How are you planning to keep energy costs low after the recent energy hikes?

[Jenny]

Hello everyone!

As you know, we’ve seen a significant increase in wholesale energy costs, which has led to higher energy tariffs and bills for everybody. I thought I’d share a few of my own energy-saving tips with you.

Like my Dad used to say, switch those lights off if you’re not using them!  

It’s easy to leave a light on when you leave a room, but you’re saving a little money every time you remember to switch them off.  Once you’ve nailed the habit of switching lights off, you could even look at more energy efficient lighting, e.g. LED bulbs, or my favourite, fairy lights!  Lighting makes up 11% of your average electricity consumption, so it’s worth making some changes.

Wash your clothes at a lower temperature wherever you can.

While it’s understandable that you might need to wash bed linen and towels at a higher temperature, you might like to consider where you can use the washing machine at a lower temperature, as this will save you on the money it takes to heat the water up.  Many machines also have an “eco” mode which helps conserve water.  You can then top off all that good feeling about saving money and water, by using lovely eco-friendly detergent for your laundry.

Stop using the tumble dryer and get your laundry out on the washing line.  

As soon as the sun comes out, you can save money by popping your clean laundry out on the washing line.  If you don’t have access to a washing line, you might have a clothes airer, or even an old fashioned pulley which is also a great space saver. There’s nothing nicer than line-dried fresh sheets for you, or for your guests!

Ditch the bath, have a shower!

Having a bath is considered luxurious by many, but if you’re willing to switch to showers, you can save money and water if you can keep your showers fairly short. You might also think about replacing your traditional shower head with a water saving shower head, especially if you have a rental, and therefore don’t have control over how long your guests take in the shower.

Turn appliances off at the plug when they’re not in use.

Some appliances can be real energy guzzlers even when they’re not in use. Get into the habit of turning appliances off at the plug regularly, for example when you’re going to bed, or when you’re doing changeover at your property.

Turn your thermostat down by one degree.

Almost half the money you spend on your energy bills is spent on heating and hot water costs. By turning down your thermostat even by one degree, you’ll save money, and you might even find you didn’t need to have it that high in the first place!

I’m curious to know how you’re planning to keep your energy costs reasonable during this time, and about how you can encourage your guests to do the same.

Please share your thoughts in the comments!

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Jenny Our apartments have very large Victorian rooms with ceiling heights between 3 and 4 metres. the windows are single glazed and some date from Georgian times so there is little that can be done to make them energy efficient.

We do not want a reputation for the apartments being cold and draughty so  we will just suck up the energy cost increases I am afraid.

[Jenny]

Thanks for your reply, @Mike-And-Jane0 - I get where you're coming from.  I really hope that one day we see the return of more favourable fixed tariffs, but I feel like we're probably going to have this additional expense for a while.  Do you think a time will come when you will increase your rates to absorb the additional cost?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Jenny With Foreign holidays opening up again I see no likelihood that we can raise our prices to make up for the additional heating costs. Bookings are already slow.....

[Jenny]

I really hope they pick up, @Mike-And-Jane0 - you have such a beautiful location.

[Robin4]

@Mike-And-Jane0 

Mike, we bought this derelict old house in 2009, it was a seriously drafty old piece of sh*t and everyone's reaction was....'knock it down and build a McDonalds house'

But it had high ceilings and lovely old thick stone walls so I felt I could make this old lady sing again!

This was one of the external walls of the original house......

They built it like a medieval fort and just chucked all their rubbish in the perimeter walls!

I set about double glazing all the windows, and rather than try to repair the old fibrous plaster ceilings I put in dropped 'Rondo' ceilings with shadowline so I didn't have the worry of cornices cracking any more. This is the second bedroom which I have converted into a bathroom/ensuite

The floor is vinyl and is beautifully warm to walk on in winter, I have cut heat loss to an absolute minimum Mike. The whole house has a 14 Kw Daikin ducted airconditioning system which I choose to run unzoned......the house is heated or cooled as a whole. I have metered this system running and in maintenance mode (once it has the temp under control) this inverter system uses just 624 watts (.64Kw) of energy to keep the entire house at a comfortable temperature.....and it does it hour after hour!

Mike, don't throw your hands in the air, there are lots of ways you can make your Edwardian property really energy efficient.....and believe me, it's worth it!

Cheers........Rob  

@Jenny  @Huma0 

[Huma0]

@Robin4 @Mike-And-Jane0 

The beautiful Victorian windows were one of the reasons I bought this house and, besides, I live in a conservation area, so there is no way I'll be replacing the with UPVC double glazing. Unfortunately, the cost of having new, timber framed, double glazed windows made and fitted is prohibitive. One of my neighbours was planning to do this, but the quotes he got back were insane. I'm talking about around £70,000 and his house is half the size of mine.

The first floor has big, arched windows in one room and very large French doors in another. I think they are gorgeous, but they are also the most draughty in the house. I have a carpenter doing repairs to these, which should help a bit. He's not available very often, so it's taking forever, but hopefully will be done before the winter.

I will then also put insulation strips around all the doors and windows. They don't last very long, but at least it's a fix that I can afford! I also bought some 'thermal' window film. I have no idea if it will work, but worth a try. I've also thought about putting door curtains up in the winter for the front door and the doors to the garden just for keeping out chills overnight.

In the winter, I make a point of closing curtains once it gets dark and encourage guests to do the same in their rooms, but not all do.

You can also get special reflective foil type sheets to put behind radiators to direct more heat back into the room. I have tried stuffing bubble wrap up the chimney breasts (the first floor also has huge fireplaces, that are not in use) but it always falls out. I have heard that putting balloons up there works.

These are all small changes and might not make a huge difference, but they are affordable and also don't involve sacrificing the period details that made me fall in love with his house and are also the reason many of my guests book.

[Laurelle3]

@Huma0 good advice about closing the curtains I do this about 4pm in our cooler months. Iliked the idea of the film, I was going to suggest putting perspex cut to fit on the windows for a type of double glazing not sure if it works. The draft surrounds also work and you can fit them yourself so it makes it cost effective.

Also you can offer a blanket or a throw-over for guests for extra comfort while watching TV. I also provide a cotton waffle blanket  with a labelled wrapper (clean on it, that way I know it has been used) and leave it in the wardrobe so that they can add to the bed.

I think every effort we make will help.

[Huma0]

@Laurelle3 

Yes, I have plenty of extra bedding for guests. I have light weight duvets for summer and warmer ones for the rest of the year and every guest room has extra quilts. I also have an electric blanket if guests request one.

However, last winter I had a guest who complained constantly about the room being too cold at night, it was so cold, he said, that he and his partner had to sleep with their clothes on. Yet, he refused to use an extra duvet (the room already had a winter duvet and a quilt on the bed, but there is an additional one in the wardrobe). He also refused to let me check the radiators in the room. He said they worked fine, but it was still too cold. It kind of baffled me because the guests before and after said the room was perfectly warm and this guy came from a cold country and walked around in a singlet most of the time.

This guest became so angry about this issue, that I had to have words about his tone of voice and told him it was not okay for him to speak to me that way.

I realised after they checked out that they must have been opening the windows because they were smoking cigarettes and weed in the room (there are areas here where guests are allowed to smoke, but NOT in the bedrooms!). There is a limit to what we can do when guests behave so illogically. 

[Helen427]

@Jenny @Laurelle3 @Huma0 @Robin4 

The energy costs have risen because we have lost our way with sustainability like the days of old.

Back in the day, they used Scrim and newspapers and then wallpapers and wool carpet made from sheeps/ lambs wool to stop the draughts from gaps in the floors and walls.

Maybe we need to rethink some of those practices.

@Huma0  In among your treasures you have found, Do you have a Bookcase or set of shelves that will tuck into the Fireplace?

That's a good alternative to stopping draughts coming in from above.

Add to the mix, How many of you have a snake / door draught stopper to prevent the wind sailing in in winter?

They are economical to make or buy and far healthier for a Building than sealing every gap which ensures a Healthy Mould free home.

Dampness often arises because of loose nails in the roof, rust in pipes or in todays day and age because people have drilled holes in exterior walls to install Fibre Cables for the internet which results in Moisture in cavities which may or may not show up on inside walls or floors for around 2-3 years before it becomes visible.

Homes built these days are too weather tight and made from synthetic materials that are the root cause of a lot of problems.

We need to get our Wool Manufacturers back in our own countries how we used to have them and restore Old Axminister etc Carpets and make them a feature piece in one's home.

Bring back the days of people making Rugs and woolen clothing from wool to keep warm in winter.

It pays to check outside structures and addressing them before making major internal works.

@Jenny Another trick is to turn off the elements and the oven, and use the extra heat, on electric stoves prior to cooking finishing

@Debra300 @Emilie @Helen744 @Electra5 @Electra0 @Electron0 @Energy0 @Urban-Power0 @Dawn-Power0 @Cosmic-Power0 @TriPower0 @InnerPower0 

[Huma0]

@Helen427 

No, I don't think I have any shelves or bookcases that will fit in the fireplaces. Ideally, I'd like something that fills the cavity but is not visible as the fireplaces are real features in the rooms. There are only two as the others in the house had already been bricked up before I bought it.

Carpet is not an option for me with three cats and three or more guests. It would be wrecked in no time. I had one long term guest who was super lovely but managed to spill her tea all over the stairs every single day! I do, however, have rugs that I put out in the winter (or year round, depending on the room) and yes, the draught excluders both in front of the exterior doors, but also in the bedrooms themselves as there are gaps under those doors.

The house is so old that being too weather tight is not a problem here. It is anything but weathertight! There is always water coming in somewhere. As soon as you fix one problem, another arises. It's never ending. It is also very, very draughty.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Robin4 Sadly, for our bills, it would be cultural vandalism to remove features that are, in some cases, almost 300 years old and in all cases over 170 years old.

We also need to recognise that we are next door to a 13th century Grade 1 listed church and could not, in good faith, significantly change the houses appearance.

We will just hope that wood pellets supply goes up (as non-Russian suppliers are found) and the price comes down again.

[Huma0]

@Jenny 

I have always tried to be energy efficient and encouraged my guests to be so too. Of course, with the huge hikes in fuel prices, this becomes even more pressing. The problem is, not all guests 'get it'. It might seem incredible, but I am finding that none of my guests (who are mostly young people) are even aware that there is an energy crisis happening. It's not on their radar at all. I wonder if they even read the news...

For a long time now, I have had something about being energy efficient in my house rules and I also always mention it in the house tour, i.e. please turn off lights when you go out etc. Most guests are not too bad about this, but I think that's just because I am around. I was away for a few days recently and, when I got back, the house was lit up like a Christmas tree, but no one was around...

Another thing I've noticed - and sorry if it sounds sexist, but it's my observation - is that almost every male guest I've hosted has a problem turning off bathroom lights. Because I have a few bathrooms and I'm not endlessly checking them, these lights (and that means the bathroom fans too, which are operated by the same switch) can be on all day or overnight before I realise.

My main issues though are 1. The heating. Like @Mike-And-Jane0 I have an old property with large rooms, often with high ceilings and large, single glazed windows. The house already cost a fortune to heat and I can't imagine what the bills are going to be next winter. I work from home but, unless it's very, very cold, I am happy just to put on a warm jumper etc. rather than having the whole house heated all day. What I am finding though is that more and more of my guests are working or studying from home a lot of the time and some will complain endlessly that the house is not warm enough. At the same time, they'll walk around in a t-shirt and shorts and bare feet and open windows when the heating is on full blast. Some will be very put out that the heating is not on overnight (which I don't believe is the norm here), even though that is specified in my listing. I am not really sure how to handle these types of guests. Of course, I want my guests to be comfortable, but they are not paying enough to justify having the heating blasting 24/7 when they can't be bothered to put on a jumper, and that's before you take into account the recent price hikes. Besides, I don't like the wastage from an environmental perspective. Luckily it's not winter anymore, so at least I'll get a bit of respite from this! In the meantime, I am trying a few things to make the doors and windows less draughty.

The other thing, which is more a year round problem is laundry. I have a large washing machine, due to all the laundry that comes with hosting. The most common problem is that many guests seem to do endless tiny loads of laundry, which drives me a bit insane. I host long term guests, and supply them with extra bedlinen and towels. It's not like they don't have enough clothes to last a few days. They normally arrive with a lot of luggage. Still, some throw a handful of items in the machine every two days. It's pointless trying to get them to wait until they have a proper load. They just ignore that.

The machine does have shorter settings for smaller loads and other settings to save energy, which I explain to all guests. I also encourage them to line dry their clothes, which is what I do with mine anyway (dryers are not very good for your clothes anyway). Some guests are good about this and others just don't care. Yesterday, a guest had a half load in the machine for THREE hours. He actually washed his clothes cold, so he must have chosen the longest possible settings, despite having been asked not to use those.

At the end of the day, if they are not paying per their energy usage, most people simply don't care about wasting energy.

[Jenny]

Thanks for getting back to me, @Huma0 - really appreciate you sharing your thoughts.  It sounds a bit like we need change on a larger scale i.e. for people to really understand the impact of the current energy situation, before they can become more mindful.

I think a lot of people got used to the good old days of fixed energy deals, when the market was full of competition, and it was just possible for people to be more generous with their usage.  I'm like you though, I'd rather pop a few extra layers on, and I've done exactly that over the last few months.  

Do you think there will come a time when you increase your rates to absorb rising costs?  I know that we're looking at another 32% raise on the price cap in October, when the current raise is already enough to make most of us tighten our belts quite severely.

[Huma0]

@Jenny 

Yes, it's something I will have to think about very seriously. I try to keep my rates reasonable for long term guests (mine are here for weeks, or even months). If I was still hosting short term, the nighty rate would probably be much higher. 

However, the cost of living is going up considerably and not just in terms of energy bills. For example, my cleaners put up their hourly rate by quite a bit last month, to account for this. Hosts cannot be expected to bear the full burden of this. We are not here to subsidise other people's lifestyles. Accommodations will simply have to go up in price. The problem is that, with my guests at least, they seem completely unaware of the situation! I think the the first hosts who start putting their prices up are going to seem less competitive/good value. From what I have read on the CC, many hosts are saying they will just swallow the extra expenses. It will only become acceptable to guests when the prices go up across the board.

Yes, there needs to be a change on a larger scale but, for people to walk the walk, rather than just talk the talk, it has to hit their bank balances. Sorry to be cynical about it, but having worked for an environmental organisation focusing on this exact issue, that's the reality.

Did you notice what happened when the government introduced compulsory charges for shopping bags? I did. In a very, very short space of time, I saw a big change in how people consumed these. Before they had to pay for them, most people were just happy to chuck endless plastic bags in the bin. Of course, some still do this, but it's not the norm anymore. Even having to pay a few pence every shop made a big difference.

It will be the same with energy usage, but only for people paying their own bills (and not fixed bills). I have often wondered whether the guests who needlessly waste lots of energy behave the same way at home, or are they just okay with wasting someone else's money?

When I was renting out to regular lodgers, I initially tried charging rent with bills included. That was a mistake. It was crazy how wasteful people were. After I started charging for gas and electricity separately (based on the bills and split between everyone), people stopped leaving their bedroom lights on when they went out. Funny that.