Cut the Costs, Not the Comfort: Smart Energy Tips That Can Save You Money!

Wibbles

I shower every day - cost is 15p per 10 minute shower (smart meter display)

Which is £1.05 per week (gas) - which is acceptable !

Heating is turned on for an hour in the morning and an hour last thing in the evening

It is NOT left on 24/7 and does not rely on radiator thermostats cutting in

We sit in the living room with a gas fire running on a single bar - at about 22 degrees c - costs around 5p per hour

Total cost of gas (Winter) - around £2 per day including standing charge !

Summer £1 gas

Electricity - around £1.50 per day

birdwatcher

One thing I do is extra potatoes and veg. Mash the potatoes and freeze them in bags. When I fancy say, sausage and mash I just take a little bag out the freezer and pop it in microwave. In theory it's saving a bit on the gas bill

JW77

If you're lucky enough to have solar, your costs can really come down. I try to charge devices when the rate is £0.00, although the landlord won't allow battery installation, technically if I do get an EV then that would be an equivalent.
Also checking if you're getting the best deal with your supplier/or switch MSE Martin Lewis is a gem!

StarryEyed

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1091719#Comment_1091719

Hi Wibbles. Super examples! Yes, it's the same calculation here in Spain. Great! That way we can compare notes. I don't pay a lot for electricity because I don't use much and because I get a discount with my disability. However, I'm looking at emergency preparedness, including being without electricity, as we had a national blackout last year and the government has said it is likely to happen again. So I'm learning what's the best way to use the least amount of electricity.

StarryEyed

Last night I found this awesome site to calculate the cost as well as energy consumption of any device. It says $, but you can use € or £ or other currency. Here is the site:

https://www.calculator.net/electricity-calculator.html?appliance=&power=2000&powerunit=W&capacity=100&usage=2&usageunit=mpd&price=0.20&x=Calculate

So here is an example I used for my kettle, since you're talking about that here. I looked at the bottom of my kettle and it says 2,000-2,400 Watts.

The typical cost is €0.20 per kWh. So my calculations shown in the top chart are (remember you have to press the "calculate" button)...

Wibbles

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1094138#Comment_1094138

https://www.energyprices.eu/

We pay 26p per kWh - which is twice what the rest of Europe pays !!

I blame Brexit and Putin for this.

Do you pay a standing charge in Spain - ie) a fixed minimum charge that is supposed to cover "transportation" of electricity and gas - the infrastructure.. ?

StarryEyed

First I had to check the conversion from pounds to euros. £1=€1.15 (€1=£0.87). So 26p = £0.26 = €0.30. That's ridiculously high for here, but the prices are not as low here as depicted in the link you give. I don't know where they're coming up with those figures. Here is what I'm paying today (far from your link which says average €0.081).

So the medium today (precio medio del día) is actually €0.1560.

That refers to the variable costs. Yes, we also pay a standing charge. I imagine your way of calculating this is similar. This is the ballpark summary of costs as per AI:

StarryEyed

You are right, that you're paying double because you said you're paying about €0.30 per kWh, whereas I'm paying around €0.1560.

Lisatho11987777

I am lucky my company allowed me a hardship fund to wipe my debt and cheaper week ends