Like many of you, and the residents you support we’re all more worried than ever at increasing costs. I had a smart meter installed at the beginning of November, and it was quite a surprise to see exactly how much energy some of our day to day electrical items were using. Turning on the kettle for example, made my energy cost jump from 16p to a whopping £1.05 per minute! I’ve been guilty in the past of switching on the kettle, then forgetting to make the drink immediately, and without a thought would just flick the switch and boil the kettle again 10 minutes later. Not any more! My daughter and I spent time over the weekend testing all of our gadgets and electronics to find out which were the worst offenders in terms of the amount of power they use.
Fridge freezer
This isn’t something we can turn off (obviously), but it did account for the biggest draw of power. To minimise its energy consumption, try not to live the fridge door open as this increases the amount of work the motor has to do to keep it cool. It will be a challenge for my daughter to break her habit of automatically opening the fridge door and staring at the contents for several minutes whilst she mulls over what she wants to snack on!
Washing machine
I knew this would be a high user of power, but it was a bit eye watering to see exactly how much the electricity cost shot up when it was switched on. To make it more economical, I now use it at night when energy costs are cheaper, and use a short cycle with a cooler temperature for most loads.
TV
This was quite a surprising one. I’m not a huge TV watcher, but it’s important to get into the habit of switching televisions off at the mains, rather than leaving it on standby, as this continues to draw power. Apparently, televisions with LED technology use 25% less energy than LCD televisions and up to 40% less than plasma screen TVs.
Oven:
The oven used quite a lot of electricity – so I’ve switched to an airfryer, as this is cheaper to run as a smaller area needs to be heated. When using an oven, avoid opening the door too often, as each time you do the oven needs to use more energy to come back up to heat.
Computer
Like many of you, I’m working from home regularly. I have a laptop that I work from at home, but they do use a fair amount of power – mainly to help them cool internally. Tips from the industry include reducing the screen brightness, removing the screensaver (even if it is pretty) and switching off additional devices (i.e. the printer, the scanner, speakers…) And of course, switching it off when it is not being used.
Heating
This is probably going to be one of the biggest costs as the weather grows colder. At home, I’ve already turned down the thermostat slightly, and changed my central heating timer so that it’s on for a shorter amount time. Keeping doors closed helps retain heat in different rooms and dressing in warmer clothes will certainly be the norm going forward. My daughter grumbled the other day that she was chilly, but I pointed out that if swapped her usual shorts and t-shirts for something more seasonally appropriate, she’d be warmer! Cosy fleeces, onesies and jumpers as well as slippers that she’s had stuffed in the bottom of a drawer are now being made good use of. I make sure our home isn’t cold – but it shouldn’t be tropical either!
Lights
I found two particular lights in my house used far more power than others. It transpired that I didn’t have low energy lightbulbs in those fittings, so swapped them immediately. We need to make more of an effort to switch off lights when we leave the room – my daughter in particular is a big fan of turning on every light in the house – a habit she’s trying hard to break now.
Kettle
The aforementioned kettle uses a horrible amount of power – albeit only for short bursts at a time. However, I’ve decided to make use of a hot water flask when at home and at work. I boil a full kettle, then fill up the hot water flask to use for the next few hours – which saves me boiling the kettle another 5 or 6 times! Every little helps!
Overall, for me the smart meter is a really good way of seeing exactly what I’m using (and spending), and will make my daughter and I much more aware of our energy consumption on a daily basis.
If you have any tips on how to save energy prices at home – let us know.
