Electrics, electric heating and lighting

It's a good idea to have a torch handy in case your electric goes off.  Check the following:

• If you have a pay as you go meter, check your meter to make sure you're in credit. 
• That the street lights and your neighbours have power?  If they are working, the fault is likely to be with your home.
•  Your fuse board.

You need to know where your fuse box and mains switch are so you're prepared if your electric supply goes off for any reason.

Your fuse box will either have fuses or trip-switches. Modern fuse boxes are fitted with a circuit-breaker fuse system.

• If there's a fault, a switch is tripped and the circuit is blown. Older fuse boxes have fuse holders and when a fuse blows it must either be replaced, if it's a cartridge, or rewired using special fuse wire of the correct amperage.
• If you have a tripswitch, check if any switches on the fuse box have turned to the ‘off’ position, and reset them to 'on'.
• If a fuse continues to trip or blow, this may be due to a faulty electrical appliance. Unplug all of your appliances from their sockets and then plug in each appliance one at a time and switch it on. This way, if the fuse blows again, you’ll know you've found the faulty appliance. It's best to get this appliance checked by a qualified electrician, or recycle it if it's beyond repair. 
• If you can’t find a tripped switch (or similar) in the fuse box, check with your neighbours to see if there’s been a power cut.

Watch a video on resetting trip switches on your fuse box.

Keep fuse wire or replaceable cartridges handy in case a fuse blows. Before replacing a fuse, turn off the electric supply at the isolation switch (this is the main switch on the fuse box). Then replace the fuse with the fuse wire or cartridge.

Watch a video on reading your electricity meter .

Watch the video to find out how to test your smoke alarm

• Submit meter readings: If you don’t have a smart meter, ensure you submit your meter readings so you’re being charged for what you’re using, not an estimate.
• Time your heating and hot water: If you can, use your timer and set the hot water and heating to come on when you need them, rather than being on all the time.
• Retain the heat: Move big items of furniture so they’re not blocking the radiators; use draught excluders in front of doors; and open your curtains during the day to let in the sunlight (and free heat!) and close them when the sun goes down. 
• Standby appliances: Unplug or turn off electronics at the wall when they’re not in use, because even in standby mode, they can consume energy. 
• Lighting: Switch to energy-efficient light bulbs and turn off lights when you leave a room.
• Shorter showers: Reduce water consumption and energy usage by taking shorter showers. 
• Don't overfill the kettle: Only boil the amount of water you need to save energy. 
• Washing and dishwashing: Try to use your washing machine/dishwasher only when you have enough to fill it, and use your washing machine on a cooler wash cycle.
• Make use of microwaves and air fryers: Around 3% of the home’s energy use comes from cooking - but using an air fryer or microwave can cost less than using a conventional oven to cook the same meal.
• Turn down your thermostat: Turn down your thermostat on your heating. Just a slight reduction in the thermostat can make a difference to your bill!
• Use a lid: When cooking, keep the lids on your saucepans.

Please note: we do not encourage you to turn off any extractor fans you have in your home to save on electricity. These fans do not use up much electricity and by turning them off, you may cause excess condensation, which can lead to damp and mould.

Using your electric storage heaters effectively

Today we're going to talk about electric storage heating. You'll know if you have electric storage heating because you have no gas supply and you have a separate off-peak consumer unit like this one next to your main one.

Electrical storage heating works by using the electricity at night when it's cheaper to heat up bricks in your storage heaters for you to use the next day to heat your home because you'll be on a dual rate, it's important to use your system correctly to avoid paying over the odds.

So the first thing to do is to make sure that you are on a time of use or economy seven tariff.

You can do that by checking your recent bill or ringing your supplier. Next, let's set up your storage heaters. 

There are two main types of storage heaters here.

So let's take a look at some of the oldest style of heaters that require a little bit more user involvement to get the most out of them.

Okay. So now we're going to set up this storage heater. There are two settings on the top: input and output on this one room temperature. The input controls how much heat is stored in the heater overnight, the output uses that heat the next day to keep your home warm.

So before going to bed. I'm going to set the room temperature to the lowest setting and the input based on weather conditions and my movements the next day.

So for example, it's a pretty chilly day today. I'm going to be in all day tomorrow, so I'm going to set the input to the highest setting. Let's put it at 8, that means there's a lot of heat is going to be stored in the heater overnight.

So the next day I can adjust the room temperature to the correct setting to help me keep the home warm. If I'm finding that I'm having to use the boost function to keep the room warm, and I know that the next day I'll need to up the input to store more heat overnight. So remember it's best to use the input to store heat at night when it's cheaper.

Eventually all suitable properties at Sovereign will be fitted with the Dimplex Quantum range of storage heaters. There will be two switches on the wall next to each storage heater. It's really important that both are left in the on position at all times. Otherwise, the heater won't work. These have a digital display, and you can set the temperature to maintain thermal comfort. You should have instructions for these if you have any issues or you're struggling to heat your home, please call us.

So that was a little bit more information about electric storage heating. Hopefully that will help you keep warm, save some money and live more sustainably through winter.

Using your off-peak immersion tank

So today we're going to talk about off-peak or eco7 immersion tanks. They heat hot water for washing up and bathing.

You'll know if you've got one of these tanks if you have no gas supply and in a cupboard like this, you’ll have a large, insulated tank with two discs on the front. Because you're on a dual rate, it's really important that you use it correctly to avoid costly mistakes.

So the first thing to do is to check that you are on a time of use or economy 7 tariff. You can do this by looking at a recent bill or speaking to your supplier.

So let's have a closer look at this immersion tank. You can see you have two elements here:

the top and the bottom that are connected to two switches on the wall. The lower element is activated at night during the cheaper off-peak period this heats the water, which is kept warm by the large, insulated tank for use the next day.

The switch on the wall, the off-peak switch should be left in the on position at all times. The upper element is used to boost the supply during high demand days. So if you run out of hot water you can use this element and switch it on at the wall. This should be left in the off position at all times unless needed. Once you've worked out which is which I recommend labelling on the wall, so they can be reset easily.

This is to avoid costly mistakes, for example, if you left the boost switch on overnight.

Your immersion tank could also be controlled by one of these an economy 7 timer switch. It works in a similar way, but there's a few important things to mention.

The time must be set correctly including the summer and winter toggle. The boost is activated by this dial here. And once you turn it on, it turns itself off after an hour, which avoids costly accidents. Once you've set the timer, leave the switch in the timed position and then leave it.

If you notice any damage to the tank, the insulation or the stand or you're struggling to heat your home, please don't hesitate to call us.

So that's a little bit more information about off-peak storage tanks. We hope that helps you keep warm and stay safe this winter.

Guide to types of light bulb

This is a bayonet cap or BC type light bulb. It's LED and you'll find it in most of your sealing pendants, ceiling roses around the house: bedrooms, halls, landings that sort of thing.

This is a similar bulb; it has a different type of fitting. This is an Edison screw or ES type light bulb. It's still LED and they are mostly found in outdoor lights. So at the front porch or maybe at the back of the property.

You might find one of these in your ceiling rose, it's an old-fashioned energy saving lamp. If you take it to your supermarket, you should be able to find one that matches but it's a four pin compact fluorescent and it clicks up into the ceiling rose.

You'll find this type of lamp in any reset spotlights you have in your house perhaps in the kitchen or the bathroom. It's called a GU10 fitting, it's LED and you can find it at most supermarkets. You'll need to be careful when removing this lamp because it needs to be twisted and pulled not just pulled.

This type of lamp, you'll find in sealed units in your kitchen or bathroom. It’s a 28 watt, 2D fitting and you can pick it up from most supermarkets.

So remember when you're changing light bulbs, you can recycle all of these at most larger supermarkets.