Is there something wrong with my electricity meter?

Supreme_2

I have used a plug-in usage meter thingy, and come up with some results for power usage. This is just for my toys, so everything excluding: immersion heater, oven, lighting.
It looks something like this:
- TV - 100w (2w standby)
- Amp - 12w (5w standby)
- PC - 145w (14w standby)
- Laptop - 18w (2.5w standby)
- Router - 5w
So with my usage, that comes to roughly 2.7kw per day, which isn't exactly a lot. I might be being dumb and calculating that incorrectly though!

Premier_2

Supreme wrote: »

... According to my meter i am using 18units a day, however, i can't see how this can be true......

- Water heating (4hrs a day)

...As you can see, there isn't much there, ...

That alone could possibly use 12 units per day!


The oven (assuming it includes 4 hobs too) could easily use 6+ units per hour!

HH62

It sounds to me as if the issue is with your immersion heater and the length of time you're heating your water.
However, where is your electric meter? Inside or outside your flat? As you said it's a new flat, there is a possibility that the meter being read as yours actually isnt yours. Maybe even wired up to the wrong flat. Only way to check is to turn off absolutely everything in your flat and go look at the meter to see if it's moving or not. Be sure to check that the meter number on the bill is the same as your meter.

Supreme_2

Ok, so it looks like my immersion heater is costing an absolute fortune to run. Which is really very annoying as it makes all my other attempts at saving power completely pointless!

What should i be doing to bring my bill way down? I am going to experiment with putting the heater on at 4am for 1hour, and see if that is enough. Other than that, what should i be doing?

I am going to put my power usage meter on the fridge for a day and see what that uses. Then i will know approx usage for everything except the oven and immersion heater.

My aim is to bring usage down to about 12units... Do you think this should be achievable?

Magentasue

We are a family of six with gas hot water, central heating and cooking. We use about 13 units a day. That's

1 TV and sky - 5 hours minimum
1 TV and xbox - 6-10 hours a day
3 laptops most of the day, on or sleeping
1 router most of the day
1 x 11 cubic feet fridge
1 x 7 cubic feet freezer
Dishwasher - 1 load every day
Washing machine - 7-10 loads a week
Tumble drier - 2-3 loads a week winter
Lights - energy saving but three or four rooms in use every evening

There are other things (phone chargers, ipods, radios, stereos etc). I would think one person at work all day could get away with using 5 or 6 kwh a day if you're not using heating. 12 seems way too high even though it's less than your present 18!

Supreme_2

I think a lot of the usage might be down to the halogen bulbs in my kitchen too! There are 15 of them!

They are 50w too... this could equate to 6units a day!! Time to get some candles!

Magentasue

Yes, those spotlights add up. You started off saying you couldn't be using 18 units a day - it's looking more and more likely that you are, I think!

Before I started making cutbacks, we were using 20-26 units a day. We had spotlights in the kitchen, utility room and cloakroom. We didn't think we were being extravagant or wasteful, but of course, we were. We could still cut back further but it'd only me who's bothered and it's be a part-time job keeping on top of everyone turning everything off etc.

Supreme_2

The thing that annoys me is that i am so careful about energy saving, and it all seems to have been for nothing!

I am not sure what to do about the halogens though... any ideas? This is a rental place, so i cant go and change the lighting system!

My kit seems to use less than 3units a day, so the other 15units are down to really inefficient kit in this property, and i would say this is costing me at least £35 a month more than it should.

ixwood

Or you using the kit incorrectly!

Sounds like you were heating water during the day? That'd be very expensive. Why 4 am? You want it to be the last bit of the E7 period, so less time to cool down. So try on for an hour at 6-7 (Assuming you e7 is 12-7).

As for the lights. 15 50W bulbs is madness. You can either take some of the bulbs out, or get a lamp and fit a low energy bulb (with remote control plug maybe).

SwanJon

If you are only home in the eveings, why do you need two computers on for 12 hours a day?
I could see a logic for 1 pc on 24 hours....