Living with little or without household energy??

Happy_Sloth

Given the current energy prices and our current family situation, I’ve realised we need to figure out how to reduce our energy consumption considerably. 

We have been hit by a double whammy on electric and gas meaning we’ve come off a fixed tarrif and the cap is going up, it means our bill is going up by around 150%. We’ve done everything reasonable to cut energy usage and I’ve managed to reduce it by around £40 a month but this is still not enough to keep the lights on so to speak. 

We work in computers from home so the PCs need to be on for around 8-9 hours a day, so there will be some significant spend, we are also trying to eat down our freezers and fudge when empty we will switch them off. 

Im not sure how the house will cope without heating it’s an old Victorian we have recently had it rendered and the windows replaced but it does lose heat very quickly when unheated ,  even now with only a couple of rooms heated daily the rest of the house is freezing cold. 

I’m trying to figure out the best way to heat/cook/light and store food with as little energy as possible and I figured this would be the place to ask? 

Obviously we will have energy available and can’t switch off the work PCs but all other energy usage needs to but cut by about 90% What is the best way of doing this? 

emmajones1976

Simple answer is its inpossible to cut your energy usage by 90%, suggesting to turn fridges off when empty is worrying on another level as this means you must have times when you have no food in.

theoretica

First thing, I would say, is to really know what you have and what is using the energy.  You want to be able to focus your effort where it has scope to make most difference to cost and least problems for you.

JJC1956

Happy_Sloth said:

Given the current energy prices and our current family situation, I’ve realised we need to figure out how to reduce our energy consumption considerably. 

We have been hit by a double whammy on electric and gas meaning we’ve come off a fixed tarrif and the cap is going up, it means our bill is going up by around 150%. We’ve done everything reasonable to cut energy usage and I’ve managed to reduce it by around £40 a month but this is still not enough to keep the lights on so to speak. 

We work in computers from home so the PCs need to be on for around 8-9 hours a day, so there will be some significant spend, we are also trying to eat down our freezers and fudge when empty we will switch them off. 

Im not sure how the house will cope without heating it’s an old Victorian we have recently had it rendered and the windows replaced but it does lose heat very quickly when unheated ,  even now with only a couple of rooms heated daily the rest of the house is freezing cold. 

I’m trying to figure out the best way to heat/cook/light and store food with as little energy as possible and I figured this would be the place to ask? 

Obviously we will have energy available and can’t switch off the work PCs but all other energy usage needs to but cut by about 90% What is the best way of doing this? 

Do you work on moveable laptops, or bulky computers? I have noticed a lot of people seem to be spending their working day in Cafes, Bars and anywhere else that allows them to. I noticed somewhere recently that allows you unlimited coffee with a single purchase. Might be cheaper than having heating on all day, can you replace the lighting with low energy lamps?  maybe that is something you can look into. Freezers are not a necessity but you need a small fridge, otherwise you will be popping out to the shops every day (and wasting food). 

Coffeekup

Turning everything off at the wall when you leave the house and/or go to sleep will save you some energy... It saves me around 30kwh's per month, it takes some to get in to a routine, it's almost second nature for me.
Wearing extra clothes helps so you don't need the heating on as much, I only have it on these days when temp is around 6C or lower, I also won't turn it on if I know I'm leaving the house in an hour or so as I won't be there to benefit from it.

Unfortunately having 2 PC's will eat up your electric depending on spec's each hour both of them are on will be around 2kwh's an hour. Higher end ones with graphics cards, water cooling, will use more especially if your using demanding software like photo shop, Lightroom, video editing or games.
You could look into getting a more efficient CPU and graphics card which will cost, so unsure on savings, also if there is any led lights in your tower you could disconnect them.

Then there is your freezer your priorities seem skewed... Your cutting back on your food because you don't want to pay for the fridge/freezer? at worst most modern ones  use 2 kwh's a day. I'd be looking at bigger things first like water tank heating, or not using the dishwasher at all, turning the microwave and washing machine off at the wall, turning off sockets in the bedroom/s. Having the tv on whilst working as background noise, turning your digital tv boxes off at the wall can eat a surprising amount of energy. 

[Deleted User]

@Happy_Sloth I completely understand and agree with your position.

We have a very very limited income as a household, therefore ‘finding’ the extra money will not be possible. We therefore have no choice but to reduce our consumption. I too am at home all day.

Heating is basically off all the time. We are lucky that we have two fires and I scavenge wood wherever possible. Water is boiled on top of the stove and food cooked on there when practical. Water is stored in flasks and then used for hot water bottles at night / to wash up / boil pasta etc. 

Our shower is electric so we shower once a week, and strip wash in between. Everything turned off at the socket apart from router and fridge / freezer. We don’t use the dishwasher, and only do two loads of laundry per week. 

This might sound ‘hard work’ to some but it’s a way of life and actually from a mental wellbeing point of view so much more satisfying than just flicking a switch on. Take care xx

Happy_Sloth

JJC1956 said:

Happy_Sloth said:

Given the current energy prices and our current family situation, I’ve realised we need to figure out how to reduce our energy consumption considerably. 

We have been hit by a double whammy on electric and gas meaning we’ve come off a fixed tarrif and the cap is going up, it means our bill is going up by around 150%. We’ve done everything reasonable to cut energy usage and I’ve managed to reduce it by around £40 a month but this is still not enough to keep the lights on so to speak. 

We work in computers from home so the PCs need to be on for around 8-9 hours a day, so there will be some significant spend, we are also trying to eat down our freezers and fudge when empty we will switch them off. 

Im not sure how the house will cope without heating it’s an old Victorian we have recently had it rendered and the windows replaced but it does lose heat very quickly when unheated ,  even now with only a couple of rooms heated daily the rest of the house is freezing cold. 

I’m trying to figure out the best way to heat/cook/light and store food with as little energy as possible and I figured this would be the place to ask? 

Obviously we will have energy available and can’t switch off the work PCs but all other energy usage needs to but cut by about 90% What is the best way of doing this? 

Do you work on moveable laptops, or bulky computers? I have noticed a lot of people seem to be spending their working day in Cafes, Bars and anywhere else that allows them to. I noticed somewhere recently that allows you unlimited coffee with a single purchase. Might be cheaper than having heating on all day, can you replace the lighting with low energy lamps?  maybe that is something you can look into. Freezers are not a necessity but you need a small fridge, otherwise you will be popping out to the shops every day (and wasting food). 

Sadly the PCs are bulky desktops we are a house of computer developers and laptops simply don’t have the power we need.  But good idea when we can 

emmajones1976

You are a house of computer developers?

You clearly have a wider issue here than just your energy costs, surely thats two very well paid jobs you are in, I can only assume you have other debts and maybe you need a full overhaul of all your outgoings and incomings in that case.

TheAble

Just on the freezer thing - I tend to think they save more money than they cost, just because they allow you to buy in bulk, take advantage of special offers, freeze things that are approaching their use-by date which you wouldn't have been able to consume in time, etc. So maybe consider a moment before embarking on that strategy.

MovingForwards

When I was WAH I had a laptop and separate monitor.  My OH wasn't working and had his PC on all day. I'd only have the lounge lamp on until daylight, I sat in my PJs, dressing gown, slipper socks, slippers, had a blanket on and used a hot water bottle. My desk was also by the window. When I had zoom meetings, the dressing gown would come off and a fleece jacket replace it, zipped up so no one could see what was under it. I frequently saw my colleagues in t-shirts or short sleeved tops.

If temperatures hit very cold, I'd put the heating on for a bit, but aside from the lounge and hall all the other radiators were turned down low.

Now I'm working from an office, after changing company, and my OH is also back in employment, there's negligible difference with the electric. Now we run one PC and the TV in the evening, only have a lamp on in the lounge and have always switched off lights in the other rooms when not in use. OH has a rechargeable light for reading in bed and the bedroom ceiling light is on for about 5 minutes in total a week. Only the kitchen and shower room ceiling lights have any real use each day and that's evenings.

The heating is on for 30 minutes in the morning as I get ready, I don't have it on weekend mornings.

When I get in from work, straight away I'm back in my PJs etc, the heating comes on about 90 minutes later for 2 hours, off for an hour then another hour on. I'm about to tweak my heating again to on, off, on, off, on and off in the evenings. 

I live in an end terrace, 1910 tenement in Scotland, my above neighbour moved out before I moved in, my attached neighbour doesn't have GCH and is yet to move in following their purchase of the property, my below neighbour tends to be at the pub in the evenings. Aside from the lounge, which has laminate with underlay and I've a rug by the sofa for my feet, the kitchen and shower room has tiles, the rest of the flat is carpet.

Winter before last saw me hang a lined curtain in the 'porch' and fit draught excluders. I've gone round all the decorative window frames and sealed them, same with any gaps in the skirting. All the windows have blinds as the walls are a PITA to drill into, I would have put curtains up in the lounge and bedrooms by now.

My shower is electric, but uses negligible electric, even when I'm in it for an hour washing my hair dye off.

In summer, aside from the main bedroom, the rest is like a sauna and it's normal to see the bulk of the bills are standing charges.

If you can talk us through your set up and typical use, we can probably make suggestions.

Happy_Sloth

emmajones1976 said:

You are a house of computer developers?

You clearly have a wider issue here than just your energy costs, surely thats two very well paid jobs you are in, I can only assume you have other debts and maybe you need a full overhaul of all your outgoings and incomings in that case.

The pandemic put us out of work for a huge portion of the time which meant we got into debt,  it's not massive and we are getting out of it.  My husband is still out of work right now.. so the 2 PC's are mine and my sons,  he's a new graduate so earning a respectable amount but by no means full developer rates

But coupled with the fact that we bought a house we could never really afford and needed alot of renovation means, we are living beyond our means.  Our energy bills are 3x higher than most peoples in good times because it's a large poorly insulated house.. add a 100% increase and it's simply unmanageable.  

The issue with the energy is that it isn't a short term blip,  we'd absorb it somewhere if it was,  but it's a long term problem we need to figure a way of living with these prices. 

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