Combating energy prices

[arknor]

Keeping onions in the fridge is more likely to get them to sprout than keeping at cool room temp in a dark place

Like many food items that will regrow if planted they work on a cold cycle to trigger seasonality

Things like garlic you literally put them in the fridge to season cycle them, some things like chili seeds you can even freeze them
I just put my lavender seeds in the fridge for a week, they think its winter now, when I take them out they think its spring...

some seeds only germinate if you put them in the freezer first.

what are you talking about anyway?

my freezer is mostly empty so I half filled it with bottles of water that just live in there.

sometimes I stick a few frozen bottles in the salad draw of the fridge when it's empty to help keep the temp down and stop the fridge/freezer cycling so much, seesm to work a treat

 

[Mercenary Keyboard Warrior]

some seeds only germinate if you put them in the freezer first.

what are you talking about anyway?

my freezer is mostly empty so I half filled it with bottles of water that just live in there.

sometimes I stick a few frozen bottles in the salad draw of the fridge when it's empty to help keep the temp down and stop the fridge/freezer cycling so much, seesm to work a treat

The guy who says online go off after a week, and people putting onions in the fridge

 

[SoliD]

Finished the spare bedroom pretty much now, just got to sort the windowsills at the weekend then it'll be ready for plaster, but as the room will be used for storing everything from the other rooms I made a start last night on the main bedroom, which involved moving the bed and everything under it as well as various bits of furniture. But managed to smash off all the coving off the main wall and get all of the vertical timbers up for the Celotex in a few hours, so much quicker than the other room. Even better that it'll be 4 sheets of plaster fitting in perfectly.

Hoping to fly through the rest of the rooms much quicker as it'll just be battening and fitting the celotex/plasterboard with 1 rad and a windowsill to sort, rather than building a wardrobe and fixing numerous issues with the room that the spare had.

Pretty grim pulling back some of the top edges of the wallpaper where the mould had been accumulating.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/rqUteVQa75StWJ6A6

 

[Tinders]

What was the reason for the mould? Won’t the insulation make that worse?

 

[SoliD]

What was the reason for the mould? Won’t the insulation make that worse?

Non cavity wall, warm fairly humid house, house is tile hung so has no cavity, and that corner takes the brunt of the wind/rain, having the vapour barrier and the insulation should eradicate it. Also the eaves had no loft insulation until about 6 weeks ago. The wall next to it on the front of the house has no issues where it isn't in an eave.

 

[SoliD]

Had fun at the weekend, had celotexed the wall in the photos earlier and went to go plaster it and found out I couldn't get a sheet of plaster up my stairs, so had to cut out a slot in the middle of each celotex sheet and insert a batten and retape. Luckily the multitool goes through it like a hot knife through butter. Should hopefully get this room completed at the weekend and then get both rooms plastered next week with some luck.

Internal temps are showing an improvement, measured the corner in the picture on the left on Saturday morning when it was about 0c overnight and the celotex wall was 2c warmer than the non celotex wall. Did the same wall at the back of the house and that was about 2.5c difference first thing.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/mSut77pH1nJf5czCA

 

[jpaul]

Also the eaves had no loft insulation until about 6 weeks ago.

you leave a bit of a gap though ? monitoring humidity could be interesting, if that is the method to discriminate adequate ventilation.

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Something different - REPLACING LAPTOP SUPPLIES WITH MORE EFFICIENT GaN CHARGERS

I have an older laptop without usb-c power and a 100W charger, was wondering if you could save 10W's or so with a newer charger ?

most of the Gan chargers seem to be usb-c though, so I need an adapter, and some don't really deliver improvements

https://usbchargingblog.wordpress.com/2020/08/17/ravpower-pd-pioneer-90w-gan-tech-type-c-2-port-wall-charger-rp-pc128-review/
The idle voltages and currents of OCP are good. The efficiency is 89% or higher, so it’s pretty good, right? No! Look at the PF; it’s just 0.619 or less. That means the effective power is only 90.84% of 0.619, or lower. What a waste of energy! I don’t even think it can be listed in Europe

https://usbchargingblog.wordpress.com/2022/03/07/kovol-sprint-120w-pd-4-port-gan-desktop-charger-kv-pc001-review/
Everything looks good. The PFC makes the PF 0.9+ when the output power is around 60W. It consumes 0.2W when idle.

dell supply

 

[mid_gen]

Has anyone insulated an old property? Mine's a ~1910 terrace. The only feasible way of insulating it I suspect is putting stud wall on the external interior walls and stuffing with insulation.

Not a huge house, so it'd be a bit annoying losing some space, but not the end of the world. It leaks warmth like a sieve at the moment though, and pretty sure any money spent would be worthwhile.

Also has a South facing roof, so solar is an option. I suspect installs are at a premium at the moment though, and the roof would need some re-inforcement as it's sagging a little already.

 

[LuckyBenski]

Has anyone insulated an old property? Mine's a ~1910 terrace. The only feasible way of insulating it I suspect is putting stud wall on the external interior walls and stuffing with insulation.

Not a huge house, so it'd be a bit annoying losing some space, but not the end of the world. It leaks warmth like a sieve at the moment though, and pretty sure any money spent would be worthwhile.

Also has a South facing roof, so solar is an option. I suspect installs are at a premium at the moment though, and the roof would need some re-inforcement as it's sagging a little already.

My house is around 1900/1910 AFAIK, and has had exactly this. Solar panels and solar heat exchanger fitted 2011, and all exterior walls dot and dabbed over the years. Some windows are quite new and some were old when I moved in but the last single glazing was replaced 2019. It still "breathes" due to aged floorboards and all windows/doors being wood etc.

It warms up well in winter and holds heat quite well, unbearably warm in summer and no way to cool it. Still I'm sold on insulating interior walls when we buy our house, if needed. It's worth the 3 inch loss.

Edit: it's had a loft conversion/extension so presumably that adds insulation due to being newer and less leaky.

 

[Foghorn Leghorn]

Has anyone insulated an old property? Mine's a ~1910 terrace. The only feasible way of insulating it I suspect is putting stud wall on the external interior walls and stuffing with insulation.

Not a huge house, so it'd be a bit annoying losing some space, but not the end of the world. It leaks warmth like a sieve at the moment though, and pretty sure any money spent would be worthwhile.

I did this on an 1860's end terrace, battoned and 25mm celotex on all external interior walls. Made a big difference to retaining heat, the speed the house warmed up and the general feel within the house.

 

[mid_gen]

My house is around 1900/1910 AFAIK, and has had exactly this. Solar panels and solar heat exchanger fitted 2011, and all exterior walls dot and dabbed over the years. Some windows are quite new and some were old when I moved in but the last single glazing was replaced 2019. It still "breathes" due to aged floorboards and all windows/doors being wood etc.

It warms up well in winter and holds heat quite well, unbearably warm in summer and no way to cool it. Still I'm sold on insulating interior walls when we buy our house, if needed. It's worth the 3 inch loss.

Edit: it's had a loft conversion/extension so presumably that adds insulation due to being newer and less leaky.

I did this on an 1860's end terrace, battoned and 25mm celotex on all external interior walls. Made a big difference to retaining heat, the speed the house warmed up and the general feel within the house.

Fairly straightforward DIY job I guess? Any problems with condensation?

 

[SoliD]

you leave a bit of a gap though ? monitoring humidity could be interesting, if that is the method to discriminate adequate ventilation.

----c

Yep, rafter worth of space at the eaves to get airflow!

@mid_gen many pictures earlier on in this thread showing my current work.

 

[LuckyBenski]

Fairly straightforward DIY job I guess? Any problems with condensation?

I didn't do it myself but it looked simple enough - cowboy builders managed it fine! I'd go with batten and insulation board as mentioned by most.

I used to think this house was a little humid but recent hygrometer purchases say it's 45-55% RH which isn't bad. Clothes dry in under 24 hours on an airer, only condensation I see is along the very edge of the window frame in the morning. All in it's a healthy house I'd say.

 

[the shadow]

Half of a tablet for the dishwasher is working great as i stuggle to fill it up 3p saved

 

[ultim]

I'm on economy 7 so I get electric cheaper around 1-6am.

I use a smart switch which is scheduled to switch on during the cheaper rate. I charge all my devices then including my power banks.

I use the power bank if I need to charge any devices during the day.

 

[ChrisD.]

Never mind, seen the other thread.

 

[The1nonly1]

I'm in two minds of what to do with current prices. I'm on the SVR with BG but they are offering the following fixed deal until end of June 2023: E unit 33.659, Standing 55.524. G unit 10.601, standing 34.617 with a DD of £177 per month and I currently have DD set to £130 per month and my usage I dont think is that high; around 3400kWh per year for electric and 7500 kWh for gas.

In total, my cost would be between £1,800 and £2,000 based on the last 12 months usage. With the projected "price cap" to reach £2,600 in October and then £2,100 April 2023, would I be saving money by switching now? It's around 25% to 30% more but will save me money from October through to April as the unit rates will have to be higher than what BG are offering.

Based on my own projections (from what I used in the last 12 months, yes I keep it all on spreadsheet as I'm a nerd ), I'd be looking at between £140 and £150 cost per month on average, the £130 I pay now is looking too high as BG says ends of plan will be £65 credit. The council tax rebate would go straight onto the BG account so already saving £150.

 

[chrcoluk]

I'm in two minds of what to do with current prices. I'm on the SVR with BG but they are offering the following fixed deal until end of June 2023: E unit 33.659, Standing 55.524. G unit 10.601, standing 34.617 with a DD of £177 per month and I currently have DD set to £130 per month and my usage I dont think is that high; around 3400kWh per year for electric and 7500 kWh for gas.

In total, my cost would be between £1,800 and £2,000 based on the last 12 months usage. With the projected "price cap" to reach £2,600 in October and then £2,100 April 2023, would I be saving money by switching now? It's around 25% to 30% more but will save me money from October through to April as the unit rates will have to be higher than what BG are offering.

Based on my own projections (from what I used in the last 12 months, yes I keep it all on spreadsheet as I'm a nerd ), I'd be looking at between £140 and £150 cost per month on average, the £130 I pay now is looking too high as BG says ends of plan will be £65 credit. The council tax rebate would go straight onto the BG account so already saving £150.

So circa 30% increase, to cover one full 6 month SVR increase and 3 months of another. However to counter the second increase you overpaying by 30% for the remainder of this SVR period.

I think you would gain a little bit by end of it assuming the increase in October is higher than 30%, and the following April by at least 30%. If you spend more on gas than electric I think it might be worth it, I expect the gas increase on SVR will be a lot more than 30% in October.

 

[The1nonly1]

So circa 30% increase, to cover one full 6 month SVR increase and 3 months of another. However to counter the second increase you overpaying by 30% for the remainder of this SVR period.

I think you would gain a little bit by end of it assuming the increase in October is higher than 30%, and the following April by at least 30%. If you spend more on gas than electric I think it might be worth it, I expect the gas increase on SVR will be a lot more than 30% in October.

It's so difficult to work out what is the best option. My thinking of this is that I absorb the cost from now until October, as the price will increase then and even if it's not the £2,600 and say it's £2,200, I'm still a little better off, and then over winter be on a cheaper rate for gas (hopefully cheaper rate).

 

[The Angry Welshman]

I'm in two minds of what to do with current prices. I'm on the SVR with BG but they are offering the following fixed deal until end of June 2023: E unit 33.659, Standing 55.524. G unit 10.601, standing 34.617 with a DD of £177 per month and I currently have DD set to £130 per month and my usage I dont think is that high; around 3400kWh per year for electric and 7500 kWh for gas.

In total, my cost would be between £1,800 and £2,000 based on the last 12 months usage. With the projected "price cap" to reach £2,600 in October and then £2,100 April 2023, would I be saving money by switching now? It's around 25% to 30% more but will save me money from October through to April as the unit rates will have to be higher than what BG are offering.

Based on my own projections (from what I used in the last 12 months, yes I keep it all on spreadsheet as I'm a nerd ), I'd be looking at between £140 and £150 cost per month on average, the £130 I pay now is looking too high as BG says ends of plan will be £65 credit. The council tax rebate would go straight onto the BG account so already saving £150.

Those unit prices are shockingly high, compared to current default tarrifs. I would ride it out