Smart meter energy savings and general money saving ideas

mrsg1990

Just thought I would post this as drying my hair it cost 6p for 5 minutes and it wasn't something I'd ever thought of as expensive to use, and then it got me thinking what else is expensive and what isn't, and what can be down to cut usage.

The tariff I'm on for comparison (e.on next, Tariff Name Next 2 Year v5).

Electricity: 

18.360p/kWh

Standing Charge 23.221p/day

Gas:

3.652p/kWh

Standing Charge 24.879p/day

Estimated annual usage: 

Gas:4284

Electricity:2130

I've just had a newer version of a smart meter installed. It came with an in house device which flashes green for low useage, amber for medium and red for high.

The following trigger off amber or red flashes

Air fryer
Oven 
Grill/double oven
Electric hobs
Kettle

Hair dryer

Toaster

Electric fan heater

Running a bath

Things that don't trigger red/amber or are on all of the time and it stays green:

Fridge/freezer (bought in October 21)

Energy saving lightbulbs

Vacuum cleaner/hoover

TV

Bread Maker

Xbox

Laptop

Radio

Charging: phone, batteries, headphones, tablet,
10kg washing machine on 40 degree wash, full load (bought in October 21)

Electric keyboard
Electric blanket
Electric heated throw
Hot water from gas boiler, although we have turned down the temperature for water and radiators
5 minute shower (gas boiler),

Make sure appliances are in good working order.

Have the boiler checked or replaced,

Double or triple glazing, check for drafts

Wilko sell draft excluding tape which I put around windows and.doors and a draft excluding runner I put by front and back doors.

Boiling a flask of water for brews ect, thermos flasks keep boiling hot for 12+ hours for food flasks and 24 for drinks flasks,



Our water supplier, United utilises has free water saving devices on offer. These save water and in turn the heating of water.

https://www.unitedutilities.com/help-and-support/save-water/get-water-fit/

I've turned the radiators off in low traffic areas, hallways, utility room, downstairs toilet. We're on a thermostat which would switch on to heat these areas.

Using an air fryer or microwave to cook or hest food is cheaper than using an oven.

We use hot water bottles, blankets and hooded blankets (from Amazon) rather than have the heating on, our heating is set at a low temperature. The intial cost of buying the hooded blankets has been recouped through cheaper bills.

Short: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0851KN668/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_TQ69ED5ZD1FRWF2M2531

Long (select the long size):
 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B097RHSVSY/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_3QF7Y3QPY6SYPBFY79C8

Electric blanket and heated throws, again intial outlay is an expense but soon recovered. Costs pence per night or hour to run.

Silentnight Comfort Control Electric Blanket - Single https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00L67CZ9U/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_HYX339P50BWG48E8KTB3

https://www.aldi.co.uk/heated-throw/p/021142304353200

A kettle to fill a hot water bottle is cheaper overall than  the heating  through the day and night.


British gas have a scheme called energy trust  (you don't have to be a BG customer to apply for help):

https://britishgasenergytrust.org.uk/

Some food banks, possiblity Citizens advice ect are able to offer fuel vouchers:

https://www.fuelbankfoundation.org/

Contact your child's school or nursery, enen if you aren't eligible for free school.meals, they may be able to offer vouchers.

Pets: the Pdsa have a scheme for those on low incomes, it's £4.50 per month, compared to the £16 I was paying to my vets:

 https://www.pdsa.org.uk/pet-help-and-advice/eligibility

There are lots of animal and vet charities that offer support similar to this. 

Mobile phone monthly contact £3.95 with lebera mobile, go through uswitch to get it cheaper than going direct. You get 1gb data, 50 international minutes, 200 UK minutes, unlimited calls to other Lebara mobiles, and unlimited texts 

https://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/sim-only-deal/f2624bb32609d71d5bc0bb7056f83d110366c757/?position=1&list=compare/sim-only-deals&page=compare/sim-only-deals&&impression_id=9186c7df-7ce3-4d72-b02d-016bdbea0e44-1&comparison_id=9186c7df-7ce3-4d72-b02d-016bdbea0e44


Our local council had a household support fund, you apply and they offer money for bills and free registration  at a local food club, contact your council to see what support they have on offer, you don't necessarily have to be on benefits to access support:

https://www.lancaster.gov.uk/sites/community-hub/household-support-fund

And our local food clubs are £5 per week, with as food as you need. Ask your council about what food clubs are available. 

United Utilities have a scheme for anyone struggling to pay their bills, we saved over £300 a year, contact your supplier to see what support they have to offer, again you don't need to get om benefits to qualify.

https://myaccount.unitedutilities.com/difficultypayingbill

Lastly, speak to all of your suppliers, phone, broadband, the local council, local authority, Citizens advice, library, local facebook groups and ask for help and advice about what is on offer in your local area. Food banks, baby banks and school uniform banks can be available locally. 

Does anyone else wish to share their tips, tricks and advice?

underwhelmed_saver

If you or anyone in the house has an Xbox Series X, make sure you set the power option to "Energy Saving" mode.

Otherwise the thing will sit in "Instant On" mode and use 10-12W all the time you're not using it. With the energy price rises coming into play that's like £2 - £2.50 a month...

MattMattMattUK

mrsg1990 said:

The following trigger off amber or red flashes

Air fryer
Oven 
Grill/double oven
Electric hobs
Kettle

Hair dryer

Toaster

Electric fan heater

Running a bath

This list contains quote a few things which don't really have as big an impact as you think, the Oven for example only uses high power draw when getting up to temperature, it then drops off significantly. The other things might use a very high power draw initially, then drop back, or only use it for a short period of time (eg. a kettle or toaster runs for less than a minute), even the oven will only be on for 30-40 minutes a day most days. Running a bath would depend on the kind of heating you have, tanked, on demand supply, how the water is heated etc. 

mrsg1990 said:

Have the boiler checked or replaced,

Everyone should have their boiler serviced, but replacement is far from a quick payback, 5-20 years to recover the cost depending on the efficiency rating of the old vs the new.

mrsg1990 said:

Boiling a flask of water for brews ect, thermos flasks keep boiling hot for 12+ hours for food flasks and 24 for drinks flasks,

You could do this, however it makes more sense to just boil the water you need when you need it. Heating 2 litres of water costs the same as heating 250ml of water eight times, however if you boil 500ml of water every time you only need 250ml you would have boiled 4 litres, not two, the issue is not how often you use the kettle, it is boiling more than you need.

mrsg1990 said:

Our water supplier, United utilises has free water saving devices on offer. These save water and in turn the heating of water.

All water providers offer these, they are also available free from other sources online and there are alternatives as well (aerating shower heads and taps for example).

mrsg1990 said:

Using an air fryer or microwave to cook or hest food is cheaper than using an oven.

Nominally yes, this is true, however it depends what you are cooking. Also using the oven in cold periods is not "lost" heat, the heat warms the home as well, so there is a (admittedly small) saving on heating. A slow cooker is one of the cheapest ways to prepare food, it also suits a lot of cheaper cuts of meat and ideal for those on a budget.

mrsg1990 said:

We use hot water bottles, blankets and hooded blankets (from Amazon) rather than have the heating on, our heating is set at a low temperature. The intial cost of buying the hooded blankets has been recouped through cheaper bills.

There are lots of ways to save money like this, I have cold weather survival gear from when I hiked across Iceland a in 2019, I could sit in that and never need the heating, even if the inside temperature got down to -20c, but you also have to balance cost against quality of life.

mrsg1990 said:

Mobile phone monthly contact £3.95 with lebera mobile, go through uswitch to get it cheaper than going direct. You get 1gb data, 50 international minutes, 200 UK minutes, unlimited calls to other Lebara mobiles, and unlimited texts 

Our local council had a household support fund, you apply and they offer money for bills and free registration  at a local food club, contact your council to see what support they have on offer, you don't necessarily have to be on benefits to access support:

And our local food clubs are £5 per week, with as food as you need. Ask your council about what food clubs are available. 

United Utilities have a scheme for anyone struggling to pay their bills, we saved over £300 a year, contact your supplier to see what support they have to offer, again you don't need to get om benefits to qualify.

Lastly, speak to all of your suppliers, phone, broadband, the local council, local authority, Citizens advice, library, local facebook groups and ask for help and advice about what is on offer in your local area. Food banks, baby banks and school uniform banks can be available locally. 

Does anyone else wish to share their tips, tricks and advice?

With all things like this the main thing is to be sensible and efficient in your energy usage, manage your budget properly and take advantage of opportunities available. All the various *thing* banks offer many items for free, but there is a finite supply of those items, my local food bank for example is supporting 700-800 people a week, that relies on people donating food, money (for operating costs), time and others etc. 

If someone is on a low income they should firstly check they are claiming any benefits that they are eligible to claim, Entitled To is good for that. Also check that you are claiming any local provisions, there are some regional funds, some councils have discretionary funds etc. 

https://www.entitledto.co.uk/

When it comes to utilities energy, water and broadband suppliers offer social tariffs, someone needs to be in receipt of certain benefits to claim these, but the cost savings can be significant. 

Finally, and perhaps the most important, where possible look to maximise income, it might be small but I get £50 from YouGov every 3-4 months for doing online surveys, I have friends who do a couple of evening shifts a week working from home on customer service lines (which one can do whilst children are in bed), taking additional shifts, or second jobs where possible, in most of the country there is still a huge shortage of workers, supermarkets here are still recruiting, there are 1.2 million unfilled vacancies in the country etc. so there is an opportunity in that. 

EssexHebridean

There's an exception to the flask thing - if you're on Economy 7, and the kettle boils for the first time in the morning before your switchover time, boiling it full and having a flask for use for later drinks works out cheaper than boiling as needed. Coffee can be made straight from the flask - and sufficient water for tea can be poured back into the kettle and reboiled but from a higher starting temperature (purists will be turning their noses up, no doubt!) 

Lining curtains and also ensuring curtains are pulled when it gets dark can make a difference to temperatures. Curtain linings can be bought, but it's often as simply to hang a second pair behind the existing ones - being sure the rail can take the weight. For a lightweight and effective solution fleece blankets bought from places like Dunelm Mill can have curtain hooks sewn in and be used by hooking to the tapes of the existing curtains.  Also on sunny days make sure that curtains are opened as soon as it's light - don't underestimate the effects of solar heating! 

Another E7 specific tip - learn to use your storage heaters properly and remember to keep an eye on the weather to see what adjustments need making on a day to day basis.