Avoid using GAS and ELECTRIC !

studentphil

Turning the heating right down on a night and putting an extra cover on the bed instead should help

magnolia65

Smiley_Mum wrote:

How old is the big freezer? That would use a lot of electricity. Get one of the plugs from Maplin currently at £13.99 which tell you how much an electrical appliance is using. Also, do you use energy saving lightbulbs, you can pick them up pretty cheaply now. Get yourself a slow cooker instead of using the oven/cooker etc to cook, or use a steamer so it saves putting on a lot of rings. Also using a microwave would be cheaper too.

OMG it's just dawned on me when I read that :eek:

Got my leccy bill last week and they owe me 51.00. I was surprised as that has never happened at this time of year. A couple of months ago I bought a larder freezer and got rid of the old deep freeze I bought second hand a couple of years back. I think thats why I have the refund.

iceicebaby

Well I have had my combined gas/leccy bill last week and I am 72 pound in credit! I know the meter readings are right as I send them in online monthly to the company myself!

I pay 60 pounds a month for gas and leccy (30 pound for each). thye only thing I have done different this year compared to last when I wasnt in credit is not had the hot water and heating on constant, just have it to come on timed. Also making myself switch off things that azre not being used.

Oompa_Loompa_2

When using the washing machine, do an extra spin cycle to ensure as much excess water as possible is removed from clothes. Not using tumble dryer at all might be impractical if you have lots of washing to do! So an idea might be to hang clothes up on an airer overnight and then finish them off in the dryer the next day? Usually 20 minutes and a full load will be completely dry. Doing this means towels are not rock hard and can lessen risk of mould developing compared to if you waited for washing to dry solely by using airers. I tried not to use tumble dryer at all but if you are making best use of space in the washing machine then there are lots of clothes to hang up - and they can get in the way and don't look that nice!

Horasio

I must have saved a bomb - I was without electricity for 26 hours yesterday. I did use some gas to boil water.

purplegrape

Don't know if this has been mentioned in this thread, but to save on heating bills I find that my clothes dry without the use of radiators quickest when they are hung on clothes hangers from the door frames or curtain rails. I think the air circulates around them quicker than on an airer. Takes about a day to dry on hangers whereas my airer has been known to take up to 3 days on some things!

Means the radiators don't have to work as hard to heat the place too, altho it does look a little tacky on wash-day!

stilernin

purplegrape wrote:

Don't know if this has been mentioned in this thread, but to save on heating bills I find that my clothes dry without the use of radiators quickest when they are hung on clothes hangers from the door frames or curtain rails. I think the air circulates around them quicker than on an airer. Takes about a day to dry on hangers whereas my airer has been known to take up to 3 days on some things!

Means the radiators don't have to work as hard to heat the place too, altho it does look a little tacky on wash-day!

I second that....... if there is a couple of hours bright weather in the morning I sometimes open the windows and hang light things on the curtain tracks. Lets out the damp air too.

Penny-Pincher!!

I stick the clothes on an airer and open the window slightly. The airer is in the bedroom so we keep the door shut and prefer the bedroom to be cooler anyway.

PP
xx

SusanCarter

Yategirl wrote:

Now I know..... that electricity prices have gone up and this is the main reason for the huge hike in costs but getting a letter saying they want to double our monthly direct debit from £28.50 to £58/month is gobsmackingly shocking(!) Dh thinks I am joking when I say I will be in bed by 8pm to save on lights or I will have to use candles to read by! (Dh works nights) but I honestly don't know how we are going to afford this hike in price

How on earth can I save money on my electric bill???? Any thoughts... please???


Yategirl

p.s (I am going to swop from British Gas to Scottish Power capped to 2010 tariff (no penalty to get out early and switch site reckons we could save £100/yr)

p.s. Hope this is in the right thread?

Your monthly direct debit may have been too low due having probably been set before all the recent huge price rises. If this is the case you probably owe them some money and they may have decided to average what you owe over the next twelve months. e.g. You owe them £120 and due to increase in prices you are using an extra £20/month so they increase dd by £30/month. Hope that makes sense.

With regard to switching supplier, have you looked at EbiCo Equipower? I found it on USwitch by clicking on the "social tariffs" option. It is a Christian non-profit energy supplier and is cheaper than anything else that we could get. I think USwitch hide it because you have to go direct with EbiCo rather than switching through them so they don't get any commission.

Random

I was just in Superdrug and they were selling Disney Totes Toasties for 49p a pair! And when I got through the till, the 4 I bought only cost me £1.49 for some reason. My toes are one of the first bits to feel the cold, so hopefully they'll help.

I use Ebico, they're cheapest for me too, and they're fairtrade, in that they charge everyone the same, regardless of how they pay.