[Deadringers]

as the title says!

moving into our house for next year at uni and we are all very excited. we dont actually move in till september but i wanted to get a head start

what basic things can we do to save on our energy and electic bills?

i was thinking of getting some of those energy saving light bulbs but i have no idea where to start! can anyone point me in the right direction?
also is there anything else? like would it be better to use one of those oil radiators instead of turing the heating up?


also currently we are in student halls and our corrodior has used from about 20th september untill now, 18th of may...12565 KWH... is this bad? thankfully we dont pay bills at the mo but if we did how much would that come to? i have no idea!

thanks in advance
Josh

[Officer M168]

Energy Saving Lightbulbs, TRV's on your radiators, extra quilt on your bed in winter so you don't have to have the heating on. Try and keep on top of your washing as we don't have a drier in our rented house and if the weather is crap then drying on the maiden takes for ever and is boring, and before you know it you have piled up the washing !

[Deadringers]

TRVs what are those?

and which kind of light bulbs? the LED ones? or the "normal" looking bulbs that are energy efficent?

[Officer M168]

thermostatic radiator Valves (they are are at the end of your radiators and allow you to set it to a certain temp i.e 1-5 and you can adjust each radiator in the house to its own temp).

[Deadringers]

ahh i got you
and bulbs..what kind?

[Officer M168]

Any sort of Energy Saving Bulb, the wired looking ones or they now have them looking like normal bulbs.
As with all bulbs the higher the wattage the brighter it gets but as with all energy saving bulbs the seem very dim when 1st switched on and take up to a 1min get as bright as possible

[Deadringers]

thanks for your help

[KhalJimbo]

Holy Cow!!! just looked at your sig, is all that going with you into your student halls?!

[Deadringers]

haha noooo its not

i would..however its an attached house unlike my parents so its staying there for now were i can really enjoy it

plus its quite expensive so dont want it getting ruined!

Josh

[johntheexpat]

Originally Posted by deadringers

moving into our house for next year at uni ....

what basic things can we do to save on our energy and electic bills?

How about staying late in the Uni Library every day and letting them keep you warm and well lit?
Also, no parties, no music or TV, plenty of blankets on the bed, early bedtime and promptly out of the door in the mornings.






I'll get my coat......

[OnTheFly]

Shower with a friend!

[ckeener]

The fluorescent bulb replacements are a great alternative to regular light bulbs.

[robh2002]

1. Use energy efficient bulbs - they almost give them away these days - Philips ones are the best I've used.
2. Only boil water you use - for tea, cooking etc.
3. If cooker is electric - boil water in a kettle first and then transfer to saucepan - its faster too.
4. Use one of these instead of an electric over - they're great and save a fortune. Remoska Homepage, the official Remoska web site
5. Eliminate drafts wherever you can find them.
6. Keep the thermostat at 17 and no more. Today people think that's cold - its NOT! Wear a jumper.
7. Heat only the rooms you need. When going to bed - turn down the radiators in the rooms you won't use until the following evening. In the morning turn them on again ready for when you get back home - and use the timer on the heating system.
8. Don't leave equipment on - even a router using 20W costs 0.5kWh/day - or 10p - lots of 20Ws adds up over a year. Crappy transformers can use a lot of power (many Watts) even if what they power is off - so turn off at the plug.
9. Check how new the fridge is - this could be the largest user of energy in the house if it's an old one. Get the landlord to buy a new A+ rated on. Or even a A++ one if he/she's got money and likes you!

That should knock a significant % off you bills!

[DPinBucks]

Some Golden Rules for saving money:

1. If it’s not in use, SWITCH IT OFF. This especially applies to lights and computers. You might as well apply it to gadgets in standby too, but those don’t use anywhere as much electricity as the lobbyists would lead us to believe.
2. If you’re going to spend money to save money, do your sums (realistically!!) beforehand. With respect to Rob, and with the best will in the world, spending £80 or so on a Remoska will save you nothing if you don’t use it. My own experience of these things is that they are used enthusiastically to start with, but that tails off if they don’t actually produce the kind of food you’re willing to prepare and eat day after day. Energy saving light bulbs are another case in point. They may be dimmer than you’re prepared to accept, so turn out to be a false economy.
3. You’re in student digs, not a home for life. So look for payback in no more than a year (and term time at that!).
4. Economise on cooking. Many things can be cooked together in the same pan (including that old student standby, spag bol). If you haven’t got a steamer, get one. Steam all the side veg together over the potatoes.
5. Microwave ovens are quite cheap to run, not because they’re efficient but because they only heat the amounts of food you need at the time (which is a kind of efficiency, I guess). By the same token, main convection ovens are expensive.
6. If your washing machine (if you have one) is hot & cold fill, see if you can switch it to cold only. It will take a bit longer for each wash, but is much less energy-hungry. New machines are all cold-fill only. Use cool settings (30deg is fine for most washes).
7. If it’s not in use, SWITCH IT OFF.

Not an energy-saving issue, but worth noting. When food shopping:

• Buy long-shelf life items (rice, pasta, detergents, etc) in as big packs as you can afford, to save on unit costs.
• Take advantage of special offers as much as possible, even if you don't especially need it this week. Only eat what's cheapest each week.
• Vegetables are cheaper than meat, so fill out on those.
• Apply Portion Control. Only buy the amount of food you need to eat. Don't buy something bigger and more expensive just because it's cheaper per kg. The idea is to spend the least £££ per meal, not specifically to get the best value.

[robh2002]

...quite right - only buy what you will use for years to come - case in point the Remoska - thankfully my wife has been using our one for years!

Check the lights first - take them back if they are not bright enough for you and exchange for more powerful ones. Going from a 14W to 18W or CFL makes no difference in running cost compared to the savings you'll compared to an old type...

[Deadringers]

thought this thread died out! thankfully not!
thank you guys (or girls?) for your ideas!

just back to my orignal post....

"we are in student halls and our corrodior has used from about 20th september untill now, 18th of may...12565 KWH... is this bad? thankfully we dont pay bills at the mo but if we did how much would that come to? i have no idea!"

and that is between 5 people with a kitchen with two fridges, cooker/oven and microwave...no washing machine

how much would that of cost if we had to pay for it?
Josh

[DPinBucks]

Originally Posted by deadringers

thought this thread died out! thankfully not!
thank you guys (or girls?) for your ideas!

just back to my orignal post....

"we are in student halls and our corrodior has used from about 20th september untill now, 18th of may...12565 KWH... is this bad? thankfully we dont pay bills at the mo but if we did how much would that come to? i have no idea!"

and that is between 5 people with a kitchen with two fridges, cooker/oven and microwave...no washing machine

how much would that of cost if we had to pay for it?
Josh

TBH, there's no way of saying whether that's good or bad.

At current domestic tariffs, 12500 kWh would cost about £1,500, but we don't know what that covered. There's certainly no easy way of comparing it with a domestic house.

What did it include? Heating? Hot water? Was the floor electricity only, or was there gas for, eg, cooking? Did you pay a separate electricity bill, or was it covered in the rent?

All these issues make a big difference when comparing costs.

For a start, if it included heating, then it's normal for a residential hall to be heated 24/7, which certainly wouldn't apply in a house. Secondly, it covered the winter months. In a house, heating during even a British summer is essentially zero, unless you have it on overnight. The biggest summer costs are probably hot water and the fridge.

As a comparison, my house is quite a large detached, but there are only two of us living here. Our fuel bills for the winter were gas (heating & hot water) £1,000; elec (everything else) £300. Gas in the summer was about £300. Total for the year say £1,900. Price trends are downwards, though.

I think the figures you quote are high for a house such as you describe, but I wouldn't like to say confidently by how much, though if pushed I'd hazard a guess at about 25-50% too high. Maybe others can advise?

[Deadringers]

wow very detalied answer..and lots of things i didnt consider before!

i just wanted a rough answer but thats great

hmm yea i thought it was quite a lot and it does include hot water and the heating. thankfully we do not pay bills in these halls :D
thanks for you time
Josh