Tips For Using Less Electricity

[bednobs]

hi, our electricty bills are frankly huge for a three person household. Our electrical appliances consist of the following - :
freezer
router
cordless phone
tv
laptop
wall lights
spotlights
dab radios x 3
oven
kettle
toaster
washer/dryer
dishwasher
microwave
macerator
battery charger
lampsx 3
iron
dvd player
iopd docking station
water softner
fridge freezer
baby monitor
computer
printer
kindle/tablet/phone/toothbrush/nintendo chargers
hairdryer
humidifiers
can anyone give me recommendations of how to use less (apart from just turning things off), if anything i use is a huge consumer and so on

[boxtops]

bednobs, I can't off-hand ,but we have much the same as you and our bills are kind of reasonable.

However, we went onto a smart meter a few weeks back and they give you a monitor thingy which stands in the kitchen. It alerts you on a traffic light system as to when things which use a lot of leccy are active. We've found it really useful to keep an eye on usage.

[DTCwordfan]

Most folk keep their fridges too cold......some saving there? How's your water heated - turn that back by a notch.

Make sure the dishwasher is really full, ditto washer and dryer. Can you cut out the humidifiers?

[ChillDoubt]

Make sure nothing is left on standby, especially TV's.
I never have my home phone switched on, using the telephone line for internet only.
I never have my microwave on unless it's in use.
Also, why use 3 DAB radio's? Use your ipod docking station, there are plenty of radio apps.
Never had a dishwasher, nothing wrong with a washing up bowl and a bit of elbow grease, especially as there's only 3 of you!

[pixie373]

Apparently tumble dryers take huge amounts of electricity, so use radiators / line if possible.

[grasscarp]

Don't leave tv s etc on standby
Tumble dryers use a lot

[bednobs]

thanks for the answers. We have 3 radios because we each have a clock radio on our side of the bed, and a radio for downstairs use. I don't think my ipod has internet connectivity

[Stargazer]

I find that many people boil far more water in the kettle when they only want about half a pint for a mug of tea. Most kettles have a measure strip on the side so you can see how much to put in for more or less exactly what you want to pour into your mug.

[ChillDoubt]

Well, I'm sure 3 adults/2 adults 1 teenager could do the washing up between them as they use a lot of electricity. Also, dare I ask why you need a baby monitor?

[bednobs]

ummmm, because we have a baby

[ChillDoubt]

Ah, wasn't sure because you said you are a 3 person household and have 3 clock radios.
I reasoned that a baby might not have need for one of those just yet!

[bednobs]

we have 2 clock radios and a radio = 3 radios

[hc4361]

Modern tvs don't use much power at all in standby (it's the screen that gobbles up the electicity), your dvd player uses lots in comparison.
http://www.edfenergyonline.co.uk/EcoManager/top_tips.html

If you have a newish dishwasher and only use it when full then that should be as cheap if not cheaper than washing up by hand.

Just how much is your electricity bill? How do you heat your house and hot water? Do you use electric power showers? You've missed out vacuum cleaner, lawn mower, power tools, pressure washer. Is your oven and hob gas or electric?

[ubasses]

Have you got a tariff like economy 7. We have most of the above except the dryer, plus we heat our water by electric when the CH is not on, but dishwasher, washing machine and all charging up is done overnight on cheap rate. Monthly bill is £44.

[stevec000]

you haven`t exactly said how huge you bill is , we have 5 in our family with all the things you listed and more and our bill is around £65p.m and as we all know those fat cats are about to take more and they will keep onrising until they screw us to death.

[SpikeyBush]

Yes we really need to know what your bills are currently. Mine is around €100 for two months. The TV does not have an off button and the plug point is too obscured to make it easy to turn off there. Her indoors does not know how to turn a light off and as a result the whole place seems to be lit up like Blackpool at Christmas. My teenage son is never off the internet. Tumble dryer used frequently as the magpies and pigeons like pooing on the washing line. I think you lot in the UK are all being taken for a ride when it comes to energy prices.

[mrs.chappie]

Don't iron stuff unless it's absolutely essential.

I agree with the comment about modern dishwashers. I have a 29 minute cycle on mine, the dishes always come out clean and I use half a tablet per wash.

Aldi's own brand dishwasher tablets are great and much cheaper than those well known tablets.

[EDDIE51]

Tumble driers just EAT electricity , we now only use ours in an emergency.
You can reorganize your life so that you dry on racks or on the washing line.
Nothing other on your list seems to be a big user of power. Do you have a 'night time' lower tariff? we do , I put the washing on at midnight so it uses the night tariff which is less than half the day rate, if it is essential to run the tumble dryer it goes on between midnight and 7am only.

[hc4361]

I use Aldi dishwasher tabs, too.

[hc4361]

All my washing goes in the tumble drier but I do use it only on economy 7.

[EDDIE51]

Did you see the 10 o'clock news?
The government has just signed a long term agreement (50 years I think) with France and China to build new nuclear power stations , they will guarantee to pay a price for the power that is 90% MORE than we currently pay!