The new normal: £2 to tumble-dry and £45 a year for a smart doorbell

datlex

Makes me laugh the assumption people have a dishwasher.  Mine is me!  So no saving there. I do have a tumble dryer but with solar panels certainly doesn't cost a lot.  Having the oven on for an hour each evening seems excessive as well.  30 -40 minutes cooking seems more realistic.

[Deleted User]

datlex said:

Makes me laugh the assumption people have a dishwasher.  Mine is me!  So no saving there. I do have a tumble dryer but with solar panels certainly doesn't cost a lot.  Having the oven on for an hour each evening seems excessive as well.  30 -40 minutes cooking seems more realistic.

But did you not see the person earlier on this thread that said 2 loads of washing a week for a couple was way to low, because you had to wash all your bedding and towels as well?

datlex

[Deleted User] said:

datlex said:

Makes me laugh the assumption people have a dishwasher.  Mine is me!  So no saving there. I do have a tumble dryer but with solar panels certainly doesn't cost a lot.  Having the oven on for an hour each evening seems excessive as well.  30 -40 minutes cooking seems more realistic.

But did you not see the person earlier on this thread that said 2 loads of washing a week for a couple was way to low, because you had to wash all your bedding and towels as well?

No did not see that I find 1-2 washes sufficient to include washing all that. Mind you even if did more would just run it during the day when the solar panels are working.

Sea_Shell

datlex said:

[Deleted User] said:

datlex said:

Makes me laugh the assumption people have a dishwasher.  Mine is me!  So no saving there. I do have a tumble dryer but with solar panels certainly doesn't cost a lot.  Having the oven on for an hour each evening seems excessive as well.  30 -40 minutes cooking seems more realistic.

But did you not see the person earlier on this thread that said 2 loads of washing a week for a couple was way to low, because you had to wash all your bedding and towels as well?

No did not see that I find 1-2 washes sufficient to include washing all that. Mind you even if did more would just run it during the day when the solar panels are working.

It was me!!

How big a load (kg) does your machine take?

We have weekly 2 bath sheets, 2 bath mats, 3 hand towels, 2 tea towels, a fitted double sheet, top sheet and 2 pillowcases.

That doesn't fit in one load. 

That's even before the clothes we've worn.   

Throw in some running and swimming gear (towel) too (or other "mucky" hobby of choice) and there's at least another 1 or 2 loads.

[Deleted User]

Sea_Shell said:

datlex said:

[Deleted User] said:

datlex said:

Makes me laugh the assumption people have a dishwasher.  Mine is me!  So no saving there. I do have a tumble dryer but with solar panels certainly doesn't cost a lot.  Having the oven on for an hour each evening seems excessive as well.  30 -40 minutes cooking seems more realistic.

But did you not see the person earlier on this thread that said 2 loads of washing a week for a couple was way to low, because you had to wash all your bedding and towels as well?

No did not see that I find 1-2 washes sufficient to include washing all that. Mind you even if did more would just run it during the day when the solar panels are working.

It was me!!

How big a load (kg) does your machine take?

We have weekly 2 bath sheets, 2 bath mats, 3 hand towels, 2 tea towels, a fitted double sheet, top sheet and 2 pillowcases.

That doesn't fit in one load. 

That's even before the clothes we've worn.   

Throw in some running and swimming gear (towel) too (or other "mucky" hobby of choice) and there's at least another 1 or 2 loads.

Weekly?!  No wonder you have a lot of washing.

Sea_Shell

[Deleted User] said:

Sea_Shell said:

datlex said:

[Deleted User] said:

datlex said:

Makes me laugh the assumption people have a dishwasher.  Mine is me!  So no saving there. I do have a tumble dryer but with solar panels certainly doesn't cost a lot.  Having the oven on for an hour each evening seems excessive as well.  30 -40 minutes cooking seems more realistic.

But did you not see the person earlier on this thread that said 2 loads of washing a week for a couple was way to low, because you had to wash all your bedding and towels as well?

No did not see that I find 1-2 washes sufficient to include washing all that. Mind you even if did more would just run it during the day when the solar panels are working.

It was me!!

How big a load (kg) does your machine take?

We have weekly 2 bath sheets, 2 bath mats, 3 hand towels, 2 tea towels, a fitted double sheet, top sheet and 2 pillowcases.

That doesn't fit in one load. 

That's even before the clothes we've worn.   

Throw in some running and swimming gear (towel) too (or other "mucky" hobby of choice) and there's at least another 1 or 2 loads.

Weekly?!  No wonder you have a lot of washing.

Yes weekly!!  Otherwise the linen would probably get up and walk off on its own.

🤮🤮🤮


How often to do change yours?

The_Green_Hornet

Sea_Shell said:

Deleted_User said:

Sea_Shell said:

datlex said:

Deleted_User said:

datlex said:

Makes me laugh the assumption people have a dishwasher.  Mine is me!  So no saving there. I do have a tumble dryer but with solar panels certainly doesn't cost a lot.  Having the oven on for an hour each evening seems excessive as well.  30 -40 minutes cooking seems more realistic.

But did you not see the person earlier on this thread that said 2 loads of washing a week for a couple was way to low, because you had to wash all your bedding and towels as well?

No did not see that I find 1-2 washes sufficient to include washing all that. Mind you even if did more would just run it during the day when the solar panels are working.

It was me!!

How big a load (kg) does your machine take?

We have weekly 2 bath sheets, 2 bath mats, 3 hand towels, 2 tea towels, a fitted double sheet, top sheet and 2 pillowcases.

That doesn't fit in one load. 

That's even before the clothes we've worn.   

Throw in some running and swimming gear (towel) too (or other "mucky" hobby of choice) and there's at least another 1 or 2 loads.

Weekly?!  No wonder you have a lot of washing.

Yes weekly!!  Otherwise the linen would probably get up and walk off on its own.

🤮🤮🤮


How often to do change yours?

I'm with you Sea_Shell.

4 loads of washing each week.

1 x Bedding
1 x Towels
2 x Clothes

The BBC has a handy guide called How often should you wash yourself - and your things?

KxMx

I'd certainly wash all of those weekly as well apart from the bath mats, and all 3 hand towels only if each towel has been used more than a few times.

comeandgo

Why do you use bath sheets and not bath towels?  I find I can put my two bath towels, three hand towels bottom sheet, don’t use a top one, duvet cover washed every fortnight, and two pillowcases, tea towels in as one load and clothing is the other load, one week it’s lights, one week it’s darks.  My husband does wash his sports gear by hand.

jj_43

TimSynths said:

Taken from todays Times-

The new normal: £2 to tumble-dry and £45 a year for a smart doorbell | Money | The Sunday Times (thetimes.co.uk)

The price of using a tumble dryer will top £2 a cycle from October, when the running costs of everyday electrical appliances will nearly double under Ofgem’s new price cap. The price per unit of gas will more than double from 7.34p per kilowatt hour (kWh) to 15p, and the cost per unit of electricity will rise 83 per cent from 28.34p to 52p.

Although most energy usage over the winter will go on heating, the huge rise in prices will make even the most everyday things more expensive. Under the old price cap running a Bosch 7kg tumble dryer would cost £1.16 for a typical cycle, but from October it will cost £2.13.

Five minutes in a typical boiler-powered shower costs 8p at the moment but will be 18p from October and boiling a litre of water in an electric kettle will go from 3.11p to 5.72p.

The price of running a normal-sized fridge freezer will rise from £69.14 a year to £127 and a large American-style fridge freezer from £115.91 to £213. Roasting a chicken for an hour in an oven at 170C will go up from 21p to 38.6p.

Not all cuts make a big difference. Turning off TVs at the wall saves little because their power consumption has been capped at 0.5 watts since 2013. Even at higher rates, if you left a TV on standby for a year it would only cost £2.28.

Energy-saving tips that are most worth doing include ditching the tumble dryer and air-drying your washing or using a heated clothing rack, which is cheaper.

If you need extra warmth but do not want to turn on the central heating, an electric radiator, which is set to cost 78p an hour from October, might be a good option. Swap any old lightbulbs for LEDs which are more energy-efficient, and consider batch cooking so you use your oven less, as reheating something in the microwave for five minutes is cheaper.

A John Lewis 6-litre slow cooker uses 1.68kWh of electricity over six hours. This costs 48p now and 87.4p from October. Consumption varies depending on the setting, so using it on high for a shorter period, rather than low for longer, can cost less than an oven.

Frying chicken in an air fryer takes about 15 minutes and would consume 0.35kWh of electricity. This would cost you 9.9p now and 18.2p from October, much cheaper than an oven.

The other important thing to consider is getting the most energy-efficient appliances. The most energy-efficient fridge-freezer, the LG GBB92MCBAP, costs £40.63 a year to run at the current price cap, according to the consumer group Which? The least efficient fridge it tested, the Hotpoint FFU3D W 1, costs £178.66.

It might be worth investing in a heat pump tumble dryer, which is far more efficient to run than a standard one as it re-uses warm air. At about £650 they are more expensive to buy but from October they will cost 97p per cycle, compared with £2.13 for a standard dryer.

really useful. thanks for posting. You hear stories of people using candles instead of lights so putting the cost on use is helpful to make those comparisons.

I see the usual posters here with nothing to add, except their scepticism. It would be good to see them build on the information provided.