Winter energy use is over? How did you do?

SAC2334

bob2302 said:

SAC2334 said:

Drastic drop in  gas kWh use in December which was truthfully a real pain to keep up stuck in a sleeping bag and using a 400 watt electric bar instead of my central heating.. This was an experiment to see if I can handle it without heating the whole house..I can but I did nt like it especially with that sub zero week we had.

Bear in mind that electricity is much more expensive than gas; 3.4 times under the price cap. Controlling your CH better, would have given greater savings for the same level of discomfort.

I went through all that carefully in December measuring the gas use costs against the 13 p an hour 400 w Halogen heater and the Gch was four times the price..I have a large detached bungalow which was very slow to heat up and would use between 60/70 gas kwhs a day..
In my case..living on my own , and trying to be frugal in these expensive times ,I could just heat the air close to me in my main room which did exactly the same as heating the whole house for me personally.

It was an experiment which worked OK in Dec a very cold month but once I got onto the nearly half price Octopus Tracker gas kWh s at 6 p a kWh I changed back to mainly gch .Worked for me but not for everyone to just heat the air close to where I was sitting..I measured the temp at an ok 20 c ..That would nt have worked in a family house but was ok for a money saving expert like me.

caeler

I’m pretty happy with my efforts. If I compare the annual usage on my March bills for the last 3 years I’ve come a long way. 

March 21: gas 5969kwh elec 1700kwh 

March 22: gas 4806kwh elec 1557kwh

March 23: gas 3806kwh elec 1402kwh

My heating has been off for about a week and I hope that’s it now until October. I’ve been pretty strict with gas. Heating on for 3 hours a day no higher than 18c. Water heated 3-4 times a week for 2 hours. Heat the body. Doors closed throughout the house. Blankets everywhere. Thermal curtains. I replaced all my light bulbs with LEDs a few months ago. My house has an EPC of B/83 so that’s helped a lot. 

BUFF

dealyboy said:

Hi @BUFF ...

BUFF said:

mmmmikey said:

BUFF said:

yippeekiay said:

Quite surprised how much difference my use has been since last year. I was being careful but I wasn't deliberately going cold so this winter MUST have been milder, or I simply didn't feel the cold as much.

Year to March 2022 I used 2414 Kw/h of electricity

Year to March 2023 I've only used 1544 Kw/h.

That's quite a big drop but I'm going to guess I probably paid more for the latter, although I'm not going to check that as I'm in a good mood currently

EDIT:- And I too have been using a dehumidifier daily so quite pleased it hasn't used too much to be noticeable.

My dehumidifier uses ~1kWh per day the way that I run it. Because I am/was a low user to start with (~1100kWh p.a. or 3kWh per day) that 1kWh extra shows up.

Hi @BUFF a bit off topic but can I ask what your reason was for buying the dehumidifier and are you happy with it? Was is a good investment? Thanks

condensation.
I run a very low temp (by comparison to most) through the winter & it's an Edwardian terrace in Glasgow (so reasonably North) with single-glazed windows to the front (conservation area). As I have draught-proofed the sashes etc. over the years the condensation on those panes got noticeably worse.

Atm I am kind of on the fence. It has made a difference but obviously at a cost (buying & running).
I am hoping to DIY secondary glaze which hopefully will solve the issue & I can then resell the dehumidifier.

I think you have done well, Glasgow can be dreich, although I love it (or half of it).

... that's low usage for a dehumidifier ... I have a low energy one 180W condenser type that typically takes out about a litre overnight ... it doesn't run well below 10C and its effect is localised ... it wants the heating to be on.

I still get condensation and have double glazed windows in a small park home in Hertfordshire, but I will be adjusting my heating/dehumidifier use next winter (God willing) i.e. increasing.

With persistent condensation of course comes the potential for mould, which nobody wants, in unexpected and unwelcome areas too.

yes, typical external air humidity levels over winter here will be in the high 80%s or even 90%+.
It really has been a remarkably mild winter overall here so far (crosses fingers).

It is a Meaco Arete One 12l & was chosen for low noise & energy use. It is used  ~8-10hrs overnight (fairly sure that it is breath that is the source of the extra moisture). I generally would not let internal temps fall below 10C but I hope that the DIY secondary glazing will notably reduce condensation on those windows even if it may not banish it entirely.
I will keep the dehumidifier for a season after I finish the secondary glazing just in case.
.

molerat

March was around average use, neither high nor low and about 30 kWh more than last year.  Winter ended on April 14th last year according to my gas use but was the lowest April use I have recorded going back to 2010.  Running year down 13% on same point last year.

Skintsaver

Without cutting back to normal, maybe even used more than last year from 1st April 2022 £906 left my bank accounts.
Since September I've had solar I installed so I'm sure that's lowered my bills. In march I worked out that it saved me £23.

For comparison I'm a full time working parent my sons with me half the week. 

Van_Girl

It's difficult for me to tell how well I've done this winter against last, as I wasn't really tracking my oil usage as closely a year ago (have to go outside and measure with a garden cane  ) BUT I have used a grand total of 1400 ltrs in the last 12 months, against a grand total of.... 1400 ltrs in the previous 12 months  Consistent if nothing else

I have shaved the electric usage down by 200kwh year on year. I can't see me reducing that any further, but it will be interesting to see what I can do with the oil going forwards

Dandytf

Compared to. 2022, I managed to keep Smart Meter reads 3- almost 4 pounds daily.
Seems going forward I can Manage 2-almost 3 pounds during summer.
Eco 7 Electric only.
I expect to potentially increase usage if I acheive purchase /install of Dimplex Quantum during 2023.
Fortunate that SP Fixed rate 2 years expires 31st May '23.
That's when my personal Fuel Crises begins.... 

NeverendingDMP

Can't completely compare as don't have records from previous years but when avro folded we had an annual estimate on the bill of 14819 gas and 4912 electricity. This last financial year we have used 12328 gas and 4169 electricity.

We have consciously tried to use less due to costs, a couple of appliances needed to be changed so are prob now more efficient, the children have new windows in there bedrooms and we finally got a floor in the kitchen (prev ripped up due to a flood).

We have had 900 in govt assistant so although the bill was a far cry from the really low rate we had with avro we have more or less made it till spring. Family of five, hoping to reduce electric use even further!!

beckysheffield

So basically everyone seems to be quids in? 

Van_Girl

beckysheffield said:

So basically everyone seems to be quids in? 

@beckysheffield

Well, my oil for winter 2021 was costing me 39ppl, and for winter 2022 it was 86ppl, so the £200 AFP didn't really touch the sides on that. And given the leap in electric costs from £15pm to £75pm, even with the EBSS and the electric usage savings I'd say no, not really quids in