Suggestions for getting usage down?

cazmanian_minx

We've just moved from a 1-bed flat with gas heating and hot water to a 3 bed house plus annexe with no mains gas, so we're on night storage heaters and have an immersion heater.

We're currently with Scottish Hydro Electric and tried to switch to Scottish Power when we moved in, because comparison tables were showing they'd be cheaper, but because the annexe and the house have separate supply numbers both going into the same meter, Scottish Power won't take us on as customers as their system can't cope with that set up.

Although we're not due a bill until the beginning of September, I've been keeping an eye on the readings. In the flat we used to use approximately 7-8 kwh a day plus 4-5 whatever it is (cubic metres?) of gas in summer.

We're currently averaging 7.4kwh a day on the A rate and 26.5kwh a day on the B rate. Having looked at Scottish Hydro's prices on their website (I'm not 100% sure what tariff we're on), the bill is going to be horrific and that's just in summer time!

Added to that is the fact that we're not sure how the immersion works. There appear to be two heating elements, one at the top, one at the bottom. Currently we have the top one switched on all the time and the bottom one goes on for two hours if we want a bath - there are no timers, it's just on or off. There's also some sort of boost switch in the kitchen that can be set to go on using a timer for up to two hours at a time.

Help?!

Caz

space_rider

I`m not sure of the set up but if you only had the bottom one on for say 2 hours in the morning and 2 in the afternoon you could see if its cheaper. Is it your property or are you renting? If it`s yours you could get an electrician to fit a timer so the water comes on during the cheapest rate. I have a friend who bought 2 properties with 2 supply numbers going into seperate meters and she had that changed so that everything went into 1 meter so she could go to a cheaper provider.

[Deleted User]

I would put the top immersion on only as the bottom one heats up all the water in the tank, hot water rises and I would have it on only as long as needed. You`ll obviously have to experiment. Use showers not a bath. Look at the set temperature too. Go around reducing temperature or turning off your storage heaters. Investigate cooking without the oven and steaming on top of a casserole in a pan etc. There are lots of ways to cut usage and still to be very comfortable

cazmanian_minx

We've only got the top one on at the moment, we've found that if both are on all the time the water boils in the tank periodically. However, with just the top one on, there's no hot water in the morning for OH to shave with.

Good tip about the timer (it's our house), I'll investigate that, thanks. We're mostly having showers (the shower's an electric one and heats the water itself), but slob out in a shared bath on Sunday nights!

I've now turned off every heater in the house (OH is grumbling!) apart from the one in our bedroom that's timed to come on for an hour half an hour before the alarm goes off and will see what happens.

Caz

SwanJon

It sounds like the bottom immersion is to be used on the night (B) rate, and the top one for top ups during the day.
If your tank is well insulated you may find it cheaper to let it heat up at night (on cheap rate) and it should last most of the day (at least til bath time).

Your day rate is pretty much matching yor electricity in the flat. Check your storage heaters to see if you ned them on in the summer - that might make a difference to how much you are using at night. Check if you have an instruction manual for them as well - I never liked having them as you need to plan when you want the heat, and it was mostly gone by the evenings (I'm told newer ones are better insulated so keep the heat longer)

1carminestocky

I'm sure someone will shout me down, but the Owl Wireless Electricity Usage Monitor has proved invaluable in our house for identifying the most leccy-hungry appliances (I also have a plug in unit which monitors each appliance's costs individually but this can't be used with leccy ovens and immersion heaters etc). The device cost us £35 delivered from John Lewis so it's not cheap but it DEFINITELY makes you re-evaluate your lifestyle when you see what certain appliances cost you! For instance, we have a 10.8kw leccy shower and it costs approx £1.25 per hour to run!! Solution? We have put the setting down from High to Medium. Slightly less invigorating spray but almost half the cost of the High Setting, approx 70p per hour! We have also decided that 5 mins in the shower is long enough! There are 4 people in our house each having a shower a day, we have all adopted this strategy now (my teenage kids wouldn't have listened to me saying how much it cost but were astonished when they saw the readout from the monitor!). Not only are we spending 50% of the normal time in the shower but we are using a setting that is 'half price' compared to the previous setting! Back of fag packet calculation: 60p combined saving per day, which equates to £219 per year! Remember, that's just on ONE APPLIANCE! We are making savings on other appliances as well, including the leccy oven (ANOTHER massive cost per hour item). Best £35 I've spent in a long time.

http://www.theowl.com/

espresso

The OWL must be intended for very gullible green tree huggers, if their graphical promo is to be believed.

It clearly shows that switching off a mobile on charge saves 3.6p per hour, when a unit of electricity costs 14p!



How much electricity do they think that a mobile charger uses? I doubt if the OWL is even sensitive enough to measure the energy consumed by a mobile charging.

View it for yourself here

:rotfl:

4$£&*(£$&*(!

I agree, I think the Owl's are wastes of money - the people who care enough to use one probably won't need one, and the people who would refuse them would probably be those who need to cut down the most.

For the majority, it's simple science. You leave something on - it costs more to run. You turn something up - it uses more power. The comment about a shower, surely that's common sense using it on a higher powered setting for longer will cost you more, I don't need to spend £50 on a device to tell me that.

If you're frugal with power consumption you'll be fine. All the Owl devices to is try to change people's perception of power, nothing else.

1carminestocky

CitySlicker wrote: »

I agree, I think the Owl's are wastes of money - the people who care enough to use one probably won't need one, and the people who would refuse them would probably be those who need to cut down the most.

For the majority, it's simple science. You leave something on - it costs more to run. You turn something up - it uses more power. The comment about a shower, surely that's common sense using it on a higher powered setting for longer will cost you more, I don't need to spend £50 on a device to tell me that.

If you're frugal with power consumption you'll be fine. All the Owl devices to is try to change people's perception of power, nothing else.

With respect, until you have used one IMO you are not really qualified to say this. Agreed, the unit in itself does nothing to save fuel, but a constant readout of the fuel you are using is THE best way to modify your habits. If evey car had a constant readout of the cost being incurred I reckon it would also change many people's idea of what constituted a 'must do' journey. The Owl will DEFINITELY save our household more than its cost within the first year. Therefore, it isn't a waste of money in any way.

And I don't understand the last paragraph at all

PS Nice to see the ignore list function works, I can't see espresso's post at all. :rotfl:

espresso

1carminestocky wrote: »

PS Nice to see the ignore list function works, I can't see espresso's post at all. :rotfl:

We can all still have a good laugh at the crap that you post though!

amcluesent

As a minimum, your tank should be very well insulated, check if the immersion heaters have thermostats and set them so the water doesn't exceed the necessary temp. Have timers fitted and experiement to see what is needed to get just enough h/w.

Depending on your location, you could look to put a water-heating panel on a south-facing roof which circulates through it's own coil in the tank. Possibility of grants for this?