PC Pals Forum
Technical Help & Discussion => General Tech Discussion, News & Q&A => Topic started by: Clive on December 11, 2009, 23:05
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8406923.stm
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I HATE them >:(
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They are certainly not as bright as conventional light bulbs, but I can live with them.
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I like them.. but a basic calculate shows you lose quite a lot of heating that is generated by conventional bulbs.
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I like them. Since I replaced all my old bulbs with energy saving ones, my electricity bill has gone down by £3 a month. This is not a fortune, I know, but every little helps.
They take a few seconds to give out maximum light, but after that I dont see a problem with the light output.
:santa:
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OTOH, has your heating bill gone up to compensate?
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Mine hasn't, as I only have to put the telly on to heat the lounge! ;D
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This is true.
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I don't mind them. :)
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OTOH, has your heating bill gone up to compensate?
No I dont think so. I dont have my heat high anyway, it makes my sinuses congested.
:santa:
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my heating is on high today - its -37C outside
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:cold:
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my heating is on high today - its -37C outside
Bloody hell Sam. Glad I got out of your country when I did! :D
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so weird... we had +35ish in the summer...
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talking about energy usage, I keep spread sheets regards consumption. Anyway besides the first full year of consumption ending mid June 06. I have three years of comparison results ending mid June 09.
Year ending June 07: Elec +3.13% Gas -14.38%
Year ending June 08: Elec + 2.41% Gas -8.53%
Year ending June 09: Elec -10.04% Gas-21.64%
I put the reversals down to the following:
Electric, in the 09 year I went mostly over to energy saving lamps on the ones that you have on for a long time. Its a waste of time having energy lamps in the likes of hallways, landings and stairs, or under stairs cupboards as you want instant light, and not for a long time.
Gas: on buying the rental pad, I moved the central heating wall stat into the living room, from the hallway by just drilling a hole through the wall. From being an apprentice electrician, I could never figure out why heating engineers stipulated that the wall stat was placed in the hallway. I always thought you would want the control in the room where your less mobile, and spend most time. And I reckon doing that brought about the most savings.
But I also increased the loft insulation, and I reduced the garage to the depth required just to open the up and over garage door. Making it into an second TV/occasional bedroom seemed a better use of space to me. I added insulation to the exterior walls prior to plaster boarding in this new room. And the partition between the reduced garage/store part I did with a 2"x4" stud wall with 100m of Kingspan insulation. My office is down stairs next to the what was once was the integral garage, and you did not half get draughts in that lower part of the house, whipping cold draughts up the stairs to the living room.
So considering the loss of heating from my tungsten lamps and the three CRT monitors [swapped to LCD's] in my office last year, I'm pleased with the savings.
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Sounds like a lot of work, Tony.
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I find there are too many variables to identify the effect of individual changes, Tony. For example, a mild winter or a cool summer, the amount of sunshine which heats the house, how much lighting you need on dark days, how many times you use the washing machine or dishwasher etc.
The reason the thermostat is in the hall is that it can respond to the inrush of cold air when the door is opened.
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What an excellent idea Tony. I've got all my bills for the last few years so it would be worth my while to start a spreadsheet too. I've had new windows and a further 11" of loft insulation this year so I'm hoping my bills will be lower. Unfortunately I switched to EDF (Sainsbury's Energy) a year ago and my bills have soared during the last 6 months. However, I've now changed back to British Gas so I'm expecting them to fall again.
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I've been with Powergen, now E-On, for a couple of years, and I don't tend to monitor the markets too closely. However, if they suddenly put my direct debit up again this year, I may start looking around. Prices are so up and down, I'm not sure whether it pays, in the long run, to keep switching suppliers. :dunno:
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I find there are too many variables to identify the effect of individual changes, Tony. For example, a mild winter or a cool summer, the amount of sunshine which heats the house, how much lighting you need on dark days, how many times you use the washing machine or dishwasher etc.
Well yes there are variables, but the deeper you drill down on the data the more accurate it becomes. For instance I take meter readings every month.
The reason the thermostat is in the hall is that it can respond to the inrush of cold air when the door is opened.
That is the logic behind retail premises entrances.But controlling temperatures for a domestic residence is a different ball game, like I say I don't live in my hallway.
Simon, every time my provider informs me they are putting my direct debits up. I do the numbers, and inform them they are wrong, leave the direct debits as is. Because for the most part, this altering of direct debits is just a way them getting their customers to fund their cash flow. Why borrow millions of the bank at 8% interest or whatever, when you can borrow it off your customer base for bugger all.
Rule One in Life is: every thing they [they being every organisation, be it governmental or corporate] tell you, it's sole purpose is to part you from your money, Period.
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The utility company's are worse than the banks and do take a bit of watching.
I also keep a track of my usage and do a regular comparison.
Simon it's dead easy and no hassle, only takes 2 minutes here (http://www.moneysupermarket.com/utilities/cheaper-gas-electricity.aspx)
I'm with Eon too and 6 months ago i was on the cheapest available but did a comparison last week to see i could save £150 odds changing supplier or £122 switching product with Eon. I called Eon and said i had seen a better tariff and she also told me there n then it was their cheapest tariff for me and would save me £122 PA and switched me there n then. :thumbs:
My usage is around 6000 KWh PA for Elec and 824 units (26400 KWh) PA for Gas :nerd:
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Well yes there are variables, but the deeper you drill down on the data the more accurate it becomes. For instance I take meter readings every month.
So do I Tony, and have done for the 23 years I've lived here. There is a clear upward trend in electricity consumption as we have bought more electrical equipment, particularly vampire equipment. There is a ripple, which tends to coincide with how much we use the dishwasher and washing machine. Gas, otoh, showed a big drop after we got the cavity wall insulation done, but has then remained reasonably constant, varying with the ambient temperature, which I also record, and the amount of cooking done.
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I'm with Scottish Power online and every quarter if they try to raise my DD I phone them and tell them I will pay the debit balance and to leave my DD alone. They don't like it but I threaten to leave them if they don't do what she who has to be obeyed says. :devil:
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Yes, they only want to change the direct debit so they can grab more money up front. E-On tried that with me, and I refused, so they did it anyway the following quarter. I really must start looking elsewhere.
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I've found E.On to be OK, oddly.
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They are, they just seem very keen for you not to owe them anything.
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I've never had a problem with that, either. If my calculations tell me I'm overpaying, I just call them and tell them to reduce the DD. Note that I don't ask them to. ;D Of course, being nearer to Nottingham might help.
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Of course, being nearer to Nottingham might help.
:dunno:
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It's where their call centre is. ;)
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So they think you'll pay them a visit? ;D
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Would rather switch all my Bulbs to LED bulbs. They'll last 20-30 years, and barely use any energy.
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Over here LEDs are a lot more expensive than the low energy bulbs available at the the moment Bob.
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They might be worried, it's only an hour away and we have friends there.
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:dunno: Oh, back to E.On! ;D
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Yup... I'm very single minded. ;D