Hows this for saving money

**Bournecrazy** · 07-26-2009, 04:21 PM

When i bought my flat i had to have a whole new heating system put in including radiators and a combi boiler. That was installed on June 8th and to this day i have NOT once put the heating on, the flat is tp floor so it is generally warm and we have underlay under most of the carpets - which helps a lot. The only time i use the boiler is to get hot water, it has to power up so i avoid using the hot water tap as much as possible unless i need to do the dishes and have a bath. Occasionally it gets a little chilly in here but not enough to make me put it on.

When i get my bills i am hoping that this will show and i am going to keep it off until really needed, it starts getting cold about september onwards.

anyone else having there own ac/heating? are you keeping it off to save for winter?

**craftypam** · 07-26-2009, 04:45 PM

Originally Posted by Bournecrazy

When i bought my flat i had to have a whole new heating system put in including radiators and a combi boiler. That was installed on June 8th and to this day i have NOT once put the heating on, the flat is tp floor so it is generally warm and we have underlay under most of the carpets - which helps a lot. The only time i use the boiler is to get hot water, it has to power up so i avoid using the hot water tap as much as possible unless i need to do the dishes and have a bath. Occasionally it gets a little chilly in here but not enough to make me put it on.

When i get my bills i am hoping that this will show and i am going to keep it off until really needed, it starts getting cold about september onwards.

anyone else having there own ac/heating? are you keeping it off to save for winter?

Its pretty easy to not use the air conditioning here this summer. We are having the coolest summer I remember. I don't like to use it much anyway. We are closed up in the house all winter I hate to do it for summer too.

**shoiji** · 07-26-2009, 04:47 PM

Right now I try to keep the AC off as much as possible. On really hot and humid days I will put it on once in the morning and once in the evening. Mostly to get rid of the humidity. I have fans turned on when I need them. Luckily I have shading from trees which really seems to help. Also, this summer seems to be alot cooler than normal. This week is the first week of normal temperatures around here.

I am on a payment plan with the utilities, and so far I have been able to run up a credit. It isn't alot but should pay for amount 1 1/2 months worth of utilities.

I also finally have a neighbor downstairs so heating for the winter will probably be a little lower this year.

I basically go to all the steps I do so I can stay on budget.

**Bournecrazy** · 07-26-2009, 05:03 PM

i have neighbours to the left and right side and 4 underneath, i only have 2 external walls.

This summer is a lot cooler, occasionally we will have some good hot waether but we havent had any in a month its been raining for days and it has been quite windy. I am expecting a cold winter tho. Last year was the coldest i have known it for years and with the snow problem in Feb winter seemed to go on for much longer.

**Bournecrazy** · 07-26-2009, 05:07 PM

I also pay 35.00 a month for gas (for the heating and cooking) and it builds up over the months, so at the end of july next year i will get the credit refunded back to me so i will save it. I am able to get credit for water and electric too. I am trying to keep them all down.

**CouponShelle** · 07-26-2009, 06:00 PM

Wow, I wish we could do that. It's 108 again here in Phx today so the air is ON. It's pretty much on from early May to end of Sept/early Oct. We are trying to run fans more this year to keep the bills down, we'll see how it goes

**mauimagic** · 07-26-2009, 06:07 PM

We've only had the AC on two nights this summer. Fans help but sometimes it gets unbearable to even sleep. We've moved downstairs to DD's room which is the coolest room and the one with AC. May clean out the family room some more and use it as our main living room until the heat abates some.

**Bournecrazy** · 07-26-2009, 06:07 PM

i cant run fans / heaters, the ones i do have suck up so much electric is un-real so i dont bother. its quite breezy out so i keep the windows on vent to get fresh air to curculate (sp?) i do have a ceiling fan in the bedroom tho, its nice for humid nights.

**beks37** · 07-26-2009, 06:59 PM

It's hard not to keep our AC on. It is usually in the 90's to 100's+ in the summer, we run fans so we don't keep the AC too cool. I have it set on 75 degrees. I signed up for the Average payment plan for both gas and electric, that way our bills will be consistent rather than small one month and huge the next month.

**craftypam** · 07-26-2009, 09:22 PM

Originally Posted by Bournecrazy

I also pay 35.00 a month for gas (for the heating and cooking) and it builds up over the months, so at the end of july next year i will get the credit refunded back to me so i will save it. I am able to get credit for water and electric too. I am trying to keep them all down.

Wow is that $35 a month for a year? I pay $105 for gas for a year

Thought I'd better clarify. $105 a month for a year

**frugalwarrior** · 07-26-2009, 11:21 PM

We haven't used the air cond. for 5 years. Thought it was 3 but it's 5. They came out and installed a new meter because they thought I was stealing w/ a broken meter.LOL We have ceiling fans and floor fans both. I haven't used either much except for odors. Dogs, ya know.

**guest002** · 07-27-2009, 12:10 AM

Originally Posted by craftypam

Wow is that $35 a month for a year? I pay $105 for gas for a year

Thought I'd better clarify. $105 a month for a year

Remember Bournecrazy is in England so that's in £ not $

Using and exchange rate conversion I found online £35 is approximately $58.
http://www.xe.com/ucc/

**frugalfranny** · 07-27-2009, 12:35 AM

That's great bc....maybe with luck you can even go to the end of Sept.

I don't even have AC but I have ceiling fans in every room and love them. Also helps that I have a north/south exposure of my house so no evening sun to 'roast me'. In the winter I wear fleece shirts and the heat doesn't go above 68. Try to keep it at 65 during the day and do things to stay moving and warm.

**tracyq** · 07-27-2009, 10:32 AM

We're in Western New York, and it's been a very cool summer here too, thank God! Humidity is bad for my asthma and arthritis, so it's been better than normal. I agree, we're closed up all winter, so I like my windows open. We use fans and ceiling fans. This summer, we didn't even bother putting the one room AC we have in (my bedroom for really bad days). We haven't had any so far.

I want to try to bring down our energy costs, but am not sure how to do it. If I had $$$, we could put in one of those systems that heats your water up as you use it, the tankless systems. I wonder how much energy is used by heating up tap water to get it hot???? I wonder if using a gas stove to heat up water in a kettle would be less $$$ for dishes than heating it from tap??? These are questions I have that I don't know how to even find the answer to!

Tracy Q.

**Karen1** · 07-27-2009, 11:02 AM

I am NC

Too hot in dead of summer not to have AC. I sure need to sleep cool at night to function.

I go as low as I can----78 during the day, and 75/76 AC at night.

ANYTIME I don't have to turn on anything, I don't....LOL

heat is not bad for us. We have Jan/Feb that are super cold and require real heat...other than that we get away with somewhat easy on the electric bill in general.

I installed a propane fireplace which heats the house better than my heat pump.....so I use that. I love it, warmer heat and seems to "stay" in the house longer before kicking back on.

In summer I dry clothes outside. So for money I save using that stupid dryer, I use on AC if needed.....LOL

I took my electric bill down tons....using CFLs and unplugging things and power strips etc. cut my bill huge!!!!

But I won't not use AC and heat. I am frugal but I do want comforts in life definnitely!!!