Prepping for Poverty???

[Alloneword]

One thing to think of is to use a cashback site (Quidco & Topcashback) these sites run a system where you get as it says some cashback for going through them, use them both myself and can be worth while, have a google and see what you think.


All1

[Catweazle]

Rule of thumb - if an electric device produces heat it's going to use lot of electricity. Look at the wattage of your devices. For example, a LED lamp might be 10 watts, but a tumble dryer or fan heater 1500 watts. You could leave that lamp on for 5 months and use the same electricity as the fan heater would in 1 day.

[katilea]

Rule of thumb - if an electric device produces heat it's going to use lot of electricity. Look at the wattage of your devices. For example, a LED lamp might be 10 watts, but a tumble dryer or fan heater 1500 watts. You could leave that lamp on for 5 months and use the same electricity as the fan heater would in 1 day.

so which would use more..having the 'big light' on to watch TV at night (energy saving bulbs) or the little lamp that is a regular lamp but I have it on a dimmer switch plugged into an extension (same one as laptop is plugged into)?

so a small electric heater would use more electric than the radiators would use gas? (both on for half an hour to warm a room up).

I could do with some kind of device that told me how much I was using. I guess I'd be better doing with a tariff that offered a smart meter? So far First Utility has been the cheapest though it gave a slightly different price to what the comparison site gave it was still the cheapest. I was looking for a local company in yorkshire but their prices are much higher. The First utility seems to be based in Warwickshire or something? There was a few others slightly cheaper but they didn't offer the Warm Home Discount and the difference was less than £50.

How much do TV's use on average? s in winter the TV's from afternoon to around 11-12pm at night when its freezing cold out or raining and nothing else to do and usually on computer at same time. Things like Sky boxes and DVD recorders/smart TV's you can't turn them off at the mains each night without having to go through setup everytime when you want to turn it back on to watch something! Obviously the Fridge Freezer has to stay on but I'm thinking of unplugging everything else unless I'm actually using it (except cooker/washing machine just have a mains off switch as they're built in)

[Hamradioop]

Electricity is sold by the kilowatt hour (Kwh) a 1000 watt heater is a kilowatt and will use a kilowatt of electric an hour. AFAIK gas is cheaper that electric for heating so use the gas to heat.

[nickdutch]

A hypothetical idea would be to use direct debit electricity (so as to cut down the cost), BUT ALSO get a digital coin meter fitted (I know they can cost around £150 + fitting) and get it rigged up so that it takes into account standing charges as well as per unit costs and get it programmed for your utility arrangement.

That way you can have the benefits of pay as you go and keep the coins that you take out of the coin box and put them in a jar an take them to the bank a day or so before the direct debit goes out which means you will have enough money aside to pay the bills and you will also benefit from being able to budget your use of electricity and work out what electric usage is costing the most.

for cheap foods, stockpile some value tin staples, do sprouting of brown lentils and mung beans and the like, learn how to make gram flour pancakes.

[Catweazle]

Rule of thumb - if an electric device produces heat it's going to use lot of electricity. Look at the wattage of your devices. For example, a LED lamp might be 10 watts, but a tumble dryer or fan heater 1500 watts. You could leave that lamp on for 5 months and use the same electricity as the fan heater would in 1 day.

so which would use more..having the 'big light' on to watch TV at night (energy saving bulbs) or the little lamp that is a regular lamp but I have it on a dimmer switch plugged into an extension (same one as laptop is plugged into)?

so a small electric heater would use more electric than the radiators would use gas? (both on for half an hour to warm a room up).

I could do with some kind of device that told me how much I was using. I guess I'd be better doing with a tariff that offered a smart meter? So far First Utility has been the cheapest though it gave a slightly different price to what the comparison site gave it was still the cheapest. I was looking for a local company in yorkshire but their prices are much higher. The First utility seems to be based in Warwickshire or something? There was a few others slightly cheaper but they didn't offer the Warm Home Discount and the difference was less than £50.

How much do TV's use on average? s in winter the TV's from afternoon to around 11-12pm at night when its freezing cold out or raining and nothing else to do and usually on computer at same time. Things like Sky boxes and DVD recorders/smart TV's you can't turn them off at the mains each night without having to go through setup everytime when you want to turn it back on to watch something! Obviously the Fridge Freezer has to stay on but I'm thinking of unplugging everything else unless I'm actually using it (except cooker/washing machine just have a mains off switch as they're built in)

Lots of questions, and without knowing the wattage of your devices I can't give accurate answers. However, if I were you I would forget about the lighting, it's cheap to run. The electricity guzzlers are room heaters, hobs, ovens, hair-dryers, tumble-dryers, immersion heaters - basically all heaters. Room heating by gas is cheaper by far, but if you are in one room an electric heater allows you to heat just the area you need instead of the whole house.

[katilea]

would an halogen oven be cheaper than a regular electric oven? or using the convection on a microwave? My hob and oven are built in and came as part of kitchen adaptions so I didn't have any choice with them.

I do have one of those halogen ovens from JML only use use it for home made chips or cooking a chicken/joint of meat cos it cooks quicker in there than the regular oven. Keep meaning to get myself an Halogen cookbook to see what else I can cook in it!

I thought of seeing if can get a better solar panel that could maybe charge a power bank (think thats what you call them?) so it could be used to charge up little things like mobile/laptop etc. ..won't be buying another desktop computer (my iMac's over 10 year old) as I don't use computer the same now I'm not at college/work with reports to do or presentations. I'm just trying to save up enough points from using credit card for equipment, to get a laptop entirely with points at some point in the year!

As I'm in HA property I can't put solar panels on roof so they'd have to be kind of portable something designed for hikers or camping that can be placed in sunniest part of garden. I don't know if my idea that they'd work to charge a lithium battery on an electric trike to keep it topped up would work?

[grenfell]

Buying panels and an accompanying battery bank would be a expensive way to charge up a mobile at least in the short term. Others on here may be able to offer more advice on smaller portable devices and their uses and limitations.
With regards to solar panels on rented property it may be worth asking the landlords. If they would agree to fund the fitting they would reap the benefits of any FIT's and you would benefit from having lower bills.

[preparedsurrey]

Have you had your loft and cavity wall insulation done under one if the grant schemes? They were at one point fitting TRVs (to control individual radiators) with the scheme so you can set the rooms you don't need heat in to stay cooler than the ones you mainly use saving money on the central heating.

[katilea]

Have you had your loft and cavity wall insulation done under one if the grant schemes? They were at one point fitting TRVs (to control individual radiators) with the scheme so you can set the rooms you don't need heat in to stay cooler than the ones you mainly use saving money on the central heating.

I got mine done free by accident, cos my bungalow was a new build I'd had a letter from the HA to say I had to arrange this with a company when they wrote to me so I did. A few days after they'd been I got letter from HA to ignore the last letter as they were no longer doing it, so contacted them to say they'd already been and done it! ..they said that's fine then never mind!

My neighbour was annoyed as she'd been away abroad and missed it cos she tried to ring company to claim the FREE insulation and got told the contract had been cancelled so she'd have to get written permission that they were still allowed to do it and they'd (lady and her hubby) would have to pay for it!

The radiators in rooms have temperature controls and on/off as I never have the one on in spare room thats only used as a store room, but the radiators in hall and bathroom do not seem to have a temp control or on/off so can't stop them coming on even when I try to only heat one room. which was why I got the heater for the bedroom thinking it would be cheaper. Its a Cadiz Eco I got cheap off ebay. I just turn it on and leave it heat room up then turn it off. it says 35 degrees on the panel.

The llittle electric fire in front room is a Dimplex one thats meant to look like a log burner, so can have just the flame effect on (no heat) , 2 heat settings and a cool setting. I got that as a birthday present so didn't pay for that. Not sure what temp that gets to but heat only comes out from under the front so takes longer to heat the whole room I usually use it to just sit in front of quickly to warm hands up.

I did have an electric underblanket but when it nearly caught fire a few weeks back I haven't bought another. It was just luck my very intuitive young collie came and alerted me (I was in kitchen making hot choccy to take back to bed), he didn't want to get on bed and was pawing side of bed (where control was under the duvet) I suddenly realised I could smell a strange burning smell, lifted the duvet up and the controller was flashing and flickering like mad and could really smell it more when lifted duvet so quickly turned it off at mains and unplugged it and had to strip the bed. My old dog was fast asleep on the bed and can't get on/off without help so my young dog probably saved her life as well as preventing a fire!

At moment I've put a 10 tog duvet on mattress and sleeping between that and the 15 tog duvet and throws thats on top of the bed, plus hot water bottles and 2 medium sized dogs to keep me warm..lol!