Cutting down energy use- what is happening around you?

Personally turning down radiators in rooms not used much.
Making sure lights are off elsewhere in the house.Not using the oven for hours and hours.Microwave where I can.
The local council? Haven’t got a Scooby what they are doing but I expect they’ve been told to be careful. Less Christmas lights in the towns would be a start.

Whilst reading this, I am wearing a polo neck sweater, a jumper, a gilet, and a long line cardigan plus socks and jeans.
I look like the Michelin man.

My hands are cold.

We have no heat on in the day, although it’s cold enough to warrant it.

No idea what everything else is doing, but our local library usually feels reasonably warm.

We have heating on for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening.
I am wearing a long sleeved thermal vest over a short sleeved thermal vest, a high wool content polo jumper and a fleece jumper, thermal leggings, fleece trousers and thermal socks, also fingerless gloves.

I’m as colourful as a Christmas tree but not half as pretty!

How about you, Fleurpepper? What are you personally, and what about your government - what are they doing?

we go to bed earlier with hot water bottles. Extra jumpers heating on 3-6pm

In Denmark all public buildings may only have the heating set at 19 degrees centigrade, except hospitals, care-homes, crèches and kindergartens.

Most municipalities are saving on street lighting by having turned every second or third street lamp off and have not hung up the normal Christmas lights.

Private homes that have outdoor decorations are using LED lights,

At home, we have turned the heating down slightly in our bed-room, the wash-kitchen and hall. Put off lights when we leave a room, wash clothes fortnightly instead of weekly, restrict the use of the dryer to only drying jeans and bed linen in it, use the oven sparingly and plan so we fill it up when it is on and wash floors in cooler water than we used to.

Our energy prices are still reasonable, as are the heating bills as both companies are using wind generated energy.

We don't drive a car, so no petrol charges and I have taken to keeping my electric bike in a lower gear, so the battery does not have to be recharged as often as previously.

I read about European governments (ours wasn't mentioned, of course) putting strict limits on the lighting and temperatures of public buildings, swimming pools etc. I, too, would like to know what the UK is doing.

I don't think I can cut down on my usual, frugal habits really, although I'm pretty sure I should use the microwave to boil water for tea and coffee. I've retrieved last year's polystyrene (packaging) panels, from the shed,for the two bathrooms and downstairs loo windows - as they let in enough light and block the cold effectively. The living room door curtain makes a real difference too.

We’ve insulated 4 outside walls with 4” insulation. We have all wool underlay and wool carpets.

Very little because we have always been economical with energy use. I worked in the heating and insulation industry for 5 years and have tried to keep up to date. I have more than halved the annual energy consumption of our current house and have never owned a house whose insulation we did not upgrade.

I keep reading these lists of things to do and find I do all of them or most of them and the ones I do not do I cannot do because I live in an old house that is Listed Grade 2 and in a Conservation Area.

Same as I've always done, layers on indoors and outdoors. No unnecessary lights on. Watch TV with 3 fleecey blankets over me, and usually 2 cats near my feet.

Some truth in this!

“The French are calling the British navet congelé (Frozen Turnip)

Because they are frozen in their houses and have the brains of turnips for not revolting.”

“Steve Barclay is busy telling you all that they can't afford to give nurses a pay rise.
He wants to gaslight you with his diagnostic hubs.
He can create as many as he likes, but without nurses to staff them or nurses to look after patients during treatment, this is just hot air.”

We bought an air fryer about two months ago and haven't used the oven since and rarely used the hob. Showers are quicker, lights only on when necessary. We sat with a blanket each last night.

I think most people are trying to cut down, either because they know it makes sense in the current circumstances, or due to financial reasons. In our case, both.

But our efforts won't make much change if businesses and industry don't make changes themselves. I went into our Council the other day, to complain that their lights in a massive buidling, are on all night every night. They did listen, and all lights came off the next night! But so many shops have the heat blasting, and doors wide opened! What a nonsensical waste. All shops have lights on all night too.

In many countries, street lights have been dimmed, or even cut out, from midnight to 6am- or only some of them on, Same for roads. Gas lights in outside covered areas in pubs and restaurants should be banned too, and they have been in many other countries.

Example should come from the top, I believe.

Whitewavemark2

“Steve Barclay is busy telling you all that they can't afford to give nurses a pay rise.
He wants to gaslight you with his diagnostic hubs.
He can create as many as he likes, but without nurses to staff them or nurses to look after patients during treatment, this is just hot air.”

Diagnostic hubs aren’t going to work because there’s a chronic shortage of radiologists and radiographers. It makes no sense to disperse such a scarce resource into peripheral units when they are needed to scan and report on serious cases in the hospitals.

We're keeping the house warm in the rooms we use, heat and lights off in all unused rooms, burning wood in the fire - for a cozy area.

Baking as usual for the festive season.

My husband's business is on our property, he's not using as much heat or light as his normal. Also no outside lights less energy use overall.

Hugely important subject- but could we please stick to cutting energy use on this thread. Thanks.

Whitewavemark2

Some truth in this!

“The French are calling the British navet congelé (Frozen Turnip)

Because they are frozen in their houses and have the brains of turnips for not revolting.”

Is this a line you got from a French newspaper?
The French are always revolting, with or without barricades.😄

Fleurpepper

Hugely important subject- but could we please stick to cutting energy use on this thread. Thanks.

I agree
Think Whitewavemark2 has got her threads mixed up.

Whitewavemark2

“Steve Barclay is busy telling you all that they can't afford to give nurses a pay rise.
He wants to gaslight you with his diagnostic hubs.
He can create as many as he likes, but without nurses to staff them or nurses to look after patients during treatment, this is just hot air.”

Sorry wrong thread.😄

Well done you Fleurpepper for telling them to switch their lights off, and it worked as they did do that the next night!

Sticking to the subject then - my local council has replaced the street lights with led ones, and we also now have led Christmas street lights too, which saves a lot of electricity (and look nicer).

Every Winter I think shops are crazy having their doors wide open, when did this nonsense first start?

It seems people are more likely to come in, if the doors are opened. Shops have been suffering, so I can understand why they think they should have doors opened, to encourage people to visit. But the Councils, in fact, the Governement, right from the top- should explain on TV and Press why it is such a massive waste, and allow shops to post on door or easel outside, to ask people to come in, and the reasons why they have stopped this recent habit.

Same for pubs and restaurant with covered opren areas- totally forbidden now in France, for instance.