ItchyFeet76 Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 Wow thats a huge electricity bill you've estimated?We pay approx £700 per year for both gas and electricity combined!.We don't skimp either on usage.I don't waste it but I don't skimp either!We both work full time,so out of the house all week until 3pm. Our annual gas / electric is around £1800. We live in a four-bed detached with conservatory (to give you an idea of the size of space we have to heat). I'm a full-time mum so am at home all day, and my husband often works from home, too. That said, we're in a brand new house which is supposedly better insulated (it certainly feels warmer on a cold day - with no heating on - than my parents' or inlaws' houses do) and, despite having lots of gadgets (Xbox, iCube, TV, laptops, radio, etc.) I'm very strict about the kids turning them off when they're not being used, and only putting lights on when it gets dim (I chastise my husband for leaving the under-cabinet lights on in the morning!). We have a washer-dryer (used most days), tumble-dryer (in garage - used occasionally for bulky items as washer-dryer only takes small loads), microwave (used several times a day), dishwasher (used once a day at 50p a time) and electric oven / grill (used several times a week but not normally every day). I laugh when the press appear shocked at the average annual bill hitting £1500... I should be so lucky ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flybyknight Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 its funny, to stay comfortable the heating and cooling bill in a good house usually accounts for more than half of the power bills. if the house is shite its obviously more. and yet we worry about leaving a light on, a light that uses next to no power. i do it too, its insane though! if the house is poor, do what the victorians did, just heat and cool the rooms you live in. watch the bills plummet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newjez Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 Had a nice bowl of soup with Garlic bread in Perth for $10. Also, I don't understand why tablets are so much cheaper in Perth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 its funny, to stay comfortable the heating and cooling bill in a good house usually accounts for more than half of the power bills. if the house is shite its obviously more. and yet we worry about leaving a light on, a light that uses next to no power. i do it too, its insane though! if the house is poor, do what the victorians did, just heat and cool the rooms you live in. watch the bills plummet! Victorians didn't have mobile phone bills, laptops, internet charges, cars. Give that lot up and your heating/cooling bills would pale into insignificance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 Had a nice bowl of soup with Garlic bread in Perth for $10. Also, I don't understand why tablets are so much cheaper in Perth. What tablets are those newjez?:wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newjez Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 What tablets are those newjez?:wink:iPads, Samsung galaxy, they seem heaps cheaper in perth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 iPads, Samsung galaxy, they seem heaps cheaper in perth. Oh, those kind of tablets.:laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petkula73 Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 iPads, Samsung galaxy, they seem heaps cheaper in perth. I know - isn't it odd that iPads are so cheap? I took one back for someone in the UK in July. The UK 16Gb Wifi model is £399. The same one in Australia was $509. Even better, I found one cheaper still on the internet here, asked OfficeWorld to to a Price Beat, which they honoured, so got it for $472. Then I claimed back the GST in the airport using my UK passport, so in total it came to something like £230! Cheapest iPad in the world I reckon! Ker-ching! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flybyknight Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 Victorians didn't have mobile phone bills, laptops, internet charges, cars. Give that lot up and your heating/cooling bills would pale into insignificance. the car is the only thing you mentioned that uses a lot of fuel. i wasn't really focusing on bills that are for luxuries like phones and the net. best way i've found for these is to play them off each other. a phone call armed with the cheapest rate is usually enough to negotiate a discount with your current provider. even counting all these things though, i think paling into insignificance is a bit optimistic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srg73 Posted October 29, 2013 Author Share Posted October 29, 2013 i work with about 20 carpenters and house fitters, they are now working in the aviation trade here in melbourne. i have mentioned to them about air tightness double glazing and draughtproofing. the overwhelming concensus is that i will have a hard time finding tradies who will work to those standards. i'm not blindly ranting, i'm doing my homework and this is what im finding. if you can suggest a better way i'm all ears. my words are observations, i'm saying it as i see it. if im bashing anyone, they deserve it! In UK we have a problem in that 90% of the population love old historic houses or houses which are over 20 years old. UK is the wasteful old man of Europe when it comes to housing stock. We buy our houses, patch them up and live our lives whilst the house leaks out energy in every direction. In most northern EU countries they replace their houses every circa 20-30 years and therefore are much more efficient however in most instances they rent their houses and do not own them until later in life. Also UK has far to many people, not enough land without conditions or NIMBY's meaning development cant take place. The only reason the house sellers packs with energy ratings were introduced (and correctly then substantially dropped as was nothing but EU crap) was to show up UK and try to force the improvement in housing efficiency hence why our utility bills have the green tax applied for insulating other peoples houses!! Australia is miles behind EU and especially UK in regards to building technology and application of regulations however most in the trade would argue that UK is too strict and maybe Aus has a better balance.......does a house really need an air test to ensure it is 100% air tight? Anybody heard of condensation and mildew? S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpo1971 Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 £15 for a burger and chips in Liverpool, I was in Liverpool One 2 weeks ago and paid £8.50 for the same. Think it was in Byron, it wasn't actually 15 for the burger and chips, probably 13, then 15 with a soft drink. I'm not saying it's impossible to get a cheaper burger and chips but if you go somewhere like that, it costs. The selection of food joints and nice bars in Liverpool was better than when I was last there, about 6 or so years ago. But like most things these days, they're expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flybyknight Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 In UK we have a problem in that 90% of the population love old historic houses or houses which are over 20 years old. UK is the wasteful old man of Europe when it comes to housing stock. We buy our houses, patch them up and live our lives whilst the house leaks out energy in every direction. In most northern EU countries they replace their houses every circa 20-30 years and therefore are much more efficient however in most instances they rent their houses and do not own them until later in life. Also UK has far to many people, not enough land without conditions or NIMBY's meaning development cant take place. The only reason the house sellers packs with energy ratings were introduced (and correctly then substantially dropped as was nothing but EU crap) was to show up UK and try to force the improvement in housing efficiency hence why our utility bills have the green tax applied for insulating other peoples houses!! Australia is miles behind EU and especially UK in regards to building technology and application of regulations however most in the trade would argue that UK is too strict and maybe Aus has a better balance.......does a house really need an air test to ensure it is 100% air tight? Anybody heard of condensation and mildew? S as much as i'd heard of comdensation and mildew i'd not seen either til i moved here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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