Home Electricity & Costs - what are you doing?

[ardm17]

Swim 3 times a week - free showers ...

 

[Amarillo]

Thermostat 2 degrees lower both for base setting and the morning/evening setting.

Electric heated mattress cover. 1p/hr to power (according to the manufacturer).

Our energy supplier has over estimated our gas by 500 cubic metres which we have decided not to correct at this time, but will correct as a gradual process.

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

Japan beating Germany 2-1 warmed me up a bit

 

[subthree]

Perhaps less of this

 

[sidepod]

I have the square looking bridge. The previous was round. I think mine is a least 10 yrs old.
Try this - go to settings; select lights; choose a light you want to configure. You should see the following …
View attachment 102409
Click on the line that’s has ‘power on’. That should give you the screen I showed in previous post.
Also worth checking your Hue App is up to date.

Confirm. Works for me. Square bridge.

 

[clarinetbcn]

Bought the flat with passive energy in mind, south facing so usually no heat needed during the day. Solar electric installed in 2019, the panels serve as awning to keep sun off the south wall and windows during the summer, but allows the sun to warm them during the winter. All warm LED lighting with dimmers, heat pumps for heat/aircon, heat at 21C while awake and 19C while asleep only in areas being used, dishwasher and washing machine after midnight or on weekends (Sat. and Sun. are 24hrs lowest rate here.) Shower at the gym most days. No electric bike to charge, fortunately my legs are still capable. Finally, I live on the 6th floor and never use the elevator unless I'm carrying a load of groceries or sport equipment, helps keep me in shape to use the bike for daily transportation. Those neighbors in the building who can, try to limit use of the elevator to reduce building costs (and keep themselves in shape!)

 

[Calimili]

Japan beating Germany 2-1 warmed me up a bit

Lots of beer saved over here by the locals today, nobody's cheering, light turned down too.
Well, apart from Mr Katayama on the flat above, he's partying like an animal.

 

[westfalia]

Some b@§7ard blew up my cheap gas pipeline and now I'm
faced with buying fracking gas shipped over from the United states of Amnesia.

I still need gas. Leccy too, diesel, benzin and flour and wood to burn.
Its all a bit dear at the moment, hey ho, but who blew up my cheap gas line?

I think I'm being shafted.

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

Some b@§7ard blew up my cheap gas pipeline and now I'm
faced with buying fracking gas shipped over from the United states of Amnesia.

I still need gas. Leccy too, diesel, benzin and flour and wood to burn.
Its all a bit dear at the moment, hey ho, but who blew up my cheap gas line?

I think I'm being shafted.

Don’t worry, there’ll be no food to cook soon

 

[2into1]

#save-real-ovens

Our ovens seem to be one of the main culprits in this crisis. I do wonder if we have fully understood the true cost of running them....
Where does the heat go that I've just invested in heating my lasagne? Some will have escaped through the external wall behind it, but a good bit of it remains in the lovely warm kitchen and is now spreading around the house (I know that because I can smell the roast garlic from the tray bake).

So does cooking with an oven deserve quite the bad rap it gets? It clearly isn't as simple as the calcs suggest (which assumes all the energy used is lost).

My oven is elec and heating is gas so I do have a four (?) fold penalty in cost per kwhr, but many are already using electricity for their heating.

I suspect old tech light bulbs were similarly punished in the calcs but I can't see them making a comeback!

Obviously my pondering only applies to winter when the heating is needed.

Thoughts?

 

[2into1]

What I have done is to turn down the temperature of the water in the central heating circuit (gas condenser boiler). I watched a couple of respectable videos arguing that if the return temperature of the heating water is too high, the boiler can't condense and your 'condensing boiler' is no more efficient than the old one it replaced.

It takes longer to heat up the house, which doesn't seem to be a bad thing, as the structure of my old listed building seems to suit being kept at more constant temperature, and I'm at home all of the day.

2nd thing I've done - more for comfort than economy - is to switch my Nest thermostat to Fahrenheit from Celsius. Why?

I'd tried to see if I could vary the delta between the temperatures it switched on and switched off the heating, once in a steady state. I couldn't find how to do that.

With it on C, I'd be feeling the cold waiting for it to switch on, and would be too warm waiting for it to trip off.

I can't tell you exactly how the delta has changed, but the boiler is fired more often but for much shorter runs, and I'm much more comfortable as a result.

 

[andyinluton]

What I have done is to turn down the temperature of the water in the central heating circuit (gas condenser boiler).

Just make sure that your hot water is still at leat 60-65 degrees in the tank, & 50-55 degrees at the tap, less than that & there is a serious risk of legionnaires disease.

 

[2into1]

Just make sure that your hot water is still at leat 60-65 degrees in the tank, & 50-55 degrees at the tap, less than that & there is a serious risk of legionnaires disease.

Yep those apply as you've accurately stated, but this idea was just the return temperature of the central heating system, which is sealed. On my boiler, I can vary the temperature independently.

 

[Velma's Dad]

Just drove down from Ayrshire to South Bucks today taking advantage of Cali to bring a load of nicely seasoned split firewood. Put bench seat fully forward and kept stacking right up to top of the seat back. Not sure the weight but van didn't seem particularly low on the springs.

Anyway that's a few evenings with meat falling off the bone at my end of the sofa but Mrs VD will be happy.

 

[66tim99]

We do have an electric car

Can the car act as battery storage?
We still haven’t put the heating on yet. Living room still hasn’t dipped below 20 degrees …
Bought a Nest last year (recommended) which has given us more control and means we can control the space and water heating remotely, including switching off if we’ve forgotton.
Bills lower this year compared to last by 10% (we’ve had no increase in tarrif yet as on a fixed rate.

 

[andyinluton]

Yep those apply as you've accurately stated, but this idea was just the return temperature of the central heating system, which is sealed. On my boiler, I can vary the temperature independently.

Thats fine, sounds like you're aware.
Works ok if the house is plumbed right. Ours has the biggest most used room is at the far end of the pipe run, even with all other radiators turned off we struggle to get that room hot enough. Really need to re plumb with bigger pipework.

Something else worth checking is if thermostatic radiator valves are working, I checked ours in the summer & found about 15 stuck ones.

 

[kurienp]

Can the car act as battery storage?

Unfortunately no and which is where I was actively considering one that does - the Leaf or even the IONIQ. As people say, that is an 80kWh storage sitting then on your drive, but the other part is - how does it impact the life of the battery - as yet unknown.

V2G as a concept works. Reality of battery degradation is an unknown yet.

Bills lower this year compared to last by 10%

That is cool. Technology does have it merits, until it fails and then can be a proper headache.

Our usage was/is quite minimal (I think) 7kW average per day. I am now trying to reduce that further ... and will see in a few months (especially through Dec - with all the baking etc that my dear wife will do) if I succeed.

 

[Corradobrit]

Can the car act as battery storage?

Hyundai EV6 will do that. Caravaners use this capability to power their trailers when stopped.

 

[Bellcrew]

#save-real-ovens

Our ovens seem to be one of the main culprits in this crisis. I do wonder if we have fully understood the true cost of running them....
Where does the heat go that I've just invested in heating my lasagne? Some will have escaped through the external wall behind it, but a good bit of it remains in the lovely warm kitchen and is now spreading around the house (I know that because I can smell the roast garlic from the tray bake).

So does cooking with an oven deserve quite the bad rap it gets? It clearly isn't as simple as the calcs suggest (which assumes all the energy used is lost).

My oven is elec and heating is gas so I do have a four (?) fold penalty in cost per kwhr, but many are already using electricity for their heating.

I suspect old tech light bulbs were similarly punished in the calcs but I can't see them making a comeback!

Obviously my pondering only applies to winter when the heating is needed.

Thoughts?

I am clinging onto my ancient Panasonic plasma TV, heats our living room all winter, not so clever during a heat wave though, the picture is as good as the day it was made, what a conundrum, should it go?

 

[Corradobrit]

I am clinging onto my ancient Panasonic plasma TV, heats our living room all winter, not so clever during a heat wave though, the picture is as good as the day it was made, what a conundrum, should it go?

Definitely not. My Pioneer Kuro will stay until it kicks the bucket, and even then I have another I can use as a parts mule. That said I"m glad I no longer have my 3CRT Sony G90. That was a 1kW beast, with enough heat output to keep all the apartments in the block cozy.

 

[vwsween]

Stopped using oven. Stopped heating bedrooms, bathroom and hall. The rest now set to 19c.
Easiest saver = wear a jumper!

 

[sidepod]

, I checked ours in the summer & found about 15 stuck ones.

15????? WTF? I don’t think there are 15 radiators in our village! How big is your house?

 

[chockswahay]

15????? WTF? I don’t think there are 15 radiators in our village! How big is your house?

Haha….. we only have 6

 

[andyinluton]

15????? WTF? I don’t think there are 15 radiators in our village! How big is your house?

Well it started life as a big 3 bed detached on a large plot, we've added another 3 bedrooms & an extra lounge, offices, utility, 2 more bathrooms etc Its virtually all done by me & done & has taken 20 years so far as the family has grown.

One day it might actually be finished. In about 2005 I did take a year off real work to do the major part of it.
That year the Mrs took the 2 year old back to South Africa to stay with her dad & left me with 6 year old twins after we woke up in bed feeling a bit chilly, the tarpaulins had blown off the roof & the sheeting had come off the front scaffold, we had about an inch of snow laying on the bed covers & could wave to the people over the road through the missing front wall.
We had a ladder to get upstairs & a scaffold board to bridge a missing bit of landing.


I keep thinking about doing it again somewhere else, I must be mad.

 

[chockswahay]

@andyinluton

“I keep thinking about doing it again somewhere else, I must be mad.”

Yup…..BONKERS! (Respect tho! )