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Energy Costs
Gary J
Posted: 28 August 2022 09:02:24(UTC)

Joined: 22/02/2020(UTC)
Posts: 610

I use my freezer for perhaps three or four days a year.

Aunt Bessie's Yorkshire puds. c 22-25 Dec.

Perhaps a number-cruncher or scientific sort could tell me whether I would be better off keeping the thing on all year or turning it off for 360 days?

My understanding is that firing an appliance up takes a whole heap of energy... so I imagine it's a close-run thing.
Aminatidi
Posted: 28 August 2022 09:04:23(UTC)
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mdss68;236316 wrote:
I've been looking at Jackery, limited by their battery it seems, 500 cycles until it starts to diminish. So basically convenient if you're van living or camping regularly, but a bit pointless for domestic use.

Bluetti use a better class of battery, 2500 cycles. That's what's now under consideration here, but it needs to be able to do things like boil every kettle (12V Kettle) and other more household stuff, savings on 'phones and such aren't going to make much difference.

Charging in your car is an idea if you're driving anyway and you're using your car enough to keep the battery topped up. You can even charge your Jackery etc that way, but you need a six hour journey!

Oddly enough we were mulling life without a freezer last night. Never saw Mumsnet as my natural home, but strange times!!


Thanks I knew of Jackery but not the detail.

If I look at my daily electricity usage it's the kettle, fridge, freezer, laptop, televisions, and tons of small draw items like mobile phones and routers.

Looking on the Bluetti website I'm a bit like a kid in a sweetshop where I see a solution but for me personally I'm not quite sure what the problem is that their products solve?

I read some peoples accounts of their existing bills and I really don't get what they're using and how.

Main thing I can change is how I keep warm where I work in the winter.
2 users thanked Aminatidi for this post.
mdss68 on 28/08/2022(UTC), Martina on 28/08/2022(UTC)
Toadfish
Posted: 28 August 2022 09:37:59(UTC)
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Aminatidi;236314 wrote:
[quote=ANDREW FOSTER;236306]

Personally I don't get the families who have a grand a months worth of PCP sitting on the drive and who go on lots of holidays yet have nothing in the bank and if there's a sliding scale of sympathy they're on the absolute opposite end of it to the first group of people I mentioned.

I'd focus on their choices rather than how much a pack of pasta costs when the first group will struggle to even pay for that without having to decide what to give up to pay for it.


This, right here, is one of the biggest problems, 'easy' credit. A friend told me of a family of four living down the road from her. They're always complaining they have no money, yet they have four cars (two parents, two adult kids), all leased, sitting on their driveway, and they're not cheap cars either, merc's, audi's etc. Its just madness. Some will say why shouldn't they spend their money on nice things when others do, fine, says I, just don't complain when you run out of money.

I also listened to the Jeremy Vine show on Radio 2 the other day. This guy called in who, between his wife and himself, earn £90K, apparently they were struggling and demanded the government do something to help them as well as the low earners.....I have no words...

Edit: I believe the chap who called in didn't have any kids either, just him and his wife
3 users thanked Toadfish for this post.
Tim D on 28/08/2022(UTC), Martina on 28/08/2022(UTC), Lindisfarne on 28/08/2022(UTC)
magic beans
Posted: 28 August 2022 09:46:01(UTC)

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@Magic beans
can you post the details of the electric blankets so I can buy some for a few very elderly friends who are concerned


This is the link.
https://octopus.energy/p...-on-their-energy-bills/

I have not followed it it up but prepare to be disappointed.
1 user thanked magic beans for this post.
andy mac on 28/08/2022(UTC)
Joe Soap
Posted: 28 August 2022 09:52:52(UTC)

Joined: 24/01/2010(UTC)
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I have the Octopus Go tariff. On days I charge the EV about 70 to 80% of our total electricity consumption is overnight. On days where I don't charge it, between 50 and 60% of total electricity consumption is overnight. It's a very useful way of reducing the money I spend on electricity. I am now timeshifting everything I can to overnight use. Shame I can't do the same thing with gas central heating. The wood burner is going to get a lot more use this winter. For sure.
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Tim D on 28/08/2022(UTC)
Bulldog Drummond
Posted: 28 August 2022 11:22:00(UTC)

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From what I have read, so far other governments seem to have taken reasonably effective measures to deal with this, while ours are running around like headless chickens. I can foresee widespread civil unrest unless something is done. The UK sits on massive reserves of energy so the cult of Green has much to answer for. Not a problem for me as my energy bills are tiny but I would be sorry to see yet more pubs, restaurants and other small businesses going bust.
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Sara G on 28/08/2022(UTC), ALAN P on 29/08/2022(UTC), Easyrider on 02/09/2022(UTC)
Fife Clive
Posted: 28 August 2022 11:53:46(UTC)

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Bulldog Drummond;236356 wrote:
From what I have read, so far other governments seem to have taken reasonably effective measures to deal with this, while ours are running around like headless chickens. I can foresee widespread civil unrest unless something is done. The UK sits on massive reserves of energy so the cult of Green has much to answer for. Not a problem for me as my energy bills are tiny but I would be sorry to see yet more pubs, restaurants and other small businesses going bust.


I have seen a British Gas electricity quote for a small business - and just validated myself doing a test in their quote site - that foretells a mass extinction event.

I entered a current spend of £20k and asked for a quote. The annual quote returned was £125,871 - up 500%. In the face of a consumer recession as foretold by the BoE I don’t like how this story is going to end.

I’m reminded of Nye Bevan: “This island is made mainly of coal and surrounded by fish”. Of course since then we’ve also become surrounded by wind farms and offshore oil and gas. Most people will wonder how it has come to this.

4 users thanked Fife Clive for this post.
Bulldog Drummond on 28/08/2022(UTC), ANDREW FOSTER on 28/08/2022(UTC), Tim D on 28/08/2022(UTC), Nigel Harris on 29/08/2022(UTC)
Joe Soap
Posted: 28 August 2022 11:59:59(UTC)

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I don’t think the true scale of what's inevitable has yet hit home. I just hope this winter is short and very mild. Else millions of less well off households and thousands of businesses are going to experience the biggest energy shock in living history.
3 users thanked Joe Soap for this post.
Bulldog Drummond on 28/08/2022(UTC), ANDREW FOSTER on 28/08/2022(UTC), Easyrider on 02/09/2022(UTC)
Keith Cobby
Posted: 28 August 2022 12:40:36(UTC)

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The easiest way for government to help households and businesses is to give immediate temporary relief to council tax and business rates. But, with taxes at their highest for decades and huge increases in debt, everyone needs to start accepting a lower standard of living, conserving energy won't be helped by the government directly subsidising it.
1 user thanked Keith Cobby for this post.
Guest on 28/08/2022(UTC)
ANDREW FOSTER
Posted: 28 August 2022 13:00:54(UTC)

Joined: 23/07/2019(UTC)
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Joe Soap;236362 wrote:
I don’t think the true scale of what's inevitable has yet hit home. I just hope this winter is short and very mild. Else millions of less well off households and thousands of businesses are going to experience the biggest energy shock in living history.


The shock is inevitable.

Dutch TTF Gas was $25 on June 1st.

Friday it was $95

These prices are going to work through to costumers and it's not going to be pretty. However it is vital to note that only a proportion of prices faced by customers are actually "raw material" costs.

Other costs (transmission, maintenance, billing, head office etc.) are significant.

Was having a "lively debate" on Facebook earlier with some people when I suggested people might want to cancel Sky and Netflix, cancel holiday plans and stop eating out. Apparently that was just "bootlicking rich corporations" and that working people "deserved nice things in life".

The backlash was vehement (as well as entertaining) but it does appear that most people are literally doing nothing to prepare and are relying on "the government" to tax "greedy corporations" to finance more handouts.

One guy chewing me up was telling me it was all down to greedy corporations.... his avatar proudly displaying an "I support Ukraine" logo.

"Winter is coming" as the saying goes.



7 users thanked ANDREW FOSTER for this post.
Guest on 28/08/2022(UTC), Julianw on 28/08/2022(UTC), Captain Slugwash on 28/08/2022(UTC), Joe Soap on 28/08/2022(UTC), Nigel Harris on 29/08/2022(UTC), ALAN P on 29/08/2022(UTC), Frank Marquis on 30/08/2022(UTC)
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