Cookie policy
Follow this topicFollow this topic Knowledge » Money saving tips

Free energy rules!

Ally Hunt
by Lovemoney Staff Ally Hunt on 01 July 2009  |  Comments 5 comments

We're all enjoying the hot weather - and for some of us it's saving us some money, too!

I can't believe how hot it is at the moment.

Now I love the sun as much as the next person, but even I have to confess that it's probably a bit too hot at the moment. Indeed, this heatwave has caused the Met office to issue its first Heat Health watch warning recommending that under-4s and the elderly should stay indoors.

I'm melting anyway.

But anyhow, I popped over to see a friend earlier and as we chatted in the kitchen I was surprised to hear a familiar noise.

"Are you running your tumble dryer?" I asked, slightly incredulously. And the answer was yes; her little one had been sick all over his bedding in the night and she wanted to get it clean and dry before bedtime.

"But it's 30 degrees outside!" I squeaked. Washing is drying in minutes, it's so hot. In fact I'd be up for a wager that washing hung on a line would dry faster than via a tumble dryer at the moment (and would smell better too).

Ah yes, but hanging it outside is a hassle, she explained. Plus I don't have a decent line.

I was baffled. It was only a few months ago that this same friend was complaining about her energy bills being scandalously high. Why on earth would you waste more money running a tumble dryer, when you don't need to?

Anyway, I was interested to find out how much she could save by giving her dryer a break, so I gave energy provider E-On a call to find out.

They reckon you're roughly looking at 56 pence per hour (assuming you're using a 2500W machine at their standard rate). Switch it on for three hours a week and you'll have spent £1.68.

Do that for a year and that's over £87 you'll never see again. And my friend uses her tumble dryer for longer than three hours each week.

Well, this convinced her. And she's off to spend £20 on a washing line that will have paid for itself by the end of the summer.

Hmm, now who else's life can I interfere with?

Enjoyed this? Show it some love

Twitter
General

Comments (5)

  • suemalling
    Love rating 5
    suemalling said

    Yes, I use a tumble dryer - washing can get soaked during a short, sharp, shower, especially if you've left it out while you run errands, so you're back to square one (and need to spin it out again in the washing machine unless you have the luxury of leaving it out until it finally dries). Also - and this is really relevant during hot weather - IT GREATLY REDUCES IRONING. Would you rather be slaving over a steam iron with the majority of the laundry in this steamy weather or only ironing the few things that really need it after tumble drying?

    Report on 05 July 2009  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • Derekjc
    Love rating 0
    Derekjc said

    I don't use a tumble dryer, or a washing line, I use a clothes horse. OK, hanging up your clothes indoors can increase humidity but, in winter especially, central heating can dry out the air so it can be a good thing. Hanging up your clothes indoors means that showers won't get your clothes wet again and will remove creases just as much as tumble drying or washing lines (actually, in my experience clothes dried by washing lines, clothes horses or tumble dryers all produce equally creased clothes).

    May be there should be a blog entry on tips for reducing ironing, like putting damp clothes on hangers for the creases to fall-out under gravity, or making sure clothing and towels either lie flat when drying or are pulled tight on the washing line, and are folded where you want the iron creases to be when drying.

    Report on 05 July 2009  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • MrPound
    Love rating 11
    MrPound said

    Last year I bought a Rotamate from a shop on e-bay. It's basically a triangulare washing line system but has a removable cover which you can put in the middle. This protects washing from showers (but also from the most powerful sun) but not from persistant rain. I think it's great.

    BTW - Despite all the half-arsed excuses over labour saving, there is no way on this earth that I would use my tumble dryer in the summer. In fact we have a washer dryer and I think we've only used the drying function less than 10 times in the 2 years we've had it. they must all have been during winter.

    Report on 06 July 2009  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • justinn
    Love rating 0
    justinn said

    Drying your washing outside is a no brainer. Last week our washing was drying in under 2 hours in the hot sun, quicker than our washer dryer can do it! Ok it takes a few minutes to hang your washing out, but it will smell fresher when it's dry, and it'll save you a fortune over running a drier.

    I recently got an energy meter on a free 1 week loan from our local library and it doesn't half open your eyes to how much money you're wasting. My finace and I like to see how low we can keep the reading on the meter now :) Can get it as low as 0.5p/hour sometimes.

    Report on 07 July 2009  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • mozart
    Love rating 0
    mozart said

    Hi!

    Can anyone give me some hints on drying clothes inside for lodgers over the winter months?

    We have two lodgers and over the winter months got a tumble dryer as the lodgers were drying their washing in their rooms, causing dripping condensation...not good!

    We have stopped the use of the tumble dryer for the summer and they can use the outside line.

    We would rather not go back to the tumble dryer when the winter months come as it is really expensive. We could put indoor lines up in the garage but it would still be freezing in there in the winter,no good in the bath room as four people will be using it regularly. I thought about putting a rotary line in the conservatory!

    What do other live in landlords do for their lodgers without breaking the bank on electricity bills??!!!

    flummoxed of Berkshire!!!

    Report on 24 April 2011  |  Love thisLove  0 loves

Post a comment

Sign in or register to post a reply.

Related content

Our top deals

Credit card
company 		Balance transfers rate and period Representative
APR 		Apply
now

Barclaycard 27Mth Platinum Visa

0% for 27 months (3.5% fee) Representative 18.9% APR (variable) Apply
Representative example: assumed borrowing of £1,200, representative 18.9% APR (variable). Purchase rate 18.9% PA (variable). BT fee is reduced from 3.9% to 3.5% (T&Cs apply).

Barclaycard 25Mth Platinum Visa

0% for 25 months (2.4% fee) Representative 18.9% APR (variable) Apply
Representative example: assumed borrowing of £1,200, representative 18.9% APR (variable). Purchase rate 18.9% PA (variable). BT fee is reduced from 3.5% to 2.4% (T&Cs apply)

Halifax BT 25 Month MasterCard

0% for 25 months (2.5% fee) Representative 18.9% APR (variable) Apply
Representative example: assumed borrowing of £1,200, representative 18.9% APR (variable). Purchase rate 19.0% PA (variable).
W3C  Thank you for using CGWEBLIV2