How I made it to 'A'

[maria]

Just sharing a tip - I'm still trialling it, so this might be a different story in a weeks time... 

I have been an 'A' rating for the last three weeks.     I think the reason for this is that I have changed my gas central heating timer.  I used to have the heating set to come on for one hour in the morning and three hours in the evening.  Even though the temperature is set to 17 degrees, and I don't have the heating on for very long, it would still be on if I stayed out after work etc. 

So, I have now switched the heating off, and turn it on manually every time I am feeling chilly.  I have found that I don't actually need the heating on in the morning at all, and in the evening, I probably only switch the heating on for one hour.  Its funny how, when I consciously think about it, I realise that I'm quite warm, and instead of taking off my jumper, I switch off the heating, realising that it is unnecessary.   

This tip came from a colleague, and it is having a very dramatic effect on my gas usage - I've gone from a C rating to an A rating.  Of course this is due to other factors, such as warmer temperatures etc, but I hope to use this method of controlling my heating year round from now on, so I'll report on how it goes.

I have also turned down the temperature of my hot water.  What is the point of having boiling hot water going into the shower/washing up bowl, only for me to put cold water into the mix so that I can actually use it!?!  So, I now have warm water, which I don't have to mix with cold - saving me on gas and water.  This is probably the most sensible thing I've done in a long time.   

I know that these tips won't work for everyone, I live in a house with two people, so it is easy for us to make decisions and be more conscious of our usage, but hopefully this might be of help to someone.  Also interested to hear your thoughts and comments to my personal views.   

[cloudy.thoughts]

Hi Maria,

You've done well.  I'd love to get to an A rating.  And what a simple solution. Hope it lasts for you.

I have already turned my central  heating off in the hope that summer is on the way, just have the water heating on. Perhaps I need to follow your suggestion and turn down the water temperature too.  I must admit it is far warmer than I need.

I have my water on in the morning for an hour, but when I think about it I use more hot water in the evening, so perhaps I should have it on in the evening instead.  I'm sure it would stay warm enough to wash with in the morning and it will be hotter when I use it more - and I don't think I could give up a long soak in a hot bath.

[AJarratt]

Well done Maria!

We've also made it to the lofty heights of the 'A' rating this week, and long may it continue. The main tips that we follow are essentially the same as yours. Hot water is turned down to warm and the heating has been off for the past 3 weeks now. Another thing to watch for is the setting of your fridge/freezer. It's very tempting to have the dial turned all the way up, but we've found that having it just above the lowest ('warmest') setting keeps things perfectly cold. The usual as well...we always turn the TV/DVD/free-view box off at the switch whenever nobody's around/before bed, the cooker/hob is turned off after cooking and we use a gas stove top kettle rather than an electric one.

Any other tips, keep them coming!

[shepsair]

Hi Maria

Well done. Seems A is achivable thoughyou have to be religious with regards everything - ensuring things are off etc.

Now it is summer we use 40kwh of standard and 10kwh of E7. We have no gas or oil. Most of that usage is probably cooking (totally electric) and the pump for the SHW. Currently we are A but have been A+ a few weeks ago.

Wehave the advantage of a wood burning stove for heat and it is also connected to the hot water and also Soalr hot water. Have now done 15 months heating the water viat the sun or wood.

All I would say if you have E7 is use it. Most dishwashers/washing machines have a timer -set it to go aff after 12.30am.

We also have a 2001 Bosch Washing machine taking hot and cold water. As we have abundant hot water what is the point of a new A+ washing machine with only a old feed!!!!!(70% of the electricity use of a machine machine is heating the water).This is a mad situation though Bosch/AEG have commisioned a study/technical report and are looking into this!

The staggering thing is that if we use a tumber dryer 10 times it would double our electricity use (currenently we like the £5 a week our electricity bills come to -£400 for the year -£50 more thanplanned but it did get to -11 in Feb).

We are No1 on the MoneySavingCarbonclub)

Will try and thing of some other tips.

regards

MS

[r200]

Hi Maria,

You've done well.  I'd love to get to an A rating.  And what a simple solution. Hope it lasts for you.

I have already turned my central  heating off in the hope that summer is on the way, just have the water heating on. Perhaps I need to follow your suggestion and turn down the water temperature too.  I must admit it is far warmer than I need.

I have my water on in the morning for an hour, but when I think about it I use more hot water in the evening, so perhaps I should have it on in the evening instead.  I'm sure it would stay warm enough to wash with in the morning and it will be hotter when I use it more - and I don't think I could give up a long soak in a hot bath.

When I grew up we can't have had central heating. I remember ice half an inch thick on the inside of my bedroom window in the winter.  i suppose everyone in the 1970s was an A because our parents were always skint!

[anne_sussex]

May I just say that you should keep a beady eye on your meter timings if you have night and day meters.   

Mine is not even 10 years old but every day the cheapo period comes on at a slightly different time.   

TODAY it starts around 11.30am ~ yes ~ I wash and cook in the morning on the cheapo tariff. 
By next week I expect it will be starting around 11am so no cooking and washing after around 6pm to be on the safe/cheap side.

[cloudy.thoughts]

May I just say that you should keep a beady eye on your meter timings if you have night and day meters.   

Mine is not even 10 years old but every day the cheapo period comes on at a slightly different time.   

TODAY it starts around 11.30am ~ yes ~ I wash and cook in the morning on the cheapo tariff. 
By next week I expect it will be starting around 11am so no cooking and washing after around 6pm to be on the safe/cheap side.

Ours seems rock steady.  I know every Economy-7 meter could be set to a different time to come on, but I've not heard before of it varying.  Are you able to predict the time, like a clock is slow of fast, or is it something much more random?

[anne_sussex]

To start with, some 10 yrs ago, I thought it would be rock-steady, too.    After various electricity breakdowns (ancient brain can't remember the correct word!) where everybody in the district lost elec., I discovered that the timer was affected too ~ naturally ~ it was off for the time of the breakdown (say 3 hours).   

Therefore my elec meter was showing it starting at 2.30 am instead of 11.30 pm.

Sometimes it 'sticks' at one time for days and maybe even weeks but eventually it decides it is really a 'random' animal and goes back into variant mode.

Also I think at the moment I lose about 5 mins a day (or gain?!) ~ cheapo period comes on about 5 mins earlier each day.   

I have to say it is a Heath Robinson meter ~ like it works like "clockwork" and is not one of the very modern ones where readings can be obtained by the company by remote control.

[cloudy.thoughts]

Also I think at the moment I lose about 5 mins a day (or gain?!) ~ cheapo period comes on about 5 mins earlier each day.   

I have to say it is a Heath Robinson meter ~ like it works like "clockwork" and is not one of the very modern ones where readings can be obtained by the company by remote control.

I'm not sure, but if the clockwork is running slow then it probably also clocking up less electricity than you are actually using.  Sound like it's faulty. Sooner or later it will be replaced by a shiny modern one.   Might be worth using your own power monitor and checking if they agree of a long-ish run.

[shepsair]

Just completed a year on imeasure.

Missed our target of £350 due to the cold weather in February - revised target was £400 for the year and it came in at £400.51.Pretty close.

Summer time and it equates to £4.75 a week and 6/7kg of Co2 per person. Been quite consistent.

It is a nice feeling knowing our 4 bed semi saves £1000 on the norm.

Still on A for overall but B in comparison to electric users only.

regards

MS