Oct price cap increase likely to push energy bill to over £10k... for a family of 4...

TheGardener

MariaAH said:

TheGardener said:

I'm in the same place as you @MariaAH, with adult children and its been process of gradual dawning on them that I am not joking when I say you a) pay for all the tech energy you use with real, actual money b) you get rid of the PCs or c) You move out. It was all a bit of an 'eye rolling' joke with them at first - but I have reiterated the choices as starkly as I could  - patiently at first but with increasing insistency - links in the family WhapsApp group to key news items about the energy crisis; post-it notes on domestic appliances and next to light switches. We have a large blackboard in the kitchen for family notices and reminders - using most of the space on it I have spelt it out in real financial terms just how much they are costing me and that there is no Plan B - they cough up, use less or get out and I don't actually have a choice.  It's been difficult for all of us to accept this shift in financial responsibility - we all tend to treat even our grown-up kids as kids! It's definitely still a 'family work in progress' but gradually I am seeing a shift. 
Fortunately, I am the only one who knows how to use our central heating controls and I have worked out I can slip the plastic dial cover off the thermostat and jam the cover flap for the timer shut - which renders it useless to the untrained 

A lot of parity between your experience and mine! I am sending key news items to them too and involving them in the discussion...thankfully we have progressed past the responses of "why don't you just change supplier then" or "why don't you go on an EV tariff then" or "just get solar panels then".

We are making progress. My daughter even remembered to turn the oven off at wall after making an omelette and has significantly cut down on shower time. My son gets it, and has stopped going on about solar panels (I don't know where he thinks the money comes from to pay for that!). I have made it clear that he must pay for what he uses and he has accepted that the TP monitors are there to stay on his devices. He charges his car once or twice a month at most, and I can monitor that usage too. We did consider motion sensor lights, but will that cost in? 

Good initiative re the heating controls!

The shower was an easy win - the pull switch for the electric shower is outside the bathroom door on the landing...

Re the doors - our back door is an issue in that we have 2 dogs so it is constantly being opened for them. My youngest student son works at a big supermarket and he suggested a plastic flap system like they have on the industrial fridges in the stockroom - in fact he reckons there are some old 'flaps' in a box at work and he's going to ask the boss if he can have them and he and his brother are going to fit them somehow. Our back door is in a covered 'ginnel' so it might work... 

Alnat1

You might have to explain a "ginnel" for anyone who lives south of Yorkshire

RobM99

Krakkkers said:

Graphics cards are like room heaters.

A quick Google says 250w or so - is that about right (I really have no idea!)?

MariaAH

70sbudgie said:

i have to say that the response of your adult children terrifies me! My children are still very young, so I have different challenges but they seem almost negligible compared to those of adult children!

Effecting behaviour change is one of the biggest challenges.

No one warns you in the baby books about how to cope with the teenage years. Each age brings new challenges, and the challenges do not end when they hit 18. Simon Sinek does some fantastic videos and Ted talks about the challenges that the millennials (and gen Z) face. It's eye opening and thought provoking. Plus the negative impact that the pandemic had on their mental health. My daughter was 16 when we went into lockdown and 18 when she came out, my son is 3 years older. I cannot imagine spending my most formative years like that...the lack of real social interaction, the lack of opportunities and experiences. To be fair, I am happy that they survived with their mental health 'fairly' intact. 

MariaAH

RobM99 said:

Gasp! A BIG read, this thread but can someone explain - how does a gaming PC use so much electricity when a laptop uses so little? It must produce enough heat to keep the house warm on its own (obviously not!). Puzzled.

This is a week of monitoring son's gaming PC with the TP monitor...highest usage day was 5.4kWh

RobM99

That seems about right then. I think!

70sbudgie

MariaAH said:

RobM99 said:

Gasp! A BIG read, this thread but can someone explain - how does a gaming PC use so much electricity when a laptop uses so little? It must produce enough heat to keep the house warm on its own (obviously not!). Puzzled.

This is a week of monitoring son's gaming PC with the TP monitor...highest usage day was 5.4kWh

That does seem to be pretty significant!

MariaAH

RobM99 said:

That seems about right then. I think!

And this is the beast using that power...

MariaAH

70sbudgie said:

MariaAH said:

RobM99 said:

Gasp! A BIG read, this thread but can someone explain - how does a gaming PC use so much electricity when a laptop uses so little? It must produce enough heat to keep the house warm on its own (obviously not!). Puzzled.

This is a week of monitoring son's gaming PC with the TP monitor...highest usage day was 5.4kWh

That does seem to be pretty significant!

Which is why it has a TP monitor and he is paying for every kW he uses!

MariaAH

TheGardener said:

Re the doors - our back door is an issue in that we have 2 dogs so it is constantly being opened for them. My youngest student son works at a big supermarket and he suggested a plastic flap system like they have on the industrial fridges in the stockroom - in fact he reckons there are some old 'flaps' in a box at work and he's going to ask the boss if he can have them and he and his brother are going to fit them somehow. Our back door is in a covered 'ginnel' so it might work... 

Hmm...i'm interested to see if that would work...