David

[Willow]

I started on my paperwork backlog today and took a look at our fuel costs as I filed the bills We spend twice as much on gas as electricity each month so that's my priority. I switched supplier as that should bring down our bills by nearly £100 per month but we're still spending way too much on gas and electricity.

 

So wood burner as much as possible for heating and wear jumpers (my ES was wearing shorts in the house last weekend so we must be running it too warm).

 

We have bare floorboards and no skirting yet which is increasing our heating costs but that's not a quick thing to fix.

 

We have showers and with teen boys they don't shower as much as I'd like them to as it is

I do have the hot water on constantly which I guess I ought to change to timed. hot water tank is well insulated. Our heating is zoned to upstairs and downstairs so we can just heat one or the other at any one time.

 

Loft could use more insulation, we realised we can add more to one area ourselves fairly easily but the main loft is somewhat harder.

 

We have cavity wall insulation & double glazing. We have curtains most rooms now.

 

I must get my electric monitor running again to see what is pulling power.

Oven I try and cook more than one thing when I have it on. I do use the dryer too much but not sure what my alternates are in the winter - any ideas ? I run several loads of washing a week as well, think we'll all have to try and reduce that.

 

So where should I prioritise ? loft ? floors & skirting ? anything else I could do ?

[Olly]

Stop letting the heat out, so I'd say loft and floors would be a priority. It sounds as if you're doing what you can to reduce the amount you're using, in terms of not using appliances too much. Even if you have double glazing, thermal lined curtains can make a difference, as can door curtains. I use the woodburner as much as possible, and wear extra layers. I'd say it's worth investing in a heated airer, tumble dryers are very expensive to run.

 

I found my Owl monitor really useful for working out which appliances use the most electricity, and little things like spotlights turn out to use a lot more power than ordinary bulbs - I don't replace them all in the kitchen now, when one of the bulbs goes, as I find three give enough light. I'm also very quick to turn off the kitchen spotlights when not using the room.

 

It's a constant battle - I felt very depressed at the news this morning that fuel costs will go on rising till 2030 - I'll be a pensioner before then!

[The Dogmother]

Turning down the room stat really helps too - our heating comes on twice a day, 7 days a week and the stat is set at 19deg.

 

Woodburner is an excellent idea, especially if you can get free wood. Mine is going all day when I am in the house and the central heating doesn't need to come on.

[Charlottechicken]

Light the woodburner and wear knee length socks, toasty

[Saronne]

Plenty of loft insulation will make a big difference. I've got an eco-fan on my woodburner (helps to circulate the heat), I'm gradually replacing old bulbs with LED ones (expensive outlay, but they use less electricity). Have you got room on top of your woodburner for a saucepan/casserole? I start stews/soups/casseroles on the hob and then move them onto the wood burner to simmer. If it's too hot, you can use a little trivet - or even four little piles of pennies - to raise the pan up slightly.

[The Dogmother]

That's true; if my burner is going, then I always boil the kettle on it. We had baked tatties form the stove the other evening... took just 20 minutes too

[Willow]

I'm not fond of potatoes (smell and texture) so I might pass on the cooking on my wood burner

 

We have masses of wood as we've had to have a few trees down int he last few years and we kept all the wood. We actually have enough wood piles around the garden it's a problem so I plan to keep the wood burner going all winter Bought OH a pair of slippers yesterday as he complains about his feet being cold.

 

I think it looks like loft needs sorting asap. Shame we didnt do this earlier in the year I want to use space blankets as they are easy to roll out and minimal loose fibres but they don't seem to be on offer anywhere If anyone has tips on where is good to order space blanket insulation from please post!

[The Dogmother]

Have a look online, you may be able to get a grant for lagging your loft if it has under a certain level.

 

I reckon that I have about 2 years' worth of wood in stock at the moment a lot of it is lovely oak from work, and it burns slow and hot.

[Saronne]

Free wood makes it really economical. I was given lots of cherry logs from someone who had some trees taken down.

Now I only use the central heating for 45 minutes in the morning to get the house warm; then I light the wood burner when I get home from work. That - plus all the insulation- has cut my gas bill in half.

[Gertie]

I would say insulation as well. We have just had a room completely redecorated & the floor stripped etc. The carpenter was also an ex surveyor and suggested we insulate under the floorboards. It's made a huge difference in the room. He also filled any gaps around with expanding foam (not the ventilation holes!) and put the boards in really tight so there was minimal gaps. I can honestly say the room is transformed. It is really noticeable how much warmer it is.

[bluekarin]

We are trying to do this as well as our electric bill is astronomical. We have started heating the house with these http://www.permaculture.co.uk/videos/heat-your-room-8-pence-day which I hope will help cut it down a lot. Only started today so will see how it goes, but it's been all over Facebook and some online newspapers. The other suggestions of insulation sounds a great way to help too.

[The Dogmother]

I live in a draughty old Victorian house, which is never going to be very well insulated, but I do work on it; last year I put in Radflek radiator reflectors and the difference is amazing.

[Willow]

We've been making serious use of the woodburner and bought more insulation (still more to do). We realised we are overheating downstairs especially in the morning because the thermostat is in the hall and over the stairs there's a sloping roof that has no insulation. We're going to be getting the roof replaced next year so we get that insulated at the same time I don't think we can do anything without removing the roof. In the meantime OH is thinking of moving the thermostat.

[The Dogmother]

Make sure they use Cellotex - it's the best fro roof cavity insulation.