Home Electricity & Costs - what are you doing?

[larrylamb]

I agree. It is free heat but surely quite expensive heat and probably in the wrong place. Move the oven to the bedroom?
We just live in the kitchen which is open plan to the living room so no need for and heating.
The large range cooker plus aga/boiler plus wood stove could create enough heat for a small country.
I warm air duct system would easily heat the whole house.

We wanted an Aga years ago (love them) but could't do it in our layout. They were about £8k at the time but i can pick several up for free now people are getting rid of them. The running costs now must be horrendous i guess??

 

[Ch1pbutty]

We wanted an Aga years ago (love them) but could't do it in our layout. They were about £8k at the time but i can pick several up for free now people are getting rid of them. The running costs now must be horrendous i guess??

We had an oil Rayburn Heatranger in our last house, Paid £450 2nd hand; It had twin pressure jet burners so did central heating/water + cooking independently. Some of the modern ones are quite efficient as do not need to be turned on all the time, and the oven heats very quickly. We also had a small induction hob which we could use if we didn't want to turn the Rayburn on.

Fitted older style Rayburn in the cottage before the above house . Used a fair amount of oil as ran 24/7 but we didnt have central heating when we first moved in, so worked out well in combination with a wood burning stove. One of our neighbours gave us the Rayburn as was taking up space in their garage..moved it round to ours with a few skateboards!

Now have electric oven + gas hobs. Nearly bought a 2nd hand Rayburn locally (for £750) but couldn't get the flue into our new kitchen extension design without having an odd layout.

 

[Amarillo]

Is it more efficient to have a full fridge and freezer or just the bare essentials?

 

[Keith Smith]

We wanted an Aga years ago (love them) but could't do it in our layout. They were about £8k at the time but i can pick several up for free now people are getting rid of them. The running costs now must be horrendous i guess??

It costs us about £4 per day at the moment to run our electric AGA. We usually run it for around 5 months each year and, for us, it’s worth it. It keeps the core of the house warm, we cook on it, we have a clothes rack above so no need to use the tumble drier and the oil central heating only comes on in the evening which, along with insulation I’ve managed to fit, has reduced our oil consumption by half.

 

[WelshGas]

Is it more efficient to have a full fridge and freezer or just the bare essentials?

I gather full is more efficient in the longterm, and top opening rather than front opening.
I gather it is to do with air exchange when opening to take stuff out or put it in.

 

[clarinetbcn]

I have lived twice in houses while renovating them myself. If I ever find myself making plans to do that again, I will directly check myself into a mental hospital, because that’s where I’ll eventually wind up anyway.

 

[Vagophile]

Is it more efficient to have a full fridge and freezer or just the bare essentials?

Elsewhere I mentioned the demise of my ancient chest freezer, a 16 cu.ft. model, bought to take advantage of all the abundant fruit and veg where we lived and subdivided by having nine wire baskets to fit. Over time there was no need for so large a model, but as it was still working, I kept it and filled the bottom row of baskets with crumpled newspaper, and so it operated until it died. When it did and was replaced with a modern 10 cu.ft chest freezer, the separately measurable electricity consumption reduced by 45%.

 

[Vagophile]

Nothing to do really with consciously trying to save energy, but practical necessity, our house was treated to a new gas boiler and double glazed windows and doors last June. The radiators (15 nr.) were all fitted with thermostatic controls which, the plumber told me, are now a building regs requirement in any upgrade.
Before this work, all LED lights had been installed and an extra 100mm of loft insulation installed (I don't remember paying a lot for this, I think it was some government initiative)
The outcome of the combined boiler and glazing works has been to effect a reduction of almost 50% in gas consumption. All radiators in rooms not used are shut down. The system is on a fairly standard timer which allows the boiler to run up to three times a day. It presently runs from 7.a.m. to 9.30 pm without a break.
I set the single hall thermostat to nineteen degrees and it did feel slightly chilly. On medical advice I re-set it to twenty degrees and the difference is remarkable, so the increased consumption (+)/potential saving(-) must be significant, though it hasn't been operating long enough to tell.
On a separate point, I am not sold on all of this "new fangled" technology, especially smart meters, which I feel are the thin end of the wedge towards state energy control (either the U.K. or China).

 

[Amarillo]

I gather full is more efficient in the longterm, and top opening rather than front opening.
I gather it is to do with air exchange when opening to take stuff out or put it in.

Agree with that, but what about the propensity to graze from a full fridge - and the associated costs - compared with the sigh of resignation on opening a fridge stocked with just the bare essentials?

 

[Velma's Dad]

We wanted an Aga years ago (love them) but could't do it in our layout. They were about £8k at the time but i can pick several up for free now people are getting rid of them. The running costs now must be horrendous i guess??

We had one (gas fired) a couple of houses ago. They are lovely things especially in a family house with lots of cooking going on. And if gas or oil-fired, and if positioned well in the house with good insulation in the wall behind, they're going to contribute substantially to the space-heating needs of the house during the heating season.

There's no getting away from the fact that an electric Aga is an extremely expensive way to heat both your dinner and your home, given that electricity is about 3x the cost of gas per KWh..

The biggest issue with "Aganomics" is however that for about six months of the year you have no need of the space-heating benefit - which is why some Aga owners switch them off in the summer and use separate electric hobs and ovens.

 

[westfalia]

No one taking me up on the true cost of having the oven on?

No one taking me up on Who blew up my cheap gasline?

 

[sidepod]

No one taking me up on Who blew up my cheap gasline?

Interesting one that. Can’t understand any motivation. Seems an odd thing to do if it’s not blameable on anyone. My money is on the Septics.

 

[WelshGas]

Agree with that, but what about the propensity to graze from a full fridge - and the associated costs - compared with the sigh of resignation on opening a fridge stocked with just the bare essentials?

It’s called “ Self Control “.

 

[westfalia]

Interesting one that. Can’t understand any motivation. Seems an odd thing to do if it’s not blameable on anyone. My money is on the Septics.

Its a Who don it
but nobody cares.
I do though, everyone I ask isn't really bothered about it.

Just brush it under the carpet, again..

 

[sidepod]

Its a Who don it
but nobody cares.
I do though, everyone I ask isn't really bothered about it.

Just brush it under the carpet, again..

That’s the odd thing. Obvs it back fired, as you say nobody cares. Could be the Germans? Now they have no excuse but to live without Vladgas.

 

[westfalia]

That’s the odd thing. Obvs it back fired, as you say nobody cares. Could be the Germans? Now they have no excuse but to live without Vladgas.

I don't yet know anyone who would cut their wrist,
also don't know anyone who would shoot themselves in the foot.
This could be a modern thing, maybe I should get with it.
Use expensive fracking gas shipped over an ocean but keep in trim
with the climate control at the same time. ich lach mich tot.

 

[Bobby D]

Won't be long til off-grid is a real possibility for all. You could do it now for about £10K worth of EcoFlow battery packs and then some decent Solar. Just run a backup Generator too just incase. £10-15K sounds a lot but it's only 3 years of the average bill really. (Not the supposed average)

 

[DavidofHook]

No one taking me up on the true cost of having the oven on?

Does this help?
We have a fitted Neff electric double oven in the kitchen. We have now imported indoors from it’s resting place in the roof of the garage a tiny Tefal 700 mini cooker which is 12” wide by 6” high with a hot plate on the top. We bought it in France about 22 years ago for our then caravan. Despite it’s age is quicker & much cheaper than the Neff. Not actually sat down and calculated how much cheaper but just heating a plate for the breakfast bacon in the Neff takes 2.5 minutes, whereas the mini cooker (using rhe Neff timer!) takes one minute. Mrs DoH has done a Sunday dinner in it. Use of the Neff has dipped considerably

I also use a slow cooker for casseroles. Had this for ages too. Old fashioned chef, I just add more meat and veg as we use it. A constant food source. Cheap to run.

We have 10” loft insulation, and we exercise more control over our heating using thermostatic radiator valves. There is just the two of us so If it’s on in the kitchen then it’s off in the lounge and bedrooms etc. We apply the finger technology for this. I have also fitted a motion sensor light bulb in the cupboard under the stairs after mistakenly keep leaving it on all night. Also one to the light at the top of the stairs.

The smart meter shows our energy use has dropped considerably from last year. Every month we have used less. However, despite that it has cost us more. It helps going to France for two months and Spain for 3 weeks!

I see from others how they have lowered energy use by reducing family size.
We have the opposite starting on 1 December when my son and daughter in law arrive from Australia with their two huge teenage sons for 6 weeks. Coming from Brisbane where extreme cold for them is average 15 C and it can get up to 40 I’m not sure we are going to keep energy usage below last year for the period!

 

[pjm-84]

Well the monthly electric bill has appeared on the App ....£72 - £66 = £6

Not a negative and splits as follows 643kwh on the EV rate / 26kwh on the daytime rate. (I made a mistake charging one evening at peak rate). So close

 

[kurienp]

Well the monthly electric bill has appeared on the App ....£72 - £66 = £6

Not a negative and splits as follows 643kwh on the EV rate / 26kwh on the daytime rate. (I made a mistake charging one evening at peak rate). So close

@pjm-84 , a question. How much are you able to charge the battery storage at the ev rate? Does the battery charge at 7kw or 22kw ? I suspect this is the ev rate that is applicable for 4 hours each night?

 

[pjm-84]

Inverter for the battery is limited to 3kw for charge and discharge. So in 4hrs I can add 12kwh to the battery. I think most G98/99 applications set a limit and the Tesla at 5kw is the one of the highest single domestic ones that I'm aware off. I have seen dual inverter installation so 2x3kw etc

 

[chockswahay]

Our shower is 8kw electric and not very powerful however our water is oil heated so we decided to go ‘old skool’………. I’d forgotten how nice a bath is!

 

[Grumposaur68]

No more freezer full of unhealthy frozen Pizzas, Ice-cream and meat. Put a timer on my router, no need to stay on all night or during the day when I'm not in. Use the kettle more intelligently, if I need just a cup of hot water i fill the cup with cold water, then pour the water in the kettle to boil exactly what I need, not more. This all saves me 1Kw a day!

Never turn your router off unless instructed to do so by your provider or an engineer. At your providers end there is a server that has DLM (Dynamic Line Management) software that constantly runs diagnostics on your router. If you turn it off, it will think there is an issue and start to reduce your broadband speeds and may generate a fault for an engineer to attend.
When it sees the issue resolved, it will slowly return the speed to normal but this can take 24-48 hours.

 

[hirsty]

Never turn your router off unless instructed to do so by your provider or an engineer. At your providers end there is a server that has DLM (Dynamic Line Management) software that constantly runs diagnostics on your router. If you turn it off, it will think there is an issue and start to reduce your broadband speeds and may generate a fault for an engineer to attend.
When it sees the issue resolved, it will slowly return the speed to normal but this can take 24-48 hours.

I was going to reply with same, assuming standard ADSL-type connection & not pure fibre.

At my fathers house poor wiring was rebooting / disconnecting the router each time the phone rang & his speed dropped right down to 8MB. I sorted out the sockets & he's now back to 50MB average.

 

[Snowball1935]

Using electricity sensibly - most of our lighting is low energy bulbs, and we switch off lights when not required.
Am now running my CH throughout day - wife is extremely susceptible to the cold, and we are in our mid-eighties.
Ninja air fryer generally replaces conventional oven - I can see new-builds eventually not having conventional ovens.
Government has to act to make UK as independent as possible for our energy needs - heavy subsidisation is not sustainable, but neither is the eventual drain ing of savings for ordinary folk.
Net zero aims need to be shelved for the immediate future. Global warming has probably been hiked up artificially, and many large nations are still using fossil fuels for the foreseeable future.
Global warming has arisen over many decades, and reversal will need a similar time scale.
There is no point in trying a short term ‘qick-fix’, where the majority of ordinary folk will be occupying a planet on which they cannot afford to live.
Activists are accusing governments of doing nothing, but the reality is that they [governments] do not know where to start without wrecking their economies and causing social disorder.