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Combating energy prices

martin363 said:
including a heat pump tumble dryer
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Do these make a big difference? I've just checked the spec of a new Bosch compared to our current Bosch and it's showing 560 KW/h compared to 236 KW/h based on 160 cycles. That's 42% which is obviously less than half the cost.

Would you say that was accurate?
 
Dirk Diggler said:
Do these make a big difference? I've just checked the spec of a new Bosch compared to our current Bosch and it's showing 560 KW/h compared to 236 KW/h based on 160 cycles. That's 42% which is obviously less than half the cost.

Would you say that was accurate?
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Personally I think it makes a huge difference, I haven't quantified it, but I would say it probably uses about 50% of the energy of our old 'standard' dryer, maybe less. Ironically it works best with full loads too, which is a bonus.
One common complaint is that heat pump dryers take much longer to dry the clothes, but we haven't seen this, typically the dry time on a fairly full load is about 45 mins, and less ironing too. It doesn't work well with 1 or 2 items only though.

However the initial cost of purchase is much higher, I think we paid about 850 - edit - nope 650, just checked for ours (a Bosch), but I also think you get what you pay for with heat pump dryers, and we did some research at the time before the purchase.
 
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martin363 said:
Any practical suggestions be appreciated though given our situation - I would luv to reduce our energy use, We cannot have a smart meter however due to the location of the meters in the basement.
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You've lightly done what you can, as have most people within their comfort zone. This is the biggest hurdle, do you want to push your comfort zone?
Wear clothes longer for example, and not change bedsheets every week. Don't flush toilet after every wee. Shop at Lidl for everything.
 
martin363 said:
Personally I think it makes a huge difference, I haven't quantified it, but I would say it probably uses about 50% of the energy of our old 'standard' dryer, maybe less. Ironically it works best with full loads too, which is a bonus.
One common complaint is that heat pump dryers take much longer to dry the clothes, but we haven't seen this, typically the dry time on a fairly full load is about 45 mins, and less ironing too. It doesn't work well with 1 or 2 items only though.

However the initial cost of purchase is much higher, I think we paid about 850 - edit - nope 650, just checked for ours (a Bosch), but I also think you get what you pay for with heat pump dryers, and we did some research at the time before the purchase.
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Our Heat pump Samsung is about 7 ish years old now so one of the early ones. It's starting to make a rattle actually so hope it lasts. It's been really good. Noisy thing when it's on but otherwise can't fault it. It has probably about 30 different program combinations but my Mrs uses it by selecting the hottest and driest option as apparently anything less means they are not fully dry. It takes about 2 to 2.5 hours a cycle. I once measured it during a run and it was showing 500 watts at the wall. No idea if it maintains that for the entire duration or goes higher.
 
Think I'm going to use that insulated plasterboard for the living room ceiling when it comes time to do that room, even the 37.5mm stuff should make a difference, save a bit of the heat from disappearing into the void between floors. Probably do the same for the bathroom as well.
 
I've spent a few hours today setting up truenas to spin down my 6 hard disks when not in use. There were a few services keeping them spun up so I've sorted all that out which saves me 24w except for when the drives are actually in use.

I'm about half way through improving the insulation in the loft and installing raised loft legs, we've also put them thermostat down a degree and the new windows should help too.

There are still a few draughts that I need to look at and should be possible to fill.

Ultimately though it's a detached without wall cavity insulation and a really badly built extension, so it does lose a lot of heat.
 
robj20 said:
Think I'm going to use that insulated plasterboard for the living room ceiling when it comes time to do that room, even the 37.5mm stuff should make a difference, save a bit of the heat from disappearing into the void between floors. Probably do the same for the bathroom as well.
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This is something I'm going to look at too. An added benefit will also be improving the sound insulation between floors
 
Uhtred said:
I've spent a few hours today setting up truenas to spin down my 6 hard disks when not in use. There were a few services keeping them spun up so I've sorted all that out which saves me 24w except for when the drives are actually in use.

I'm about half way through improving the insulation in the loft and installing raised loft legs, we've also put them thermostat down a degree and the new windows should help too.

There are still a few draughts that I need to look at and should be possible to fill.

Ultimately though it's a detached without wall cavity insulation and a really badly built extension, so it does lose a lot of heat.
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That reminds me I need to re-initialise my NAS remove the 2xhdd raid and replace with an SSD as volume 1 and the raid can then be volume 2.
That way they can spin down rather than rubbing 24/7
 
robj20 said:
That reminds me I need to re-initialise my NAS remove the 2xhdd raid and replace with an SSD as volume 1 and the raid can then be volume 2.
That way they can spin down rather than rubbing 24/7
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I did the same the other day, we have 2 Synology NAS and both were spinning 24/7, now spin down after 20 mins. Doubt it will save much, but no point in wasting either.
 
martin363 said:
I did the same the other day, we have 2 Synology NAS and both were spinning 24/7, now spin down after 20 mins. Doubt it will save much, but no point in wasting either.
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It's annoying that you can't just change volume and have it move everything it needs to the new drive.
Mostly the likes of Plex server keeping it awake.
 
Mercenary Keyboard Warrior said:
Stick motion sensors on the main rooms?
We have one in our utility, 2mins on when it senses movement, funny how you get used to not switching and it just coming on as you enter.
I am seriously tempted to do the same in the kitchen, we often walk in or out at night.
Worst thing I did was add under cabinet lighting, it looks so much better with them lit she has them on all the time :(
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Tons of stuff we could do, smart devices etc but is it actually worth the outlay.....:p
 
Mercenary Keyboard Warrior said:
Stick motion sensors on the main rooms?
We have one in our utility, 2mins on when it senses movement, funny how you get used to not switching and it just coming on as you enter.
I am seriously tempted to do the same in the kitchen, we often walk in or out at night.
Worst thing I did was add under cabinet lighting, it looks so much better with them lit she has them on all the time :(
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Was that just simple little PIRs you installed? I wouldn't imagine they'd be very expensive, so a decent shout. :)
 
Dirk Diggler said:
Are you referring to downstairs floors? If so, are you having to lift anything or do you have access under the floor?
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Yes downstairs.
Fortunately There's enough space to crawl around underneath and the house is built on a concrete slab so it's not particularly dirty down there. In each room I've pulled the carpet and underlay back in a corner and used a multi tool to cut a small access hatch then post myself and rolls of insulation through it :D.
I did the two bedrooms on the north face of the house first as these were always the coldest, they're now the warmest and the heat retention in the rooms is much better. Well worth the effort.
 
Dirk Diggler said:
Was that just simple little PIRs you installed? I wouldn't imagine they'd be very expensive, so a decent shout. :)
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Just this sort of thing, make sure you get one thats LED compatible if you have them
I didnt install it as a cost saving measure really, but if you have kids constantly leaving lights on, depending on the wattage they could save money
Prices like on everything seem to have gone bonkers

https://www.screwfix.com/p/zinc-thea-indoor-white-microwave-recessed-sensor-360/4277r
 
Not a lot really. Already have solar + battery so most of our electric is off peak and almost free during the summer. Need to chuck another 100mm in the loft when I get round to it. Otherwise I’m quite conscious of how much we use and try to eliminate waste where possible.

Thought about heat pump tumble dryer but we seldom use ours and the cost difference between what we paid second hand for ours just doesn’t make it viable.

Just going to ride it out, will probably get rid of Sky when our contract is over, Netflix is rather pants atm so that can go too.
 
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