Energy bill increases

[presta]

If you think about it - it's far more efficient to warm the person directly than a whole house.

Indeed, heat loss from the body is ~100-120W, my peak gas use in mid winter is ~4kW. It would be more efficient still if they'd made it in the form of a vest/underwear, rather than a gilet though, for the same reason that you put central heating in the house, not around the house.

 

[gbb]

How to make savings seems on everyone's mind but doing so creates problems, albeit minor ones.
I've noticed the house is colder since we switched from hot water 24/7 to just timed periods. Boiler is on less, hot water tank cools more...less background heat generated in the house.
Granddaughter (17) is having to limit her jiu jitsu sessions to twice a week, she just can't get her gi's (ghees) dry. They're quite heavy duty material, take ages to dry without heat input and absolutely need washing every session. Get some more gi's I suggested....I've got 4 of them she said, its still a struggle to get them dry.

 

[Milkfloat]

Indeed, heat loss from the body is ~100-120W, my peak gas use in mid winter is ~4kW. It would be more efficient still if they'd made it in the form of a vest/underwear, rather than a gilet though, for the same reason that you put central heating in the house, not around the house.

I wear mine under my hoody for that reason

Amazon product ASIN B08LKPLV5FView: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08LKPLV5F/

 

[Buck]

As a slight aside, damp in a house is not a product of temperature directly.

It is humidity combined with temperature variation between two zones.

That is why roofs are described as hot or cold.

Poor ventilation is an example of a cause of mould followed by roofing issues/water ingress.

Not heating a house in itself does not cause mould.

 

[Milkfloat]

How to make savings seems on everyone's mind but doing so creates problems, albeit minor ones.
I've noticed the house is colder since we switched from hot water 24/7 to just timed periods. Boiler is on less, hot water tank cools more...less background heat generated in the house.
Granddaughter (17) is having to limit her jiu jitsu sessions to twice a week, she just can't get her gi's (ghees) dry. They're quite heavy duty material, take ages to dry without heat input and absolutely need washing every session. Get some more gi's I suggested....I've got 4 of them she said, its still a struggle to get them dry.

Sounds like you need to insulate your tank. If you want to speed up drying then a dehumidifier is your friend and significantly cheaper than heating the house.

 

[lazybloke]

Why do you say that, that works out at £96 a month for joint electric / gas which is more than a number of us are paying.

Because my precious projections were over £3,000 a year for elec alone!!! so a month at £96 suggests our energy efficiency measures are working.

 

[jowwy]

Shows you did well with the fixed tarrif. You are using more electric and almost twice as much gas as we did over same period yet your bill is not much higher than ours.

Yup here electric and gas usage is higher than mine, but less cost due to the great tariff she is on

 

[Scaleyback]

As a slight aside, damp in a house is not a product of temperature directly.

It is humidity combined with temperature variation between two zones.

That is why roofs are described as hot or cold.

Poor ventilation is an example of a cause of mould followed by roofing issues/water ingress.

Not heating a house in itself does not cause mould.

Buck is spot on. Simply put, cold air does not hold moisture. Warm air holds moisture and gives up this moisture when it meets a cold surface, i.e your bedroom windows overnight. That outside wall behind the wardrobe. How do you stop condensation and subsequent mould ?
1. Avoid where possible, boiling kettles, boiling saucepans on stoves, running baths with open doors, drying clothes indoors.
2. Adequate ventilation where humidity is unavoidable.
3. This is the 'killer' keep your house sufficiently warm to avoid cold spots in rooms, windows etc so the warm humid air retains it's moisture.
Read about 'The Dew point vs Humidity.

 

[wiggydiggy]

Buck is spot on. Simply put, cold air does not hold moisture. Warm air holds moisture and gives up this moisture when it meets a cold surface, i.e your bedroom windows overnight. That outside wall behind the wardrobe. How do you stop condensation and subsequent mould ?
1. Avoid where possible, boiling kettles, boiling saucepans on stoves, running baths with open doors, drying clothes indoors.
2. Adequate ventilation where humidity is unavoidable.
3. This is the 'killer' keep your house sufficiently warm to avoid cold spots in rooms, windows etc so the warm humid air retains it's moisture.
Read about 'The Dew point vs Humidity.

My bathroom window is per,anently open to ventilate it, helps keep the smell down as I work on a 'if it's yellow let it mellow, if its brown flush it down' lol

I've also started running my extractor fan when boiling the kettle.

 

[mjr]

From mid July to mid August as example

You might want to edit out your meter point reference and serial numbers. Probably paranoia on my part, but I think they identify you uniquely (although they don't locate you).

 

[gbb]

Sounds like you need to insulate your tank. If you want to speed up drying then a dehumidifier is your friend and significantly cheaper than heating the house.

I don't actually know the thickness of the foam insulation, its over 50 years old and being replaced in a couple weeks, so I might find out then (out of interest)
Our loft insulation is around a foot thick but the real reason for heat loss overnight is open windows. With no input from the CH, the house will generally maintain 16c at current outside temps, dropping to 14, maybe a little lower in the real cold.
It might be psychological but the house does feel colder since we reduced HW times...walk in the boiler or airing cupboard before, there was residual heat, now they're pretty cool in the mornings.

I suggested GD should get a desktop fan or similar to get air movement onto her gear, that might help.

Dehumidifiers are often mentioned...do they actually draw the moisture from clothing ? Or is air movement better ? Questions questions

 

[Pat "5mph"]

£66 credited by Octopus, £189 in credit now so my DD has reduced from £92 to about £25, will see how the winter goes

I'm over £200 in credit (dual fuel, ground floor 2 bed flat, single occupancy, not wfh), and yet Shell increased my DD from 93 to 115 (66 refunded separately)
Are we allowed to switch yet?

 

[vickster]

I'm over £200 in credit (dual fuel, ground floor 2 bed flat, single occupancy, not wfh), and yet Shell increased my DD from 93 to 115 (66 refunded separately)
Are we allowed to switch yet?

The advice is not to, or was. See what Martin Lewis has to say.
Octopus weren’t taking new customers a while back when I looked for my parents.
You don’t have to accept their increase surely if in credit?!

 

[Pat "5mph"]

I can't see a way to set my own DD on the Shell site, will have another look.
Ta for the tip.

 

[Milkfloat]

I don't actually know the thickness of the foam insulation, its over 50 years old and being replaced in a couple weeks, so I might find out then (out of interest)
Our loft insulation is around a foot thick but the real reason for heat loss overnight is open windows. With no input from the CH, the house will generally maintain 16c at current outside temps, dropping to 14, maybe a little lower in the real cold.
It might be psychological but the house does feel colder since we reduced HW times...walk in the boiler or airing cupboard before, there was residual heat, now they're pretty cool in the mornings.

I suggested GD should get a desktop fan or similar to get air movement onto her gear, that might help.

Dehumidifiers are often mentioned...do they actually draw the moisture from clothing ? Or is air movement better ? Questions questions

A 50 year old tank is going to be horribly inefficient. A new tank will have at least 60mm of foam insulation. Make sure that the plumber pays you for the old tank, there will be a decent amount of copper you can scrap in a 50 year old tank.