Win two Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 Android Phones

Dun · 14-09-2011 10:51am

A helpful tip to the ladies: layers. Please stop turning the office into an inferno because you like summery short sleeve tops.

Baggly · 14-09-2011 11:04am

Hug the boiler. Eliminates the need for a lagging jacket and emotionally reassures you.

Tara be · 14-09-2011 11:28am

How many psychiatrists does it take to change a lightbulb?
Only one but the lightbulb has to really want to change.

hots · 14-09-2011 11:34am

Pick me, I love turning off the lights...

spideog7 · 14-09-2011 11:54am

Turn off the television when you're not watching it, don't leave it on just for the atmosphere... that's right I'm talking to you!

touts · 14-09-2011 11:58am

If you have an unused fireplace get a couple of bin bags one inside the other (to give extra protection from tearing) and stuff them with old newspapers. Tie the end with a piece of colourful string. Then stuff that up the chimney with the string hanging down slightly to remind you it is there if you ever go to light the fire. Cheaper than a Chimney balloon. Reuses the newspapers. And saves energy by blocking the biggest source of heat loss in the room.

If you have a fireplace you use and you also buy newspapers regularly invest in one of those log makers from DIY shops. You wet the newspapers and stuff them into the maker which then squeezes them into a log. Leave it to dry and you will have a cheap fire log. Paper from packaging can also be used. Do this throughout the summer and you will have a reasonable supply of logs at the start of the winter. Just store the papers in your shed and every few months half an hour will make a lot of logs.

Fit a timer to your immersion. That way you will not forget to turn it off.

Take a shower instead of a bath. Then the bath becomes a treat. Get your kids used to showering also. Don't stay under the shower for 40 minutes. You can't be that big or that dirty and at that point a bath is probably more efficient. Set a 10-15 minute max limit on the shower. If you have teenagers give them a weekly ration of 90 minutes in the shower (7x10min plus 2 extra showers for sport etc). If they want to use 40 minutes on Monday and another 40 by Tuesday that's OK but make it clear that's their allowance gone and they will smell something awful by Friday. Helps to teach them about budgeting and rationing also.

Fit a timer to your heating system. That way you won't forget to turn it off and you can have it come on and off at intervals to keep the house warm without the need for it to be constantly on.

Plug your TV, Console, DVD player etc into a single surge protected extension lead. Then at night just flick the switch on the lead and you save money on standby. The surge protection lead gives you the added protection of preventing a lightning strike blowing your expensive equipment (as happened to me once). That way you are protecting your stuff and saving energy. You can get surge protection leads in many discount stores almost as cheaply as standard leads now.

Do a tour of all the rooms in your house. What is plugged in that should not be (especially in rooms you don't use). You will be surprised what you find (e.g. that electronic photo frame someone gave you last Christmas and has been plugged in on standby ever since)

Replace your light bulbs with energy efficient ones. If you think they are too expensive to replace all at once then start with the rooms you use the most at night and then as your bulbs blow in the other rooms replace them then.

If you have rooms you don't use (e.g. guest bedrooms) why have the heating on in them. Just turn off the radiator and close the door. If the heating is on in the rest of the house there is no danger of anything in those rooms freezing.

If you think there is a draft in the room do what Indiana Jones would do. Light a candle and let the flickering guide you to the source of the draft. Then figure out what best to do to fix it. If it is the chimney then I already outlined how to fix it. If it is the door look at a draft excluder at the bottom or if the gap is along the side you can buy a sort of tape that you put along the jam and it acts like a draft excluder. You can easily pick this up in most hardware shops and do it yourself. If the draft comes from the windows then check if they need to be resealed. Perhaps the seal is loose and needs to be clipped or stuck on again. Both are easy to do. Perhaps there is a little crack or gap that can be plugged with some with some silicone. This is a job you can do yourself if you are neat and Aldi/Lidl often have silicone and the guns or any hardware shop will have them. Alternatively you can get a handyman in.

If the draft is from a vent don't block it. That is there to let air circulate and for your safety carbon monoxide . See if you can realign the vent or change it one that has a sort of draft door that slides across to stop drafts but allow air move in and out.

If the windows are single glazed and half rotten then you should consider replacing them. If you can't afford to do that or you are renting then look to put up good heavy curtains. Not perfect but they will help.

Insulate your attic floor. There are grants to do it but if you think it is still too expensive go to a hardware retailer and buy the insulation, a mask and gloves and do it yourself. Shop around for the insulation (don't just go into the "high street" retailers go where the plumbers go most of these places also accept the general public). You can do a lot or insulation for very little if you are doing it yourself (as long as you are careful and don't fall through the ceiling)

If the attic is already insulated then go up and inspect it. You will be surprised what may have been missed first time or if you have had workmen in the attic (even if it was years ago) they may have moved some and not replaced it. Don't just look from the hatch. You have to get up with a torch and have a good look around. Many gaps you can fix by just moving the insulation back into place. But be careful not to step/kneel in between the beams.

If you have a small amount of washing up and the heating is on why not do it in the sink with a little water from the hot tap rather than turning on the dishwasher.

Get out of the habit of turning on your dishwasher or washing machine automatically at night. Sure you may be on a tariff that is cheaper at night but if you can wait another night until it is a full load then why turn it on just for the sake if it. Do you really need whatever is in the half load that soon? If you need one or two items quickly wash them by hand.

What temperature are the dishwasher and washing machine set at. It does not need to be the maximum in the vast majority of cases. If something is badly soiled or has burnt food on it then a good soak and hand wash will be better than the machine anyway. Turn it down to the next lowest setting and see if you notice the difference. If you don’t try the next lowest setting the next time. You’ll be surprised how low you can go before you hit the best level for the sort of washing you do.

Do you use the hoover to clean up any little accidents? Would a dustpan and brush not be just as good and faster to use?

If you are cooking on an electric hob remember the hob stays very hot for a long time after it is switched off (unless it is one of those new induction ones). Don't be afraid to switch the heat off towards the end of the cooking process and use the residual heat to finish cooking your food. It won't boil the food but unless you like burnt food you don't need it that hot for the last few minutes anyway.

If you are boiling water for pasta rice etc then start a little in the pot to heat it up and boil the rest in the kettle. Then fill the pot with boiling water from the kettle. Faster and more efficient. Potatoes are the exception to this as they are better if started in cold water and gradually brought to the boil. But you can be more efficient by cutting large ones in half to cook sooner and it means that small ones and large ones are ready around the same time as opposed to having over cooked small ones and barely cooked large ones.

Steamers are also good for cooking potatoes and veg and possibly even fish all at the same time on one hob element. As long as you don't mind one having a slight taste of the other of course.

Only fill the kettle for the amount of water you need. It will get you your cup of tea faster and it saves energy.

Don’t overload the fridge. It has to work much harder to keep things cool if it is packed. If there are things in there that you have not eaten in months get rid of them (you don’t want to try eating them at this stage anyway).

Check the top of the fridge unit. Have you thrown stuff up there over the years and the back is now covered. If air can’t freely circulate behind it then the fridge has to work harder .

If you have blinds on your windows consider also fitting curtains on the windows of the rooms you use, and therefore heat, most. They will help retain the heat and again if you have or can borrow a drill and a spirit level then all you have to do is buy the pole and the curtain. You can get nice ones, ready made quite reasonably, in many many places.

If you have the money consider upgrading your boiler to a condenser boiler. They make a huge difference. They are expensive but there are grants available. It is not something you can do yourself

What temperature is your thermostat at? 23 or 24 degrees? Think about that. That's a hot Irish summer's day. If you have to change into short sleeved summer like clothes when you are at home in winter you have it set too high. 19 degrees is a good Irish Summer's day. Why not set the thermostat to that and you will save a fortune. If you just don't want to go that low then even considering lowering the temperature on your thermostat by even one degree. You won't feel the difference (unless it was already quite low).

If you don't have a thermostat consider getting one fitted. Again there are grants available for that. Again it's not something you can do yourself to save money.

Inspect all your radiators when they are on. Are they heating up properly. Is the top cold but the bottom hot. Then there is air trapped in it. Most new ones have a valve that can be bled with a screw driver. Just turn it and let the air out until water flows out. You will need a cup to catch any flowing water and a towel to clean up any mess but it is easy to do. If your radiator can't be bled by a screwdriver and needs a key take a photo of the valve on your phone and go to a plumbing supply shop. Ask them for a key and you will get one for a few of euro. All in all it will be a fraction of the cost of getting a plumber and you will have the key for future years.

What setting is your radiator at? Maximum on. Do you need it so hot you can't touch it? Turn it down a notch or two.

If your radiators do not have adjustable controls consider fitting them. Again unless you are a plumber it's not something you can do yourself to save money. But there are grants to to a lof ot this work (insulation, condenser boiler, timers, thermostat, valves etc). GO to your local paper and find the name of someone who does the work and ring around. Get a few quotes and ask them about the grants.

If you get something that comes in a large cardboard box save the cardboard. Go to Aldi/Lidl and buy the strong turkey foil they have at Christmas (they may even have it all year round but I have seen it there at Christmas and that is not far away so it will be in stock in the next few weeks). Cut squares of cardboard that will slide down behind your radiators without sticking out and being seen. Cover those squares with foil stuck on with superglue. Stick the foil covered square to the wall (probably best not with superglue, something like bluetac would be better and I have found the heat doesn't weaken it as much as you would think and you probably have it lying around the house doing nothing anyway so why not use it even if you do have to realign and fix it every few months).

Is your hot water tank in the hot press lagged? If the hot press is the hottest place in the house then it probably isn’t lagged or the lagging needs to be replaced. Buy a lagging jacket in a plumbing supplies of hardware shop and you can easily fit it yourself (you may have to take out some shelves to get access but a screwdriver will help do this).

Get into the habit of closing doors in the rooms you use and heat. It is really just a matter of forming the habit. If you have kids appoint one of them as the "heat monitor" as part of their chores to get pocket money. They can go around closing doors and making sure anyone who leaves a door open gets a telling off. Younger ones will love the power and older ones will hate the telling off from the younger one so you'll quickly find the doors are closed as a matter of habit.

The same goes for turning off lights and plugging out phone chargers. You need to be disciplined and form the habit yourself and a position of light/charger monitor often gets the kid(s) on board. Perhaps an “Energy Czar” to cover all the areas if you only have one child and are willing to have them give out to you.

In the garden get a water butt. Once you plan out the steps you need to do in advance they are relatively easy to fit (you need a small saw to cut the down pipe) . It won’t save you electricity but it will save electricity down the line pumping water to your house. It will however save you lots of money when the new Water tax comes in.

Use a clothes line to dry cloths especially in the summer. They are easy to fit. If you don't want a big thing in the middle of your lawn or a line running the length of the garden then there are lots of retractable options. You fit a unit to the wall and a hook at the other end of the garden and when you need the line you pull it out of the unit and hook it on. Easy!.

Clothes Horses are great indoors during the winter. Sure they might not be the prettiest to look at but the secret is to remember that very few of the people you are afraid might see it don't use one also and very few people just walk in without giving you the chance to move it out of sight. The second tip is if you have racy stuff you dont want people to see on the cloths horse then don't put them on it (or put them on one somwehere out of sight e.g upstairs bathroom and direct your guests to use the downstairs toilet)

Look at using solar lights for the garden. Ok the LED ones are fairly poor but there are decent systems for sheds in many large hardware stores. You can easily fit them yourself and while they may appear more expensive think about the cost of hiring an electrician to run a cable from the house to your shed and then long term it’s free energy in the shed. For other lights around the house etc look at motion sensor operated lights. That means they only come on when you are out there and they have the added bonus of extra security as they will come on if someone is prowling around.

Unless you are in Boston and it's a tradition don't cover your house with lights at Christmas al la National Lampoons Christmas Vacation. It looks tacky. If you MUST do it then use energy efficent ones and switch them off during day light hours and after 10pm when all the kids in the neighbourhood have gone to sleep. Put them on a timer to make sure you don't forget. Timers are great for the Christmas tree also.

Kenny Logins · 14-09-2011 12:01pm

Isn't usually around this point all the 'new' members wobble in to enter the competition? Where are they now? Having difficulty logging out and back in again?