings - eg I will use slow cooker more than electric fan oven, put low energy bulbs in all lights where I can fit them ( I have some halogen light fittings with 3 or 4 bulbs in each so I can't use low energy bulbs in them - perhaps I can use low energy lamps instead of the main light in those rooms). I have a veg steamer too, I wonder if that uses less electricity than having the hob on for 2 or 3 pans of veg? I'll turn the thermostat down on the hot water and CH (when I switch it back on) also.

Has anyone got any more tips?

I went on to U-Switch and checked my current supplier - it is competitive for gas but not so for electricity - however, I can't afford to clear the bill in one go so I will have to be economical until it is down then I will move the electric to another supplier.

Thanks for the advice so far, Stella xx

tootles_2

If you have an electric hob then using a steamer you can cook all your veg in one pan on one ring, if they are solid plates switch the plate off at least 5 minutes before the end of cooking time , the heat in the plate will finish cooking the veg. Look at investing in a Romuska from Lakeland, you can cook a full roast dinner in it far cheaper than using a full oven. Only use the oven if you are going to batch cook or cook more than one thing at a time.

We have table lamps in our living room with low watt bulbs in they work just fine with no loss of light, we never have the main light on. You can also get low watt lamps for bedside lights, I have one equivilent to a 25w bulb which is adeqaute for reading in bed. Think I got it from Ikea..... cannot rememebr its so long since I bought it.

jo101_2

Hi

Im not sure how much it is saving me, but we turn most things off at the wall if not in use including the microwave, also by turning the tv and all the gubbins that go with it off at the wall we tend to watch it less as I cant be bothered to switch it all back on so go and do something else.
I have an electric food steamer - does anyone know if this uses less leccy than cooking on the hob???

Thanks

Jo