Have you reduced your energy consumption this winter? 09:24 - Dec 29 with 2061 views | Dubtractor | Obviously there has been lots of chat about high energy costs, and the scary sight of watching smart meters chalking up scary numbers on the coldest days, but have you actually reduced usage as a result? eg setting your thermostat a bit lower? I've long held the view that despite lots of us having well meaning views about saving the environment, the only way most (not all) people will actually do something tangible about it is if the finances compel us to do so. The current financial situation seems a good test of that theory! Appreciate that theory becomes problematic if you're talking about the very poorest, who simply can't afford more expense, as opposed to the 'squeezed middle class' who may simply dislike spending too much money on electric/gas/petrol and therefore choose to use less. |  |
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Have you reduced your energy consumption this winter? on 09:28 - Dec 29 with 2026 views | chicoazul | Scottish Power keep telling me to *reduce* my direct debit as I have so much credit with them. We certainly have reduced our consumption by having the heating on much less. It’s been a fairly warm spell though apart from those freezing few days a couple week or so ago. Be interesting to see if we can still manage it in the really cold months to come. But yes you’re absolutely right. Many people just won’t bother with change unless they are financially incentivised to do so. |  |
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Have you reduced your energy consumption this winter? on 09:30 - Dec 29 with 2020 views | geg1992 | We use our heating maybe one hour per day - don't see the point of setting a thermostat as we're either at work or in bed most of a 24 hour day so seems a waste in our situation. Try to maximise the use of electric blanket at night as it's surprisingly efficient and even 30 mins before bed keeps us warm throughout the night. Got a weighted blanket which is great on the sofa. Last year I changed all lightbulbs to LED which are amazingly bright and use less than the previous 'energy saving' bulbs. Got an air fryer now which should help (it was a present). I'm trying to be more environmentally conscious if anything, although I am trying to be more careful with money in general as I'm a bit concerned about the future economic situation and want to create a buffer in case. |  |
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Have you reduced your energy consumption this winter? on 09:33 - Dec 29 with 1969 views | chicoazul |
Have you reduced your energy consumption this winter? on 09:30 - Dec 29 by geg1992 | We use our heating maybe one hour per day - don't see the point of setting a thermostat as we're either at work or in bed most of a 24 hour day so seems a waste in our situation. Try to maximise the use of electric blanket at night as it's surprisingly efficient and even 30 mins before bed keeps us warm throughout the night. Got a weighted blanket which is great on the sofa. Last year I changed all lightbulbs to LED which are amazingly bright and use less than the previous 'energy saving' bulbs. Got an air fryer now which should help (it was a present). I'm trying to be more environmentally conscious if anything, although I am trying to be more careful with money in general as I'm a bit concerned about the future economic situation and want to create a buffer in case. |
Brother which LED bulbs do you use? I have HUE in the lounge which are great but other LED bulbs elsewhere in the house seem so dark and take ages to get bright… |  |
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Have you reduced your energy consumption this winter? on 09:34 - Dec 29 with 1964 views | gtsb1966 | I have been using my air fryer and steamer a lot more . Also we have planned our meals so we can cook some foods that will last 2 meals. Also by planning our meals for the week we are saving a lot of money by not visiting the supermarket every other day. |  | |  |
Have you reduced your energy consumption this winter? on 09:40 - Dec 29 with 1919 views | chicoazul |
TYB! |  |
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Have you reduced your energy consumption this winter? on 09:44 - Dec 29 with 1900 views | geg1992 |
Have you reduced your energy consumption this winter? on 09:40 - Dec 29 by chicoazul | TYB! |
These ones are extremely bright and very white though, which some people may not like. For example, when I put one in our bathroom which is very small, it was a bit overwhelming at first. |  |
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Have you reduced your energy consumption this winter? on 10:28 - Dec 29 with 1752 views | Dubtractor |
Have you reduced your energy consumption this winter? on 09:28 - Dec 29 by chicoazul | Scottish Power keep telling me to *reduce* my direct debit as I have so much credit with them. We certainly have reduced our consumption by having the heating on much less. It’s been a fairly warm spell though apart from those freezing few days a couple week or so ago. Be interesting to see if we can still manage it in the really cold months to come. But yes you’re absolutely right. Many people just won’t bother with change unless they are financially incentivised to do so. |
I think quite a few people (you and I at least!) benefitted from the very mild winter last year which left us with overpayment/credit on our account leading into this year. And one week aside, it has been pretty mild this year too for the most part. FWIW, we're pretty good in terms of energy use to start with, and don't go crazy with the heating* anyway, but we've probably had the thermostat 0.5 to 1 degree lower than usual all winter so far. *I grew up in a post war 'prefab' council house, which regularly saw ice on the INSIDE of the windows, so I've always struggled with overwarm houses. It seems my upbringing has set me up well for an energy scarce future! |  |
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Have you reduced your energy consumption this winter? on 10:38 - Dec 29 with 1724 views | SuperKieranMcKenna | Yep - been a real Scrooge with the heating (though more because I think there’s things I’d rather spend my money on eg going to the football). To be honest I don’t think I feel the cold as much as some people and the house seems to be pretty well insulated. That said, I bought the mrs an electric heated throw - 60 quid and reckon it’s saved me multiples of that! [Post edited 29 Dec 2022 10:39]
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Have you reduced your energy consumption this winter? on 10:40 - Dec 29 with 1705 views | J2BLUE | Kind of. Don't really have the heating on much but that was always the case. My flat is pretty cheap energy wise and i've increased the amount I set aside for bills. I tend to heat just my living room and am quite lucky with having matched betting as an income. Whenever I have the heater on for a couple of hours I place a couple of extra bets and add the profit to my bills fund. |  |
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Have you reduced your energy consumption this winter? on 11:27 - Dec 29 with 1623 views | Chondzoresk | Using a heated airer, instead of the tumble dryer, getting the wife to wear thicker jumpers, heating only going on when below freezing outside, one freezer made redundant, getting my two kids to move out. Yup, our usage has plummeted, but still overall paying out £157 per month. |  | |  |
Have you reduced your energy consumption this winter? on 12:05 - Dec 29 with 1557 views | noggin |
Have you reduced your energy consumption this winter? on 09:30 - Dec 29 by geg1992 | We use our heating maybe one hour per day - don't see the point of setting a thermostat as we're either at work or in bed most of a 24 hour day so seems a waste in our situation. Try to maximise the use of electric blanket at night as it's surprisingly efficient and even 30 mins before bed keeps us warm throughout the night. Got a weighted blanket which is great on the sofa. Last year I changed all lightbulbs to LED which are amazingly bright and use less than the previous 'energy saving' bulbs. Got an air fryer now which should help (it was a present). I'm trying to be more environmentally conscious if anything, although I am trying to be more careful with money in general as I'm a bit concerned about the future economic situation and want to create a buffer in case. |
But does only using your heating for a short period each day actually save you much? I have a heat pump/air conditioner and the advice is to keep it on because maintaining a temperature is cheaper, in the long run, than actually heating up from cold all the time. |  |
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Have you reduced your energy consumption this winter? on 12:08 - Dec 29 with 1546 views | longtimefan |
Have you reduced your energy consumption this winter? on 12:05 - Dec 29 by noggin | But does only using your heating for a short period each day actually save you much? I have a heat pump/air conditioner and the advice is to keep it on because maintaining a temperature is cheaper, in the long run, than actually heating up from cold all the time. |
Might be true for your example but most definitely not for the average UK consumer with standard gas or electric heating. Recently covered by Martin Lewis money programme and clear guidance was to heat only when you need it, it’s cheaper than leaving it on. |  | |  |
Have you reduced your energy consumption this winter? on 13:18 - Dec 29 with 1419 views | Freddies_Ears | Tracking my electricity & gas so far this winter, my usage is down by around 15% compared with last winter. Some or much of that will be down to Oct / Nov being warm. But I was really aware, over the last week when we had relatives staying, that we are generally pretty frugal. For several days, I seemed to spend much of the day turning lights off in empty rooms; we also had the heating on in most of the house and warmer than we are used to (for years, people complain that our house is cold...). My estimated annual gas & electricity bill based on current unit rates is around £2,700; neighbour, with a big family, said they are looking at £7k+!!! |  | |  |
Have you reduced your energy consumption this winter? on 15:49 - Dec 29 with 1285 views | jeera |
Have you reduced your energy consumption this winter? on 11:27 - Dec 29 by Chondzoresk | Using a heated airer, instead of the tumble dryer, getting the wife to wear thicker jumpers, heating only going on when below freezing outside, one freezer made redundant, getting my two kids to move out. Yup, our usage has plummeted, but still overall paying out £157 per month. |
Heating on only when it hits zero outside?! I thought I was being sensible keeping roughly to approx the 16°C mark during the day and 18°C in the evening. In all I suppose the boiler is on for a couple of hours or so to maintain that. Fairly well-insulated place although condensation can be an issue so have to keep a check on that. I would say 'normally it would be 18°C during the day and maybe 19°C throughout the evening. Always off through the night but I think the coldest it's been to my knowledge during the night is maybe around the 15°C mark. |  |
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Have you reduced your energy consumption this winter? on 15:52 - Dec 29 with 1279 views | Lord_Lucan | I think we have cut down and in the New year I think I'm gonna get solar panels. It's the commercial energy I'm more worried about but there's not much I can do about that - it's eye watering! |  |
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Have you reduced your energy consumption this winter? on 18:39 - Dec 29 with 1176 views | Bent_double |
Have you reduced your energy consumption this winter? on 12:08 - Dec 29 by longtimefan | Might be true for your example but most definitely not for the average UK consumer with standard gas or electric heating. Recently covered by Martin Lewis money programme and clear guidance was to heat only when you need it, it’s cheaper than leaving it on. |
I'm one of those who keeps the heating on 24/7 now, on the advice of a gas engineer a few years ago. It's a gas combi boiler, apparently they work better/are more efficient when you do this. I think I've probably used about the same as last year, and that's with a new contract signed last December (which protected me from the horrendous increases this year, thank god). I was worried with the really cold snap just over a week ago, and thought it might have cost a couple of hundred pounds anone, but keeping the thermostat around 18-20 degrees, it only cost about £80 for that week, and around £240 for the whole month. |  |
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Have you reduced your energy consumption this winter? on 18:46 - Dec 29 with 1166 views | Mullet | Dunno |  |
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