Saving Energy - I Give Up?

Question

I do everything I can to save energy. Have double glazing fitted, cavity wall insulation, double thickness insulation in the loft, energy bulbs, hot water tank lagged, I only buy 'A' rated appliances. I do my washing at night on economy 7, keep doors closed, only have the radiators on in rooms I use most often, I recycle paper, tin cans, glass, I drive a lead free petrol car, YET petrol prices have continued to rise, poll tax goes up, gas and electric prices are up. A few years ago when I wasn't doing anything to save energy my bills were a lot cheaper, now I'm saving energy it's costing me a fortune. Is it just me or is everyone noticing this?

Answer 1

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Answer 2

Yeah I've noticed this too, although petrol prices have recently fallen by 10p per litre, which isn't so bad, it works out about £5.00 cheaper on a full tank for me.

I've always wondered why prices are so high, given that the companies involved make £x billion a day in profit, and seeing as 80% of petrol goes to the government in duty, so they are making 4 times the profit from it that the oil companies are!

Like anything that is consumer led though, it will require a massive boycott of the services to see a price drop. However in this consumer age all people seem to care about is the here and now, so you'll never get enough people to, for example, stop buying petrol for a month to force the prices down.

Answer 3

I know how you feel! I'm using less and less and paying out more and more ... well, until about 6 weeks ago when my boiler died and the insurance found an excuse not to pay out.
As I can't afford a new boiler (and no chance of saving up that much for at least 8 months) it is very cold in the house.- Infact the kids and I are freezing right now. We can't even see out of the windows cos of the condensation. (dehumidifier broke down too)

Brrrrrrrr!!! - I'd rather have the bills!

Answer 4

No, we're all noticing too, everyone keeps upgrading to save $ but, we get "Hammered" by Utility company's, I work for a utility, people say nasty things to me about electricity prices all day, It's the cost of "FUEL" to generate power, it's very high, "Hey WE have to pay electric bills too ya know, it's NOT like we get it for free, or even a discount, you can't grab a handful of electricity when going out the door and leaving the shop to go home at the end of the day

Answer 5

Just imagine what your bills would be like if you hadn't done all the those things. As long as so much energy is still wasted, a lot of it in the shape of plastic packaging etc. prices will continue to spiral.

Answer 6

There are other causes to make the price of gas to go up and down.
You should continue in what you doing. I will suggest to call your water and and power,gas co in your area to have your house get
evaluated to see if you are losing some kind of angry. I think this service might be free, check it out on their web sites. If you running
more than one TV and have unites plugged in the out let. Check them out. You can visit sites like this one in your own area. And one more tip Have your meter for gas and electric rechecked you may find some kind of discrepancy like I did.

Answer 7

To make you even happier have you noticed the price of ordinary petrol I was amazed to see it is now a lot cheaper than unleaded . Have we been conned or something ?

Answer 8

I think it all comes down to the various utilities protecting their core income

Even if we save energy like crazy, the utilities still need the same amount of revenue to run - people don't want paying less, their taxes don't reduce etc., so as we use less, so they have to jack their prices up to keep the core revenue flowing - so the more you save, the more you'll pay ........

Answer 9

Yes, your bills are increasing but, if you weren't so energy efficient, your bills would increase even more.

Its not just the money, there is an environmental impact too. You are helping to save the world. You should be proud of your efforts.

Answer 10

Now if Dear old Tony Blair and his cronies would only follow your frugal example maybe in 20 years or so we could justifiably claim to be Great Britain again!
Congratulations on your efforts. Console yourself by working out how much you save each month.