Reply With QuoteTraveller camp at the end of the street?
Joke
As with most people I like to try and save some cash where possible so when it comes to paying for electric and gas I have always shopped about and where possible saved money but I cant help thinking my electricity usage is just too high for something not to be right!
I have solar pv installed which I make the absolute best use of ie always using dishwasher/washing machine etc. during sunny times (where possible with UK weather of course!) and all bulbs are LED throughout the house, I admit to leaving some things on standby but all TVs are <2 years old LEDs so again should be fairly energy efficient so how is it I am currently showing an average of 9000kwh/£1500 a year usage which according to a bit of quick googling seems to be at least double the 'average' for the UK?
I could understand if I had all traditional bulbs, left stuff on all the time, didn't have solar pv etc. but unless the data online is a load of guff something feels very odd to me, nothing stands out for me as weird in our usage, family of 4 in an average size house with Gas CH and yet even in the summer with next to no draw on the electricty during the day due to the solar I am still averaging 20+ kwh per day?
I am just interested in others experiences, is it one of those things that the data online is swayed to the lower users and in fact a more normal usage is what I have or is it possible that something is seriously screwed with the energy usage in my house?
Traveller camp at the end of the street?
Joke
Family of four/tumble dryer
Immersion heater left on ?
Usual high-draw items are immersion heater, CH pump, electric towelrail, electric underfloor heating and kettle
I did wonder if the streetlights were connected directly to my meter but even they are all LEDs now! Tumble dryer not used for months so cant blame that. 'Kids' are late teens/near adults so not like loads of baby/kiddy clothes washing/drying required either.
My spend is about £25pm on electricity-not sure what that is in kWh but I am on a reasonably competitive tariff.
That is one person, 2 bed flat with reasonably modern appliances. No PV. I don't have all LED bulbs yet so that is the next step to reduce it a bit more...
Immersion not even plugged in to the boiler, no elec heating/towel rails, kettle 'normal' usage, do have electric oven so realise that is a drain but prob one main meal cooked most days nothing more.Originally Posted by W124
I think everyone is entitled to a free energy meter from their utility supplier.
I'd get one and try turning off fuses to see where the load might be coming from?
We're a family of 4 and use averages ~17 kWh/day over the whole year.
We don't have tumble drier - main use is several PCs which are on all evening and longer over w/e.
Mine is £168 per month (elec and gas) but everything is energy efficient that can be and with the solar in reality the smart meters barely seem to show usage/drain during the day.
I have smart meter so can see the usage showing on the gadget but nothing obvious beyond kettle/oven etc. make the graphs go crazy
Today at 4pm I have only used 4.53 kwh so that would appear to be very much normal usage (with a very sunny day to keep it almost on zero during the daylight hours so far) but I havent seen a day on my online usage of less than 15 kwh this month
Last edited by nictry; 18th July 2017 at 16:32.
Exactly what I expected to be normal for 4 - ~6500 per year which is why mine is making me do head scratching
Just remember that the average is going to include a heck of a lot of small 1 bedroom flats with 1 tv, no dishwasher, tumble drier, etc. I live in such a flat with my partner, and our usage is an average of 9kwh per day. Probably less now that we have one of these portable induction hobs to use instead of the expensive to run solid plate hob.
Last edited by hafle; 18th July 2017 at 16:33.
We're not far off that ... I think we benefit being a newish build ... my energy bills have never been so low.
Electricity is about 12 kWh/day.
I agree and could be that issue which is causing my concern.
And mine is a not very warm and cozy 1940's bungalow which would certainly effect gas heating usage in the winter etc. but shouldn't have much of an impact on the summer usage.
Just the two of us in a large old drafty house, but most appliances incl TV are pretty modern.
Regular electric oven use (every other day).
Hob is gas.
Work at home all day, so PC on for 10hrs per day with double screens, plus kettle etc
Occasional tumble dryer usage.
Oil fired boiler for hot water (incl showers), and heating, so no electric used there.
Dishwasher daily use.
Washing machine every other day.
Our usage is around 4000kwh/yr
Three bed bungalow, just me, ~£1.50 a day on electricity. Tumbler on twice a week at most, microwave convection oven sometimes. Usage doesn't vary that much between summer and winter because the only difference is lighting, which is all LED.
1 bed flat, top floor with dormer windows, 2 external walls 80's build so cavity but roof slope just has polystyrene in it and wouldn't pass modern energy regs.
Was freezing when I moved here 3 years ago so now have 270mm loft insulation and triple glazing. Also fitted new technology smart storage heaters (quantum).
All electric economy7 and I use 4700kw a year. At home some of the time and run a laptop and monitor, all bulbs and appliances are modern, electric shower and rarely use bath, a couple,of machine washes a week and rarely tumble dry. Timed towel warmer in bathroom.
My yearly electricity bill is about £480
2000sq feet, Ground source heat pump and not at all stingy on our usage. Pretty sure ours is no more than £1500 a year so I'd say you have a problem.
No heaters left on in outbuildings?
I think there's a potentially huge difference in bills between 'billing platforms'/suppliers.
Currently we're with www.extraenergy.com and the bills have never been lower over the last 13 years.
9000 averages as 24 units per day. I'd say you have a problem you need to track down, especially with LED and PV.
Desktop computers continue to draw significant power (when accumulated over 24 hours) so switch them off at the mains outlets as well when you shut them down.
Energy meters are cheap and straightforward to fit and use, and very helpful in these situations.
The school has two separate supplies. One to the sports/dining hall and catering kitchen and one to the main school building. During term time the catering kitchen averages 50 units per day with two regen ovens, hotplates, 3 commercial microwaves, commercial dishwasher and large double door chiller running at 2.5 or so degrees C (i.e. not a freezer but cooler than a domestic fridge). It also supplies the hot water circulation pumps and gas heating plant in winter. 50 per day, when it's up and running. You're using half of that 7 days a week??
The main school averages 100 units per day (14 full classes of children) across the year. We have PV which on a sunny day supplies 50 units, on a long summer's day can reach 70 per day and in winter 10 to 20 depending whether sunny or not. The 100 units per day average takes into account the contribution of the PV. We have principally T5 lighting with level control and presence/absence detection. Penetration of LED about 5 to 10% at the moment (it's expensive to do quality LED, not crap stuff).
Yes, I'd say you have a problem Houston.
Last edited by catch21; 19th July 2017 at 08:25.
Ok great (not!) so looks like I need to do a step by step switch on and off to find out wtf is eating my electric?
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
That's about the size of it, yes. I'd get a cheap meter to start with. They should be wireless. This should give you an idea of what's happening over the day and over a week. They also tend to encourage the rest of the household to join in and see if they can get the numbers down.
Let us know what you find!
Last edited by catch21; 22nd July 2017 at 07:28.
Old fridge or freezer in the garage...
Friends of ours had a smart meter fitted and it would occasionally go nuts.
Tracked it down to the ancient fridge and freezer in their garage.
Jesus wept, i'd have a fit if my bills were that large.
Mine are just a tad under £60 month, gas & electric; family of four, 3 beds and a son that appears to be umbilically attached to his x-box
Still exploring and def not a single item issue as nothing makes the meter go mad even at night when easier to see what is using power ie no PV adjustment
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Can you check when everything is off, all of it?
Family of 4 in a very old thatched house. Dishwasher and washing machine run every night (during the night on lower tariff) and electric car charging over night. All the usual modern gadgets. We still only use £50 per month of electricity.
Three bed 1930's semi, two of us, gas and electric total £67 a month. We have and use a tumble and a dishwasher so I'd say something is awry with your property.
ktmog6uk
marchingontogether!
Having done some basic review of the energy use graphs (didn't realise could be downloaded in numeric form) there is a regular spike from around 7pm to 11pm of around 0.7kwh per hour
Even though our main TV claims to be just under 500w when running I cant help thinking the combination of this running with Sky etc. will be the main cause so extrapolating this would add around £17 per month alone (1300+ kwh p.a) am now thinking with the two kids having their TV/Sky/PS4 on 'most' evenings that these totals are going to be a big chunk of the additional usage
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Last edited by nictry; 22nd July 2017 at 09:03.
Old Sky boxes are inefficient and don't power right down when on standby, you can still hear the hard drives whirring.
Fish tank, with pump and heater will use a bit?
Have you thought of shopping around and changing supplier
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
I have many times but with the performance of changing the PV i have been reluctant to do so in all honesty, it was such a hassle registering in the first place, I know thats a bit of a get out but with everything else I am a regular swapper but for swapping electric it has recipe for disaster all over it
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Sky Q and no fish tank!
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
What's the base load, i.e. the load at 2am when nothing other than a fridge etc should be working?
I live in a 4 bedroom detached house. We have gas central heating and hot water. I work from home full time. This is an example of my usage from the Ovo website. They are able to break usage down by type based on smart meter activity.
Image not working.
It should be working now.
That's really interesting in that they can breakdown the types of usage. We had a letter from our supplier (Scottish Power) the other day about getting a smart meter fitted. Are they all the same or does each supplier select its own?I live in a 4 bedroom detached house. We have gas central heating and hot water. I work from home full time. This is an example of my usage from the Ovo website. They are able to break usage down by type based on smart meter activity.
Cheers
I've had smart meters from E.ON and Ovo. Each company fitted their own. This is how Ovo say they break down the usage:
Your energy breakdownYour energy breakdown is the fancy feature in My OVO that splits your energy consumption into individual appliance categories.
Using the magical power of data ‘disaggregation’, it shows you where your biggest energy costs are, plus the impact of any changes you make to your energy use.
How does it work?
It’s all thanks to your Smart Meter. When it’s set to share half-hourly data, the information we have on your overall energy use is coming to us regularly enough that we can categorise or ‘disaggregate’ it.
It works in two ways:
True energy breakdown
The appliances in your home all act in unique ways. We can identify their impact on your energy bill by comparing patterns in your energy use to the patterns of energy used by typical appliances.
We can also look at how much energy you’re using in the middle of the night to give us an accurate idea of your ‘standby load’. Eg. the energy you’re using on appliances that are never switched off properly.
True energy breakdown will disaggregate 55-65% of your energy use.
Rule-based energy breakdown
The last 35-45% is split by looking at statistics for things like, the energy consumption of people in your local area, the weather, and the season.
Eventually, you’ll be able to select items you have in your home to make this form of breakdown even more accurate.
The appliance categories
Always on
Energy used by appliances while they’re in standby mode (TVs, computers, monitors, printers and stereos etc).
Entertainment
This includes consumer electronics (TVs, games consoles, stereos) and computer products (laptops, routers, printers, monitors).
Refrigeration
Any fridges and freezers in your home.
Laundry
This is washing machines, dryers and dishwashers.
Lighting
All your lights.
Cooking
Your oven, electric hob, grill, toaster, kettle and any miscellaneous electric kitchen items.
Electric heating
Any form of electric heating you use in your home; radiant, convection, fan, storage, underfloor
Electric vehicle
The energy used to charge an electric car.
Other
Hairdryers, mobile chargers, alarm systems, irons, vacuum cleaners and anything else that doesn’t fit into the other categories.
I must be doing something REALLY wrong...............
5 bed large house with 5 people (3 teenage sons), we are a fairly tech intensive family I guess but our bill is £370 per month which feels quite high.
I'm fairly sure that that is more than I pay in a year
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
You're making me feel better.
5 Bed large house too. 2 kids , stay at home wife and outdoor heated pool (air source heat pump so pretty efficient) and my spend for the last three months combined is £529.85.
I have loads of tech
5 Sky boxes, 5 TVs on standby, 3 Sonos, 7 camera CCTV, Wifi hot spots, 24 port switch, 2 Macs, 2 Fridges,
Every bulb is LED or low energy which helps as I have in excess of 200 bulbs inside and out.
Winter the bills really rocket up as the house doesn't have cavity walls.
Last edited by eagletower; 27th July 2017 at 12:32.
Ok so now I am feeling better (not sure its the right word) but I am beginning to think the 'tech' is the problem as I also have switches, sonos, cctv, NAS etc. so perhaps these are, despite the apparent energy efficient claims of the manufacturers, more of a drain and cost than seems likely?
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Ive just switched to bulb energy and my dual fuel bill is £60 month for a 4 bed 11 years old new build
Posting Permissions