Electricity prices

[Stravaig]

Blimey! We've only been here a few weeks and have done nothing out of the ordinary but we've already spent about £700 on leccie. How scary is that?

We're not (yet) in a heat or eat situation, but I'm really worried for those who can't manage. I don't know how long we'll be able to manage - I expect we'll be OK - but this is just frightening.

I know you don't want politics on here, but something has to done, or maybe we can just have a revolution where the poor and poverty sticken try to wrest some comforts from the wealthy. I'm neither poor nor wealthy but see big trouble looming.

Please don't try to gag me for political opinions because this is a gardening forum. A fourm consists of people, who have opinions. So, let us express them. What are you going to do about this? I don't know what I can do other to than to give stuff to a local food bank. And they don't want want fresh food - only dried or tinned.

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[Westi]

I lined up my small electric kitchen aids & tested the oven etc against the little smart meter thing British Gas gave me. It was in the drawer from when they upgraded my outside meters a couple of years ago, but it is eye opening at what things really use the power & those you expect to but don't. The oven is a killer (14 bars) but it's got 3 sources included; eat, light & fan. The washing machine not so much but I note the bars drop for different stages of the wash so the smart meter is sensitive to energy used for the different cycles. The grill was a big user as well & I had an all singing, all dancing toaster which also read double figure bars.

If you have one it is a good exercise just to see where your energy goes. I bought a Remoska which is like an electric frying pan but element is in the lid. It is from Czechoslovakia & introduced during the communist regime as their electricity supply was unreliable & it only uses 500W) but only one setting which is 180C but you can adjust the height of things in it & comes in a couple of sizes & there are recipe books. I also bought a simple toaster, wide enough to take muffins or crumpets or a fully made sarnie in a toastie bag - 3bars. And there is the obvious shower over bath.

Truly is worth the exercise just to see what the big crunchers of energy are.

[tigerburnie]

We have been oblivious to it all, but I have finally given and we gat a smart meter fitted tomorrow, will be of some mild interest as to what does and does not add significantly to our bill.

[retropants]

I second the remoska, I've been using one for years. My mum has both sizes, but the smaller one is big enough for 2 of us. It does everything from cakes to jacket spuds to quiche (crustless) and casseroles. I also have a pressure cooker, and that is fab for one pot meals also.

[Colin2016]

Yes cost of electric is scary but have we all been suckered into using it without looking at alternatives?

I suspect Gas & electric is used because it is more convenient.

I had oil boiler installed because it gave me control, I get the chance to fill up when it is cheaper, not heard of gas or electric going down. During covid I was paying 27p litre as opposed to 48p before. Last lot was 92p but with the government help it should balance out.

When boiler was first installed the bloke fitting loft installation broke the thermostat lead so we had no heating. This showed how vulnerable we would be if there was a power cut so had wood burner installed.

On electric use I had a induction hob & small multi oven which I believe is more cost effective, no dishwasher or tumble drier.

I grow food for my family anything left over I could sell for profit (prefer to give local fridge service).

Our country harvest gas/electric and sell to highest bidder before it thinks about supplying it own needs...Go figure.

They say solar panel & wind turbine is the future, not seen much sun or had any wind last few days...Go figure again.

Never heard of a "remoska" maybe something to consider for the future, thank for tip.

[Geoff]

Must be difficult in a rented house not knowing how everything works and having had no control over the design of the system, the standard of insulation of the building or the quality of the appliances. As Westi says, the first step is to find out where it is all going. If electric heating is a large part need a thermometer to see what room temperatures you are using and try and get everything back to 20/21 and check you are only heating for the times of day you are there and the rooms you are occupying. Add in some simple things like stopping draughts and closing curtains early. Our cooking costs are silly as we have an electric range that uses about 100 kWh/week, we use it for everything including kettles and my wife wouldn't entertain an ordinary oven as an alternative. At least it costs less to run than the solid fuel Aga we had previously. We are protected so far as I signed up for a deal at 19.4p/kWh just before prices went mad that runs until March 2024 but we'll be in for a big shock then. If you can't sort it out you'll just have to pop back to Ukraine and kick the Russians out!

[Stephen]

Tumble dryers are big energy consumers, far more so than a traditional spin dryer that a previous generation used. I'm surprised no one has devised a spin dryer which can fit into an integrated system.

The big problem is the way the price of electricity is calculated here. The government define price by the most expensive method of production, this does too little to promote cheaper production.

[Stephen]

Tumble dryers are big energy consumers, far more so than a traditional spin dryer that a previous generation used. I'm surprised no one has devised a spin dryer which can fit into an integrated system.

The big problem is the way the price of electricity is calculated here. The government define price by the most expensive method of production, this does too little to promote cheaper production.

One key message from Octopus Energy:-

You need to know this
Energy prices are at record highs, and most homes will be better off staying with their current energy supplier right now.

If your fixed term is coming to an end, don't choose a new tariff or switch supplier.

Instead, let your supplier automatically move you to their default tariff, so your prices are protected by the Government's Energy Price Cap.

So managing how and when you run things or what you use is the way forward.

[Colin2016]

Tumble Driers, Spin Driers... I remember using a mangle, if fact there is a local car wash that still uses one for ringing out their leather.

As for price fixing electric I fixed mine in June which was higher than the government fix so company brought it down.

[tigerburnie]

Had one eye on the new read out thingy ma bobby that came with our new meter, seems we are on budget with our use, kettle and immersion heater seems to be our biggest usage, I was kinda surprised that our quite old washing machine is economical to use, we haven't used the tumble drier for well over a year, we dry the washing in front of the stove. I changed all our lights to LED's years ago, so not a thing we can cut down on to reduce our bill.

[Stravaig]

I'd never heard of remoska either but looked it up on Google. It could well be worth investing in one. Since I've shrunk so much (vertebral compression fractures as well as just getting older) I can't safely reach the built-in oven (or the microwave) in this flat.

I use my slow cooker a lot and have read recently that it's a great way to reduce electricity consumption. It also enables you to buy cheaper and tastier cuts of meat. OK, I was going to say that I love my slow cooker, but I actually have several, that is if our belongings ever catch up with us.

[Stravaig]

We moved house many times during the last few years, I think it was eleven times in total with seven moves in this year alone. (Two evacuations - Covid, then Russian invasion, finding accommodation has been really tough. Never mind trying to find suitable accommodation.)

We ended up staying in a lot of Airbnbs, some of which weren't very well equipped. One place didn't even have proper beds! Anyway, we didn't always have the luxury of a tumble drier. Several places had a fold-away clothes drying rack, but a few had a heated one of these. I might get a heated one, but I like to do my towels in the tumbler. I find they get a bit crispy if they're not tumble dried.

I also like the dishwasher. In our own house we have two sinks in the utility room for potwash. Here in this flat we have one kitchen sink which isn't adequate for a keen cook who needs to do food prep as well as pot wash so I'm very grateful for the dishwasher.

I guess we could find ways to reduce the cost, but we're not that keen to reduce the quality of our lives. One great thing about this flat is that the kitchen, with large windows, where I spend a lot of my time (I've even got my desk in there!) is south facing so when the sun has got his hat on we're getting a lot of heat blasted through the windows.

[Stravaig]

We're not skint but I'm just not willing to go on like this, spending so much money on electricity - and worrying about power cuts.

We've bought a double ring camping gas burner so if the leccie goes off (power cut) we can still at least cook some simple things and boil water. No point in waiting until it happens - then everyone will want one and they'll be out of stock and unavailable.

If the leccie hasn't gone off then we have the slow cooker and soon, I hope, the remoska and some kind of clothes drying rack.

I'm not a meanie and not poverty stricken but I don't want to live like this. And I don't want to spend so much on electricity. I've lived in a tent in Iraq and been less worried. At least I knew what to expect.

We don't have a garden, but we do have a good big roof terrace, I'm keen to do a lot of our own things rather than rely on the current food supply chain. I am really very stressed out but I think that's probably a result of all the house moves (seven in the last ten months).

[Stravaig]

I decided I would get a remoska and looked on various websites for their prices. Lakeland wasn't the cheapest by any means BUT I had a 20% off voucher, which made a big difference. That being the case I sneaked a few various other things into my order, including a hot chocolate velvetiser. LOL!

When the parcel arrives tomorrow I shall have to insist on unpacking it on my own, hide the velvetiser in my chest of drawers for a few days, and then surreptiously move it to the kitchen worktop later.

When my husband eventually notices it I shall feign surprise and say it's not new. Then offer him a cup/mug of the most delicious velvety hot chocolate.

There's a chef/book who says "Never trust a skinny chef" and that really annoys me. I'd never trust a fat chef if you want to be like that - obviously no idea of good cooking and eating behaviour. Most of the world's best chefs aren't fat - Heston Blumenthal, Lisa Goodwin-Allen, Gordon Ramsay, Monica Galetti, Raymond Blanc, Marcus Wareing - all quite slim or at least not fat. (I'm less than seven stones.)

That said, I wouldn't trust me when it comes to buying kitchen gadgets. LOL I was quite interested in getting an air fryer last week but decided it wasn't really my kind of thing. I mentioned this to David and he said I was in good company. How come? Apparently Jay Raynor hates the darned things. Just think of the money I've saved by not getting an air fryer! I'm worth the velvetiser.

Well, OK, before you start yelling at me, I admit some excellent chefs are a bit chunky. Just saying it's not compulsory or even the norm.

[Primrose]

Well I bet the gas and electricity meters are all whizzing round frantically here today with the cold temperatures. Sitting here in my three layers, fingerless gloves for typing on my iPad as aI keep hearing the central heating boiler click ON yet again!!