Changing electricity supplier

[Cpd]

5 hours ago, Gow said:

It's generally not considered safe to set the thermostat lower than 18 degrees

I’m interested to know why it’s dangerous, as stated before I like to sleep in a room about 15 degrees and if my kitchen gets over 18 I need to open a window ! Maybe because my buildings are do draughty it’s not a bad thing to live sub 18 degrees as it’s a very windy location on the coast and it’s good clean air !  Personally i love clean fresh air wafting over my face when I sleep. Yes a good insulated airtight house with mvhr would be far better but is it really a bad thing to live in a cold, well ventilated house ?  

[Hecateh]

12 minutes ago, Cpd said:

I’m interested to know why it’s dangerous, as stated before I like to sleep in a room about 15 degrees and if my kitchen gets over 18 I need to open a window ! Maybe because my buildings are do draughty it’s not a bad thing to live sub 18 degrees as it’s a very windy location on the coast and it’s good clean air !  Personally i love clean fresh air wafting over my face when I sleep. Yes a good insulated airtight house with mvhr would be far better but is it really a bad thing to live in a cold, well ventilated house ?  

Totally agree, none of us over about 50/60ish, grew up in centrally heated homes.  As a child in winter there was always ice on the inside of the window in the morning. (Cold damp air in a cold damp house I do suspect isn't the best for health)

 

None of us would be here anyway if that was the case - in the days before anything but a single fire in a draughty house, the house was never warm as warm as 18 in winter except right in front of the fire or stove.

Scandinavians wrap their babies up and put them outside to sleep in sub zero temps.  - they have a tendency to be pretty healthy.

 

My preferred sleeping temp is around 13 or 14 degrees and my bedroom temp in my old house last year was as low as 11 on a number of occasions.  And I still kept my windows open.  It's lovely now that I can have a cold bedroom and a warm dressing room

 

[Hobbiniho]

using the numbers you have posted and using a bulb tariff of SC 20.44p and 14.543p per KWH which is what i am on having recently switched from SSE to bulb, and a bit of fag packet maths and extrapolation, not counting seasonal variations on usage you will save £237.75 per year by just switching away from SSE to bulb that is a saving of 65p a day before you even look at changing any usage 

[Gone West]

13 hours ago, Hecateh said:

Totally agree, none of us over about 50/60ish, grew up in centrally heated homes.  As a child in winter there was always ice on the inside of the window in the morning. (Cold damp air in a cold damp house I do suspect isn't the best for health) 

 

13 hours ago, Hecateh said:

My preferred sleeping temp is around 13 or 14 degrees and my bedroom temp in my old house last year was as low as 11 on a number of occasions.  And I still kept my windows open.  It's lovely now that I can have a cold bedroom and a warm dressing room

I'm well into OAP territory and can remember the ice inside and am thankful things have moved on, and I can sleep in a bedroom at 22C without having to worry about draughts or the electricity bill.

[Hecateh]

54 minutes ago, PeterStarck said:

 

I'm well into OAP territory and can remember the ice inside and am thankful things have moved on, and I can sleep in a bedroom at 22C without having to worry about draughts or the electricity bill.

I hate to try and sleep in that temp - though have to sometimes in summer.

 

I easily get overheated in bed (I think the memory foam has a hand in that) but once I wake up, if I don't get up straight away then I need more covers

 

It's whatever suits the individual.  

I just think it's wrong to make out that sleeping in a cold room, so long as sufficient covers are available, is not healthy

[Onoff]

I remember running from the bathroom to the lounge where Mum would be warming a towel in front of a 3 bar electric fire. Same getting up in the morning, getting ready for school where she'd be warming my school clothes. And that was with coal fired central heating.

 

To be fair the boiler would have gone out overnight. No insulation in the house, single glazed wooden windows. In heavy snow we'd have to dig our way to the coal bunkers then break up the first bit of coal that'd be all frozen and stuck together.

 

Baked spuds in the ash pan was about the only good bit!

Edited March 30, 2019 by Onoff

[joe90]

As I am now in OAP territory I feel the cold more than I used to and in this recent mild spell the heating has not come on at all and the house is a comfortable 21’ and bedrooms about 19’. Er indoors is cold but that’s normal for her!!,!

[lizzie]

2 hours ago, PeterStarck said:

 

I'm well into OAP territory and can remember the ice inside and am thankful things have moved on, and I can sleep in a bedroom at 22C without having to worry about draughts or the electricity bill.

me too @PeterStarck

[Gone West]

3 hours ago, Hecateh said:

I think the memory foam has a hand in that

I found that to be the case and went back to a sprung mattress and it's fine now.

[Jeremy Harris]

We found that a memory foam mattress was just too hot at times.  My wife found it very uncomfortable back when she was regularly throwing the bedclothes off in the middle of the night, complaining that she was really hot.  Since switching back to a sprung mattress things have been a lot better.  I strongly suspect that the memory foam just doesn't allow enough ventilation, plus it's too good an insulator.  It was also damned heavy.

[Oz07]

What about hybrids I've got a Casper mattress 

[Hecateh]

17 minutes ago, Oz07 said:

What about hybrids I've got a Casper mattress 

I think the newer (and more expensive ones) are better.  Mine is a hybrid but at the cheaper end and is a few years old now.  I think some of them now claim modifications that increase the airflow and so don't cause the problem or reduce it at least.  

[Hecateh]

Just done a bit of research.  Adding a natural fibre topper or cool gel topper is supposed to help

[Gow]

On 30/03/2019 at 08:55, PeterStarck said:

 

I'm well into OAP territory and can remember the ice inside and am thankful things have moved on, and I can sleep in a bedroom at 22C without having to worry about draughts or the electricity bill.

Lucky you! This golden oldie used to get dressed under the bedcovers and draw pictures on the ice inside our bedroom window. ☺️

[Gone West]

2 hours ago, Gow said:

Lucky you! This golden oldie used to get dressed under the bedcovers and draw pictures on the ice inside our bedroom window. ☺️

Yes, I remember scratching a hole in the ice on the inside of my bedroom window so I could see out. IIRC our only heating was in the living room in the form of a paraffin heater.

[Ferdinand]

On 28/03/2019 at 20:45, Cpd said:

my electric bill is now out off control. Admittedly I have two houses, one cabin and a BIG shed...

 

I was planning to add to this thread, but a busy (or inefficient) week has intervened. i am ignoring the simplest solution. I'll posy this to the blog as a recipe of sorts.

Assuming that your uninsulated things are genuinely not good and that you are not on a best tariff (wrt targets etc), and tuning it towards things that can be done then left alone for some time (in deference to CFS) these are my top 10 - ignoring major investments like 2G or 3G for the whole place, and major projects. I don't think you said whether whether you have mains gas.

 

These are mainly low hanging fruit / no brainers / cheap and cheerful.

 

1 - Set some realistic targets and monitoring - Suggest, over 3 years:

 

Year 1: Minus 20% on current bill.

Year 2: Minus 33% on current bill.

Year 3: Minus 40% on current bill.

 

Record and monitor usage at some regularity ,whether weekly, monthly or quarterly. Perhaps a thread on BH or a blog post. For performance and encouragement.

 

Suggest in addition to your meter and a couple of plug meters, one of those Owls or similar that clamps on the supply - use it to check which of your four buildings uses most. If nobody else can, I can lend you one - I think.

 

(Did you know Ed Milliband once promised everybody a Free OWL?)

 

 

Remember to keep looking for the big targets.

 

2 - Check the balance vs payment numbers.

 

Is there a big credit on the account. Get 10% off the monthly charge with a phone call?  This will need a repeat check as your usage falls fsater than they notice.

 

Change tariff. Savings on the first switch seem to be 20-30% for most I have seen try it.

 

I use MSE Cheap Energy Club, and have it set to warn me when I can save >£150 per year.

 

Suggest a longer term fixed tariff from a decent biggie rather than a bust-every-3-months minnow.

 

3 - Get the stuff other people will do for free.

 

Call someone like the Energy Saving Trust (Scotland), and see what is available.

 

a - 250mm insulation in loft. I can still get this.

b - Cavity wall insulation? I know someone who had this last year.

 

4 - Replace all your lightbulbs with LEDs.

 

Payback time may be around a year. Especially any of those 300W or 500W outside floods.

 

5 - Any visible holes? eg light through gaps round outside doors, catflaps,. Block up.

 

6 - Draughts eg loft hatch. New insulated ones are cheap.

 

7 - Do your extract fans have backdraft shutters? If not, switch them over. From about £30. 

 

8 - If you have trickle vents, then replace them (foam them up) with proper controlled ventilation - use a PIV in the house, and trickle /boost extract fans to keep it flowing. That is what I usually do in rentals and have now done at home. Works and gives some control for £400-£750.

 

9 - For some reason my eye is drawn to that cabin.

 

a - Can you tweak the heating eg by using spot radiant heaters rather than the whole thing.

eg For our childrens play area at the gym we have one of these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Eterna-Quartz-Radiant-Mounted-600watt/dp/B00F2H1WF8 . Costs <£30.

 

b - Can you do secondary glazing in the cabin?

 

10 Over time work on the strategic stuff as you are able - underfloor insulation, 2G, dry lining, thermal survey etc. And also the tactical stuff - replacing appliances, finding small but constant loads.

 

Turn it to 11 - Plan a big treat with some of the savings.

Ferdinand

 

Edited April 3, 2019 by Ferdinand

[ProDave]

The problem with energy usage is I find we use more powering "stuff" than we do heating the house and the hot water.

 

I have the heat pump individually metered for heating and hot water so I know exactly how much it is using for each function and I record that weekly, along with total, solar PV and export.

 

The only way I stand a chance to reduce the "stuff" usage is to buy or make an individual energy meter and try it for a week at a time on different appliances so see how much the Fridge, Washing machine, Dishwasher etc use in a week.  Then if my "stuff" usage after accounting for those is still high I need to move on to , well other "stuff"

 

It all becomes a lot of effort probably just to find out you are not going to save anything unless you sit in the dark and never watch tv.

 

But it would be nice to know how much the big things use.

[Ferdinand]

11 minutes ago, ProDave said:

The problem with energy usage is I find we use more powering "stuff" than we do heating the house and the hot water.

 

I have the heat pump individually metered for heating and hot water so I know exactly how much it is using for each function and I record that weekly, along with total, solar PV and export.

 

The only way I stand a chance to reduce the "stuff" usage is to buy or make an individual energy meter and try it for a week at a time on different appliances so see how much the Fridge, Washing machine, Dishwasher etc use in a week.  Then if my "stuff" usage after accounting for those is still high I need to move on to , well other "stuff"

 

It all becomes a lot of effort probably just to find out you are not going to save anything unless you sit in the dark and never watch tv.

 

But it would be nice to know how much the big things use.

 

True.

 

However, here we are starting from an inefficient set of buildings .. so the biggies are more likely to be the draughts, no insulation, lecky heating in the garden building etc.

[Cpd]

@Ferdinand thanks for your thoughtful contribution, it means a lot and I am greatful to all the people who spend the time to help others on this forum. 

Rather than clog up this thread I am going to take your advise on board and start a blog....... it will provide motivation as I will feel compelled to prove I am making progress! 

I really like your ideas and I think They will  be a good starting point on the blog. 

I guess it will also be interesting to see how things change over time, I’m starting at a really bad stage so hopefully it will only get better ! 

As previously stated things have just slowly gotten out of hand and I have not been at the helm...... 

i now have at least one hand back on the wheel so Let’s get on with it. 

Ok will look into a blog....... 

thanks 

 

[Ferdinand]

On 31/03/2019 at 14:36, Gow said:

Lucky you! This golden oldie used to get dressed under the bedcovers and draw pictures on the ice inside our bedroom window. ☺️

 

You used to take your clothes off when you went to bed?

 

Bah humbug !

 

In Yorkshire they used to spend half an hour on the outside loo just to get warm...  

Edited April 4, 2019 by Ferdinand

[Gow]

12 hours ago, Ferdinand said:

 

In Yorkshire they used to spend half an hour on the outside loo just to get warm... 

.... while producing a lot of natural gas! :))