How to live without heating - save £000s

HertsLad

Catplan said:

I wear thick trousers / joggers ones I wouldn’t wear in summer, cold nose goes quickly after the heating comes on. Legs / feet are fine, its more face / head.

Would you consider swapping the trousers you wear, to the thinsulate and duck down insulated trousers like I wear, with two layers of polyester base long johns underneath? I promise you would notice a huge difference in terms of keeping your entire body warm, including your face/head. As I keep saying, it's not a question of your legs being cold.

For anyone who thinks that kind of gear is expensive, it's not. The long johns cost me £4.75 each. The thinsulate ski trousers were about £8. And the duck down trousers were £15. All those clothes should last at least 5 years, so the annual cost is peanuts, compared to gas or electricity.  

wild666

PennineAcute said:

maisie_cat said:

PennineAcute said:

Around March last year, my 12 year old fridge freezer gave up the ghost.  I could not afford a new one, so bought a second hand fridge to keep me going.  Elec consumption fell around 1 kWh a day.  Over the summer, I then bought a new fridge freezer and noticed very little difference in energy consumption.  If a fridge freezer is not an essential for an individual, but has around the same runnning costs as a fridge, I'll take the luxury anytime.

I've just tested the consumption of our chest freezer in the garage and it uses approx 0.25 KWH per day, the fridge freezer in the kitchen uses twice that. So neither make up a large proportion of our 10KWh per day

The last holiday I had, back in 2017, according to my IHD, I used an averaged of 2.2 kWh a day.  Before leaving, I turned everything off besides the fridge freezer and house alarm.  So around 92 W an hour.

Now, with new fridge freezer, my first 7.5 hours usage of each day uses 0.818 kWh, so an hourly average of 109 W.  This includes by two fish tank filters (75 W for both), so an hourly average of 35 W for both fridge freezer and house alarm.

My very unscientific calculations mean than my new FF is using 57 W an hour less than my old one, so 1.37 kWh fewer a day.

Considering my daily usage is around 5 kWh a day - it takes 28% of my daily usage.

5 kWh per day my normal daily usage is around 3 kWh per day but has being known to drop to as low as 1.7 kWh some days and as high as 11 kWh when the grandkids are down playing the XBox on the large screen TV, or monitor as I call it, as  I don't have a TV licence.

Gerry1

wild666 said:

PennineAcute said:

maisie_cat said:

PennineAcute said:

Around March last year, my 12 year old fridge freezer gave up the ghost.  I could not afford a new one, so bought a second hand fridge to keep me going.  Elec consumption fell around 1 kWh a day.  Over the summer, I then bought a new fridge freezer and noticed very little difference in energy consumption.  If a fridge freezer is not an essential for an individual, but has around the same runnning costs as a fridge, I'll take the luxury anytime.

I've just tested the consumption of our chest freezer in the garage and it uses approx 0.25 KWH per day, the fridge freezer in the kitchen uses twice that. So neither make up a large proportion of our 10KWh per day

The last holiday I had, back in 2017, according to my IHD, I used an averaged of 2.2 kWh a day.  Before leaving, I turned everything off besides the fridge freezer and house alarm.  So around 92 W an hour.

Now, with new fridge freezer, my first 7.5 hours usage of each day uses 0.818 kWh, so an hourly average of 109 W.  This includes by two fish tank filters (75 W for both), so an hourly average of 35 W for both fridge freezer and house alarm.

My very unscientific calculations mean than my new FF is using 57 W an hour less than my old one, so 1.37 kWh fewer a day.

Considering my daily usage is around 5 kWh a day - it takes 28% of my daily usage.

the large screen TV, or monitor as I call it, as  I don't have a TV licence.

Not having a TV Licence is a great way to save a very worthwhile £159 per year in today's harsh economic climate.  Totally legal provided that you don't watch or record live TV as it is broadcast, on any channel on any device, and you don't use the BBC iPlayer.  You don't have to get rid of the TV, it's legal to watch catch-up programmes or listen to radio stations on Freeview or Freesat.  Far better than having to choose between heating and eating.

HertsLad

pallyman said:

Liquid detergent for whites does not contain bleach.

Thank you for reminding me. I'd been told powder is best but assumed, wrongly, that liquid detergent for whites must be similar. I will stick to powder for whites from now on.

Coffeekup

wild666 said:

my normal daily usage is around 3 kWh per day but has being known to drop to as low as 1.7 kWh some days and as high as 11 kWh 

Impressive young jedi, I average 3.6... with a low of 2.4 and I high of 5 which is rare. 
Thta may increase in a couple of years as I do the kitchen and begrudgingly opt for a ceramic or induction hob (I like the control I have with gas and or was was obviously cheaper).

PennineAcute

wild666 said:

PennineAcute said:

maisie_cat said:

PennineAcute said:

Around March last year, my 12 year old fridge freezer gave up the ghost.  I could not afford a new one, so bought a second hand fridge to keep me going.  Elec consumption fell around 1 kWh a day.  Over the summer, I then bought a new fridge freezer and noticed very little difference in energy consumption.  If a fridge freezer is not an essential for an individual, but has around the same runnning costs as a fridge, I'll take the luxury anytime.

I've just tested the consumption of our chest freezer in the garage and it uses approx 0.25 KWH per day, the fridge freezer in the kitchen uses twice that. So neither make up a large proportion of our 10KWh per day

The last holiday I had, back in 2017, according to my IHD, I used an averaged of 2.2 kWh a day.  Before leaving, I turned everything off besides the fridge freezer and house alarm.  So around 92 W an hour.

Now, with new fridge freezer, my first 7.5 hours usage of each day uses 0.818 kWh, so an hourly average of 109 W.  This includes by two fish tank filters (75 W for both), so an hourly average of 35 W for both fridge freezer and house alarm.

My very unscientific calculations mean than my new FF is using 57 W an hour less than my old one, so 1.37 kWh fewer a day.

Considering my daily usage is around 5 kWh a day - it takes 28% of my daily usage.

5 kWh per day my normal daily usage is around 3 kWh per day but has being known to drop to as low as 1.7 kWh some days and as high as 11 kWh when the grandkids are down playing the XBox on the large screen TV, or monitor as I call it, as  I don't have a TV licence.

1.7 kWh.  I couldn't even use that when the place was empty and I was on holiday - probably due to my old FF, mind you.  Take off 1.8 kWh off for my fishtank filters - down to 3.2 kWh.  FT lights are on 12 hours a day, around 50 W for both, so take off another 0.6 kWh, down to 2.6 kWh.  I rarely have the TV on, hurts me paying for a TV licence just to watch Match of the Day - much prefer listening to Radio 4.  Fish tank heater, I am unsure how much this uses - and is hardly used during the warmer periods.

Don't think around a daily 2.6 kWh is too bad, for the occassional use of electric blanket, 2 washing machine and dryer loads, 2 dishwasher loads, along with a couple of hoovers a week - with computer on when I am in.  This of course goes down over summer when I try to use the washing line more often.

My two fishtanks take up not far off half my daily usage.  Still, they bring me much joy - so is worth the cost.

markin

wild666 said:

PennineAcute said:

maisie_cat said:

PennineAcute said:

Around March last year, my 12 year old fridge freezer gave up the ghost.  I could not afford a new one, so bought a second hand fridge to keep me going.  Elec consumption fell around 1 kWh a day.  Over the summer, I then bought a new fridge freezer and noticed very little difference in energy consumption.  If a fridge freezer is not an essential for an individual, but has around the same runnning costs as a fridge, I'll take the luxury anytime.

I've just tested the consumption of our chest freezer in the garage and it uses approx 0.25 KWH per day, the fridge freezer in the kitchen uses twice that. So neither make up a large proportion of our 10KWh per day

The last holiday I had, back in 2017, according to my IHD, I used an averaged of 2.2 kWh a day.  Before leaving, I turned everything off besides the fridge freezer and house alarm.  So around 92 W an hour.

Now, with new fridge freezer, my first 7.5 hours usage of each day uses 0.818 kWh, so an hourly average of 109 W.  This includes by two fish tank filters (75 W for both), so an hourly average of 35 W for both fridge freezer and house alarm.

My very unscientific calculations mean than my new FF is using 57 W an hour less than my old one, so 1.37 kWh fewer a day.

Considering my daily usage is around 5 kWh a day - it takes 28% of my daily usage.

5 kWh per day my normal daily usage is around 3 kWh per day but has being known to drop to as low as 1.7 kWh some days and as high as 11 kWh when the grandkids are down playing the XBox on the large screen TV, or monitor as I call it, as  I don't have a TV licence.

I don't think the xbox should be using more than 200w, so even if it was 300w x12hrs 3.6kw, The TV must be old and power hungry, not a plasma is it?

SAC2334

JGB1955 said:

Just thinking - I'm guessing the last time people lived without heating was in the Stone Age?  Or had they discovered fire already?

I ve been regaling younger generations for years about how we scraped the frost from the inside of bedroom windows and that was in the 50 s and 60 s when we had proper freezing winters.The house in a mining village had one small coal fire only and that was it .It never hurt me and we all got to school in the big freeze of 1963 battling through deep snow for weeks. Now someone post  some advice about how to beat the cold and someone says "report him to mods ". Times have changed..Snowflakes rule now I accept that 

HertsLad

SAC2334 said:

JGB1955 said:

Just thinking - I'm guessing the last time people lived without heating was in the Stone Age?  Or had they discovered fire already?

I ve been regaling younger generations for years about how we scraped the frost from the inside of bedroom windows and that was in the 50 s and 60 s when we had proper freezing winters.The house in a mining village had one small coal fire only and that was it .It never hurt me and we all got to school in the big freeze of 1963 battling through deep snow for weeks. Now someone post  some advice about how to beat the cold and someone says "report him to mods ". Times have changed..Snowflakes rule now I accept that 

Thank you very much for showing how misguided my critics were, earlier in this thread. I sort of apologized for offending anyone at one stage. After re-reading my original post, I simply cannot understand how anyone could be offended. All I suggested is that I myself found it less than intuitive to discover what I need to wear. My thinking is/was that maybe my findings of the clothes I wear, might help others who either can't pay or won't pay. I never said anyone was stupid but one member put words in my mouth. As a result, if the mods need to contact anyone for stirring up trouble, I suggest it is those people who need to be warned and not me.

EssexHebridean

SAC2334 said:

JGB1955 said:

Just thinking - I'm guessing the last time people lived without heating was in the Stone Age?  Or had they discovered fire already?

I ve been regaling younger generations for years about how we scraped the frost from the inside of bedroom windows and that was in the 50 s and 60 s when we had proper freezing winters.The house in a mining village had one small coal fire only and that was it .It never hurt me and we all got to school in the big freeze of 1963 battling through deep snow for weeks. Now someone post  some advice about how to beat the cold and someone says "report him to mods ". Times have changed..Snowflakes rule now I accept that 

Nope - it's just that these days we recognise "well it never did me any harm" as the toxic and damaging phrase it really is. Thankfully - times, if not all attitudes - have moved on since your childhood. Back in the past children would likely be beaten for minor misdemeanors also - I assume that, similarly, you think that's fine too, but fortunately society is more progressive. Nobody would have had any issues with the OP except that this methods were SO extreme, and, until pushed, he made no concessions towards those who would be unable to live like this, even going to the extent of telling someone with a recognised medical condition which means they require a certain level of heating that they should try wearing more clothes. THAT is what people were uncomfortable with - not the recounting of the OP's experiences. (Also - a member specifically joining the forum to post what seems like a completely outlandish opening post rings alarm bells for those of us who've been around here a while - trolling of that type is, sadly, far from unusual.) In this case - "snowflakes" translates to "people with a sense of responsibility towards others" - and on that basis, I'm delighted to be included among them.