Avoid using GAS and ELECTRIC !

sammy_kaye18

Anyway the update on the house im hoping to move into's situation is that we went and saw it and its perfect!! Hopefully we will be moving in at the end of October. It has a small cosy living room, a big kitchen big enough for my dining table, a good size main bedroom and a small box room sized room for Ben, and the garden is ENORMOUS!!!!!

Only downside is there is a gas fire in the living room and a radiator which will more than likely have to be blocked off by a sofa because the room is that small.(which in retrospect is a good thing as it will be less to heat so the heat mgiht transfer through to kitchen or staircase!)
The kitchen is huge and the windows downstairs are really drafty. Cant remember seeing a radiator here either.
The bedrooms upstairs (there is a radiator in our room under the window i think) and in what will be bens room i dont remember seeing a radiator because it may have been covered by the bed.(its the only place for the bed to go) so i wont be able to have bens radiator on and it has a fairly big window in there too.
Also theres a big window in the hallway aswell. So im on off on looking at different ways to save my money and electric because we are going to be moving in the middle - end of October when it is gonna be getting colder.

Ive got a rough idea of how many money saver bulbs ill need etc and im going to get some window sealant too to do the windows with just need to check bulbs will fit before i buy them. found rolls of thermal liner for curtains but will need to buy new curtains i think as not sure if the old ones are beign left or not. Need to put new lino down in kitchen too as its scruffy as hell. (thank you poundland tiles - they will do for now). Also im considering keeping poochy dog in th ekitchen (hes a short haired Jack Russell) any ideas if i can buy him a jumper and if he'll be warm enoguh in there - he has a plastic bed which has a fleece blanket curled up in it - just dont want him freezing though.

Oh well im off to look for more money saving things

x x x x x x x x x x x x x

mirry

sammy kaye the house sounds lovely (bet you cant wait).

Ive been to E.A today and picked up a pack of 3 thermal fluffy socks for £2.50 it says they are bed socks but I will wear them as slippers.
Also picked up some thermal vests for my duaghter at £2 each and thermal fluffly socks for a £1.

Phoned British Gas and got my gas and electric reduced from £120 a month to £70 a month !!! what really annoyed me was in the previous estimate they included a £5 insurance fee for my electric wires ???? It didnt say it on the estimate but the girl on the phone told me,,,I was so annoyed and said if I wanted insurance I would ask for it thank you!

So if your with British gas and get a estimate make sure they havent chucked insurance on it without your say so.

Ruby_Pudding

We moved into this house 3 years ago - we'd been renting an idyllic little thatched cottage for 3 years before which was picture box but had no heating except a tiny wood burning stove. I have literally never been so cold as I was in that cottage over the three winters we were there so when we bought a house with central heating we went a bit mad with it Anyway, last year Powergen (cheapest provider I found) started to charge us £74 per month for gas and £30 for electric. Even though I loathe being cold even I realised we had to do something about the amount it was costing us. Even with the monthly direct debits going out at those amounts we still owed approx £90 for gas and £30 for electric according to our statements.

So, around Jan this year I made a big effort to control the amount of time the heating and fire were on and also started to turn off lights, radios etc when we weren't even in the room (DH likes to keep the radio on for the cats during the day.......:o) I started to wear extra layers and followed a lot of the great tips already mentioned in this thread. DH still not really convinced it would make a difference and continued to have fire on full blast whilst wearing shorts!!!

Anyway, last week - for the first time ever - I actually got on my hands and knees and read both my gas and electric meters and typed the new amounts into my Powergen online account. I thought nothing of it but have just been back on the site to check something and to my utter amazement my account has now been updated to show the following:

Gas - £288 in credit :T
Electric - £110 in credit :T

I cannot believe all the effort has paid off! The penny has finally dropped with DH too who now understands what all the nagging was for and told ME off last night for not switching the bedroom light off when I came downstairs :rolleyes:

I know we are coming into winter but if we can carry on with our MSE approach to energy we may have a nice little lump sum due from Powergen in the spring for all our overpayments.

Right, might just put a couple of hours aside this afternoon to re-read this thread from the start to see if I can pick up any other tips............:D

EagerLearner

Well done Ruby Pudding! :T

We can only aspire to achieve the same thing - we're currently paying a set £25 for gas and £25 for electric each month.

I think our next bill will be in December, so hopefully we will be in lovely credit too!

So we pay £50 for 2 people in a 1 bedroom flat - how does this compare with any other couples in 1 bedroom flats?

EagerLearner

Also, does using an uplighter in our living room use less electrical units compared to using the main living room light?

furrypig

We need to have our boiler replaced (booked in for October 16th) now the pilot light has gone off on the old one and I don't think we can get it back on again! So we are leaving the boiler off and just using immersion fro bath/shower.... just hope the weather doesn't suddenley get really cold!!

adouglasmhor

_starlite wrote:

Damn that's bad!

Annoyingly the socket in our shared hall runs from our supply, so we end up paying for our neighbours crazy obsession of hoovering it thoroughly every day..

zzzLazyDaisy wrote:

Could you flick the fuse on that circuit while you are out,or would that defrost your freezer?? I used to live in a maisonette and the communal lighting was run off my electricity - used to drive me nuts when everyone left the lights on day and night!!

locking socket cover
The Patented Plug Lock System (£5.10 + VAT subject to discount):

sammy_kaye18

Hi All,

Ok a few questions

Just found out the house im moving into has prepay card scheme where i go and swipe it, put on £5 and when it runs out i do the same but i dont know if it will leave me in credit or not.

so just wondering a few money saving things
a) are tescos energy saver bulbs any good or am i better off just getting the original Energy saver ones?
b) bf wants blinds in the new house is there any way to insulate these or for these to be more efficient in keeping the heat in?
c)in the new kitchen im hoping to lay new adhesive tiles - guess ill need to use underlay of some sort but is there a better one to use than the others.

Am going to chill out tomorrow afternoon and reread this thread for soem more tips though i think

blackcateddie

I know this isn't strictly a tip but my parents really look down their nose at me when they visit because our house isn't as warm as the 'sauna' they live in, now instead of telling them I'm trying to save money, I point out how central heating can dry your skin out horribly and how I don't want to look old before my time.(shut's them up)
I have curtains which are thermally lined and fall below the radiator when pulled back, that way I can tuck them in behind the radiator so the heat reflects back into the room.
Our heating is always timed to go off an hour before the first person goes to bed ( easier with little ones) because they sleep better when it's not stuffy ( another excuse I tell my Mum!)
I work from home so made the bedroom with the airing cupboard into the office, that way the heat from the CH stays with me for longer after the system goes off.
ski thermals are great for layering in the winter, not bulky but good to move in and very warm, I've been known to wear thermal fingerless mittens to type in too

carrottopsuk

sammy_kaye18 wrote:

Hi All,

Ok a few questions

Just found out the house im moving into has prepay card scheme where i go and swipe it, put on £5 and when it runs out i do the same but i dont know if it will leave me in credit or not.

so just wondering a few money saving things
a) are tescos energy saver bulbs any good or am i better off just getting the original Energy saver ones?
b) bf wants blinds in the new house is there any way to insulate these or for these to be more efficient in keeping the heat in?
c)in the new kitchen im hoping to lay new adhesive tiles - guess ill need to use underlay of some sort but is there a better one to use than the others.

Am going to chill out tomorrow afternoon and reread this thread for soem more tips though i think

Sammy

I remember reading an article saying that those that pre pay for their electricity are charged more. (if I've read it correctly)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5310706.stm

Energywatch, along with charities Help the Aged and Child Action Poverty Group, warned that old people as well as the disabled are set to be the most affected by the higher gas and electricity prices.

As frequent users of prepaid meters, they are being charged even more than those billed on a quarterly basis, the organisations said.

Meter customers are being charged as much as £173 more for their gas, and their electricity bills are as much as £113 higher annually, the groups claimed.