Lying in bed, dreading getting up
Isn’t it a Saturday? Time of fun and joy and more importantly, the weekend?
Yes, but I’m listening to the news…
Ah, that’s where you’re going wrong!
There are a few major takeaways today.
Numero uno
A couple of weeks ago now, a cable importing electricity from mainland Europe into the UK had a fire than has meant it’s going to be out of action until mid-November at the earliest. That means the wholesale price of electricity has gone up AND the UK’s carbon intensity is significantly higher as we’re now using our gas power stations to generate our electricity rather than important when our green generating supply is lower than our requirements
What this is likely to mean is a spike in electricity prices.
Anything I can do to mitigate that, from a personal paying the bills point of few and a helping the planet obviously?
Good to see your priorities are straight.
If you haven’t already, look at your light bulbs. Any halogens and even CFT could be replaced by LED bulbs. Consider task lighting and lamps rather than lighting a whole room. We have a large lounge but if there’s only one person in it, we tend to use standard lamps rather than lighting the whole room with several central lights.
Turn off lamps and appliances if they’re not in use. If this is hard due to location of switches and your use of the house, consider smart bulbs that you can switch on and off with your phone. I use smart plugs in my home office – when I finish for the day, everything in there is switched off with a “scene”. Smart plugs sit between my monitor and the wall socket.
Remember to clean lampshades, especially glass ones. No point putting in a brighter bulb into a dusty or dirty lamp!
How are you heating food? Could your diner be cooked in the microwave or fan oven? Do you need to use the oven and the hob? Not only is it more energy efficient to cook everything in the oven but can be a real time saver too. We no longer cook the yorkies for a roast beef dinner in the top oven but cook them for 10 minutes longer in the main oven with the roast potatoes saving power. If we’re only cooking for one or two, a microwave or induction hob can be amazing. Soups take less time on the induction hob.
Do you really need as many pans on the hob? We do our veggies in one pot. The carrots go in with the timer set to 15 minutes and then we add the baby corn, beans, broccoli as their cooking time allows. Energy efficient and saves on washing up.
Er, ok!?
The 2nd piece of news
that caused concern was the news of rising gas prices which will also impact electricity prices. This is due to price hikes from Russian gas suppliers. 22 million homes in the UK use natural gas central heating which means this will impact many people across England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland.
Over the past few years, we’ve all been encouraged to turn the thermostat down, insulate better and exercise more.
I can’t afford to replace windows or put in more insulation…
Double glazing has long been seen as the only way to insulate windows. Even if you have double glazing, windows can still be a major source of loss but there are some relatively cheap options out there.
Put in blinds. Sounds nuts but a blind between the curtains and the window provides an extra layer. Choose a plain coloured blind to tie in with your main walls and it can look like a fashion statement rather than a canny insulation strategy. https://www.blinds-2go.co.uk/roller-blinds/32556/chromium-satin-white.html is a thermally protective blind from £11.60 retain heat in a room as well as providing privacy and sun shading.
Venetian blinds are not as good at that dual purpose, great for privacy but less good at insulating. Removing our venetian blinds made a huge difference to our heat retention during the winter months and they keep us cooler in the summer too. Roller blinds have come a long way in terms of light and heat blocking capabilities.
Service your radiators, even if it is just bleeding them (removing air from each and every one). Get the boiler serviced too, if these are all working well, a timed thermostat with a remote control can ensure you are only heating what you need to. What do I mean by a timed thermostat? That’s one where you can set not only when the heating comes on but at what temperature. We have an older set but it means we don’t have to heat the upstairs during the working week unless we need it. We’re comfortable but our heating bill halved doing that. We also set the thermostats according to the zones: bedrooms should be between 16 and 19°C, the lounge (while we’re in it) between 18 and 21°C, the kitchen between 18 and 20°C (especially if you eat in there too).
If your thermostat has a remote facility, you can use that to turn off the heating when you go out of the house.
Using our timer, we have the bedrooms at 16°C from 23:30 until 06:00. We then warm them to 19°C until 08:30 then back down to 16°C until 20:30 when they are up to 18. It means we’re warm when we need to be but not wasting gas heating empty rooms. We have a different schedule for the weekend. A new thermostat can often be fitted yourself to replace an existing one for about £50 including VAT. If you have traditional radiators, you can change the valves on them (which often have a “heat setting feature”) for thermostatic ones too: a bit more expensive and involved to fit but worth the investment if you have a single thermostat in your house.
The most energy efficient thing to do is spend time with the other members of your family. Each person radiates heat. During the three-day week in the 1970s, if we got cold in the house, we’d wrap up warm and go for a walk which speeds up the metabolism and gets you warm. The house feels so much warmer when you get back home!
Right, so if I’m on a limited budget, you’re suggesting I go for a hike?
I’m saying libraries are warm as are shops and pubs. It’s cheaper to warm a hot water bottle than a whole house. It’s cheaper to heat a house to 17°C than 22°C. Close the blinds and curtains as the sun sets rather than leave them open until the last minute before going to bed. Every little helps.
Posted: September 18th, 2021 under Driving off the grid.