how do i reduce energy bills?

sebastianj

I use gas for cooking, electric oven, central heating, combi boiler for hot water.
Have a fridge/ freezer, washer/dryer, dishwasher, tv, cable, 2x pc's.
monthly payment for both is £195 and this is killing.

Any suggestions most appreciated.

seb

NittyGritty

turn lights off when not needed,
do the washing if poss using economy 7 times (assuming you have it) works out a lot cheaper than using it in the day
use the dishwasher when its full rather than half full
turn pcs off when not in use rather than leave it on or in standby

I,m sure others will be on to give more advice

sebastianj

What is economy7? how do i get it?
seb

SailorSam

If you're using the oven make sure it's full. Or try and make do with the microwave.
Buy a hot water bottle.

matelodave

As said, turn stuff off, don't leave it on standby especially PCs, X-boxes, Playstations etc which chew up a fair amount of power when on standby. Make sure the Sky-box goes onto standby at night or even turn it off.

Change your lamps for low energy or even LED. Our kitchen had 10 x 50watt halogen spots, its now got 10 x 4 watt LEDs saving 460 watts for every hour that they are on. Our outside floodlight is now 2 x 10watts rather than the 300watt unit we previously had.

An energy monitor can help you identify stuff that's using power and stuff that's being left on - I reckon ours has saved me over £100 a year by alerting me to stuff that's been forgotten and stuff that uses more power than I thought. Failing that, read the meters frequently and record your consumption so you can try and reduce it - also give regularly monthly readings to your suppliers and check your bills so you are paying for what you use and no more nor less. If you record your readings on a spreadsheet you can set yourself an energy reduction target

Have shorter showers, install flow restrictors on your taps & shower (free from the water co) which will not only save water but will save hot water as well. Only fill the kettle for as much as you need (still trying to train my wife on that one)

Turn the CH down a bit, or even change the thermostat for a programmable one so you can refine the heating times & temperatures to suit your lifestyle. Close doors on rooms that are not being used and turn the rads down - fit TRVs to the rads

Hang washing on the line when it's fine and only use the tumble dryer when its not, using lower washing temperatures can save a few bob as well.

Some of the ideas will cost money, like changing bulbs or fitting TRV or the thermostats, but a lot of them are free and can make a big difference

[Deleted User]

What size house do you have? That's more than twice my energy bill for a three bed semi. If your house is a normal size there's something a lot more radically wrong than just tellys left on standby!!

beedeedee

Sounds simple - but wear warm clothing indoors for a start. Layers are best - starting with socks or warm tights, tees, woollen sweaters or tops and if you take your shoes off when entering the house, make sure you have cosy slippers of some sort to hand. You can then be warm with the CH turned down a few degrees - it makes a hell of a difference to your bills. TRV's are a must too.

NittyGritty

sebastianj wrote: »

What is economy7? how do i get it?
seb

its a 2 tier rate,(if your meter shows 2 rates then u may already have it) for example something like

12p per kwh day rate
5p per kwh night rate (hence its cheaper to use at night if poss like washing etc)

ask your supplier they will know if your on economy 7, or check ur meter to see if it shows 2 rates

datlex

Those bills seem ridiculously high. Have you checked the balance on your accounts with the energy company or done a price comparison based on your usage?

Without knowing how big your place is, who is in your household and what time they spend at home it is hard for people to suggest savings. I personally spent time making the bigger cut backs- heating down a few degrees, shorter showers, using energy bulbs, adjusting thermostats on rads in different rooms, turning things off at the wall when I finish with them. I also have a laptop instead of a PC- apparently they use less electricity in the first place and obviously none whilst they are working on battery. I've also cut back on lighting- in my lounge for example I have 2 main lights in the ceiling- these are linked to the same switch- instead of using these I use an uplighter with an energy bulb thus meaning I use less electricity on lighting. I also keep lights off in rooms I am not using. I have a one cup boiler which only boils the water needed. It has a higher wattage than a kettle but boils significantly quicker. Also with a kettle, I've noticed the minimum is higher than one cup.
As far as heating is concerned, I find it useful not to heat up the place too early. It only takes 10-15 mins to take the chill off so I set my heating to come on 15 mins before I get up and go off 10 mins before I leave for work. In the evenings again it is set for 15mins before I am due home. If I am going out for a few hours I try to adjust it so it doesn't run whilst I am out.
I've also asked questions on here on additional smaller money saving ideas- with mixed responses.

[Deleted User]

datlex wrote: »

I also have a laptop instead of a PC- apparently they use less electricity in the first place and obviously none whilst they are working on battery.

Dear oh dear! The energy you're using from the battery came out of the mains while it was charging. Laptops do use less power, but you have to offset that against the efficiency of the battery. Rechargeables are typically about 85% efficient.

datlex

what do you mean dear oh dear!!! Unless I remove my battery from my laptop, it will charge whilst plugged into the mains. Only have to use a monitor (elec not comp) to notice that the usage is not higher with a battery in it. hence it does cost less.