My Energy use Diary

Frugaldom

I was a meter addict, reading every DAY before imeasure came along. Now I only read and record on a Monday, so I'm getting better

First storage heater switched on last night in a NW facing bedroom but I suspect a second may be switched on soon - it's still only 12 degrees here in the NW facing livingroom with no prospect of sunshine getting in here again until next Spring. I'm still hopeful I can keep within my £1200 budget but coal and logs will kill any possibility of savings on the fuel bills. I reckon we're looking at £1,500 over the year just for minimal heat during the winter months. That's 37.5% of my annual housekeeping budget!

Frugaldom

Good morning, what a lovely start for this week - sunshine and clear sky

Meter read and I'm not as shocked as I expected to be, despite having switched on the first storage heater, but that's probably because it got switched on mid week. Imeasure showing me as a D and an E, with the following results:

Your household's total energy spend over the last 44 weeks is £765.66.For week ending 11th October, 2009 your household spent £13.52 in total.
Electricity A Rate: £9.92
Electricity B Rate: £2.10
Electricity C Rate: £1.50
Plus standing charge of £1.61

This is still bringing my average down, it's now at £19.01. However, the storage heater is a small heater and it's only been set to a low temperature to keep the chill off the room. But I'm convinced that the bubblewrap insulation over the loft hatch and skylight window has helped loads and I still have all the fleeces to convert into thermal blinds/curtains for each of the windows. I just need to wait for my Velcr0 to arrive along with the self-adhesive foam draught excluder strip. I'm determined to have a warm house this winter without spending £50 a week on electricity, coal and logs.

It doesn't feel too bad here today, I have the window open to help get rid of the condensation but the thermometer here is reading 12 degrees. The back of the house is much warmer, as the sun shines in those windows. Maybe I should take laptop into the kitchen during the winter.

cw18

Low readings from last week mean I currently have a 'D' badge against all users, and a 'C' against all g&e detached. Really happy with those, as it's nice not to have at least one 'E' :T

Don't expect the improved badges to stay there next week though, but will just have to wait and see how tomorrows readings compare to last weeks......

A_fiend_for_life

Afternoon,

I am on an A and B this week and used 18 kWh of electricity last week. No gas yet surprisingly. Though have been tempted. Used some hot water bottles to keep my feet warm one night. The mercury has stayed stable at 12 or 13 C throughout the week.

Frugaldom

AFFL - the temp is about same here but it's surprising how quickly you become accustomed to it when you can see the sun shining outside. It's strange how it always feels much chillier when you can see bad weather out the windows. :rotfl: My thermometer is now reading 14 degrees here but I think it's because I've just completed a bake & cookathon to use up a couple dozen extra eggs I had. Half of the results will be traded off at my LETS meeting, the other half will be split between dinner and the freezer. I need to cook on a daily basis, so may as well cook extra.

stevehead

Gawd! You guys are so HARDCORE!
I know that iMeasure encourages competitive energy saving, but how can you sit at home with temps of
16 (CW18)
15 (nykmedia)
12 (nykmedia again)
12/13 (a friend for life)

I would be absolutely and utterly miserable living at these temperatures, I dunno how you do it. :beer:

Reason I popped into this thread (Hi), it that my iMeasure has suddenly given me a 'C' (All Users) and an 'A' (Comparison Group)!! Wow! I don't deserve it, I haven't even done anything to try.
I've been logging at iMeasure for 44 weeks, and always been C/D in summer and C/B in mid winter.
Anyone else finding iMeasure behaving weird at the moment?

cw18

Have to say I'm not noticing the lower temperature - I guess the fact I've got into the habit of putting on a sweatshirt instead of the central heating makes the biggest difference

But the thermometer I have sitting on top of my central control thermostat seems to be registeristing 17-18 as a 'norm', so we don't actually seem to have hit as low as 16 (could be my controls are fractionally out, so the heating is actually maintaining at 17 - which I actually suspect is the case).

I also think I'm not noticing it as much as I've spent most of the Summer (daylight hours anyway) with the back door wide open, meaning I've not got as used to super high heats during the warmer months (the house is fantastic at heat retention). The dogs have never had such free access to the garden, and the larger dog is certainly asking to be let out more now than he ever used to before then!!!

NualaBuala

I'm so happy I found this thread! I started entering my details on Imeasure last week. It's such a good incentive to try to improve.
Last week my house emitted 26kg CO2 and I used:
24 kWh gas
41 kWh electricity - will have to do something about that!

The heating is gas and hasn't been on yet. I've been layering up and using fleeces when it's chilly. Indoor temp has been down to 13.5C at times but usually around 15-16C.

ETA: That's just for me - living alone I can't blame anyone else for leaving things switched on! Gas heats the water too (combi boiler so it's on demand) and fuels the hob but not the oven.

setmefree2

stevehead wrote: »

Reason I popped into this thread (Hi), it that my iMeasure has suddenly given me a 'C' (All Users) and an 'A' (Comparison Group)!! Wow! I don't deserve it, I haven't even done anything to try.
I've been logging at iMeasure for 44 weeks, and always been C/D in summer and C/B in mid winter.
Anyone else finding iMeasure behaving weird at the moment?

You must have an extremely well insulated property, do you think?

setmefree2

Nualabuala Look forward to hearing how you get on.

My CH is coming on most mornings now for a short while. Its been quite warm during the day and the heat build up has meant the CH has not come on in the evenings. I have dug out all my jumpers, fleeces etc but over the weekend it was warm enough just to wear a shirt.

I'm still line drying