The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

daz378

31 pound solar charger currently 2 stops away according Amazon and waiting for a microwave.  TV  on low

Toonie

Thanks @euronorris I've got a couple of interviews lined up and whilst unemployed entering competitions and doing swagbucks and other things to save and make money.

Today we had smart meters fitted. Unfortunately the energy company we were with went bust and we were moved to Eon. Whilst I'm pretty good at switching things off it's always good to get an extra hint if there are things we do which are more energy hungry. I'll be curious to see how much my slow cooker uses tomorrow (but that's because I'm a bit geeky).

euronorris

I favour my slow cooker over my energy hungry electric oven.

A friend dropped off a spare draught excluder she had, so that's saved me from having to make one this weekend.

Does anyone use a microwavable heat pad in bed, and forego the heating in their bedroom altogether (I don't have it on much as I get too hot very easily anyway). Just looking at ways to cut it back even more and wondering if a heatpad is effective, and if its more or less energy efficient than an electric blanket (for example).

LadOnTheHill

You can get plug in energy monitors that you plug into the wall then plug your appliance into. The fancy ones will let you input your cost per kwh for electricity then tell you how much it's costing you to use the appliance. Most appliances come with a sticker or label on them somewhere that tells you what they draw, too, usually hidden away underneath or on the back. It should show the draw and the average use. A kettle might draw 2500w per hour, but it's unlikely to be actually running for an hour.

I love slow cookers, but it's so hard to find an insulated one. They don't use very much electricity, but so much heat is wasted from them. I did try wrapping a towel round one once, but it started to smell of burning. The instant pot has a slow cook feature, and holds the heat in, but is also a lot more expensive.

I did get a microwave gel heat pad for The Cat From Down The Road, but he doesn't seem to like it very much. I prefer the electric blanket - about one pence to run all night, even less if it's used to warm the bed up before getting in, then turned off.

My microwave uses 1500w/hr (800w model). The gel pad I supposed to be heated for a maximum of two minutes, but I find that doesn't warm it nearly enough. For the sake of argument, it takes 5 minutes to get it up to temperature. (1500/60)x5=125w to heat it up. Assuming 25p/kwh of electric, that's 3.125p.

I did the math on the electric blanket a couple of years ago, and it cost less than 1p per night, having it on all night. Item number 4500221 on Argus claims a similar amount. Electricity prices have gone up a lot since I worked out the costs, so I can't say for sure what it'd cost. If I can find my energy monitor plug, I'll have a look at what it draws.

It's probably going to be a case of horses for courses, and whichever way you heat the bed, it's going to be quite cheap. Even assuming 5p per night, that's about £9 per year, assuming you heat for about six months. It all helps, though, when cutting down.

Anything electric that heats water is going to be costing a fortune. Kettle,  dishwasher, washing machine, immersion heater, etc, all draw a lot of electricity. They're very efficient, in the sense that all of the electricity is used to heat the water, but they also cost several times more to run than a gas device. The 2kw ring on my old electric hob cost nearly 50p to be on for an hour. The 2kw ring on my gas hob costs less than 10p to be on for an hour. Having mains gas put in was a godsend. A kettle on a gas hob won't be using all of the energy from the flames to heat the water, so it's less efficient than an electric kettle. It's very much cheaper to run than an electric kettle, though.

Si_Clist

LadOnTheHill said:

I love slow cookers, but it's so hard to find an insulated one ... I did try wrapping a towel round one once, but it started to smell of burning. 

The ordinary been-around-since-the-70s slow cookers with the simple off-low-high switch rely on using the pot itself and the outer body as a heatsink, so if you wrap anything round one it's bound to overheat.  

DawnW

There is a radiator in our bedroom, but I don't think it has been on since the installer tested it (we have individual valve control things on the radiators as well as the normal central thermostat). Our room isn't terribly big, and is above the lounge, which is heated. We don't seem to need to heat the bed either. I remember rooms in other houses being very different though, and loved the electric blanket, back when we needed one.

pineapple

euronorris said:

Does anyone use a microwavable heat pad in bed, and forego the heating in their bedroom altogether .

What bedroom heating ha ha? I have no heating upstairs at all and manage fine - despite being 'of a certain age' and feeling the cold. But i do have Raynauds, which affects my feet and need heat in bed. I find that gel pads etc and even hot water bottles cool down too quickly so I have an electric blanket with different heat zones and a timer. My best buy ever! 

Nonnadiluca

In the winter DH lies on my side of the bed to warm it up while I'm in the bathroom. That's love for you 🥰

euronorris

pineapple said:

euronorris said:

Does anyone use a microwavable heat pad in bed, and forego the heating in their bedroom altogether .

What bedroom heating ha ha? I have no heating upstairs at all and manage fine - despite being 'of a certain age' and feeling the cold. But i do have Raynauds, which affects my feet and need heat in bed. I find that gel pads etc and even hot water bottles cool down too quickly so I have an electric blanket with different heat zones and a timer. My best buy ever! 

We don't have an upstairs and a downstairs. We are in a coach house, which is all one level and above (cold, not heated at all) garages, with concrete floors beneath us. On the plus side, there is less space to heat. On the down side, there is no benefit of heat from below.

54% increase in energy rises is a big ouch. I was quietly hoping it would be a little less than that.

pineapple

Yes I at least get the heat from below. There is no proper 'landing' upstairs. I have a door to the right and a door to the left leading to the two bedrooms. I close both doors in the evening so the heat builds up downstairs. When I want heat in a bedroom, I open the door. Downstairs I just have two storage heaters and a multifuel stove. Cold stone flag floors (carpetted/rugs) throughout so heating has always been an issue and especially now that I have a health condition which keeps me at home a lot. It's a worry