Advice needed, running out of ideas!

BH81

Hello to everyone!

I am cycling to work(25 miles a day!), driving more sensibly when I have to. Trying to cook meals for 2 or 3 days at once, have a veg patch, make own bread, but have a few more questions.

Is it cheaper to leave a laptop on all day,or turn off then on again, maybe 4 times a day.

Also TV does not have an off button, tis a toshiba flat screen, anyone know how to turn off properly or should I just pull the plug?

Saving water and energy, we only have a mixer shower off the tap, any recomendations for good water saving heads.

Is it cheaper to cook meals for 2 or 3 day and freeze then reheat in microwave or oven?

Finally meal planning for the three of us, any ideas! Also have a small freezer on top of a fridge so can't freeze everything!


Many thanks!

Bobbykins

Hi BH, I notice you haven't a freezer, so that must limit you a bit when trying to cook several meals at once because you can't store them.

Do you have room for a freezer? I think you would find one really useful if possible. You could maybe try and get one off Freecycle? I quite often see people offering them on there.

Cheers

Bobby

BH81

Hello, am in the process of getting funds for a freezer (looking for A rated one), may look on freecycle though.

debbym

BH81 wrote: »

Is it cheaper to cook meals for 2 or 3 day and freeze then reheat in microwave or oven?

This is a kind of how long is a piece of string question as it depends on how you cook the meals in the first place.
It would be cheaper to say cook a batch of things in the oven and then reheat them later - but if you are cooking the meals for 2-3 days and end up using all the rings and the oven then it is not using the cooker to its best in the first place.
I try and plan so I use the oven to its fullest - e.g. if I m cooking say lasagna for tea I try and cook some fairy cakes for the kids lunches at the same time followed by some of Twinks hobnobs by which time the lasagna is done.
If you end up using the hob a lot it is better to get some of those saucepans that stack on top of each other so you only use one ring.
The most efficient way of cooking is still the slow cooker as it only uses the energy of a lightbulb and usually has the capacity to double quantities for the freezer too.

Stephen_Leak

As an IT Tech. I can help with the laptop.

The overall power consumption of a laptop is much less then a desktop system. However, as with anything, turning it off uses infinitely less power than turning it on.

Also, leaving it plugged in isn't good for the battery - the new Lithium Ion batteries really don't like being kept fully charged. They don't develop the so-called "memory effect" where they only take a part charge, they just fail prematurely.

As slight aside, they can only last a couple of years at best. You just try getting a warranty over 1 year that covers the battery. If you do, get it: the firm will probably live to regret it. Replacement laptop batteries are expensive.

So, the best mode of operation for a laptop is to use it on battery, switching it off when not required to save battery power as usual, until the battery gets down to below 20%. Then plug it in and charge it up. Once fully charged, go back to battery power.

At the school where I work, all the teachers have laptops, and it amazes me just how many forget that they have batteries, which store power for use later. They always plug them in, as if they needed this to operate.

If you can arrange to do a charge using cheap-rate overnight electricity, so much the better.

However, if you are working on an important task for a long time, or watching a DVD (which uses a lot of power), then plug it in. Other operational considerations take priority here, and doing this occasionally won't kill the battery.

BH81

Thanks for the info.

Just need to wait until the freezer arrives!