How do you save money on Gas and Electricity?

[TECCS]

I'm based in the UK, I am an at home business running from an office in my house.

I've been looking into the gas and electricity usage in the house after having new windows put in (hardware not software), the new windows I am hoping will cut the cost of heating as i was using a portable electric radiator last winter to save heating the whole house.
most of the electricity use is from me in my office.

so to cut costs as best i can for heating electricity I have thought of.

• going from 3 monitors to 2 as one really isn't used much
• personal NAS turning off at night
• using my LED Desk lamp more when darker rather than the 6 lights in the room ()these are LED though
• making sure all monitors are off rather than standby
• turn printer off when not needed
• hopefully new windows will mean less use of the portable heater
• installed a draught excluder at bottom of door due to large air gap
• going to wear more layers of clothing so less heating needed

Things i Think i can't change but have thought about.

• work NAS stays on 24/7 365 days due to backups happening overnight
• CCTV records to a PC due to cheap cameras (monitor attached but off most of the time) and the computer is set to not sleep for obvious reasons
• 2 UPS can't be turned off again obvious reasons

How do you guys try to cut down or make sure your not using more electricity/Gas than you need to?

Wanting to see if this is just going to be the cost of business or if I am being wasteful.

I know each business is different or I might need to give more details.

Thanks

TECCS

 

[MichaelBits]

So you have gas heat but was using an electric heater to save gas costs?
Not sure I understand what you're saying there.

Gas here is cheaper than electricity. You would spend far more using a portable electric heater than just letting the gas heat do its thing. At least here.

 

[fencepost]

The air gap (and others you may not really know about) will likely make a huge difference. The new windows will also matter, both for better thermal properties and possibly less air loss around them. Do other things to check seals, etc and see if the local utility offers any kind of free energy efficiency analysis - they may be able to check walls for insulation quality, air leaks, etc with a thermal camera.

Turning the NAS off is probably pretty minimal if the drives already spin down. Check the power usage of your shop lights before you decide to turn them off - if it's a combined 40-50 watts, how much is that actually costing you per day? 20-30 cents? Monitors and such on standby do use "vampire power" but it's pretty minimal for most things if they're properly designed. Look out for older bulky/heavy transformers/power bricks - those were less efficient and could have a significant draw even when not in use (are they warm to the touch?).

Two other things that may make a difference:

• Wear a hat of some sort
• Consider getting an outdoor-rated pet warming bed for under your desk. Depending on size these seem to run 20-80 watts, and if your feet are warm and your head is covered your body temperature will likely stay just fine.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

I'm with Fence....much of todays computers and devices like NAS units are fairly low power if they're not doing much. NAS units, especially if they have lower rpm NAS drives in them...sip electricity. Computers, esp with SSD, the same.

Focus on other things. Turn off appliances when you're done. Turn the heat down. If you have to have a space heater, is it an efficient one? Those can be a huge tax on your electric bill.

Switching to LED lights can help quite a bit. Esp when you purchase bulbs when on sale. (else you spend so much on bulbs it takes like 2 years to recoop your cost)

Any bigger printers? power off when not used

And insulate things. We have an old house with early 70's windows. We didn't plan on keeping this house for long so I never replaced the windows, so every winter I put up that clear shrink wrap on the inside of the windows, you tighten up with a blow dryer.

 

[TECCS]

So you have gas heat but was using an electric heater to save gas costs?
Not sure I understand what you're saying there.

Gas here is cheaper than electricity. You would spend far more using a portable electric heater than just letting the gas heat do its thing. At least here.

The reason I use the electric heater is that the windows were really really bad and the insulation was rubbish so instead of trying to heat a whole 4 bedroom house for it just to escape with no-one else there I would bunker in my office much less space to keep warm at I can set it to turn off at a set temperature

 

[Moltuae]

How do you guys try to cut down or make sure your not using more electricity/Gas than you need to?

I don't.

My energy bills are probably in excess of 15K per year. For me, that's just part of the costs of running a business. If I spent time scrutinising and reducing my usage, my bills might be a few hundred quid less each year but I'd probably be losing valuable time in doing so, time that could be better spent earning more to cover the costs.

Also, if you're working from home, a good proportion of your heating and electricity costs should be tax deductible:
https://www.gov.uk/expenses-if-youre-self-employed

 

[TECCS]

The air gap (and others you may not really know about) will likely make a huge difference. The new windows will also matter, both for better thermal properties and possibly less air loss around them. Do other things to check seals, etc and see if the local utility offers any kind of free energy efficiency analysis - they may be able to check walls for insulation quality, air leaks, etc with a thermal camera.

Turning the NAS off is probably pretty minimal if the drives already spin down. Check the power usage of your shop lights before you decide to turn them off - if it's a combined 40-50 watts, how much is that actually costing you per day? 20-30 cents? Monitors and such on standby do use "vampire power" but it's pretty minimal for most things if they're properly designed. Look out for older bulky/heavy transformers/power bricks - those were less efficient and could have a significant draw even when not in use (are they warm to the touch?).

Two other things that may make a difference:

• Wear a hat of some sort
• Consider getting an outdoor-rated pet warming bed for under your desk. Depending on size these seem to run 20-80 watts, and if your feet are warm and your head is covered your body temperature will likely stay just fine.

I have had someone out to check the wall insulation it's not the best but it's atype they can't do anything else with its as good as it gets.as for the insulation in the roof that is an extension we ha someone do the whole loft .and it's really deep in there . The new windows make a big difference. I hadn't thought about a hat. I might get one with my logo on. As for feet I wear thick socks and slippers in the office. I will look for big transformers etc. To figure out power vampires.

 

[TECCS]

I'm with Fence....much of todays computers and devices like NAS units are fairly low power if they're not doing much. NAS units, especially if they have lower rpm NAS drives in them...sip electricity. Computers, esp with SSD, the same.

Focus on other things. Turn off appliances when you're done. Turn the heat down. If you have to have a space heater, is it an efficient one? Those can be a huge tax on your electric bill.

Switching to LED lights can help quite a bit. Esp when you purchase bulbs when on sale. (else you spend so much on bulbs it takes like 2 years to recoop your cost)

Any bigger printers? power off when not used

And insulate things. We have an old house with early 70's windows. We didn't plan on keeping this house for long so I never replaced the windows, so every winter I put up that clear shrink wrap on the inside of the windows, you tighten up with a blow dryer.

Thanks for your input. I have done most of these. One of the things with the office is its windows get no sun untill 1pm in summer later in winter so I get no heat from that .thanks for your input

 

[trevm999]

Yeah, stuff like LED lights aren't going to be much to worry about. And remember, the byproduct of electricity is heat, so everything you run is helping heat the room. The old PC might be something to look into. I have a Watts Up meter to check how much something is using.

I've also see it recommended to install a ceiling fan when you are using electric heat, once the heat rises, it pushes it back down.

 

[TECCS]

I don't.

My energy bills are probably in excess of 15K per year. For me, that's just part of the costs of running a business. If I spent time scrutinising and reducing my usage, my bills might be a few hundred quid less each year but I'd probably be losing valuable time in doing so, time that could be better spent earning more to cover the costs.

Also, if you're working from home, a good proportion of your heating and electricity costs should be tax deductible:
https://www.gov.uk/expenses-if-youre-self-employed

Thanks for the link,I will look into it. I am still really small and any money saved at the min is good .I am only looking now as I am quiet and I'm thinking good habits etc. Or changes that can save money long term for little effort would be good. I know I'm not going to get miracles .I also understand savings vs. time .however if I even save £5 a month by changing habits it's £60 I could take in wages which is a lot to me at the min. I appreciate your input and guidence. Thanks

 

[MichaelBits]

Ah, OK I see. You just heated the room you were using.
Most places I've lived in that could be risky. Just for the fact that it can allow your water pipes to freeze in the basement.

Don't you freeze your nickers off when you use the bathroom? Or is a bathroom attached to your office?

How efficient is your gas furnace? That and getting those windows better sealed up would help quite a bit.

Not sure about across the pond, but here (as mentioned above), several utility companies have incentive programs (discounts/rebates) on improving the efficiency of your home. Possibly including doing an assessment to show you where the problem areas are.

Lucky for me, I have a long time friend that works in the heating/cooling industry. I'm going to have him come over this winter with his thermal camera and see where I'm "leaking" the most heat.
I love the camera he has. I remember a few years ago when he got it he came over to my place and we played with it. It was winter at the time and we went outside with it. I could walk down the sidewalk and you could see my footprints on the ground with the camera.

 

[Moltuae]

And remember, the byproduct of electricity is heat, so everything you run is helping heat the room.

Exactly.

If you live in a part of the world where heating is required throughout most of the year, attempting to improve energy efficiency in the home is a fairly pointless exercise. Anything that isn't 100% efficient at converting energy into whatever is required (such as light) will be converting the remaining energy into heat. Unless you have no need for the heat generated, it's not wasted energy. It's always worthwhile looking at ways to better insulate the home of course though so that less energy is required to heat it.

 

[Mick]

Yeah - was going to say: You might be able to borrow a thermal camera from your local council (ours does this) and take a few snaps - very revealing. If you can't borrow one, don't buy one - they're not cheap!

 

[TECCS]

Ah, OK I see. You just heated the room you were using.
Most places I've lived in that could be risky. Just for the fact that it can allow your water pipes to freeze in the basement.

Don't you freeze your nickers off when you use the bathroom? Or is a bathroom attached to your office?

How efficient is your gas furnace? That and getting those windows better sealed up would help quite a bit.

Not sure about across the pond, but here (as mentioned above), several utility companies have incentive programs (discounts/rebates) on improving the efficiency of your home. Possibly including doing an assessment to show you where the problem areas are.

Lucky for me, I have a long time friend that works in the heating/cooling industry. I'm going to have him come over this winter with his thermal camera and see where I'm "leaking" the most heat.
I love the camera he has. I remember a few years ago when he got it he came over to my place and we played with it. It was winter at the time and we went outside with it. I could walk down the sidewalk and you could see my footprints on the ground with the camera.

The camera sounds cool. As for the windows they have been done now. The furnace (boiler as we call them) also got replaced. Bathroom breaks were very very quick lol. And we cellers aren't as common here. We also have an anti freeze setting on the thermostat to ever stop pipe freezing issues. And the heating the rest of the house did happen just for when it was used so for a bit in morning and evening

 

[TECCS]

Yeah - was going to say: You might be able to borrow a thermal camera from your local council (ours does this) and take a few snaps - very revealing. If you can't borrow one, don't buy one - they're not cheap!

Things like rebates and improving home efficiency used to be a thing under the last government .for egsample I got free solar panels due to some thing .however that stopped a while ago unless you receive some types of benefits

 

[TECCS]

People keep mentioning thermal cameras etc and people coming to look for leaks of heat etc. I've never heard of anything like that in the UK .is it an American thing or a the cold states in America thing?

 

[MichaelBits]

People keep mentioning thermal cameras etc and people coming to look for leaks of heat etc. I've never heard of anything like that in the UK .is it an American thing or a the cold states in America thing?

Honestly not sure.

They've been used for several years to assess a buildings weak points for efficiency around here. Perhaps not widely used, but available from some heating/cooling companies. Not all go that far.

I think it's becoming a more of a standard practice though. The cameras are quite expensive, so that could be a limiting factor for some using them.

 

[backwoodsman]

I've also see it recommended to install a ceiling fan when you are using electric heat, once the heat rises, it pushes it back down.

That helps a lot, especially if the electric heater is the radiant type that doesn't have a fan. Doesn't have to be a ceiling fan; any little fan anywhere in the room, positioned to circulate air from floor to ceiling, will do the job.

 

[fencepost]

People keep mentioning thermal cameras etc and people coming to look for leaks of heat etc. I've never heard of anything like that in the UK .is it an American thing or a the cold states in America thing?

In my area, the local power utility does free energy assessments for Residential and Business, though I suspect a home office/workshop might just fall under residential.

 

[Larry Sabo]

The cameras are quite expensive, so that could be a limiting factor for some using them.

Thee are more and more of them that are quite affordable when combined with a smartphone. It would help if you can also use them in your business (tracking down shorted/overheated components on a motherboard, for example). Look for reviews on YouTube, e.g., this Flir-Seek thermal imager comparison. If you have a homeowners association, it might make sense to buy one for shared use by your members.