ChumpusRex Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Does your boiler have a pilot light?. These things are ravenous vampires, yet look so innocent and cute. Typically a pilot light is about 250-300W which works out at 6-7 kWh per day. That's typically a whole piping hot bath every day, just for the pilot. I only realised this myself, when I moved into a place with a massive debt on a prepayment meter, resulting in me having to feed the meter close to £1/kWh for the first couple of months (until British gas sorted the accounts out - now that the meter has been reset, BG are refusing to remove the meter as there's "too much credit" on it, and I'll have to deplete the meter, before they will exchange it for a normal one). Paying such a ludicrous price certainly concentrated the mind as to where to find inefficiencies (the boiler was incorrectly installed and the gas consumption was far too high because of this, but this was a separate issue to the pilot). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChumpusRex Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 My understanding of Eco setting is that it heats water to lower temp I think 60C rather than 120/130C though it will vary from model to model. Not sure about water usage. Just had a trial run of my s/h table top dish washer and it seems to use about a sink bowl of water (perhaps slightly more) and its rated at 2.3kw. However with hand washing up probably uses several sinks worth of water by the time you rinse everything. Eco mode usually means 55C rather than 65 or 75 C. Dishwashers typically don't run below 55 C, as the detergents need heat to activate the different functions, and 55C is the minimum temperature for reliable sanitising. Correct. You'll use much less water, and much less energy to run a dishwasher at a reasonable load, than washing by hand. It's a lot easier too. More hygienic as well, due to the higher washing temperatures. The only possible caveats are that you need to heat with electricity rather than gas (which is more expensive), and that the dishwasher detergent is expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@contradevian Posted August 15, 2012 Author Share Posted August 15, 2012 Paying such a ludicrous price certainly concentrated the mind as to where to find inefficiencies (the boiler was incorrectly installed and the gas consumption was far too high because of this, but this was a separate issue to the pilot). I thought that this morning after I started this thread. Anyway its now off and only going on when hot water is required. Its an Alpha CD32 and they seem to be very efficient. http://www.homeheatingguide.co.uk/efficiency-tables.php?model=009955 Yes gas heating should be cheaper than electric but all the extra electricity is on Tier Two pricing. All my gas is on Tier One so the difference isn't so marked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number Six Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Could be 'Warmstart' My Vaillant boiler has a 'Warmstart' option which heats the water in the heating coil every so often even when youre not using it. Very very bad wast of gas! If you turn the temp adjust dial ALL THE WAY to the right it will click 'Warmstart' on and likewise if you turn it all the way to the left it will click it off again... Worth a look... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEATH Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 I used to switch to a no standing charge gas tariff in March and then back to standing charge in September. They sent someone out to check the meter a few times with the usage being zero in the summer Shower was electric, washed dishes straight after use or boiled a kettle. I spent the £200 saved on crates of ale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@contradevian Posted August 16, 2012 Author Share Posted August 16, 2012 These solar water heaters look pretty cute! http://www.alxservicesltd.com/picture-gallery.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cid Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 Might I be the first to suggest cold thermogenesis. This ties with the diet/fasting paleo 'lifestyle of hunter gatherer' thing that appear to be the rage these days with the youngsters. Start with lukewarm shower followed by a cold rinse towards the end to slowly adapt before you go the whole hog and say goodbye to your gas bill. I've been showering with unheated water for over a year now and haven't look back since. I no longer feel too hot during the summer or too cold during the winter so I believe that it has resetted my internal thermostat. There are numerous reported benefits but the studies on the epigenetic effects of the formation of brown adipose tissue is most interesting. Unfortunately due to modern conveniences such as central heating enabling endless summer, not many will experience the benefit that a cold reset of winter will bring on us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@contradevian Posted August 16, 2012 Author Share Posted August 16, 2012 Might I be the first to suggest cold thermogenesis. This ties with the diet/fasting paleo 'lifestyle of hunter gatherer' thing that appear to be the rage these days with the youngsters. Start with lukewarm shower followed by a cold rinse towards the end to slowly adapt before you go the whole hog and say goodbye to your gas bill. I've been showering with unheated water for over a year now and haven't look back since. I no longer feel too hot during the summer or too cold during the winter so I believe that it has resetted my internal thermostat. There are numerous reported benefits but the studies on the epigenetic effects of the formation of brown adipose tissue is most interesting. Unfortunately due to modern conveniences such as central heating enabling endless summer, not many will experience the benefit that a cold reset of winter will bring on us. You may be on to something. There is a paleo guru (forget his name) that advocates lying in a bath full of ice cubes. I suspect Durch already does this though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cid Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 You may be on to something. There is a paleo guru (forget his name) that advocates lying in a bath full of ice cubes. I suspect Durch already does this though. Y'know. Mother Nature can be smarter than us at times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tankus Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 You may be on to something. There is a paleo guru (forget his name) that advocates lying in a bath full of ice cubes. I suspect Durch already does this though. how many kwh's does your freezer consume ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest_northshore_* Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Does your boiler have a pilot light?. These things are ravenous vampires, yet look so innocent and cute. Typically a pilot light is about 250-300W which works out at 6-7 kWh per day. That's typically a whole piping hot bath every day, just for the pilot. I only realised this myself, when I moved into a place with a massive debt on a prepayment meter, resulting in me having to feed the meter close to £1/kWh for the first couple of months (until British gas sorted the accounts out - now that the meter has been reset, BG are refusing to remove the meter as there's "too much credit" on it, and I'll have to deplete the meter, before they will exchange it for a normal one). Paying such a ludicrous price certainly concentrated the mind as to where to find inefficiencies (the boiler was incorrectly installed and the gas consumption was far too high because of this, but this was a separate issue to the pilot). Sorry to bump, but thanks for this. Been wondering for a while what was going on as summer use seemed too high, and appears to be the pilots (older warm air system with separate pilot for heating and hot water). Planning to check exact numbers from meter. That and standing charge make up significant chunk, if not majority, of my gas bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crashmonitor Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Since 1st March when the heating has been off we have used 130 units of gas...so a similar amount, possibly £60 worth in eight months. Combi boiler providing hot water on tap. I have noticed the gas hob clocks up quite a bit...so if you are cooking a lot of meals with raw ingredients to save on food it also clocks up the gas bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riedquat Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Since 1st March when the heating has been off we have used 130 units of gas...so a similar amount, possibly £60 worth in eight months. Combi boiler providing hot water on tap. I have noticed the gas hob clocks up quite a bit...so if you are cooking a lot of meals with raw ingredients to save on food it also clocks up the gas bill.Cook multiple things on the same hob where possible, i.e. not a separate pan for every item of veg (unless there's too much of course and a multi-level steamer thing won't work either). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crashmonitor Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Cook multiple things on the same hob where possible, i.e. not a separate pan for every item of veg (unless there's too much of course and a multi-level steamer thing won't work either). Yep I do that potatoes, carrots (and greens added later) in the same pan and said juices drank with meal as opposed to throwing down the sink...tastes like a weak soup. Mortified when you get programmes on 1940s thrift on television and the cook goes and throws all those vitamins down the sink. they need a bit of education on real thrift from the skinteratti. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Only recently come across of two instances of this being installed :......anyone know anything about it? http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Generating-energy/Choosing-a-renewable-technology/Ground-source-heat-pumps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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