What ideas have you had for reducing Electricity consumption

[rogxwhit]

I'm still thinking of installing a PIV unit, but that might necessitate keeping some doors open,

I wonder if that's true - after all, they're not sealed, are they, and the pressure should find the gaps?

Here, I have a heated ground floor with a woodstove but reasonable draughtproofing, and an otherwise unheated upper floor with (trickle) venting. It seems to work, condensation-wise ...

 

[Jacob]

.... condensation/mould problems. I'm still thinking of installing a PIV unit, but that might necessitate keeping some doors open, ....

Not unless your doors have been made airtight which is very unlikely, the 1/2" gap at the bottom is enough.
We've got "Passivent" air extraction which is cheap, costs nothing to run and seems highly effective, no condensation except on some windows occasionally, and zero mould

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Many millions by all accounts. Most that have are below standard.

By whose accounts? Many problems are found by people being paid good money to find said problems.

I insulated my first house when we bought it 38 years ago - insulation wasn't a novelty then, why does anyone think for some reason that it is a new problem? My house had 500mm of insulation, it was subsidised at £5 a roll. That was maybe 15 years ago.

 

[Stuart Moffat]

My solution for teenage excessive showers was to add a push button timer in the airing cupboard which you had to press before going into the bathroom. You could set different durations on the circuit board, e.g. 2 mins, 5, 10 or 20. worked a treat!

 

[John Brown]

My solution for teenage excessive showers was to add a push button timer in the airing cupboard which you had to press before going into the bathroom. You could set different durations on the circuit board, e.g. 2 mins, 5, 10 or 20. worked a treat!

Mine was a small circuit board with a microcontroller on it, that I'd designed for a client. I repurposed it to turn the shower pump off after a preset time, but gave a pulsed warning before the end of cycle, the idea stolen from my electric toothbrush. It didn't turn the water off, just the pump, but the water pressure was rubbish, so it served its purpose. That was over 20 years ago, and although I tried to explain that if one of them emptied the hot water tank there'd be no more for an hour or so, my teenage stepdaughters thought I was evil.

 

[John Brown]

I wonder if that's true - after all, they're not sealed, are they, and the pressure should find the gaps?

Here, I have a heated ground floor with a woodstove but reasonable draughtproofing, and an otherwise unheated upper floor with (trickle) venting. It seems to work, condensation-wise ...

True. I have to find some solution, the mould in one or two places is quite distressing...
This side of the house is a 3 or 4 hundred year old barn, and has been fairly well insulated, but with little attention to ventilation. I'm also going to have to do something about the double glazed oak window frames which are not well sealed, and let a bit of water in when the weather's in the wrong direction, but that'll have to wait for next spring.

 

[Noel]

By whose accounts? Many problems are found by people being paid good money to find said problems.

I insulated my first house when we bought it 38 years ago - insulation wasn't a novelty then, why does anyone think for some reason that it is a new problem? My house had 500mm of insulation, it was subsidised at £5 a roll. That was maybe 15 years ago.

Recent figures I saw was something like the majority of homes need insulation or upgraded insulation of some sort to comply with current recommended standards. Doesn't help that many UK homes are pre-war, 30/40% or so.

 

[Just4Fun]

This afternoon I made a hay box using some insulation panel I had lying around. I did a simple test with a pot of boiling water and after 3 hours the temperature was 88 Celsius. Not too bad I guess but I was hoping for better. I may add some more insulation and then use it to cook a stew tomorrow.

 

[Just4Fun]

I did a simple test with a pot of boiling water and after 3 hours the temperature was 88 Celsius.

After taking that temperature measurement yesterday I put the lid back on the hay box and left it overnight. I measured again this morning, 13 hours after starting the test. The temperature was 71 Celsius, so not much different 10 hours after the first measurement. I should have taken the temperature of the water at the start of the test; my guess is that it was well below boiling point. I will make a stew in it today.

 

[Steve_Scott]

A mate of mine has put a Wi-Fi power controller on his power supply to the shower so when his kids are in there too long he can just shut it off with or without warning.

A cleverer man would just control the heating element!

 

[Homeless Squirrel]

It's 2022. How many properties that can be insulated (some can't) aren't by now? Very few, I'd think.

Many dung i mean New builds are just that dung many are already having major issues and not been up long with gaps/cracks/poor construction failures that allow water in and warm air out along with undesirables joining residence!
Was just talking about this hour ago with my friend who builds houses/flats etc with gaps so big you can't even load out with mastics!
We had one house on a windy day heard an odd noise and whole gable collapsed.
See loads where use pre/poorly painted window units/doors/frames done in water based gear thats just all cracked/flaked away so there rotting and letting water into places and mould.
Cavities where been allowed/not checked clear so filled up with muck when laid plus poorly insulated often back handers/dodging costs with nearly naff all put in where could see through it on one.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

My cousin's house costs next to nothing to heat - it was built 12 - 14 years ago with 250mm cavity insulation and was pressure tested to meet building regs. How do they pressure test with all these gaps?

 

[Pineapple]

Buy a Ninja Foodi 15 - 1. Cuts your electricity consumption by miles.

https://ninjakitchen.co.uk/product/...ith-smart-cook-system-7-5l-ol750uk-zidOL750UK

 

[bryan267]

It's 2022. How many properties that can be insulated (some can't) aren't by now? Very few, I'd think.

My house is a 1900 farmhouse and the loft is decked, so I am slowly installing insulation board under the lime plaster then plasterboarding with 10cm screws to the old joists. Some rooms are ornately decorated with coving so I am stepping away from the coving to add the the decor, leaving me the edges of the room to insulate in the loft.

It's a slow process but I would guess half of homes here on the isle of wight are without decent insulation. I only put double glazing in this year, can't have cavity wall insulation. There is a limit to what I can do here. My extension has glass fibre between the rafters, but has vented the roof space under the insulation, truly amazing. Hoping to strip the roof next year and start again. There are no government grants for this stuff.

The bathroom is perhaps the best insulated room, I was able to hide foam filled tile backer boards on the external wall made a huge difference.

 

[Pineapple]

https://ninjakitchen.co.uk/product/...ith-smart-cook-system-7-5l-ol750uk-zidOL750UK

https://adexa.co.uk/Cooking-Equipment-17/Induction-269/Induction-Hob-Double-2-8kW-Adexa-CIC2800https://adexa.co.uk/Ovens-Combi-Ste...i-Oven-Grid-Rotisserie-60-litres-Adexa-TO6002

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I replaced the faulty Ninja with one of these -
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Instant-Po...+Fryer+11-in-1+Multicooker,aps,65&sr=8-1&th=1
It doesn't bake bread quite so well as the Ninja (it hasn't a "steam bake" function), but it has a s/s pot, a sous vide programme and a delay start which is useful if you're on a reduced rate at night - I did a pan of beef stew - about six good sized portions - last night for about 10p of electricity. It's a lot cheaper than the Ninja as well.

 

[Thingybob]

I replaced the faulty Ninja with one of these -
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Instant-Po...+Fryer+11-in-1+Multicooker,aps,65&sr=8-1&th=1
It doesn't bake bread quite so well as the Ninja (it hasn't a "steam bake" function), but it has a s/s pot, a sous vide programme and a delay start which is useful if you're on a reduced rate at night - I did a pan of beef stew - about six good sized portions - last night for about 10p of electricity. It's a lot cheaper than the Ninja as well.

Oh Mr Pascoe you little influencer you. I know you weren't " gifted it" . bought with your"own money"

 

[Fatherclive]

A cleverer man would just control the heating element!

I think he did it as a lesson to his kids not as a permanent fix, and shutting the power of to an electric shower element is a way to control the heating element albeit a bit harsh.

 

[John Brown]

A mate of mine has put a Wi-Fi power controller on his power supply to the shower so when his kids are in there too long he can just shut it off with or without warning.

If it's an electric shower, then you might need a 32 amp switch. The run of the mill WiFi controlled devices seem to be available as 16 amp or lower. I'm sure there are bigger ones, but probably fairly expensive.

 

[Oldman]

If it's an electric shower, then you might need a 32 amp switch. The run of the mill WiFi controlled devices seem to be available as 16 amp or lower. I'm sure there are bigger ones, but probably fairly expensive.

Just use a 5amp wifi one to control a contactor coil, sky's the limit switching Amps wise then