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some energy saving advice please
12 Answers
Due to the monstrous bills I received last winter I am trying to save energy (money!).
Shame my landlord won't insulate the place!
My current plan is: central heating off except in emergencies, use gas fire in lounge on low, wear warm clothing.
To warm the bedroom, I put on the CH for an hour before bedtime.
Morning: jump out of bed & run about, get dressed quickly, wash sparingly!
I am now considering an electric blanket or hot water bottle, is this worth it? Leaks etc! electrocucion!
Can any energy experts reading this tell me the energy cost : elec blanket 2hrs V CH 1 hour V boil kettle.
Shame my landlord won't insulate the place!
My current plan is: central heating off except in emergencies, use gas fire in lounge on low, wear warm clothing.
To warm the bedroom, I put on the CH for an hour before bedtime.
Morning: jump out of bed & run about, get dressed quickly, wash sparingly!
I am now considering an electric blanket or hot water bottle, is this worth it? Leaks etc! electrocucion!
Can any energy experts reading this tell me the energy cost : elec blanket 2hrs V CH 1 hour V boil kettle.
Answers
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Hot water bottle - essential.
Blanket over you in the evenings while sitting down
Woolly hat on indoors
You don't need CH on in the bedroon - certainly not yet anyway
Don't bother with the electric blanket - the HWB is far better - you don't need to boil the kettle. Keep a large flask by your kettle and everytime you inadvertently boil too much water, put the excess in the flask. Use this and water from the hot tap for your HWB
Blanket over you in the evenings while sitting down
Woolly hat on indoors
You don't need CH on in the bedroon - certainly not yet anyway
Don't bother with the electric blanket - the HWB is far better - you don't need to boil the kettle. Keep a large flask by your kettle and everytime you inadvertently boil too much water, put the excess in the flask. Use this and water from the hot tap for your HWB
Most electricity suppliers charge a higher rate for the first few units you use in a quarter (typically the first 225) and a lower rate thereafter. As a guide the expensive units are around 16p each, the others cost about 11p each. Since the units you'll be saving will be mainly, or wholly, the cheaper ones, I'll base my figures on 11p per unit:
Kettles are usually rated at between 2.2kWh and 3kwh. That means that the price of boiling a kettle, continuously for an hour, would be between 23p and 33p. In practice, of course, most kettles boil in a couple of minutes, so the cost of boiling it once would be around 1p.
The central heating costs are far harder to calculate. (You've not stated whether it's gas or electric. I'm assuming that it's electric). As a guide, try to imagine that you're heating your home with several of those small fan heaters which I'm sure you've come across. They typically have 2 heat settings. The 'low' (1kW) setting will take the chill off a room or keep a small room warm enough in relatively mild conditions. The 'high' (2kW) setting will keep a small room warm on a fairly cold day but you might need additional heating in a large room. On the 'low' setting, a single fan heater would cost you 11p per hour. On the 'high' setting, it would cost you 22p per hour. Try to imagine how many fan heaters you'd need to replace your central heating and that will give you a (very) rough guide to what you're paying for the central heating. (The actual central heating costs might be rather higher, because of differences in efficiencies).
Electric blankets are very cheap to run. They only use about 80W. Using one for 8 hours would cost around 7p.
Personally, I never heat my bedroom. On really cold nights (or when my old joints start aching), I occasionally use a microwaveable hot water bottle. They're cheap and cost next to nothing to heat up.
Chris
Kettles are usually rated at between 2.2kWh and 3kwh. That means that the price of boiling a kettle, continuously for an hour, would be between 23p and 33p. In practice, of course, most kettles boil in a couple of minutes, so the cost of boiling it once would be around 1p.
The central heating costs are far harder to calculate. (You've not stated whether it's gas or electric. I'm assuming that it's electric). As a guide, try to imagine that you're heating your home with several of those small fan heaters which I'm sure you've come across. They typically have 2 heat settings. The 'low' (1kW) setting will take the chill off a room or keep a small room warm enough in relatively mild conditions. The 'high' (2kW) setting will keep a small room warm on a fairly cold day but you might need additional heating in a large room. On the 'low' setting, a single fan heater would cost you 11p per hour. On the 'high' setting, it would cost you 22p per hour. Try to imagine how many fan heaters you'd need to replace your central heating and that will give you a (very) rough guide to what you're paying for the central heating. (The actual central heating costs might be rather higher, because of differences in efficiencies).
Electric blankets are very cheap to run. They only use about 80W. Using one for 8 hours would cost around 7p.
Personally, I never heat my bedroom. On really cold nights (or when my old joints start aching), I occasionally use a microwaveable hot water bottle. They're cheap and cost next to nothing to heat up.
Chris
Thanks Chris.
Frankief, you could wear pyjamas or nightie and bedsocks, rather than heat the bedroom.
Cooking with a slow cooker is economical and will also help to heat a small kitchen.
It goes without saying that lights should be switched off in unoccupied rooms.
Don't leave anything on standby.
There are lots more tips, I'm sure.
Frankief, you could wear pyjamas or nightie and bedsocks, rather than heat the bedroom.
Cooking with a slow cooker is economical and will also help to heat a small kitchen.
It goes without saying that lights should be switched off in unoccupied rooms.
Don't leave anything on standby.
There are lots more tips, I'm sure.
Thanks for all the prompt answers.
Ethel - I know its Oct but the house is getting cold already, it's an old stone terrace up North! Not that i'm soft or anything!
Mrs C - yes I do get 'dressed up' to go to bed. The microwaveable HWB sounds good - where can I get a cheap one? Wilkos or Woolies do you reckon?
Ethel - I know its Oct but the house is getting cold already, it's an old stone terrace up North! Not that i'm soft or anything!
Mrs C - yes I do get 'dressed up' to go to bed. The microwaveable HWB sounds good - where can I get a cheap one? Wilkos or Woolies do you reckon?
Mine came from QD, which is a major discount chain around here in East Anglia but they've not found there way 'up north' yet. (i bought it several years ago. I think it was �2.99)
There are two types of microwaveable hot water bottles. One type is gel filled. I've never really fancied the idea of using one of those, in case the hot gel leaks out (although I've never heard of it actually happening). The other type, which I've got, is filled with wheat. (It's not actually 'bottle-shaped'. It looks rather like the type of draught excluder which you put at the bottom of doors).
Check out places like Poundland and other discount stores. Alternatively, the wheat filled type are often sold at local craft fairs. (However, they tend to be more expensive at those type of places).
Incidentally, the packaging on the one I bought advertised how warm it would keep me in bed. When I bought it, I found out that the instructions stated 'Do not use under bedclothes'! I can tell you that any such instructions can safely be ignored!!
Wilkinson's website advertises a 'Microwave Pain Reliever Wheat Pack', which is effectively the same thing. They're out of stock for online purchases but, since they're only �3, it might be worth looking out for them in Wilkinson's stores:
http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/invt/0232734
Chris
There are two types of microwaveable hot water bottles. One type is gel filled. I've never really fancied the idea of using one of those, in case the hot gel leaks out (although I've never heard of it actually happening). The other type, which I've got, is filled with wheat. (It's not actually 'bottle-shaped'. It looks rather like the type of draught excluder which you put at the bottom of doors).
Check out places like Poundland and other discount stores. Alternatively, the wheat filled type are often sold at local craft fairs. (However, they tend to be more expensive at those type of places).
Incidentally, the packaging on the one I bought advertised how warm it would keep me in bed. When I bought it, I found out that the instructions stated 'Do not use under bedclothes'! I can tell you that any such instructions can safely be ignored!!
Wilkinson's website advertises a 'Microwave Pain Reliever Wheat Pack', which is effectively the same thing. They're out of stock for online purchases but, since they're only �3, it might be worth looking out for them in Wilkinson's stores:
http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/invt/0232734
Chris
Obviously all the Ab'ers who have answered so far are from the UK.
I'm from New Zealand & our winters get damnably cold & the power bills are crippling too.
I'm lucky now to have a fully insulated house, ceiling & underfloor & a multi-fuel with a wet-back.
BUT, before I used to have my bed in the living room in the winter so as only to have to heat one room. Then move it back to the bedroom when it started getting warmer. I'd dash between the kitchen, bathroom & loo, all unheated.
So when I went to bed, it was warm at least & I'd just use a little fan heater in the mornings for the short while it took to eat my brekkie, then off to work.
I'm from New Zealand & our winters get damnably cold & the power bills are crippling too.
I'm lucky now to have a fully insulated house, ceiling & underfloor & a multi-fuel with a wet-back.
BUT, before I used to have my bed in the living room in the winter so as only to have to heat one room. Then move it back to the bedroom when it started getting warmer. I'd dash between the kitchen, bathroom & loo, all unheated.
So when I went to bed, it was warm at least & I'd just use a little fan heater in the mornings for the short while it took to eat my brekkie, then off to work.
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