We managed to REDUCE our Energy Consumption

Mothership

markharding557 wrote: »

£500mper month is astronomical:eek:

Its a BIG house with BIG ceilings (14ft) BIG windows 8 Rooms 5 of which are bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 Kitchens.

£400 - £500 per month was what I WAS spending, its reduced to about £135 per month for both gas and electricity. My last count there was over 100 light bulbs, the savings we made changing these alone must be quite a lot. In the winter the house could get really cold even with the heating on all the time, last winter was the first the house felt warm, I put that down to the draught excluders on the sash windows etc.

This is the first time I've ever been in credit with my energy supplier, it was two long years before the savings started to show in the bills.

CharlieBilly

Well better late than never but £500 is very very high

You say its BB arent you then on a business tariff

patman99

If you dont already have halogen hobs or grill, then when your oven finally packs-in, it is worth buying a replacement with them. They really do heat-up quickly, and are really cost-effective.

How's the insulation in your loft?. This can make a large difference.

Mothership

patman99 wrote: »

If you dont already have halogen hobs or grill, then when your oven finally packs-in, it is worth buying a replacement with them. They really do heat-up quickly, and are really cost-effective.

How's the insulation in your loft?. This can make a large difference.

There are two flats above us, its a Victorian Terrace the loft is a long way up.

RazWaz

I live in a Victorian house too, with 14 foot ceilings and huge windows. I pay less than £500 per year never mind per month

maxmycardagain

Mothership, you dont say what form of heating you have, was the £500 an average thru the year?


We have setup our washing machine, extra fridge and tumble drier to use economy 7 (using a timer) and that has made a difference

Our biggest consumer is the cooker, 66p/hour if the oven+rings are on....

Mothership

maxmycardagain wrote: »

Mothership, you dont say what form of heating you have, was the £500 an average thru the year?


We have setup our washing machine, extra fridge and tumble drier to use economy 7 (using a timer) and that has made a difference

Our biggest consumer is the cooker, 66p/hour if the oven+rings are on....

Yes it averaged at £400-£500. But has not been that high for about 2 years.

Gas heating 11 radiators no fires. I now use the dishwasher/washing machine at night.

The timers sound interesting , how do you do that?

I stopped my OH washing dishes with running hot water, ( he takes hours to do them). He now uses a bowl, and cold rinse. If he manages to find any LOL. I make sure the dishwasher gets them.
I watch him with the tumble dryer too, he has a tendency to put it on for max time for something that would take 20 min to dry.
I also changed the way I cook. I batch roast for the freezer, and use slow cookers and a rice maker. I microwave the veg.
I had to FIGHT for the linings and draught excluders on the windows. He insisted that they wouldn't make a difference. He asked me the other day when we were putting them back on. I still have a few windows to make liners for, and I'm definitely going to get the thermal blinds esp for the back of the house which is North facing.

savemoney

Its can be cheaper to use dishwasher then hand washing. The dont costs much to run many of them and use less water than hand washing do many of them which is imporant if you are on a water meter

I find it incredible you spent so much anyway I hope you more careful with other things like insurance and shopping around for deals. When you dont have much money it makes you think, do I need that? where can I find it cheaper etc?

Mothership

savemoney wrote: »

Its can be cheaper to use dishwasher then hand washing. The dont costs much to run many of them and use less water than hand washing do many of them which is imporant if you are on a water meter

I find it incredible you spent so much anyway I hope you more careful with other things like insurance and shopping around for deals. When you dont have much money it makes you think, do I need that? where can I find it cheaper etc?

We found it incredible too, even more incredible is how much we were able to reduce it. Hence the post. The fuel costs were gobbling up around half our income. Scary eh?

I'm careful with everything, this website has made a BIG difference to our finances and raised our standard of living.
I bought Martins Book first, I learned so much from that, then I visited the site for ages before I plucked up the courage to join. Its a great comfort to know there's all these peeps out there willing to share their knowledge. With their help , and yours (I've read loads of your posts), I've been able to plug all the gaps, no more money going down the drain.

You know what they say a problem shared!!!!:beer:

barneygumble

I thought I spent a bit at £1000 a year for gas and electric.
At least I know my house is efficient compared to yours.