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Saving electricity with an OWL
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I don't hang out much on the Gas and Elec forum, so forgive me if this is "old news", did a search to check though.
An "OWL" is not some "magic" clip on electricity saving device. It is an easy to fit monitoring device which shows you how much electricity you are currently using in pence per hour. You do have to tell it how much you are paying per kw/H and set it to UK pounds currency (US Dollars and Euros also available) to get the right figure.
Fit batteries in the sender unit which then has a clip on probe which you clip onto the live cable coming out of the electricity meter. Note you do not remove any of the plastic insulating material from the cable, it works by induction through the insulation of the cable.
The remote unit also uses batteries and you put it somewhere where you will see it in the house and there you have 6.6p per hour staring you in the face. Put the toaster on and it's 14.7p per hour (12p per kw/H rates).
The idea is you go round your house before bed time switching off everything you don't need. An unused mobile phone charger which is warm to the touch costs me 0.3p per hour; TV set, freeview box and DVD player on stand by together use another 0.3p per hour. When everything is off that can be remember pence per hour and aim to get back to that before going to bed each night in future. Be aware that if the freezer compressor comes on it will be higher for a while.
If you can knock 1p per hour off your over night (8 hour) electricity use with this it pays for itself (34.95) in around a year at 12p per kw/H and saves you money after that.
If it changes your habits, like how long you leave the coffee machine on warming coffee at 3p per hour or leaving computer LCD monitors on at 0.6p per hour the savings can mount up.
Tumble dryer?
31.4p per hour :eek:
or 47.1p for a full load taking 1.5 hours.
You can find the OWL wireless electricity monitor on the John Lewis web site, just do a product search on OWL.
An "OWL" is not some "magic" clip on electricity saving device. It is an easy to fit monitoring device which shows you how much electricity you are currently using in pence per hour. You do have to tell it how much you are paying per kw/H and set it to UK pounds currency (US Dollars and Euros also available) to get the right figure.
Fit batteries in the sender unit which then has a clip on probe which you clip onto the live cable coming out of the electricity meter. Note you do not remove any of the plastic insulating material from the cable, it works by induction through the insulation of the cable.
The remote unit also uses batteries and you put it somewhere where you will see it in the house and there you have 6.6p per hour staring you in the face. Put the toaster on and it's 14.7p per hour (12p per kw/H rates).
The idea is you go round your house before bed time switching off everything you don't need. An unused mobile phone charger which is warm to the touch costs me 0.3p per hour; TV set, freeview box and DVD player on stand by together use another 0.3p per hour. When everything is off that can be remember pence per hour and aim to get back to that before going to bed each night in future. Be aware that if the freezer compressor comes on it will be higher for a while.
If you can knock 1p per hour off your over night (8 hour) electricity use with this it pays for itself (34.95) in around a year at 12p per kw/H and saves you money after that.
If it changes your habits, like how long you leave the coffee machine on warming coffee at 3p per hour or leaving computer LCD monitors on at 0.6p per hour the savings can mount up.
Tumble dryer?
31.4p per hour :eek:
or 47.1p for a full load taking 1.5 hours.
You can find the OWL wireless electricity monitor on the John Lewis web site, just do a product search on OWL.
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I don't hang out much on the Gas and Elec forum, so forgive me if this is "old news", did a search to check though.
An "OWL" is not some "magic" clip on electricity saving device. It is an easy to fit monitoring device which shows you how much electricity you are currently using in pence per hour. You do have to tell it how much you are paying per kw/H and set it to UK pounds currency (US Dollars and Euros also available) to get the right figure.
Fit batteries in the sender unit which then has a clip on probe which you clip onto the live cable coming out of the electricity meter. Note you do not remove any of the plastic insulating material from the cable, it works by induction through the insulation of the cable.
The remote unit also uses batteries and you put it somewhere where you will see it in the house and there you have 6.6p per hour staring you in the face. Put the toaster on and it's 14.7p per hour (12p per kw/H rates).
The idea is you go round your house before bed time switching off everything you don't need. An unused mobile phone charger which is warm to the touch costs me 0.3p per hour; TV set, freeview box and DVD player on stand by together use another 0.3p per hour. When everything is off that can be remember pence per hour and aim to get back to that before going to bed each night in future. Be aware that if the freezer compressor comes on it will be higher for a while.
If you can knock 1p per hour off your over night (8 hour) electricity use with this it pays for itself (34.95) in around a year at 12p per kw/H and saves you money after that.
If it changes your habits, like how long you leave the coffee machine on warming coffee at 3p per hour or leaving computer LCD monitors on at 0.6p per hour the savings can mount up.
Tumble dryer?
31.4p per hour :eek:
or 47.1p for a full load taking 1.5 hours.
You can find the OWL wireless electricity monitor on the John Lewis web site, just do a product search on OWL.
Can you provide full details of this phone charger? because I dispute your figures!
Regulars on this board are well informed about this gadget.:doh: Blue text on this forum usually signifies hyperlinks, so click on them!..:wall:0 -
Can you provide full details of this phone charger? because I dispute your figures!
Regulars on this board are well informed about this gadget.
Thought this gadget might be well known, but did not come up in a search.
In my area npower are quoting 12.06p per kw/H or 12.66p inc. 5% VAT. Have not had a bill to check yet but the package was the best as quoted by uswitch (I know all about the gas price sculpting business thanks to MSE
) and 12.66p per kw/H is the best price npower are showing.
With the OWL set on 12p per kw/H I see a change of 0.3p per hour when switching the mobile phone charger on and off, no phone connected. That's for my wifes work mobile phone (don't know what it is, it is old).
Just checked my Nokia 6230i phone charger and that one is showing 0.5p per hour difference on the OWL.
240v x 180ma = 43watts / 1000 (kw) = 0.043kw x 12p = 0.516p per hour.
So it checks out.0 -
....................Thought this gadget might be well known, but did not come up in a search.
OWL search results here and that is just on this board.
Just checked my Nokia 6230i phone charger and that one is showing 0.5p per hour difference on the OWL.
240v x 180ma = 43watts / 1000 (kw) = 0.043kw x 12p = 0.516p per hour.
So it checks out.
So exactly what does it say on your charger then?
e.g. Nokia Type ACP 7x
230V 21mA 4.8VA
3.7V 355mA
Should be a Nokia ACP 12x for a Nokia 6230i:doh: Blue text on this forum usually signifies hyperlinks, so click on them!..:wall:0 -
AdrianHi, be VERY afraid :eek: . I mentioned how useful I thought the OWL was on here recently and got a couple of posters in particular take an almost irrational dislike to the thing (one of these has already identified himself in post 2, lol, and only 15 mins after your opening post, lol, expect the other one to be along shortly). IME it's one of those 'gadgets' that seems very useful to those who have actually used it, but some non-users seem to think it's a load of old nonsense, which to me speaks volumes.
It's helping me and my family save money on our leccy bill (usage down 25% on last year's figures already!). What some people can't seem to grasp is the fact that because this doesn't in itself save you leccy (it merely gives you a visual readout of how much you are consuming at any one time) it is in some way useless. They will extoll the virtues of those plug-in usage monitors (don't get me wrong, they are great, I have one also!), the only problem being these are entirely useless at telling you how much 3 of the 4 main leccy-gobbling items in any house actually cost! (immersion heater, leccy oven and shower). Just thought I'd fore-warn you.
Call me Carmine....
HAVE YOU SEEN QUENTIN'S CASHBACK CARD??0 -
Using a per-device plug-in watt-meter, I failed to get a reading on my phone charger (new nokia) when left plugged in, so have allocated a nominal 1W (or < 50p/quarter). It consumes 5W when the phone is being actively charged.0
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Correct it is a ACP-12X.....................
I did the sums on 240v, the OWL is working on 230v as per instructions.
The charger is saying Input: 100-240v 50-60hz 180ma. The OWL and my sums based on this agree.
Have not measured it on charged to see if different, but I'm interested in the waste here.0 -
Correct it is a ACP-12X.
I did the sums on 240v, the OWL is working on 230v as per instructions.
The charger is saying Input: 100-240v 50-60hz 180ma. The OWL and my sums based on this agree.
Have not measured it on charged to see if different, but I'm interested in the waste here.
What is the VA rating in this charger?:doh: Blue text on this forum usually signifies hyperlinks, so click on them!..:wall:0 -
1carminestocky wrote: »AdrianHi, be VERY afraid :eek: . I mentioned how useful I thought the OWL was on here recently and got a couple of posters in particular take an almost irrational dislike to the thing (one of these has already identified himself in post 2, lol, and only 15 mins after your opening post, lol, expect the other one to be along shortly). IME it's one of those 'gadgets' that seems very useful to those who have actually used it, but some non-users seem to think it's a load of old nonsense, which to me speaks volumes.
It's helping me and my family save money on our leccy bill (usage down 25% on last year's figures already!). What some people can't seem to grasp is the fact that because this doesn't in itself save you leccy (it merely gives you a visual readout of how much you are consuming at any one time) it is in some way useless. They will extoll the virtues of those plug-in usage monitors (don't get me wrong, they are great, I have one also!), the only problem being these are entirely useless at telling you how much 3 of the 4 main leccy-gobbling items in any house actually cost! (immersion heater, leccy oven and shower). Just thought I'd fore-warn you.
Thanks for the warning, thick skin, sure of my own measurements and a veteran of other internet forums so I'll survive here :rotfl:
The OWL will show kw/H too.
I don't really understand why anyone would criticise these things so long as you accept them for what they do, give you information, which appears to be reasonably accurate.
After that it's up to you to use the information to help cut down electricity use.
My wife has been tasked with working out potential CO2 emissions savings for her company (OK lets be honest, they want to save money and being an environmental services business look good in the process) and since I was interested in the idea of an OWL thought I'd try one for myself.
But I do like to test ideas like this with other view points, hence this post, so if anyone thinks they are rubbish, go for it, prove it to me 0 -
i fancy one of these ill look around the net later !0
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Whats the `official` name for this product ?0
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