Yet another Huel benefit

Huel is so fantastic, and has so many benefits, but I’ve just discovered another one. My diet is almost 100% Huel, and Huel doesn’t require refrigeration. Given the current situation with energy prices in the UK, and the fact that the vast majority of my electricity consumption is my fridge/freezer, I’m considering trying life without it for a while. I really only use mine for frozen dog food, soya milk and tonic water, so if I can find a good alternative to the current dog food I use, only have soya milk at work, and endure tepid tonic water, I should be ok. Any other nutters/paupers out there that live life sans-fridge?

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I’d like to be able to live without a fridge, after all, people used to manage it. I guess we’ve become a bit spoiled, even if our food hasn’t. Tho’ this winter’s probably going to be so cold that the fridge will be obsolete anyway! :wink:

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I’ve been considering it as well

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This is wild (almost literally, we did used to live without fridges!). I think you could do this. Are there times though when you do need it? Like if people came around and you wanted to cook? Or someone gives you some food that needs to be refrigerated? Just thinking, would you get rid of it, or just keep it turned off until you really needed?

A frightful experience for any gin and tonic, but only perhaps 2/3s of the year. Nice and cold tonic water if you keep it outside for those times in the year!

This is something that I’ve been thinking about. I only keep oat or coconut milk in the fridge but other people use it so we can’t switch it off. I have thought that if I use a milk which doesn’t need to be refrigerated I wouldn’t need a fridge at all if I lived alone.

long, long ago :slight_smile: In ye olde days they used Ice and water - The Persians developed ways of making ice in 400 BCE – even in hot days in the desert.

Artificial evaporative cooling has been around nearly 3 centuries, gas coolant refrigeration - 150 years and electric refrigerators for the home, 109 years.

I often wonder about this - is it like AC where its actually less energy efficient to keep turning it on and off again rather than let it run at lower power maintaining the temp? not much choice to use one here - but I do try to make sure it isn’t over filled to allow the cooled air to circulate and can keep the power setting lower.

If I wasn’t married already, I’d be looking to shack up with a fellow no fridge Hueligan. Maybe there should be a Huel dating app

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:sweat_smile:

A cool larder with marble shelves (even) on the coldest side of the house used to be a good idea - and still is. Old houses stay cooler than new ones, how did that go wrong?

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because we dont use foot thick stone walls - blocks the wifi signals :slight_smile:

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Well, I’m definitely going to try it for at least a fortnight and see the effect on my bills. I noticed that my leccy use doubles in the summer, and it took me a while to realise its the fridge freezer thats guzzling it all. Maybe it’s cos its old and maybe not very efficient, but before I replace it, I’m going to try life without a fridge for a while. You’re right Tim, I wouldn’t chuck it out, just keep it switched off. Would be handy to have the extra storage. Funnily enough my parents already have an unworking fridge that they use as another cupboard. If I wanted to cook for guests, I’d just buy them on the day, or better yet get them to bring the ingredients round themselves!!

I live without a fridge for many years now. So far no issues, and it’s certainly a contributing factor when I calculate the total cost of Huel vs regular food.

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Many years ago someone told me that the old fluorescent tubes used more power in the ignition switch than they did to run, so that it was cheaper to keep them on all day rather than turn them off and on 2 or 3 times a day with a couple of hours use throughout the day. I never researched it tho

I know that at work, on Earth day – we used to switch everything off except the server stacks for an hour over lunch. We stopped doing that after monitoring the power one year and discovering that this used a LOT more power than just leaving everything on and idling for the hour.

Newer, more efficient domestic appliances definitely help – especially if you choose the ones best suited to your needs and how it will be used. Midway through the pandemic lock down I switched my main AC unit (which was pretty much on its last legs anyway) in my condo to a newer unit. It was 3 times more powerful than the old one and had a lot of energy saving features - my energy bill dropped by an average of 20% a month.

I don’t spend money on processed foods, have no interest in going clubbing and spending money clubbing, I live fairly minimally but for me using a fridge is in my list of essential items I appreciate using electricity for and is well worth paying for it.

I would not use a massive energy guzzling fridge though.

There are many other things to do besides clubbing.

Definitely, and the best things in life are free anyway. Apparently. I don’t go clubbing, never been in a nightclub in my life, sawdust strewn pubs are more my scene, or long country walks with my doggos.

I like seal clubbing. It’s free and Huel keeps me well nourished to beat the little buggers before I go harpoon a few whales.

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I’m not sure anyone is ready for how niche this reference is, but ‘seal clubbing’ reminds me of an online game called Yeti Olympics where one of the game you clubbed a penguin as far as you could

image

So shout out to anyone who remembers this I guess?

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That is pretty niche. But then again I’ve never been a gamer. I’m quite glad really as I’m the sort of person that would probably play far too much.

I used to play that game a lot at one time @Tim_Huel It was really the Yeti that clubbed the unfortunate penguin though, not me :innocent:

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