Moving into our first home - how to save electricity

LJC89

Hi everyone

Me and my partner are moving into our first home together next month. At the moment I live with my parents and his bills are included in his rent therefore we were wondering if we can pick which suppliers we use or will the flat we are moving into already be bound to a company? Also we are looking for tips on how to save energy, I have been told OWL electric monitors are good but they seem quite expensive.

I am a full time student however he does work full time, are there any grants or offers available to us that anyone has tried?

Thanks for your help

Premier_2

1. You need to initially get supplies from the existing sipplier(s) to the premises. Then you can change supplier if you wish.

2. Don't waste money on an Owl monitor. You have a meter, an accurate one, at the property - use that.

3. Remember every time you switch something on, it burns money ... so don't turn or leave things on you don't need.

essexman77

Best thing to start with is look at things like light bulbs are they all the new style energy saving ones.

If you are buying new items e.g frige/Freezer look for A or A+

Look for things like loft insulation so your ready for winter

Also things like tv look for LED tvs only if they need replacing.

rising_from_the_ashes

Premier wrote: »

1. You need to initially get supplies from the existing sipplier(s) to the premises. Then you can change supplier if you wish.

Are you renting or buying?

If renting, some landlords won't let you change supplier so you'd need to check this with them first.


Little things can all add up:

• don't do a wash unless it's a full load
• don't use a tumble dryer (if you have one) unless it's an "emergency" (ie has rained for 2 weeks, no clothes/towels/bedding left & washing hanging everywhere!:))
• don't use a dishwasher if it's just the 2 of you (OK if you've had people round and loads of dishes) or rinse the stuff by hand and only use when the machine's full
• don't leave lights etc on - when it starts to get dark in the evenings, try buying a lamp, standing in your hall and this will often provide enough light to wander into most rooms (obviously have one on in the room you're in:eek:)
• make sure you've got energy efficient lightbulbs in all your lights
• if you only use something (eg stereo) once a week, definitely turn it off at the socket in between
• try to put things at the socket rather than leaving on standby
• if you have an immersion for hot water, get a timer and only have it on a couple of times a day
• if you get a cheap tariff overnight run the washing machine, heat water (if an immersion) etc then

Good luck in your new home!:D

moonrakerz

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

[*]don't use a dishwasher if it's just the 2 of you (OK if you've had people round and loads of dishes) or rinse the stuff by hand and only use when the machine's full

This is a fallacy, I'm afraid.

A dishwasher is cheaper than hand washing - this has been verified by several university studies.
It uses less water and detergent than doing it by hand.
It gets it cleaner.
You don't have smelly tea towels to wash (at extra cost).

Don't rinse stuff before you put it in - that just wastes water, just scrape off any heavy food deposits..
Obviously, don't run the machine unless it is full. If the dirty plates do make a bit of a pong, curry, chili, onions, etc, etc - just run a rinse cycle on the machine.

wild666

If you watch TV or DVDs then don't have the lights on after all they don't have lights on at the cinema when the film is on.