We have been using a dehumidifier for drying washing for many years now. Rarely if ever is the tumble dryer used. On days with a good forecast the washing goes out on the rotary.
Well we have been using our Conservatory it got a glass roof and it a good place for drying clothes on our airer and so far it has been great .
. It's very noticeable that the electricity usage drops when the sun shines. Even in winter the panel may raise the temperature of the water a couple of degrees occassionally.
That’s a substantial saving, which shows an awareness of your energy usage. The downside being that you are unlikely to benefit from the National Grid “payback” to encourage moving away from peak times. We don’t have a smart meter but looking at our electric usage at peak grid times we wouldn’t benefit either as apart from the fridge freezer and 5/10 watts of lighting, router and phone module and tv there’s precious little else available to switch off. But we’ve been doing this for the 3 years since we moved into this house. It’s just our style.I've tracked our electric usage over 12 years and on average its 4332 units p.a. We've always been energy conscious and until the beginning of this year thought there wasn't much more we could do without affecting quality of life.
However, with the horrendous price hikes - unjustiified in my opinion - we thought again and have made some more changes. This year so far we've consumed 2860 units and if the remaining 7 weeks are at the same rate as present then we should just go over the 3000 mark.
We've been more conscious of using the ovens more efficiently - so we plan bread and cake making etc. around the times when dinner was something that also needed to go in the oven. Earlier this year we bought a microwave - our first ever - and use it for the occassional heating which would have meant putting the ovens on, which spend a considerable amount of time and energy just getting up to temperature.
Hot water - electrically heated - is provided by two tanks. A small one and a large one. Both are independent and only switched on when needed. The large tank has a manual timer on it which you can set for 30mins, 1hr or 2 hours. We check the water temperature and turn on for the appropriate amount of time. This is used for showers etc. The small one is for sinks and switched on as needed and is located near them.
If you have a large immersion heater which needs to supply hot water to an outlet a long way from it then more cold water than you get hot at the outlet enters the tank which then requires additional heating.
The hot water solar panel supplies the large tank and we'll time having showers etc when its producing 'free' hot water. Ok - you don't have to stand upwind of us when the sun doesn't shine
Washing machine and dishwasher are cold feed. The dishwasher gets put on for a full wash only when its - well full! Other times its a quick rinse.
We don't have a tumble dryer but the ventilation system provides adequate drying due to the dehumidification process. The vent system used to run 24/7 except during the summer when windows were open and it got switched off. Now we've extended the switch off period as there are still times in the autumn and winter when doors and windows get opened as we go in and out. We do make sure its on fully overnight though. During times when we are away it has an Unoccupied setting which just cycles it on/off in a 15/45mins ratio. Not quite the same as being fully off.
To aid the washing drying in the times when we can't put it outside - and this might seem a bit over the top - after the oven has been used in the evening we'll move the clothes airer in front of it with the door open. As we heat the house from a log burning stove we'll move the clother airer in front of that before we go to bed.
When at home we used to play music via the media center, which is a small computer and TV. The TV displayed a slide show of family pictures as random music plays. These days we're more likely to listen to the radio which uses less power than the media centre. The media centre gets switched on in the evening to watch something recorded or streamed. Its always powered off when not in use - not in standby.
Computers etc are always powered off after use and not left in standby. The only things on standby are the phones and router.
As previously mentioned we thought we couldn't save any more energy but we have. Can we do this again - doubtful!
We never leave the washing machine running during the night vas it brings no financial return, nor do we have it running when we are out. It’s not the fire risk, more a flood risk.
We use our washing machine in the evening after 6pm and it ready for next day to put on the rotary outside .
Hi Sam stopping at our holiday bungalow that had underfloor heating in the bathroom wow i was impressed lovely and warm every morning thinking when we do our bathroom might have it done is it expensive to run ?
There is no other heating in the bathroom.
Our bathroom is on ground level and it concrete floor so when we have the bathroom refit that include a new shower with a drop down seat with a sliding door he will look into it and see what we need but we also have a towel radiator but thanks for the informationIt is nice and comforting to use but as to running costs that will depend on what you install and how you use it - i.e. what size both electrically and the area covered. and how long you want it on.
It will also depend on the floor type you're putting it under - e.g tile, wood, carpet. And of course what the floor substrate is - wooden floor boards or concrete slab. Ours is upstairs and on a wooden floor with ceramic tiles on top of it. The MVHR (vent system) keeps the room temperature up but its nice to have warm feet as well
Our bathroom floor is about 5m2 and the heating element is 600w. There is a controller for it so you can program when you want it to come on and off and what temperature. We prefer to use it manually by just judging whether or when we think we need it. We set the floor temperature to about 32degC and it warms up quickly but I can't remember how quick. Its not usually on for more than 1hour, so just when showering in the winter months.
We rented a friends house once over christmas which had a similar system in their conservatory but on a concrete floor. It cost a fortune to run and that was a number of years ago.
My first attempt to have a smart meter was cancelled at short notice. IE 24 hours. It was said that in our area the mobile network wasn’t good enough to support it. That’s a fact. None of our neighbours have a good signal and have different mobile providers to us. Our second attempt was also cancelled at very short notice but that was said to be due to staff absence. I decided not not to reschedule it; rather to stick it.
OC , having a smart meter is not educational, it is bloody frightening at the new price tarrifs. We have cut back so much on our power usage. Double jumpers to keep warm etc.
Understand but we rarely have heating on until mid afternoon then the lounge takes primacy via the thermostat with bedroom trv’s set low or off. It’s the norm for me to wear a merino t shirt and often paired with a thermocore shirt and sweater/fleece. Over the three years we’ve been in this house £80 pm has still left us in credit at the end of a contract. But regardless I’m aware that our energy payment will rise but having a smart meter may become a necessity if/when changing tariff or supplier when things get back to some form of normality.
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