Spill the beans... on your extreme energy saving tricks

shirleymarye

aurongrande wrote: »

Hey, I came in at the end of that :rotfl:

It's true, my bath can't be called a bath, but I'm not the only one suffering with this problem no thanks to my local council. They've been going round all the council owned homes they own and bringing kitchens and bathrooms up to standards. However, the bathroom or kitchen has to be at least 10 years old.

It's a government thing. Making sure that people have a decent living standard. But councils being what they are, they do this sort of thing to a minimum cost. Show shallow baths, cheap inefficient showers etc get fitted.

I'd attach a photo of my bath as proof, but you can't do that in this forum.

I have a similar situation,I live in a housing assoc flat and last year I had a new bathroom fitted,first they moved the radiator as the bath was so long and narrow the radiator was in the way so it was moved,radiator hasn't worked since!
New toilet fitted,it's never been right,it's a water saving one,if you do anything other than pee in it, it wont flush properly so I have to use the lavatory brush to clear it,like a plunger! There was nothing wrong with the old toilet!

Had new kitchen fitted as well,they wired my fridge freezer into the wall and plastered over it,I can switch it off at the wall but not sure what happens if I need a new appliance! I now have no room for my tumble dryer,they forgot about it and then put a socket in my pantry and shoved it in there,it's just as well I hardly use it.

Mary_Hartnell

aurongrande wrote: »

I'd attach a photo of my bath as proof, but you can't do that in this forum.

No? I've put photos on here before now, but they would probably get taken down as bad taste if they were me in my bath.:D

shirleymarye

wildthing01 wrote: »

my biggest energy saving tip is don't do any ironing! particularly, don't iron underwear (no-one sees it), bed linen (it de-creases as you lie on it) and towels (why would you iron towels???). before hanging clothes up to dry, either outside or in (on a clothes horse by a sunny window), shake them out, pull out any sleeves etc, pull into shape and hang stretched out. drying out in the wind then gets rid of most of the creases. clothes made from man-made fibres usually don't need ironing at all. cotton shirts etc will prob need some, but if you iron them while still damp, you save on using the steam setting and it takes less time. close-fitting things like cotton jersey tops, leggings etc will de-crease with your body heart during the first hour's wear. not only does this save on electric, it saves on massive amounts of boredom too!

I haven't ironed anything for years! I always check the labels before I buy anything to make sure they are non iron!
I do have an iron but it's only an ornament!:rotfl:

Mary_Hartnell

DadsTaxi wrote: »

Also, glueing polystyrene insulation sheets onto the metal panels will help prevent heat escaping through the door. They may be shaped to fit neatly between the metal cross members. I've also clad mine in foil bubble wrap loft insulation.

This is the most effective insulation you can buy at a half reasonable price (there is some stuff called aero gel, used for space stations etc but it is almost as expensive as printer ink). I have used it to line the backs of built in cupboards pn outside walls, well sealed it defeats the mould.

I got mine from "tool station", which is the new venture of the guys who created Screwfix.

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Construction+Materials/Insulation/Celotex+Insulation+Board+100+x+1200+x+450/d210/sd2738/p25153

Carrie200

Re Everard's query on keeping heating on low....


A collegue at work recommended keeping the heating on low all through the winter-I didn't believe this would work and thought it would cost a fortune but we tried this last winter-thermostat at the VERY LOWEST setting and left on 24hrs(by the way it's gas).We ended up much warmer and spending almost exactly the same-hardly any change in the bill from the previous year.Since the prices had risen,we must therefore have saved money....interesting,and we'll be trying this again this year.We also found the boiler running much quieter than usual!

Chia

AngryPig wrote: »

Or.... A colleague of mine sometimes works from home, but often takes his paperwork down to the local library and works from there so that he doesn't have to heat/light his home during the day!

May try that one; thanks for posting!

TrixieB

janninew wrote: »

They have lovely fleece ones in asda as well, think they are around £10.00! The only problem is needing the loo in the middle of the night and having to unzip them and pull them down!

http://www.matalan.co.uk/fcp/product/fashion-to-buy-online/Nightwear/Hooded-&-Feet-Pyjama-Set-Cream/42746&resultsPerPage=100&attrList=Dept,brand

This is in two pieces so no need to completely strip off for that 4am pee! Well worth the extra few quid I think.

twiz21

aurongrande wrote: »

Hey, I came in at the end of that :rotfl:

It's true, my bath can't be called a bath, but I'm not the only one suffering with this problem no thanks to my local council. They've been going round all the council owned homes they own and bringing kitchens and bathrooms up to standards. However, the bathroom or kitchen has to be at least 10 years old.

It's a government thing. Making sure that people have a decent living standard. But councils being what they are, they do this sort of thing to a minimum cost. Show shallow baths, cheap inefficient showers etc get fitted.

I'd attach a photo of my bath as proof, but you can't do that in this forum.

In the London Borough where I live, a bathroom has to be 40 years old before you get a new one. They did our kitchens last year, but the bathrooms would only be 39 years old by the given date, so no new bathroom. Council flats, not HA.

Kev27

Have a shower with the whole family together, to save on bills!

SYNERGY

I have tried doing this but it sets our smoke alarms off. I hate to waste the heat from the hob or oven once I have left the room by shutting the door behind me but in winter it seems to set of the smoke detector.

Yes the terribly bright builders thought the ideal place for a smoke detector would be outside the kitchen door....

It is the best place due to the majority of household fires starting in the kitchen. :think:

It is soooo over sensitive that even though I have covered it in cling flim it still goes off when I open the kitchen door or if I cook with the door open. It isn't that the oven needs cleaning the electric hob and the toaster also manage to set it off on a cold day. I think it is the warm air moving that does it.

Any suggestions for temporarily disabling the thing? It is wired into the mains so I can't just take the battery out......

Best not to disable at all, guess what might happen the only time you forget to re-enable it :eek:

All is not lost though, there are a couple of ways around the problem.:idea:

1) Fit a heat alarm in the kitchen, this won't sense smoke, doesn't react quite as quick as a smoke alarm but rarely causes false alarms in kitchens.

2) Replace the alarm outside the kitchen with one that has a ' hush ' button / setting. The delay varies according to make, up to 10 mins average. You can push the button when you expect smoke, or when it alarms. When in hush mode they normally emit a beep every so many seconds to let you know it's in hush mode. At the end of the set period it reverts to normal.

Both heat and hush types can be battery or mains powered.

One little problem with most battery powered hush types is that you need to keep a sweeping brush handy to push the hush button up on the alarm sat on the ceiling. :rotfl:

Some of the mains type can be fitted with a remote control switch on the wall which allows both the hush and test functions to be carried out easily, sadly these are not particularly cheap.


If all else fails, stick to salads.

Remember to test all your smoke alarms once a month and close all doors at night, hands up all those who don't.