What have you turned off to save energy?

[Deleted member 18243]

They should switch off all the lights and heating in the prisons and make all the cons run on power-generating treadmills feeding the national grid.

 

[The Samaritan]

We have one of those american type FF's and a very big single fridge freezer and i was looking up their running costs and at current rates wie we are on the variable rates now, 150 for the amercian fridge and 140 for the other it is an older FF. I thought about turning one off but then you'd be fighting throw the contents to find the fav ice cream etc, etc, so cant turn off.

We are actively investigate a mini wind generator as we have a big garden but the batteries cost a lot of money and I'm not sure how effective it would be ie a small one - it will be out of site as we have many tress but it is expensive.

 

[crystal ball]

I saw this on the news today, made me chuckle. Environmentalist talking about saving energy, with the curtains half closed and lights on.
View attachment 268202

Maybe have little think about why this is in common with most home broadcasts.

 

[jeds]

After sorting out the little debacle with the water leak I can say that it is worth doing a calculation on a water meter. Our monthly rated water was £61 with Bristol Water - which is what prompted me to look into having a meter in the first place. Spoke with BW yesterday and my new rate is £27.00/month. Having checked the readings around the water leak issue I would say that this will probably leave us in credit at the end of the year. That's a nearly five hundred quid a year saving. There's three adults in the house.

 

[big-all]

i never cook/warm anything directly from the freezer
from freezer to fridge 2 days before use reduces running cost in the fridge as it acts like an ice pack the warming/cooking in the microwave or cooker saves perhaps half the energy

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

i never cook/warm anything directly from the freezer
from freezer to fridge 2 days before use reduces running cost in the fridge as it acts like an ice pack the warming/cooking in the microwave or cooker saves perhaps half the energy

The same works the opposite way - cool freshly cooked foods on the worktop first, before putting in the fridge or freezer.

 

[mattylad]

Turning off the microwave at the socket if it has a clock will likely save you a couple of quid a year.
For a lot of these "vampire" devices any automatic solutions could cost more than they cost to run.

However, we have turned the heating off, even on sunny days it can be cold in our lounge, so the whole family now have Oodies, like a big furry lined hoody thing that keeps you warm - again these have cost us more than the increase in the heating bill but it was the wifes choice lol.

I'm the families recycler, the other don't really understand what to do, so now I won't wash anything in hot water - if it's not cleaned well enough in cold (we don't have a water meter yet) then it can just go in the non recyclable bin.

 

[Deleted member 18243]

Cool freshly cooked foods on the worktop first, before putting in the fridge or freezer.

Me mum taught me not to leave hot food out at room temperature for long before putting in the fridge.
Dangerous bacteria develop in food at room temperature, bacteria which cannot survive in the heat of the oven or the cold of the fridge.

 

[big-all]

Me mum taught me not to leave hot food out at room temperature for long before putting in the fridge.
Dangerous bacteria develop in food at room temperature, bacteria which cannot survive in the heat of the oven or the cold of the fridge.

its getting the balance right between cooling then putting in the fridge before the danger point
things like not leaving a pan lid on
placing the pan on a cold solid surface and keep moving around the cold surface stirring the actual pan at the same time to disperse the heat
transfer to a shallower dish
stand the pan in cold water changing iff necessary
put the pan in a colder room or outside

 

[mac42]

The other day I dusted off my power meter (an old Maplin one not sure how accurate it is) and started taking measurements.

Makita twin 18v battery charger: 1W
Electric toothbrush charger (with the toothbrush fully charged) 2W
Most 5v USB phone chargers: 2W
Budget Tesco microwave oven (with LED time display constantly on): 2W
Dyson cordless vacuum cleaner (fully charged) 0W
LG Oled TV: 0W (it does have a relay in it which clicks on, so I assume it's got to energise the coil the whole time it's 'on'. Worth bearing in mind.
Sky wifi router: 10W
24-port ethernet hub: 10W
2015 iMac: Some odd behaviour with it switching from 2W up to 6W about once every 5-10 seconds. I need to measure the accumulation on this.

I realised it's probably worth shutting down the router overnight. No need for it to be on when we're asleep and it would save enough money to pay for whatever timer device we use to do so.

 

[big-all]

they are usually within perhaps plus or minus 5% so a great guide
the actual consumption is not important as such its working out the most economical from what you have or buy later by comparing actual items compared to another
for example a led bulb from toolstation 12w and 1050lumins will look "this bright "
where as a cheap ebay will give a similar light output but actually consume perhaps 6-8w compared to the 12.5w the toolstation uses
so in this instant ts bulbs are used in low use rooms and ebay in "pass through areas
i also use pir bulbs that use 0.5w off and 10w in use giving the 10.50 level
in general choose a low range bulb as they seem to be more efficient as in 85-250v not as good as a say 200-250v bulb

 

[Munroast]

I tuned the thermostat down a degree and I hand wash the dishes a lot more now rather than cram them into the DW.
I'm one of life's savers not spenders. To me, increased costs means I'll save less now than I used too. A year from now I'm hoping both our lads will be in full time employment so normal service will resume.

you should have been doing this years ago ! re. climate change, better later than never I suppose - typical 'me me me' from the resident looney lefty

 

[mac42]

bulbs.... that's another story altogether. Best would be to replace every single bayonet with de-rated bulkhead.
e.g. like this: https://www.diynot.com/diy/threads/replacing-a-bathroom-light.500507/
But what do you do when your other half likes her lamp shades? And it totally changes the look of a room. I can pull that sh*t in the garage, shed or bathroom but nowhere else.
I've also bought a bunch of these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/AUVON-Rechargeable-Removable-Magnetic-Cupborad/dp/B07MHWQYCY
They are pretty good charge lasts about a month, although that was more for convenience than saving money.

 

[Justin Passing]

Some cheap led bulbs I bought are much less output than they should be. (You can check it with a light meter on a phone and a bit of maffs.)

Overall I don't bother to worry about the cost of of LED lighting. I use a tumble drier because I CBA to put things on a clothes line.....

 

[noseall]

you should have been doing this years ago ! re. climate change, better later than never I suppose - typical 'me me me' from the resident looney lefty

I also retrieved the wifes' repaired line prop from behind the shed AND gave it a clean with the jet washer.

Loony lefty my arse.