Energy Saving

Not really energy saving but: I used to compost potatoes too small to peel but since cooking them quite often as oven chips which I chop up wedge like and cook with a little oil without peeling (except for any skin blemishes like scab), I now discard very few potatoes at all due to size.

My grandparents called the tiny spuds pig potatoes and fed them to the pig. Everyone had a pig in those days. And hens. That's why the great British breakfast is bacon and eggs. Bring back backyard pig-keeping, I say!

Not really energy saving but: I used to compost potatoes too small to peel but since cooking them quite often as oven chips which I chop up wedge like and cook with a little oil without peeling (except for any skin blemishes like scab), I now discard very few potatoes at all due to size.

My grandparents called the tiny spuds pig potatoes and fed them to the pig. Everyone had a pig in those days. And hens. That's why the great British breakfast is bacon and eggs. Bring back backyard pig-keeping, I say!

I used tor riddle potatoes at the farm and small ones were always known as pig potatoes!

My electricity is supplied by EON. They've been trying to get customers to shift their power consumption to, presumably, times when there is less demand - usually mid-afternoon 1-3pm or 2-4pm. They set you a target of increasing your power consumption and pay you for each kilowatt that you use over your normal consumption. The payments vary - today it was 25p kWh.
Today -
"The next #PowerUp event will be on 28 April 2026 from 2:00PM to 4:00PM. Your target is to use 1% more electricity than you usually would during this time.
We're not saying use more energy for the sake of it, it's all about shifting your energy use to a different time. So, you could get some of your high energy chores done, like doing the laundry or using your dishwasher.
If you hit your target, we'll give you £0.25 credit for every extra kWh of electricity you use."
Tomorrow - they're paying 30p.
I've considered these offers to be a bit too much trouble to bother. I only use the washing machine on sunny days - and do a load early in the morning so that it can dry by the evening.. I'm not much of a cook and I don't have an oven so I won't be baking cakes!
However, today, I realised that this offer gives, effectively, free electricity since I pay 18.71 a kWh - so, I'm going to try to make use of it.
I did a load of washing after 2pm and pegged it out under cover in the log store. - the weather wasn't good enough to put it outside.
I also boiled the kettle several times and filled a couple of flasks - enough to not need to use the kettle again tonight.

If you have any bright ideas for energy shifting tomorrow afternoon, please let me know.

Any jobs need doing in the garden with electric equipment? Chainsaw, hedge cutter, shredder? Otherwise the heavy uses are heating - cooking, hot water, shower... Minor users are vacuum cleaners (about a unit if you vacuum for an hour) and fridges/freezers but modern ones use very little. I have a large fridge/freezer, an upright freezer and a chest freezer that use about 1 unit a day between them. Our old chest freezer used to use over 2 units a day by itself.

Thanks for the ideas! Not much I can do about the fridges/freezers and the vacuums are battery ones - that I keep charged ready for action! The shower is electric but don't relish leaving my morning shower until the afternoon! At least you didn't mention ironing
I did wonder about the hot water which is heated by the central heating gas boiler. I could turn that off and use the immersion heater instead.
The garden work is an option but I don't do much with electrics outdoors.
There must be something useful I can do!!

Hair dryer/hot tongs use heat, you could use it after your afternoon shower do you have a slow cooker? Although they're designed to be energy efficient, tumble dryer? TBH I would find it quite difficult to time shift usage. Scottish Power are doing time slots for half price leccy, you can choose your slots which is quite useful. Your immersion idea sounds good. I've no idea, but P says your price per kWh is good compared to ours.

I'll ignore your first suggestions as totally irrelevant!! I do have a slow cooker somewhere? No tumble dryer. I do have a couple of dehumidifiers that I use in the downstairs/semi below ground toilet. That could be an option.

Veggie if you can get a single electric hob you could use that for cooking.

JJB we're also with Scottish power our 50% slots are 7-8 am each day, that covered the immersion heater, showers/hair dryer, breakfast plus the washing machine this morning.

Then on Sundays we use the leftover hour when we cook dinner.

Cheers Bren. I have an electric induction hob - and loads of unused cooking appliances in the back of the cupboard. Maybe its time to dig them out!

I'll ignore your first suggestions as totally irrelevant!! I do have a slow cooker somewhere? No tumble dryer. I do have a couple of dehumidifiers that I use in the downstairs/semi below ground toilet. That could be an option.

I honestly didn't think any of them would meet approval, but you gotta try