Frugal fuel tips

Slinky

I keep the doors open on rooms where I've turned the radiator off so they get a bit of heat from the other rooms. Don't want anywhere getting mouldy

Slinky

Effician said:

Found another way to save a few hundred watts whilst doing a washing machine load.

This time of year the kettle is always on the log burner , this means we always  have flasks full of hot water for drinks, cooking, washing up & hot water bottles but still find we have too much hot water.

It occured to me that as the washing machine is cold fill only the built in immersion heater was a running cost i could cut down on by filling the with hot water from the flasks before switching on. Yes it worked & cut the heater on time down by more than half on a 40c wash which also cut down the wash cycle time .

Having cut our energy costs by about 40% from last September from an already lowish usage the extra savings are getting harder to find but i do enjoy the challenge

Inspired by this, we don't have a log burner, but I've just been to the garage and retrieved a clean watering can, filled it with hot water from hot tap, and poured it into the washing machine on the basis it's probably cost less heating it by gas than letting the machine heat from completely cold using electric.  The machine still drew some cold water in, so it's work in progress working out the amount to tip into the machine.  I've also reduced the temperature to 30degrees on most washes.

Slinky

Elmer_BeFuddled said:

Effician said:

It occurred to me that as the washing machine is cold fill only ........

Which genius thought cold fill only wash m/c's were a good idea when you have a gas combi boiler which gives (nearly) instant cheap hot water as opposed to using (expensive) electric to heat the water? Even worse, which twonks listened to them?

I was told by somebody in a showroom that because the machines use so little water now, that drawing it from the hot water tank or the combi boiler, there wasn't likely to be much hot water reach the machine due to the amount of cold water that would be in the pipes between the machine and the source of hot water.

calleyw

Slinky said:

Elmer_BeFuddled said:

Effician said:

It occurred to me that as the washing machine is cold fill only ........

Which genius thought cold fill only wash m/c's were a good idea when you have a gas combi boiler which gives (nearly) instant cheap hot water as opposed to using (expensive) electric to heat the water? Even worse, which twonks listened to them?

I was told by somebody in a showroom that because the machines use so little water now, that drawing it from the hot water tank or the combi boiler, there wasn't likely to be much hot water reach the machine due to the amount of cold water that would be in the pipes between the machine and the source of hot water.

Well this article seems to suggest something different

https://www.ebac.com/washing-machines/hot-fill-explained/

CharleyStone

I would be more than happy to keep my central heating lower and just keep myself warm as people earlier in the thread suggest. My concern is my fridge. I didn't think when I bought it, so it is one that isn't supposed to be placed in areas that go below 16°c, and I bought this new one because the old one was frosting up around the freezer box seal and wasting energy as a result. Now the new one has started doing the same so I've turned it off entirely to investigate the seal (and switch the door around). I don't want to have problems like that again, but...it's such a waste to heat the house just for that reason!

Slinky

Slinky said:

Elmer_BeFuddled said:

Effician said:

It occurred to me that as the washing machine is cold fill only ........

Which genius thought cold fill only wash m/c's were a good idea when you have a gas combi boiler which gives (nearly) instant cheap hot water as opposed to using (expensive) electric to heat the water? Even worse, which twonks listened to them?

I was told by somebody in a showroom that because the machines use so little water now, that drawing it from the hot water tank or the combi boiler, there wasn't likely to be much hot water reach the machine due to the amount of cold water that would be in the pipes between the machine and the source of hot water.

Very interesting. I suspected as much.

LadOnTheHill

I can't speak for your freezer, but I have a couple of chest freezers (one normal size and a tiny 40l one) that are in unheated areas. One is in an outbuilding and the other is under cover but otherwise exposed to the wind. Neither of them are designed for outdoor use, both of them are fine. Both of them ice up a little, even the one that's a year old, because I have the temperature set so low.

I'm not going to say "try it without heating" because I don't want to be responsible for you losing your food. You could try lowering the heating in that particular room to see if it has any adverse effects, maybe?

mandy47

CharleyStone said:

I would be more than happy to keep my central heating lower and just keep myself warm as people earlier in the thread suggest. My concern is my fridge. I didn't think when I bought it, so it is one that isn't supposed to be placed in areas that go below 16°c, and I bought this new one because the old one was frosting up around the freezer box seal and wasting energy as a result. Now the new one has started doing the same so I've turned it off entirely to investigate the seal (and switch the door around). I don't want to have problems like that again, but...it's such a waste to heat the house just for that reason!

Friends freezer recently broke down. She lost loads of food. Insurance refused to pay up because the freezer was in an unheated out building. I have a large freezer in my garage that is designed to be used in out buildings. At least I know I'm covered.

Cherryfudge

CharleyStone said:

I would be more than happy to keep my central heating lower and just keep myself warm as people earlier in the thread suggest. My concern is my fridge. I didn't think when I bought it, so it is one that isn't supposed to be placed in areas that go below 16°c, and I bought this new one because the old one was frosting up around the freezer box seal and wasting energy as a result. Now the new one has started doing the same so I've turned it off entirely to investigate the seal (and switch the door around). I don't want to have problems like that again, but...it's such a waste to heat the house just for that reason!

I'm guessing your fridge is in the kitchen or a utility room? There's no additional heating in our kitchen as it's very small and picks up background heat from the hall as well as being a source of heat from cooking, etc. I've never been cold in there, but you probably have a bigger kitchen requiring more heat.

The thing with fridges is that they actually give off heat... I read once about Scandinavian houses that are super-insulated and one of the sources of the little heat they need is from the fridge. Of course I can't find the article again, but looking online for it I see that a key thing with Scandinavian housing is to be well insulated. So if you can add draft excluder, close doors, cover the window or similar, you may be able to keep the temperature higher around your fridge just by allowing the heat it generates to stay in the area.

C_J

YORKSHIRELASS said:

Hi all, just wanted to say that Marks and Spencer Heatgen Plus are the thickest thermals I have found.  If you look on Fleabay you can often find new ones for sale, at a reduced price but they are worth the investment and last years.  I couldnt live without them.

I'd just like to say a massive thank you to @YORKSHIRELASS for the recommendation for M&S Heatgan Plus thermals. Although we have been lucky here in the South with the winter being pretty mild so far, I think we're not out of the woods yet, so I splashed out on a set of Heatgen Plus in case the temperatures plummet again. They arrived today and they are FABULOUS.  I have the long sleeved T shirt on underneath a jumper now, and I have had to turn the central heating off completely (I'm working from home today and usually sitting still for hours at a time makes me feel chilly ... but I'm roasting).