Using over 28000kwh a year, how to reduce and energy cost anxiety

BUFF

FreeBear said:

Combi or system boiler ?

If the latter, turn the thermostat on the tank down to 50-55°C and set the programmer to heat a tank about an hour before peak usage times.

Turn the thermostat down in the hallway to 18-19°C and just have the heating on morning & evening. Better still, get a programmable thermostat that allows you to set different temperatures for each time period throughout the day.

do you know exactly which model of boiler you have?
do you know what kind of programmer/roomstat that you have.
Do you have TRVs on your radiators?

BoyMumItalia said:

Do you think I can get away with heating the hot water every other day? My husband goes to the gym about 3/4 days a week and those days he showers in the gym meaning its just I and the kids that use the water. 

send him to the gym more often ...

Mstty said:

OK it sounds like it's not selfish behaviour but a "behaviour" which is difficult to break. 

Good job you aren't on a water meter that means it hasn't cost a lot there.

It does cost a fair amount in Scotland, we just don't have the option of getting a free water meter to see if it would be cheaper if we went metered ... 

Spoonie_Turtle

Your husband sounds neurodivergent in some way, possibly autistic.  My brother has half-hour showers for his whole routine and I've struggled with needing to feel fully rinsed from sensory issues (and apart from the height of summer, keeping warm - it's hard to tear myself away from the blissful water into the colder air out of the shower).  My Dad is also autistic and avoids dealing with *anything* unless he's absolutely forced to.

I've recently learned how to work out how much things are costing - all-electric so it's easier - and have suggested to my brother to try just cutting down by 5 mins to start with (and I'll do the same) because although a small cut, it will add up with frequent showers.  Just mentioning in case it's a possibility for your husband to try too, even if he can just move quicker rather than trying to combine or skip steps.

Though the simplest and easiest energy cut may well be turning the heating down a couple of degrees, as already suggested

BoyMumItalia

Spoonie_Turtle said:

Your husband sounds neurodivergent in some way, possibly autistic.  My brother has half-hour showers for his whole routine and I've struggled with needing to feel fully rinsed from sensory issues (and apart from the height of summer, keeping warm - it's hard to tear myself away from the blissful water into the colder air out of the shower).  My Dad is also autistic and avoids dealing with *anything* unless he's absolutely forced to.

I've recently learned how to work out how much things are costing - all-electric so it's easier - and have suggested to my brother to try just cutting down by 5 mins to start with (and I'll do the same) because although a small cut, it will add up with frequent showers.  Just mentioning in case it's a possibility for your husband to try too, even if he can just move quicker rather than trying to combine or skip steps.

Though the simplest and easiest energy cut may well be turning the heating down a couple of degrees, as already suggested

Yes I believe he is neurodivergent in some ways definitely , I don't know what exactly. He once took a test to diagnose himself online which is really a rubbish way to diagnose yourself that said he was autistic. He is the avoider while on the other hand I am the opposite. Every time the news comes on about an increase in gas/electric I start panicking and I was such a happy go lucky person but since COVID etc I am the anxiety queen. I will definitely turn down the heating a few degrees this winter and see what difference it makes. I just can't for the life of me understand how we are using so much gas in a year when I see online that is is way above average for a 3 bed house. So every little tip helps. Thank you

FreeBear

BoyMumItalia said: Do you think I can get away with heating the water every other day? I read about Legionnaire's disease. Right now we heat 1.5 hours every morning and 1 hour in the evening.

There are some 200-250 cases of Legionaire's disease reported each year in England & Wales. Of those, around half are contracted during overseas visits. So with ~100 home grown cases out of a population of 60 million, the chances of catching the disease is pretty remote. The bacteria breeds best on open still water tanks with a temperature of 20-45°C. In a closed tank fed by municipal supply that has been treated to kill any bacteria, your risk is slightly above zero. Maintain a water tank temperature of ~50°C for an extended period, and any bacteria present will die. Maybe once a month, whack the temperature up to 60°C for an hour then set it back to 50°C.

You do have a thermostat on the hot water tank, don't you ?

markin

A low flow shower head would be 9 lpm so 360l for 40min

BoyMumItalia

Sorry, I am not ignoring your questions. I am just getting all my responses spam listed or blocked.

BoyMumItalia

FreeBear said:

BoyMumItalia said: Do you think I can get away with heating the water every other day? I read about Legionnaire's disease. Right now we heat 1.5 hours every morning and 1 hour in the evening.

There are some 200-250 cases of Legionaire's disease reported each year in England & Wales. Of those, around half are contracted during overseas visits. So with ~100 home grown cases out of a population of 60 million, the chances of catching the disease is pretty remote. The bacteria breeds best on open still water tanks with a temperature of 20-45°C. In a closed tank fed by municipal supply that has been treated to kill any bacteria, your risk is slightly above zero. Maintain a water tank temperature of ~50°C for an extended period, and any bacteria present will die. Maybe once a month, whack the temperature up to 60°C for an hour then set it back to 50°C.

You do have a thermostat on the hot water tank, don't you ?

okay, thanks. Well I can see something that says sensor/thermostat but its probably integrated. It's not an actual knob with temperature markings on it. I would post a picture but my last few posts have been swallowed by the spambot

markin

Trying to post more than once a min will trigger anti spam, and multi quote can be difficult to use, also no notification of new posts in threads you have posted in, unless you manually sub to it.

BoyMumItalia

BUFF said:

FreeBear said:

Combi or system boiler ?

If the latter, turn the thermostat on the tank down to 50-55°C and set the programmer to heat a tank about an hour before peak usage times.

Turn the thermostat down in the hallway to 18-19°C and just have the heating on morning & evening. Better still, get a programmable thermostat that allows you to set different temperatures for each time period throughout the day.

do you know exactly which model of boiler you have?
do you know what kind of programmer/roomstat that you have.
Do you have TRVs on your radiators?

BoyMumItalia said:

Do you think I can get away with heating the hot water every other day? My husband goes to the gym about 3/4 days a week and those days he showers in the gym meaning its just I and the kids that use the water. 

send him to the gym more often ...

Mstty said:

OK it sounds like it's not selfish behaviour but a "behaviour" which is difficult to break. 

Good job you aren't on a water meter that means it hasn't cost a lot there.

It does cost a fair amount in Scotland, we just don't have the option of getting a free water meter to see if it would be cheaper if we went metered ... 

Our boiler is a Worcester Greenstar ri and we have TRVs on our radiators. We don't have a thermostat in the hallway, it's in the main living room. It is a Drayton. That's all it says haha. This room get warm in the winter very quickly while the other rooms are still heating up. I am not sure how that can be fixed though.

Alnat1

Sounds like your living room has the first radiator on the system. This could be adjusted by having the thermostat in another room (probably set at a lower temperature) and adjusting the living room TVR so it doesn't get overly warm.