Avoid using GAS and ELECTRIC !

ka7e

The ultimate ensemble for MSEs who want to save on heating bills!
The Selkbag
http://www.theparkashop.com/products/overfill/downmask.html
They are not cheap - just think of them as a long term investment!

mirry

I phoned my gas supplier and have been told my usage was £56 for 58 days usage (basically 2 months), this is fantastic because they told me at first to pay £65 a month, so now they have reduced my direct debit to £30 month...they said its best to be paying a little over than under but I can phone them in january to have it reduced further if I carry on like I am.

So by living like we are we are saving £30 a month on gas and hopefully the same on electric "yippie"

moggins

DH finally got around to blocking up the vent in the pantry, even he has commented on what a difference it has made and wondered why he didn't get around to it before. Duh!! The last couple of winters have been freezing out there, now finally I can carry on as normal instead of avoiding being in the kitchen.

wendym

I'm about to tackle my supplier again.

My monthly payments went up to something so scary that I've wiped it, so I rang up to negotiate, but managed only a small reduction.

I've just had the up to date bill, and I'm in credit by £165! Cheeky b*ggers!

cheerfulness4

nicki - Will you let us all know how you got on with your experiment? I read another thread on here where someone said it worked but others suggested she was wrong. I'd love to hear if someone else can confirm it.

Do feel for you Lady_K . I know that there are still lots of us joining you with no heating on at the moment, so you are not alone for now. Hopefully they will be quicker than you expect.

I'm still over the moon that we haven't had to have ours on yet. Actually in truthfullness we had it on for three hours (2 x 1.5 hours) when we had visitors in the eve, as felt bad asking them to have throws and hot water bottles - well it's just not done, is it?

Still planning to try and last it out till 23rd Dec if at all poss. Gonna go make a hot cuppa now.

EagerLearner

ka7e wrote:

The ultimate ensemble for MSEs who want to save on heating bills!
The Selkbag
The Down Mask
They are not cheap - just think of them as a long term investment!

He he - that's the funniest looking thing I have seen all week - cute ! The second 'head' one is strange though...

Until 2 days ago, we were paying £25 for gas and £25 for elec via DD each month (£50).

I called them up and it turns out we were £105 in credit from our payments in the last 6 months (we moved in in June this year).

So she had credited the £105 to us, and also reduced the elec to £15 a month, gas stays at £25. She said it should cover things during winter!

So chuffed - in our old Economy 7 flat we always paid huge bills (around £100 a quarter) as it was all elec and we never got any credit back (apart from when I complained to EnergyWatch about a £800 Seeboard 'out of the blue' bill - in addition to our DD - and I got the bill reduced to £280 :T ).

I am sure this thread has made a real cash difference to us, so thanks so much everyone for your tips and hints - much appreciated! :beer:

lil_me

Been getting in trouble, I've been washing up in the dark and refuse to put sitting room lights on when the Christmas lights are on!

rbakker

Great thread! Here's one of my favourite tricks, probably already mentioned many times but a search just gives too many results for me to check all of them.

I used to boil eggs for 6 mins and then take them off. Now I watch them closely and as soon as the water boils I turn off the heat. If it's electric (and so a lot of residual heat) wait 8 mins before taking them off and if it's gas then wait quite a bit longer (10 mins for hard-boiled). It takes some experimentation to get the eggs just as you want them, but it's saving on energy.

Funny how you always hear the advice to "turn the thermostat down 1 degree". I'd be an icicle by now if I always followed that advice. 18 degrees is comfortable enough for me, I just always wear a jumper indoors in the winter.

Generally, the more heat something produces the more energy it's using. By that thinking I would suggest that using a microwave whenever possible would save quite a lot - especially since they're not often turned on for long. For example boiling potatoes in water takes ages and uses loads of electricity, just putting the spuds in the microwave and zapping them for 12 mins (stab 'em with a fork first) tastes just as good. Watch out for the light in the microwave, mine stays on when the door's open, it generates a lot of heat.

If you wonder if something is using electricity (eg TV on standby) then feel for any warm spots. Modern TVs don't use much on standby, but still it's a good habit to turn them off - if only to lower the fire risk.

mirry

I just cant belive were nearly in the middle of December without heating on still, last night it was cold, but we got the candles on and got under our sleeping bags lol. It just amazes me, if we are using £1 a day on gas (like my bill suggests) then thats £1 a day just for using my cooker ! imagine how much it would cost to put the heating on !

No, they are not getting my money, not at them prices.

My husband said can we put it on xmas day in the morning for half an hour..as a treat, lol.

*noodles*

Ka7e that is fabulous I nearly wet myself laughing :rotfl:

I refused to put the heating on due to the prices but found that, as other people have mentioned, the mould really started to grow on the walls and in the bottom of the wardrobe so if you have a house which is prone to a bit of mould growth I would recommed putting the heating on for an hour or so in the morning then for a few hours in the evening just to warm the walls up!

Best present I was given was a lovely throw which we snuggle under when watching TV to stay nice and toasty.