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

MA260

Every little helps. However to make significant inroads the big drivers of usage are heating water and central heating of homes. Need to reduce the time water is being heated. Make sure that you are not heating water you are not using. For example turning the water off before you use the water for a shower or bath will stop it reheating.  With regards to heating again lower the temperature on thermostat and make sure on no longer than needed.

Ultrasonic

Different people are comfortable with different washing patterns. For myself I don't see a need to wash hand or bath towels weekly since they are only ever touched after washing - i.e. their job is to absorb water but they shouldn't be getting particularly dirty. I do much prefer a larger bath sheet though, particularly in winter when my bathroom may be cooler.

QrizB

Sea_Shell said:

How often to do change yours?

Less frequently than you do, it seems!

EssexHebridean

Please let’s not get into the “how often do we all change the bedding/towels” territory - as those of us who’ve been about here for a while can confirm, it never ends nicely! 😂 

We fit the “couple, no children  in the house” model - and I reckon 2 loads of washing is our minimum (in the middle of the summer when lower volumes of clothing are being worn)  - it’s more usually 3, and sometimes even 4 depending what we’ve done that week.  Equally though we usually do washing on the overnight rate, and so ours will cost a little less than most - although an awful lot MORE than it was costing us just 12 months ago, of course.  

As for the hoover, ours is indeed a fairly elderly one, due for replacement relatively soon we think as it’s getting less and less effective. Probably not a bad thing considering it’s running costs - thank goodness I’m not an over-frequent hooverer! 😂

Sea_Shell

Well with all that "excessive" washing we do, our annual electricity usage is still only 1500 kWhs.

So not too shabby😉

FreeBear

jimexbox said:

FreeBear said:

mr_stripey said:

how does a ring doorbell "cost" that in electricity? Am I missing something?

https://support.ring.com/hc/en-gb/articles/4407618977300-Safety-and-compliance-information-for-Ring-Video-Doorbell-Wired - Claims 1.2W when in standby mode. So that would work out at around £5.50 per year assuming 52p per KWh.

A 5W LED bulb, 0.26p per hour.

Couple of decimal places missed on the 5w bulb.

Lemme check the maths....

1KW = 1,000W

5W = 0.005Kw. So for one hour it is 0.005Kwh

1KWh of electricity will cost 52p in round numbers come October.

0.005 x 52p = 0.26p

EssexHebridean

Sea_Shell said:

Well with all that "excessive" washing we do, our annual electricity usage is still only 1500 kWhs.

So not too shabby😉

That’ll be all the washing keeping you from being shabby… 😆😂

TimSynths

jj_43 said:

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.

I was taking to a neighbour on Saturday and she had just bought a plug that shows you the consumption and had just done it for a quick wash on her washing machine and both agreed it would be great to get together something with a rough outline of what things cost so when you have the oven on for an hour you know at the back of your mind. Then as if the Sunday Times overheard us here it is! I almost think they should be doing it as a free poster like when the World Cup is on! I've now cut the pages out and stuck them all onto my boiler as a daily reminder.

jackieblack

TimSynths said:

jj_43 said:

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.

I was taking to a neighbour on Saturday and she had just bought a plug that shows you the consumption and had just done it for a quick wash on her washing machine and both agreed it would be great to get together something with a rough outline of what things cost so when you have the oven on for an hour you know at the back of your mind. Then as if the Sunday Times overheard us here it is! I almost think they should be doing it as a free poster like when the World Cup is on! I've now cut the pages out and stuck them all onto my boiler as a daily reminder.

Am kicking myself for not spotting this yesterday and nipping out to buy a copy 😞

TheBanker

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.

I have a dishwasher, which I use. I live on my own so I use it every few days, when it's full, usually on a low temperature setting. I was told that this was more cost effective than running several bowls of hot water to wash up by hand. Whether this is still the case given price changes, I don't know. 

In mitigation, I wash some of my pans by hand as they can't go in the dishwasher. If I'm washing up by hand I'll get all the dirty cups and plates out of the dishwasher and wash them using the same water. Then finally use the water to rinse any recycling out. So I think my washing up routine is as cost effective as possible. Unlike someone I know who runs a bowl of hot water to wash up two tea cups after having a brew!

I did buy extra plates so I could go longer between dishwashing, because I found I was running out of clean plates before it was full.