Is there something wrong with my electricity meter?

27col

If you Google 25 watt halogens, you will find a source of much lower wattage lamps than the ones you have at present. There appear to be even lower wattage lamps than 25watts available now. In fact, if some of your down lights are really only decorative you could swap the lamps for LED's, which take virtually no current. Can't advise further without knowing exactly what type of lamp that you are using.
In addition, if your hot water cylinder is not extremely well insulated then there is potential for considerable heat losses. If your tank has a solid foam insulation it should be fairly cool to the touch, if it feels warm or hot then you have a serious problem with the tank insulation and need to upgrade it.

maggie21

Hiya,

I haven't read through every post in full, however, skimming over, I don't think anyone has mentioned estimated bills.

Were both readings on the bill actual, or was one an estimate? This could be a catch up bill.

TighterThanTwoCoatsOfPain

i found a calculator for energy usage of halogens a few days ago...

i have 12x35 watts at the moment... the calc suggested that 2 hours a day would cost c. £36 a year.. I am replacing with 12 x 3w LEd bulbs (a mate has them and i'm very impressed with the output). I've worked out that after the cost of the bulbs, i should break even in just under 2 years, plus the LEDs last for 50,000 hours (alledgely!) so should be around long after i've gone!

Supreme_2

TighterThanTwoCoatsOfPain wrote: »

i found a calculator for energy usage of halogens a few days ago...

i have 12x35 watts at the moment... the calc suggested that 2 hours a day would cost c. £36 a year.. I am replacing with 12 x 3w LEd bulbs (a mate has them and i'm very impressed with the output). I've worked out that after the cost of the bulbs, i should break even in just under 2 years, plus the LEDs last for 50,000 hours (alledgely!) so should be around long after i've gone!

With my halogens i have 6x 50w and 9x 10w. I have replaced these with 6x 7w at a cost of approx £14.50. So over 1 month, for 7hours a day the costs are something like this:
- Old - 81.9kw/month - £11.50
- New - 8.8kw/month - £1.25
Meaning they pay for themselves in under 2 months...!


I am experimenting with my immersion heater at the moment, and my opinion so far is that it's not very efficient at all. If i have it on for 1hr at 6-7am, then shower at 7:45am, the water is warm, but not in any way hot. How long should i have this thing on for? It has no settings other than a timer, so that's all i can change!

dogshome

Hi Supreme - Been folowing the thread - I don't know how big this kitchen is that has 15 x 50Watt downlighters, but the power use is horrific. If these are the type of lights that are recessed into the ceiling, they are usually fitted with 'GU10 Halogen' bulbs for which you can buy direct replacement low energy bulbs that consume 11 watts. The DIY stores really push the price on these, but you can get them by mail-order - just punch Low Energy bulbs into Google - If your worried about changing the fittings in a rented flat, just store the 50W bulbs you remove and put them back when you move

Magentasue

Supreme wrote: »

I am experimenting with my immersion heater at the moment, and my opinion so far is that it's not very efficient at all. If i have it on for 1hr at 6-7am, then shower at 7:45am, the water is warm, but not in any way hot. How long should i have this thing on for? It has no settings other than a timer, so that's all i can change!

There must be a thermostat on it somewhere - maybe turn that up? Is it insulated?

Supreme_2

Magentasue wrote: »

There must be a thermostat on it somewhere - maybe turn that up? Is it insulated?

All i have is a timer... That's it.

It's one of these heaters: http://www.oso.no/default.asp?uid=249

I don't know what i can be doing wrong, as there are only about 2 buttons!

Magentasue

Beyond me, I'm afraid - there are documents to download but I don't know what you open them with!

Edit: A google search comes up with this pdf. It says on p7, that the temp can be adjusted between 45-75 deg - it should be about 60deg, I think.

https://www.osohotwater.com/uk/pdf/20_series_installation_manual.pdf

Supreme_2

Ok these are my meter readings...
14/12/2008 (evening) - 15965
22/12/2008 (midday) - 16046

So that's 81 kwh in 7.5days, resulting in approx 11kwh a day.

Which still seems REALLY high.

My calculations would be (for 7 days):
- Toys (computers/tv/etc...) - 15kwh
- Lights - 5kwh
- Fridge + misc - 8.5kwh
Which gives = 28.5kwh

Meaning i am using 6.5kwh a day on water heating and using the oven.

The water heater is on for 1.5hrs from 5:30am to 7am. This is the minimum i can have it on to have water of any decent temp for a shower. The oven is on for approx 40mins to 1hr a day. I also have 1 or 2 loads of washing per week.

Is something wrong here? or is 6.5kwh per day normal for 1.5hrs of water heating and 1hr of oven use?

espresso

Supreme wrote: »

Ok these are my meter readings...
14/12/2008 (evening) - 15965
22/12/2008 (midday) - 16046

So that's 81 kwh in 7.5days, resulting in approx 11kwh a day.

Which still seems REALLY high.

My calculations would be (for 7 days):
- Toys (computers/tv/etc...) - 15kwh
- Lights - 5kwh
- Fridge + misc - 8.5kwh
Which gives = 28.5kwh

Meaning i am using 6.5kwh a day on water heating and using the oven.

The water heater is on for 1.5hrs from 5:30am to 7am. This is the minimum i can have it on to have water of any decent temp for a shower. The oven is on for approx 40mins to 1hr a day. I also have 1 or 2 loads of washing per week.

Is something wrong here? or is 6.5kwh per day normal for 1.5hrs of water heating and 1hr of oven use?

Does your tank have one immersion heater element (usually rated at 3kW) or two?

Your oven could easily be rated at 2kW so I don't see why you thing that this figure is high!