Paid to NOT play bass

[casapete]

20 hours ago, taunton-hobbit said:

I hope they've done the sums -

 

 

27 years ago, Hoover offered two free international flights with any £100 purchase. Today, it’s remembered as the worst sales promotion in history.

 

😎

 

I actually copped for 2 tickets to the USA using the Hoover promotion. Bought a Hoover vacuum cleaner

on New Years Eve in 1992, and after a lot of hassle finally got the tickets to Florida in September 93.

Me and a mate went on a 2 week road trip, had an amazing time. Vacuum cleaner wasn’t bad too. 😆

[tvickey]

There was another Octopus "saving session" last night for 1.5 hours... just waiting for the tally to see how our household did.  

[Leonard Smalls]

8 minutes ago, tvickey said:

Octopus "saving session" last night for 1.5 hours

Luckily our battery was charged enough that we could cook dinner during the session and still use no power. Whether there's a saving over previous use, and what they compare with, is another matter!

[King Tut]

I’ve got solar with a battery. I did a forced export during last night’s savings session. First time I’ve done a forced export. From what I’ve seen from others, I’m struggling to see how it’ll benefit me monetarily but we’ll see soon and I’ll report back. I suppose it’s for the ‘greater good’!!

[tvickey]

5 minutes ago, King Tut said:

I’ve got solar with a battery. I did a forced export during last night’s savings session. First time I’ve done a forced export. From what I’ve seen from others, I’m struggling to see how it’ll benefit me monetarily but we’ll see soon and I’ll report back. I suppose it’s for the ‘greater good’!!

 

Oh that's interesting.  We have solar panels but no battery.  What kind of battery system do you have, if you don't mind my asking?

[BigRedX]

On 28/11/2023 at 06:36, tvickey said:

We have Octopus as an energy supplier and have been joining their winter "saving sessions" where we're paid to NOT use electricity (e.g., between the hours of 17:30 and 18:30 on a given day, announced in advance).

 

On serious note what does this actually entail? Not using any electricity at all? Other than turning everything off at the consumer unit how would you know you have successfully done this?

[neepheid]

28 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

 

On serious note what does this actually entail? Not using any electricity at all? Other than turning everything off at the consumer unit how would you know you have successfully done this?

 

The language used is unclear - what is rewarded is a measured reduction of usage, not the absence of usage in its entirety.

 

Reduced usage vis-a-vis what you would normally use in the same time period on average.  I've heard of some people going hard core, flipping their main switch off and bogging off to walk the dog, but we just go around turning everything we normally leave on, off (such as the various things we have on charging, like laptops, external speaker, etc.) make sure nothing's left on standby, switch off the cooker at the wall (oh no, no clock, how will we cope?) and delay switching the heating on - gas heating, but the pump uses electricity...  Obvs all unnecessary lights.  We leave the fridge freezer on and the internet - then just use devices on battery for the hour or whatever.  Avoid making tea/coffee/toast etc - just make sure you get a cuppa on before the session starts!

 

You know you've successfully done this because you've made a conscious decision to switch things off that you normally don't think about, or refrain from using them.  You're using the torch on your phone to go to the bathroom like it's a power cut ffs

 

Edited November 30, 2023 by neepheid

[BigRedX]

I suppose you need to have smart meter take tac advantage of this offer?

 

Is your payment in proportion to your reduction in electricity usage, or is it a fixed payment for just using less than normal?

 

Also will the fact that you have reduced your electricity usage during this period affect the threshold for the next time you get this offer?

[taunton-hobbit]

16 minutes ago, neepheid said:

We leave the fridge freezer on

 

Your freezer should be fine 'off' for a couple of hours, just don't open it.

 

😎

[neepheid]

Just now, BigRedX said:

I suppose you need to have smart meter take tac advantage of this offer?

 

Is your payment in proportion to your reduction in electricity usage, or is it a fixed payment for just using less than normal?

 

Also will the fact that you have reduced your electricity usage during this period affect the threshold for the next time you get this offer?

 

Yes, "smart" meters only.

 

Yes, it's proportionalt - it's an obfuscated points scheme - you get octopoints based upon the number of kWh you save.  Which converts into money at a rate of 8 points (octopus, get it?) to the penny.  For reference, last session we saved 0.68 kWh for which we were awarded 1224 octopoints which means £1.53.   You also get little kickbacks of points for going on a run of participation in these saving sessions.  In Jan/Feb I cashed in £28.96 off my energy balance from all the savings sessions from last winter.  It's not going to make you rich, but it's free money for sitting in the dark for a few disparate hours.

 

Unclear - it might?

[neepheid]

1 minute ago, taunton-hobbit said:

 

Your freezer should be fine 'off' for a couple of hours, just don't open it.

 

😎

 

Yes, indeed, I would do this if the switch wasn't so gosh darn inaccessible.  I'm just not that flexible, and I'm not that desperate for a few extra pennies that I want to move the fridge freezer for this (it's a tall, all in one unit).

 

Am tempted to try the whole "power cut" approach some time - I don't have a dog, but I could just get off my lazy butt and go for a walk anyway?

[BigRedX]

4 minutes ago, neepheid said:

Unclear - it might?

 

And there's the problem. £1.00-£1.50 isn't really a lot, but if it was offered on a regular basis day it would soon add up.

 

However if reducing your energy usage regularly also meant that your payments reduced over time, I can see there coming a point where the additional income become so negligible it is hardly worth the inconvenience.

 

Of course if you simply wanted to save money on your energy bills you could turn off the gas and electricity at the main switches every time the house was empty.

[neepheid]

1 minute ago, BigRedX said:

 

And there's the problem. £1.00-£1.50 isn't really a lot, but if it was offered on a regular basis day it would soon add up.

 

However if reducing your energy usage regularly also meant that your payments reduced over time, I can see there coming a point where the additional income become so negligible it is hardly worth the inconvenience.

 

Of course if you simply wanted to save money on your energy bills you could turn off the gas and electricity at the main switches every time the house was empty.

 

Well, usage is usage, so you still save by not using the electricity you didn't use anyway, the points thing is on top of that.  Anyway, it'll be interesting to see what the points haul will be come Jan/Feb next year.

[Babyboomer]

I would think that a bass rig is more akin to a particle accelerator !

 

[tvickey]

2 hours ago, Babyboomer said:

I would think that a bass rig is more akin to a particle accelerator !

 

The recent energy crisis hit CERN / Large Hadron Collider as well.  They stopped the annual run early to save money.

[tvickey]

2 hours ago, BigRedX said:

 

And there's the problem. £1.00-£1.50 isn't really a lot, but if it was offered on a regular basis day it would soon add up.

 

However if reducing your energy usage regularly also meant that your payments reduced over time, I can see there coming a point where the additional income become so negligible it is hardly worth the inconvenience.

 

Of course if you simply wanted to save money on your energy bills you could turn off the gas and electricity at the main switches every time the house was empty.

 

Octopus uses a 15 day running average for your power consumption during the relevant hours, and so far there have been about two weeks between "saving sessions".  The previous savings session could impact the calculation, but maybe just at the ~5-7% level.

[Graham56]

2 hours ago, neepheid said:

Am tempted to try the whole "power cut" approach some time - I don't have a dog, but I could just get off my lazy butt and go for a walk anyway?

 

But then you'd pop in to the pub on the way and spend lots more than any saving... 😁

[nekomatic]

3 hours ago, neepheid said:

Yes, indeed, I would do this if the switch wasn't so gosh darn inaccessible.  I'm just not that flexible, and I'm not that desperate for a few extra pennies that I want to move the fridge freezer for this (it's a tall, all in one unit).

When I remember to, I turn the ‘fast freeze’ on a few hours before the saving session, then off again when it starts. That way the freezer uses no power while it warms back up to normal temperature over the following hour or so. 
 

Also that way there’s no risk that I turn it off, forget to turn it on again and ruin the contents. 

[nilorius]

I would not play and take the money if i had to play on my fretted Fender jazz bass, but absolutely play and not take the money if i use my Ibanez GWB1005 fretless 5 strg.

[tvickey]

4 minutes ago, nilorius said:

I would not play and take the money if i had to play on my fretted Fender jazz bass, but absolutely play and not take the money if i use my Ibanez GWB1005 fretless 5 strg.

 

I just move my home bass rehearsal by an hour or two.  

[King Tut]

14 hours ago, tvickey said:

 

Oh that's interesting.  We have solar panels but no battery.  What kind of battery system do you have, if you don't mind my asking?

It’s a GivEnergy 5.1 KWH battery (I think). Our consumption is quite low so it wasn’t seen to be worth (in payback terms) going for anything bigger. Apart from a glitch at the start to do with an inverter firmware update, it’s all been working well.

[Rosie C]

On 30/11/2023 at 07:57, King Tut said:

I’ve got solar with a battery. I did a forced export during last night’s savings session. First time I’ve done a forced export. From what I’ve seen from others, I’m struggling to see how it’ll benefit me monetarily but we’ll see soon and I’ll report back. I suppose it’s for the ‘greater good’!!

 

That's interesting! We were invited to join the session but as we have a battery we tend to use 0kWh during 4pm-7pm. I'll try a forced export next time and see what happens...

 

I was actually paid to not play bass once - because the lead singer was Irish, someone booked the band thinking we were an Irish band... and paid us off after the first set  

 

Edited December 1, 2023 by Rosie C

[AndyTravis]

I could get on board with that - never made much playing the bloody things, so I could live with being payed not to play them 😫

[TimR]

On 30/11/2023 at 13:29, nekomatic said:

When I remember to, I turn the ‘fast freeze’ on a few hours before the saving session, then off again when it starts. That way the freezer uses no power while it warms back up to normal temperature over the following hour or so. 
 

Also that way there’s no risk that I turn it off, forget to turn it on again and ruin the contents. 

 

I'd be surprised if the fridge freezer actually runs at all if you keep the doors closed.