NIE Keypad Meter - Fluctuating KW load

declanmcc

Hey,
After paying a shocking £65 already this month on electric - we decided to make use of the NIE Keypad meter's functionality to check the kilowatt load of the applicances we're using.

When everything was switched off - with just the fridge freezer and a stand alone freezer switched on - the Kilowatt load was 0.08 units.

Switching items back on one by one brought about some interesting results - but the strangest was the big energy guzzler - the 42" plasma TV in the living room.

Whilst it was switched on, the Kilowatt load ranged from 0.15 to 0.56 - constantly fluctuating. We have Sky Plus - so when I paused the channel I was on - the Kilowatt load settled to in and around 0.32 to 0.33.

Is this normal? Is this the way a plasma TV works? And if so, how on earth does the Keypad work out what electric I've used?

Thanks in advance

declanmcc

As well as that I've notcied that the cost per unit is 17.28p - where as their website says it's 16.88p - and I should be getting a 2.5% discount on that amount as well - thieving gits!!!!!!:rotfl:

carlamagee

how do you check the wattage with the meter???

wacko911

"with just the fridge freezer and a stand alone freezer switched on"

The fridge and freezer will have an electric pump which is off 75% of the time and then comes on and runs a compressor so you should really knock these off and then take your readings and they will cause spikes.

It is possilbe that Plasma screens use more electric for a brighter image, so pausing the screen will cause it to use a constant amount and a moving image will cause the amount to vary but thats a total guess.

declanmcc

carlamagee wrote: »

how do you check the wattage with the meter???

It's Button 6 on your keypad meter. Press it a second time to get the cost per hour of the kilowatt load you're using

Bigcammy

And if I remember correctly, pressing button 2 repeatedly shows you how much you've used the previous day, then week, then month. A handy wee gadget but doesn't make up for the fact that it's scandalously expensive and we've no competition here yet to bring prices down.

carlamagee

Bigcammy wrote: »

And if I remember correctly, pressing button 2 repeatedly shows you how much you've used the previous day, then week, then month. A handy wee gadget but doesn't make up for the fact that it's scandalously expensive and we've no competition here yet to bring prices down.

omg....feel slighty depressed now, although good to see how much w have been using = was tryn to keep the paypoint slips, but when buying online, its hard to keep track. at least now i could make a log of what washes etc ive been doing and take a note of the how much it cost us per day. could work out to be an interesting wee table!??

declanmcc

List of Keypad functions

http://www.nieenergy.co.uk/keypad.php#q12