I've been worried about climate change (or global warming as it was known then) for over 45 years and try to live my life accordingly, as best as I can manage. I'm also frugal with money so the two work together when it comes to saving energy. I was told by another energy company customer service adviser that I was the lowest energy user he'd come across in 19 years in the industry!
Bear in mind I now live alone so there's nobody else using any power. Also I'm in a small mid terrace house which helps. The way I do it is I always use the microwave to heat my breakfast porridge and cook one vegetable casserole per day. I never use my cooker. Evenings I have salad etc regardless of the weather. Recently I have started having 1-2 cups of coffee a day but make sure I only fill the kettle to the minimum level which covers the element. There's usually a mark on the side of the kettle to guide you.
I never leave any lights on in rooms I'm not using and all my bulbs are energy saving. I don't like centrally heated houses, they feel too dry and stuffy, so I only have my heating on for 30-40 minutes in the morning with thermostat set at 18 celsius. 20 would be much too hot and wasteful for me. In cold weather I wear lots of layers of warm clothes and when I'm sitting down I wrap myself in wooly covers plus usually have a cat or two sitting on my lap and my dog at my side :) I don't wash top layers of clothes like jumpers etc, only those which are next to my skin and certainly not after one wearing. I don't like showers so don't have them very often, but have a daily sink wash instead. (My friends assure me I don't smell!). This all fits with my childhood where ours, like most houses, didn't have CH. My vacuum cleaner is battery operated and I only use it when necessary. I use a manual carpet sweeper every day. Easy, quiet, and people powered.
My one big electricity consumption is the electric car which ofc I have for environmental reasons but it does need charging. The Power Payback has been an incentive to be more mindful of when I charge it and I now avoid high usage times like tea time. Might be good if Utilita, like Octupus energy, offered a cheaper rate during the night.
During the 1st paypack I went out for a 45 min walk so only the fridge and wifi were on. On return, used my tablet and one light before going through to kitchen to prepare food. Today I unexpectedly fell asleep during the whole 90 mins so that was handy!
Hope that helps! As with any changes, if it feels too daunting maybe just start with one thing, like being careful about lights left on and slowly build up to other things.
Bear in mind I now live alone so there's nobody else using any power. Also I'm in a small mid terrace house which helps. The way I do it is I always use the microwave to heat my breakfast porridge and cook one vegetable casserole per day. I never use my cooker. Evenings I have salad etc regardless of the weather. Recently I have started having 1-2 cups of coffee a day but make sure I only fill the kettle to the minimum level which covers the element. There's usually a mark on the side of the kettle to guide you.
I never leave any lights on in rooms I'm not using and all my bulbs are energy saving. I don't like centrally heated houses, they feel too dry and stuffy, so I only have my heating on for 30-40 minutes in the morning with thermostat set at 18 celsius. 20 would be much too hot and wasteful for me. In cold weather I wear lots of layers of warm clothes and when I'm sitting down I wrap myself in wooly covers plus usually have a cat or two sitting on my lap and my dog at my side :) I don't wash top layers of clothes like jumpers etc, only those which are next to my skin and certainly not after one wearing. I don't like showers so don't have them very often, but have a daily sink wash instead. (My friends assure me I don't smell!). This all fits with my childhood where ours, like most houses, didn't have CH. My vacuum cleaner is battery operated and I only use it when necessary. I use a manual carpet sweeper every day. Easy, quiet, and people powered.
My one big electricity consumption is the electric car which ofc I have for environmental reasons but it does need charging. The Power Payback has been an incentive to be more mindful of when I charge it and I now avoid high usage times like tea time. Might be good if Utilita, like Octupus energy, offered a cheaper rate during the night.
During the 1st paypack I went out for a 45 min walk so only the fridge and wifi were on. On return, used my tablet and one light before going through to kitchen to prepare food. Today I unexpectedly fell asleep during the whole 90 mins so that was handy!
Hope that helps! As with any changes, if it feels too daunting maybe just start with one thing, like being careful about lights left on and slowly build up to other things.
Last edited by jay; 01-12-23 at 20:06. Reason: typos
