The cost of living... what can we do?

Our central heating will come on twice a day for 20mins each day and heat the hot water at the same time. We will still have it on but maybe lower, the only thing is that it will only come on when the room is at the temperature of the thermostat.
Don't know what our electricity and gas will be hubby does all that but we were with one of the small companies that went bust, now we're with octopus.

My washing machine temperatures starts at 20 then 40 and 60 and 90.
I think that it depends if you use a biological powder, i don't so it's not very good at cleaning at any temperature, I'm sensitive to biological powder.
Here's a video on how you might be able to save on petrol or diesel I think, didn't see all of it. Hubby was watching it.

 

A few years back we had all of our gas central heating radiators replaced for new ones and our replacement windows were old so they were replaced with new ones with triple glazing and that mad a difference with condensation on windows, we don't get it now. Even though we had all the loft insulation and cavity wall insulation it still gets cold.

 

I've had two pairs of these for some years now & the results are mixed at best!

 

I find this thread fascinating! I think more posts have been made here then anywhere else on the forum! Just goes to show how we have all been spooked with these energy price hikes!

Some things are of no interest to us as we live in a flat but have double glazing & gas heating. Our combi boiler was changed last year by our housing association the previous one had given us practically no trouble for 20 year & neither has this one after 1 year! The engineers who did our yearly gas check & service of the boiler said our VERY old model was better than any of the modern models. When we were told it was going to be changed I explained that but was told it had to be changed anyway & there was nothing they could do about it.

We got a slightly smaller boiler & all the pipe work was changed & they even put modern thermostats on all the radiators. We even got a thermostat that we can control! Perhaps it was warmer last winter but we had almost all the doors open & the radiators all on & the flat was more comfortable than previous winters when we had all doors closed & only the radiators open in the two rooms we use the most. I haven't been able to compare what we used last winter with previous winters though.

 

I don't think there's anything I can do to make any more savings in my detached bungalow. I've always been aware of the need of efficiency and keeping bills down. There's insulation throughout and the only drawback I have is with the loft space. We have a high roof and living here in the Highlands the winters are colder so the loft has to be heated. There are two electric, thermostatically controlled tubular heaters set at 5C/41F to keep it frost free. I don't have gas so heating and hot water is via an oil combination boiler. No wastage with the continual heating of a hot water cylinder and heating is controlled by a digital thermostat that can be placed in the right room for best efficiency. Being retired I/we don't bother using the timer so temperature is hand adjusted for day and night throughout the seasons. The radiators also have thermostats.

I have a one year old eye level electric double oven. I have two problems with this. Being fan ovens, when they are switched off the fans continue for up to three quarters of an hour before they cut out - depending on the original temperature setting. Now when I turn them off I leave the doors open and the fans cut out within six or seven minutes. I've not managed to work out how the top oven works (even with instructions) and believe there is a fault with it so I'll be consulting the makers this week. Meanwhile I've been using the main oven which is a waste of electricity when only cooking for two.

The washing machine has fully adjustable programmes, including being able to shorten programmes. I wash everything but towels on 40 degrees, they are washed at 60. I won't use cooler washes as this prevents black mould growing. The door is always left slightly open for air circulation when not in use for the same reason. My tumble dryer is used once a week for towels.

All lighting throughout is LED with the exception of the ceiling light fitting (halogen and rarely used) in my lounge/diner. The room is 25ft long and lit by two floor standing lamps. Lights are turned off when a room isn't in use.

I'm on a strict diet (health issues) and at least 75% of food is home produced and a lot cheaper than processed/pre-packaged food. I can't grow vegetables due to the climate and pesky deer, and don't have a greenhouse.

The car is a petrol hybrid.

 

There was originally two water tanks up there John but they were taken out when we replaced the heating system just after we moved in. We still use the heaters during the winter as the temperature can drop to -15C/5F or more. Even with insulation it would chill off quite a bit in the big open space. There are also windows in there.

 

I'm actually considering having a wood burner installed in our living room. We also produce quite a lot of surplus wood for free in our garden. Right now I have about 2 cubic metres of it stacked up, that's been cut for over a year. I was going to give it away but I've decided to hang onto it for now.

This will be a complete u turn for me because the theme was on modernisation previously. Our current heating is the latest tech of far infrared panels. They are as efficient as can be, and certainly a lot more efficient than most heating systems, but they are still electric at the end of the day. The living room one uses 850 watts when running on full power, so with my new tariff that equates to about 45 pence per hour, although it won't use that much all the time as it's thermostatically controlled.

If I'm honest, I'm only slightly concerned about this winter. My bigger concern is that energy companies might be banking on us getting used to higher prices so although I expected prices will come down once Europe get their act together and stabilise their supply, I doubt they'll come back down to where they were last year. So while a log burner might seem like an illogical investment for this winter, I think I want to be better prepared for being held to ransom in the future.

 

Re: TV Licence....
They should be cancelling the licence fee for pensioners . A close companion for many elderly who don't get out and about much anymore,
Jenny namaste

 

Unfortunately, I have to agree with you. It is the same with ocean sea freight, even though the rates have come down since they peaked, they are nowhere near pre-covid rates. Maybe, big companies will not be as badly affected, but a small business like myself, I tend to think we are subsidizing them.

 

Let's hope they cancel it for everyone soon, the cost is ridiculous when you bear in mind you almost have to pay it to watch a TV even if you never look at the BBC.