Frugal fuel tips

Brambling

My thermal tops are M&S brought in their end of winter sale 3 or 4 years ago for £2.50 each 😁  I think I'll look out for heated throws cheaper at the end of this winter

Slinky

When showering we turn off the water after wetting hair, shampoo, turn the shower back on to rinse, turn it off to wash the body (using a shower scrunchie which saves on bodywash), back on again to wash off the bodywash, job's a goodun.  We've reduced our water consumption by 10% in the last year which I put down to this. It also means we refill the water softener less often saving on salt.

OH isn't particularly good about judging how much water to put in the kettle. I've now put a flask next to the kettle to capture the excess ready for the next use.

Our fixed price ended on the gas and electric this week so I've gone round turning radiators down. We have a very old boiler and if you adjust the temperature on the thermostat down too much it doesn't come on at all. I've adjusted the timers to come on 10 minutes later and go off 10 minutes earlier, which save 40 minutes a day. 

LadOnTheHill

Slinky's comment reminded me of a thing we have in out shower that makes turning the water on and off easy. It's an adapter with a slider that fits in between the shower head and the shower hose. We have a combi boiler so get hot water on demand. This adapter allows one to get the right temperature of water, get wet, then stop the shower from running without adjusting the on/off temperature knob. It also allows one to restrict the flow of the water, which helps save on gas.

About £9 from the big river site. Doesn't need any special tools to install, it just screws in then you slide the knob one way or the other to slow or stop the water. B08FBDTKTD

joedenise

Unfortunately the on/off shower doesn't work for us, I think it's because there is such a long run from the boiler to the bathroom!  The water goes cold after a very short time when you turn it off.  It works in the motorhome fortunately as we would be needing to fill up much more often if we just left it running!

YorksLass

Prudent: Before I retired, I used to take a flask of tea with me to work (the vending machine stuff was awful) so I think I’ll start doing this again to save on boiling the kettle every time I fancy a cuppa.

booicca21: I love oxtail but agree with you, the cost makes it an expensive option!

Slinky: Good minds think alike!  I’ve also changed the heating timer to come on 10 mins later and go off 10 mins earlier.  Three time settings per day = 1 hour saved each day/7 hours a week.  And also turned the main thermostat down from 20C to 18C.  TRVs adjusted in each room to what heating level we need (low in bedrooms, higher in living room and bathroom gets adjusted before/after bathing).

We're lucky to be on a fixed price plan until the end of August but I must have had a brain meltdown when I was working out what it would cost us after that (if nothing changes that is).  Currently pay £80 pm so add on another 50% = £120.  Yes?  No.  When I re-calculated using the new kWh rates/SC plus VAT, it's nearer £155 pm.     With that in mind, I'm following this thread with great interest - I may be an oldie but every day's a school day!

Prudent

Yorkslass I am on a fixed price plan until August too. Currently paying £80 per month too, although just over £120 in credit at the moment. We leave the thermostat at 13c all the time but pop it up to 16 for a couple of hours around 4 pm. If it is really cold like today I will put it at 16c for longer.

I am making small adjustments every day in preparation for bills going up. Today I dug out my slow cooker and have made lentil soup in that. I had a hunt through the cupboards, fridge, and freezer to see what needed using up. I found some cream close to its sell-by day and some leftover salmon so I have made a salmon quiche for OH's lunch tomorrow as I will be out. Tonight's dinner is stir fry which is great for using odds and ends.

CapricornLass

In answer to newlywed's comment - yes you can get problems with condensation.  We did, so much so that I called in a specialist surveyor to check our walls in our bedroom as I was beginning to wonder if the DPC had failed.  It hadn't but he did say that we would have to keep our house at a minimum of 18 degrees, and install a special ventilator.  We haven't done that yet, but we are keeping the boiler running at 18 degrees all the time.  There is no point trying to save money on the gas bill if it then leads to a more serious (and expensive) problem elsewhere.  We are retired and at home most of the time anyway and we have actually used less gas, not more.  However, if we still get cold after that, its blankets and warm jumpers time.

One silly thing which has helped is to close doors to rooms.  The other thing is to keep moving and keep the circulation going.  Helps with the old lard butt as well!

middlewife

Slinky said:

OH isn't particularly good about judging how much water to put in the kettle. I've now put a flask next to the kettle to capture the excess ready for the next

Mine does that too!! Drives me nuts, doors left open, lights on, sigh.....

Elisheba

Oh, something I forgot earlier - only heat water if you need it.

If you are on a combi boiler like I am, there should be an eco mode. This stops the water from constantly being heated, and only starts heating it when you turn on a hot tap.

Slinky

joedenise said:

Unfortunately the on/off shower doesn't work for us, I think it's because there is such a long run from the boiler to the bathroom!  The water goes cold after a very short time when you turn it off.  It works in the motorhome fortunately as we would be needing to fill up much more often if we just left it running!

We are fortunate that we have a hot water cylinder within 5 feet of the shower so it has no chance of going particularly cold in the 2 minutes it's turned off.