Setmefree's Diary: MFi5 journey

Little_Mama

Well done on breaking the £150K barrier......keep up the good work.
LM

setmefree2

So I've yet another personal challenge. This one is to reduce our energy use:-

I've analysed our past use and this is what we have been using

ELECTRICITY
Sept Qtr 2006 16 Kilowat hrs per day Cost per day £1.20
Sept Qtr 2007 14 Kilowat Hrs per day Cost per Day £1.12

Dec Qtr 2006 21 Kilowat hrs per day Cost per day £1.57
Dec Qtr 2007 21 Kilowat hres per day Cost per day £1.57

Mar Qtr 2007 23 Kilowat hrs per day Cost per day £1.72
Mar Qtr 2008 25 Kilowat hrs per day Cost per day £1.73

June Qtr 2007 17 Kilowat per hrs per day Cost per day £1.32


GAS
June Qtr 2006 61 Kilowat per hr per day Cost per day £1.34
June Qtr 2007 42 Kilowat per hr per day Cost per day £0.96

Sept Qtr 2006 8 Kilowat per hr per day Cost per day £0.08
Sept Qtr 2007 11 Kilowat per hr per day Cost per day £0.32

Dec Qtr 2006 66Kilowat per hr per day Cost Per day £1.43
Dec Qtr 2007 66 Kilowat per hr per day Cost Per day £1.43

Mar Qtr 2007 118 Kilowat per hr per day Cost per day £2.48
Mar Qtr 2008 113 Kilowat per hr per day Cost per day £2.38


Both Mr and Mrs SMF2 work from home alot. Though Mr SMF2 is away alot. So the challenge is to try and get these usage figures down. At the moment we have a capped dual fule rate with BG fixed until 2010.

mountainlioness

Hey SMF - just a quickie so say a massive well done for your OP efforts, you're going great guns! :j I'll definitely be waving you out the door of the MFW forum and then going back in to crack on with the old OP

setmefree2

Thanks mountainlioness - we've been at this 5 years, probably another five to go.:eek::D It's become away of life, I can't imagine not having to think about ops, even our kids talk about it!

mountainlioness

lol that's great, having the whole family on board - there are a few ppl on MSE who seem to be doing their quests in spite of their OH rather than with them. DH is definitely interested but not obsessed like me I'm the one who gets perverse satisfaction shopping about for car insurance then working out our new monthly savings plan for next year - seriously sad!

I think we could pay off in about 10 years (vs 22 year term) but a lot depends on what happens around sprogs and stuff :rolleyes:

StuartGMC

setmefree2 wrote: »

So I've yet another personal challenge. This one is to reduce our energy use

SMF, good luck, it can be difficult to judge without "correcting" for the ambient temperatures. I assume you have already got 300mm (10") of insulation in the loft (or, if you have boarded it, equivalent insulation with high U-value materials) etc?

A few thoughts, for which if you have already covered, I apologize.

We were very pleasantly surprised last year to find that, despite normally not qualifying for any grants etc we did qualify for discount on the loft insulation materials and labour. The cost to us for main loft and that above kitchen on ground floor for insulation, extra lagging on tanks and piping (remember these will be colder once less heat rises from the living space), loft hatch sealing and the labour to fit was less than even the materials alone from your favourite DIY store, plus no breathing fibres etc and work done rapidly!

Do check your local District Council or Unitary Authority to see whether this is on offer or Energy Savings trust http://www.est.org.uk/myhome/gid/index.cfm?sec=1

Note: I have monitored consumption figures since extra insulation was installed and was somewhat disappointed they didn't drop rapidly. However, the house was warmer (and stayed warmer longer) and is cooler in summer. In late Spring I reduced thermostat setting....:o

Have you noticed how much heat your desktop PC will produce? In our small study it can make a big difference in winter keeping the door shut and relying on insulation plus the PC to defer the time to switch heating back on.

Taking this further, if you had room to safely boil a kettle in that same space the heat radiated as it warmed up (and if not in your flask) as extra water cooled down would be lost to the room space thus raising the temperature a bit.

Finally you are worth about 1kW when in the room too....

Good luck and best wishes with future progress

setmefree2

mountainlioness wrote: »

lol that's great, having the whole family on board - there are a few ppl on MSE who seem to be doing their quests in spite of their OH rather than with them. DH is definitely interested but not obsessed like me I'm the one who gets perverse satisfaction shopping about for car insurance then working out our new monthly savings plan for next year - seriously sad!

I think we could pay off in about 10 years (vs 22 year term) but a lot depends on what happens around sprogs and stuff :rolleyes:

Being a MFW seems to be seriously contagious:cool: When my kids were small I wish I'd been abit more MSE but neither of mine slept for years and I never got a full night sleep for about 5 years:rotfl:so there wasn't much energy left for spreadsheets....trying to make up for lost time now:D

setmefree2

StuartGMC wrote: »

Have you noticed how much heat your desktop PC will produce? In our small study it can make a big difference in winter keeping the door shut and relying on insulation plus the PC to defer the time to switch heating back on.

Taking this further, if you had room to safely boil a kettle in that same space the heat radiated as it warmed up (and if not in your flask) as extra water cooled down would be lost to the room space thus raising the temperature a bit.

Finally you are worth about 1kW when in the room too....

Good luck and best wishes with future progress

Hi

We have had a loft conversion done - so the amount of insulation in the roof was all sorted under Building regs. We have a period Edwardian house and have had all the old sash (very ornate) windows replaced with double glazed wooden sash equivalents. Cost an arm and a leg. The old sash windows were beautiful but soooo drafty in the winter that we felt we were heating the street:eek: We had the back of the house all converted to modern double glazing. However, we are still left with the original leaded glass front door - which though beautiful is incredibly drafty in the winter. We must get this sorted this winter I think. Options include new glazing over old glass, have a porch erected (seems a shame to hide door though:rolleyes:) or putting up a really heavy curtain. I do think this is important as when we get of our fuel fix we are in for a shock as it was capped way back in 2005 (I think).

PC costs are a concern to the SMFs are addicted to computers and we all have one each - so that's 4. In fact Mr SMF has 2 ( it's his job!). We both work from home alot, though Mr SMF2 is often away. Everyone is under strict instructions to turn PCs off when not in use and to also close any idle windows that are open which are running expensive ads. I have a lap top which apparently is cheaper to run than a desktop PC.

Ideally, I'd like to reduce our use by a third. Ambitious! I could stop using MSE:rotfl:but it's saved us alot of money, so I don't think I'll be doing that anytime soon.;)

All the Best

SMF2

setmefree2

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=606705



I found an energy saving MSE thread. I havn't had the time to read it yet.:rolleyes:

StuartGMC

Thanks; I'll pop over to it now