A frugal mum has told how she has saved more than €400 on her electricity bill over three months just by going back to basics.
Jenny Bean, a nurse and mum of three, is renovating a 250-year-old stone cottage with her husband John.
The family are living in the home while they work on it, which has posed a number of conundrums as electricity is the only mains supply, and it's currently capped at 25 cent k/WH.
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The cottage, based in the Isle of Man, is also on a cart track "in the middle of nowhere" and there is no gas supply and no oil, as the tanker can't get up the track.
To get around this, Jenny had two ESSE wood-burning stoves installed, and she says this has saved her a fortune.
They bought £600 (€682) worth of logs in August 2021, which they are still using over a year later, RSVP Live reports.
She explained: "With the cost of fuel for the chainsaw and log splitter it works out at £30 (€34.15) a month for both woodburners.
"This provides our heating, hot water for washing clothes etc and us, cooking and ironing.
"The woodburner in the kitchen has an oven in the bottom, cook on the top and grill over the flames."
Another way she has saved electricity is by using a mangle and tub instead of a washing machine.
She said: "My washing machine broke two months ago (we will be getting another one).
"I only used the washer for rinsing and spinning, the washing part being done in a dolly tub with a posser using water heated on the stove (which is lit anyway to cook/heat etc. even during the heatwave LOL).
"Washing is put in the dolly tub in the evening and left to soak overnight, then rinsed and spun the next day. As I currently can't use the washer I borrowed a mangle - very hard work but does the job!"
Jenny has also saved money on heating her bathroom by buying a modern 'tin bath'.
"I refuse to heat the bathroom (it's OK at the moment, but planning ahead for winter). We only have an electric radiator to heat it with, that costs a fortune. I have invested in a modern 'tin bath' for use in front of the fire...not too close mind, don't want to melt it!
"Test run on two occasions, works well! Use it with the hand held camping shower, so not actually filling it with water.
"Working out how much the heater would cost to run, the 'tin bath' will have paid for itself in 10 weeks," she said.
Before they got the woodburner, Jenny says she had to use electricity for everything and her bill for April-June 2021 was £450 (€512).
"I bought a plug-in electricity monitor from Amazon (£18.99/€21.62)," she continued.
"I now know how much it costs to use each electric appliance, and which appliances draw electricity even when they appear to be 'off' (no standby light, vampire appliances) such as dishwasher/toothbrush charger/phone charger, and switched them off at the plug when not in use.
"The electricity bill for April/May/June 2022 was £115 (€130.91), a saving of £355 (€404.10) compared to the same period 2021.
"We just had the bill for July/August/September. It's £108 (€122.94)! Our combined energy bill for this three month period (wood & electric) was £280. If we can keep it up it is possible we could achieve a yearly energy bill of about £900 (€1024.48)!"
She stressed that she's not suggesting anyone copy her lifestyle or the steps they have taken.
"This is 'OUR' story, but it demonstrates what can be done when you have no choice!
"I am 60 years old, I work two days a week as a nurse in our IOM hospital. I have arthritis in my hands and back, we run a three-acre smallholding which includes caring for animals and free-range chickens. So always plenty to do. There is much to be gained by simply 'switching off at the plug' when things are not in use.
"I'm thinking of everyone who is struggling with the cost of energy, it's a terrible situation."
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