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British Gas smart meter reviewer feedback thread - Month 2. Non testers: Share your pet peeves on wasting energy in your household for a chance to win £100 JL voucher. NOW CLOSED

105 replies

KatieBMumsnet · 25/10/2013 11:23

This thread is for the 3 Mumsnetters and 2 Mumsnet Bloggers who are testing the British Gas smart meters in their home.

Non testers: What annoying energy wasting habits does your family have that really wind you up? Maybe the children leave their games consoles running all night? Or perhaps your partner always takes never ending hot showers? Whatever your pet peeves around energy waste in your household are we'd like to hear from you.

Everyone who adds a comment to this thread by 22nd November will be in with a chance of winning £100 worth of John Lewis vouchers.

Testers
Month 2: Day and Night

This month we're focusing on the energy you use at certain times of day. As you've had smart meters for a couple of months now you should be able to see the history of your consumption over this time using one of two ways:

1 If you’ve received a Smart Energy Report this will show your pattern of consumption.
2 By looking at your historical use data on the smart energy monitor.

Below are a few questions for you to answer but please also add any other comments you may have to the thread.

• When do you and your family consume the most energy?
• Challenge each family member to change the time they use at least one appliance (gas or electricity) - please tell us which family member chose what, and how they’re going to change the times at which this is used
• How did you and your family find making these changes? Was it easy to adapt to or not?
• Do you use your smart energy monitor more now than when you first had smart meters installed, or less?

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

PS You can see how the testers got on with the first challenge here.

OP posts:
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OddSockMonster · 25/10/2013 14:48

Hi Katie - could I ask about the changing times thing please?

I'm not quite sure how exactly as almost all our appliances are used for a purpose specific to a time of day, e.g. for cooking meals, heating water prior to baths / showers, and central heating for a blast in the morning and the evening (which we'll no doubt change to suit the weather). Other appliances are simply when we want to watch TV, use the computer or make a cup of tea etc, which are also suited to certain times of the day.

The dishwasher and washing machine both have a timer so we could set them to night time, but then there's no standard time they're on during the day to compare against.

If you could clarify a little that would be great, and I'll put in the other feedback bits when we have a slightly longer history on our gas meter.

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SalBeautyMoll · 25/10/2013 14:52

I usually realise dd has left the immersion heater on overnight when I virtually scald myself from the hot tap washing up, (happened this morning).

Great that she remembers to turn it on when she has her twenty minute shower but the waste of money irritates me when she forgets to switch it off.

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AGnu · 25/10/2013 15:21

My DH is supposed to be organising for the boilerman to come install a thermostat. I've been telling him for 2.5 years that we should have one but he's only just decided that it's necessary since he happened to be home when the boilerman last came. Suddenly it was "hey, we'd save so much energy if we had a thermostat - the boilerman said so!" Hmm That was a month ago & he's still not rung him despite knowing that he's really busy so we'll probably have to wait a while anyway!

We also have dodgy double glazing that we can't afford to fix & DH insists on washing up in scaldingly hot water, leaving everything to soak unnecessarily & rinsing everything very thoroughly. Oh, & don't even get me started on the fact that we're currently running our PC 24-7 because it has problems starting up & DH is dragging his feet on helping to choose a new one!

We could probably afford to fix the windows if I just did everything myself... Wink

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OddSockMonster · 25/10/2013 15:55

I've just thought, is the challenge about the length of time we use various appliances rather than the time of day (which is how I read it)?

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Theimpossiblegirl · 25/10/2013 19:05

Non-tester:
Every blooming light is on in this house again! Really annoys me. Grrr.

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sharond101 · 25/10/2013 20:57

Non testers: What annoying energy wasting habits does your family have that really wind you up? Maybe the children leave their games consoles running all night? Or perhaps your partner always takes never ending hot showers? Whatever your pet peeves around energy waste in your household are we'd like to hear from you.

DH takes a shower and then opens all the windows, forgets and turns the heating up full blast, Then forgets about that and we go to bed and roast all night.

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LegoCaltrops · 25/10/2013 23:02

It really bugs me DH puts a load of washing on while I'm at work & then forgets to take it out, so it needs re-washing. Then he does it again. Waste of money, bad for the environment, annoys the wife! Surely a grown man should realise that washing needs to be hung up...

We are fairly good for not leaving appliances on charge or stand-by. I Both of us used to do this but we're a lot better now.

I read somewhere that if you can turn your electric oven off at the wall, it can save a lot of energy, I forget the percentage but it was surprisingly high. DH never bothers. Grr.

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AndHarry · 26/10/2013 09:43

Non-tester. I hate it when DH leaves sockets switched on when things aren't in use. I go round switching off the TV, unplugging phone chargers etc., tutting like the village gossip.

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LifeofPo · 26/10/2013 09:46

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Message withdrawn at poster's request.

LifeofPo · 26/10/2013 09:47

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BadlyWrittenPoem · 26/10/2013 15:30

I hate it when DH leaves the front door open for ages instead of pulling it to while he's not going through it.

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HootyMcOwlface · 26/10/2013 21:23

Our bathroom taps have been dripping for ages, so annoying, but my DH has not got round to fixing them yet. Having the hot tap dripping is even worse in terms of wasting energy and I don't want to think what its cost us.. Hmmm, I'll ask him about it again tonight.

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RubyRR · 26/10/2013 23:21

DD opens her window in the morning if she feels her room is too warm, radiator battling away to heat the room, open your door a bit and share the heat!

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StainlessSteelCat · 27/10/2013 10:04

the jumper wars ... I turn the thermostat down a degree and put on a jumper, DP turns it up again so he doesn't have to ....

electrical things left on. lights, TV, Wii, cable box, toys, the noise gets to me as much as the waste.

having to use tumble dryer. we're fighting a battle with condensation so I don't like drying on clothes horse, have problems using them and garden doesn't work for it. one day ....

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DanielHellHoundMcSpaniel · 27/10/2013 10:30

DH switches the towel heater on half an hour before his shower and then forgets to switch it off again afterwards. Cue me walking into a blast furnace shower room first thing in the morning. Other than that its just minor stuff like leaving the baby monitor plugged in all the time, listening to the radio while the tv picture is left on so he can watch the racing etc.

I can't talk though, I left the loft light on for a month without realising.

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Fumnudge · 27/10/2013 11:02

Non tester. H insists on clothes bring dried in the tumble dryer, even if it's lovely weather or the heating's on. Spoilt upbringing, his mum never had a clothes line!

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OPeaches · 27/10/2013 11:04

My kids go around the house switching on every light, especially now it's getting dark in the evenings. Whenever I go around and switch them all off again, the kids are right behind me putting them in again. Gaaah!

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InMySpareTime · 27/10/2013 11:18

Non-tester:
We have solar PV, so my pet peeve is DH putting the dishwasher on overnight when we pay for power.
I would run it in the morning when we're generating power to run it for free.

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Turnipvontrapp · 27/10/2013 11:48

Overfill the kettle, put dryer on too long, leave lights on, doors open. Am sure there are plenty more too!

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Turnipvontrapp · 27/10/2013 11:50

And leave everything on standby, forgot that one.

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starlight36 · 27/10/2013 12:03

Non tester

Lights unnecessarily left on. All electrical items on stand by. Electric heater used instead of putting another jumper on.

Like others the current damp / wet weather has meant we are increasingly using the tumble dryer. Our bills were so much lower over the Spring / Summer when I could dry things outside.

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574ejones · 27/10/2013 13:37

Non tester. I find myself going round the whole house turning lights and appliances off, as my children turn them on and leave them on. I have found the TV on and no one watching before. Grrr!

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BlackberrySeason · 27/10/2013 13:38

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BlackberrySeason · 27/10/2013 13:38

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ShatnersEmptyCatacomb · 27/10/2013 14:02

My pet peeve is DH wasting energy at every opportunity. In winter he goes out to the bin and leaves the front door open every time, he leaves lights and televisions on in empty rooms, he showers for far too long, he forgets to turn the oven off, he heats the whole house when he's working at home alone. It's willfully wasteful and annoys the hell out of me.

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