Is ANCIENT freezer costing ££ to run?

Snapdragon

New to OS so please be gentle with me! Learning lots from these fantastic threads thanks :T and wondered if anyone could offer advice.....

I have a large freezer, which is always pretty full, but it is pretty ancient.
I know new freezer's will be more energy efficient but is there anyway to tell what my current one is actually costing me to run?

Is there anyway to monitor a particular appliance?

Our electric/gas bill is enormous and it would be nice to be able to break it down and figure out what elements cost what, so we'd know how to cut it down.

As an aside can't change supplier (long story but major arrears to pay-off!)
Hope that makes sense any suggestions greatfully received.
Snapdragon

kittiwoz

Doesn't it have the rated power written on it somewhere? Like on a plate at the back. What is the make and model? You might be able to find some info on the net like a manual or data sheet. Or you could try writting to the manufacturer to ask.

To work out the cost you multiply the power in kiloWatts by the running time in hours (8760 hrs = 1 year). Then you multiply by whatever you pay for leccy per kiloWatt.hr which is probably about 10p.

Dobie

kittiwoz wrote:

Doesn't it have the rated power written on it somewhere? Like on a plate at the back. What is the make and model? You might be able to find some info on the net like a manual or data sheet. Or you could try writting to the manufacturer to ask.

To work out the cost you multiply the power in kiloWatts by the running time in hours (8760 hrs = 1 year). Then you multiply by whatever you pay for leccy per kiloWatt.hr which is probably about 10p.

Kittiwoz is exactly right however there are a couple of variables with freezers.
Firstly, because it works on a thermostat it isn't on all the time but cuts in & out to maintain the temperature so it depends on how well insulated it is, how warm the atmosphere around it is & how often you open it.
One of the main reasons that modern freezers are more energy efficient is that they are much more efficiently insulated so the motor doesn't have to cut in so often.
Not very helpful when you're trying to work out cost to run I know - sorry!

squeaky

The best places to ask would be either the In My Home board or in the Utilities board.

I'm sure there'll be plenty of info in one or both of them.

Sultana

I think this thread may be helpful.

Modern freezers use about 1kWh a day, unless they're absolutely enormous.
But one of the problems with them is that all the extra insulation means that a new machine with the same storage capacity will be physically much bigger.

I recently replaced both my 17 yr old freezer and fridge. My electricity bill has gone down by about 75p a day.

Sarahsaver

You can get a special plug which cuts energy use of fridges and freezers. Think its called a savaplug.

MATH

I replaced my 30yr old freezer a couple of years ago and noticed no drop in my electricity bill.

Snapdragon

Thanks everyone.

Sultana that thread was very useful, at least I now know what to look for.
We don't have a local lidl but I'll do a search tonight (only having a quick browse during lunch break!) to see what I can find.

Since sultana & math, had very different results after changing freezers I think it's probably worth investing in one of these watt meters and trying it on various appliances to see how they are contributing to my £70 a month, before deciding whether it's worth updating the freezer.

Making progress on the food bills thanks to help of OSers so now determined to get some of the other household bills down!

calleyw

Sarahsaver wrote:

You can get a special plug which cuts energy use of fridges and freezers. Think its called a savaplug.

I had one of those and noticed no difference in my electric bills after it was fitted.

I paid about £21 so for me it was a waste of money.


Yours


Calley

maryb

hope this link works.
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Home.aspx?AID=10297371&PID=1413184&SID=ukmaplin3q
if not go to the Maplins site and type watt meter in the search box. I bought one and it has been a complete eye opener as to what really costs money and what doesn't.

Snapdragon

Thanks maryb.

I looked at the watt meter from Maplins but was confused. It states that it does not monitor power usage over a period of time only the current usage. Not sure how this helps. How did you use yours? Did it involve lots of complicated calculations?

Perhaps I'm being very optimistic but I was hoping to plug the freezer (possibly other appliances) into a power monitor for a day or week and read off the resulting usage so that I could then work out annual running costs. I sort of assumed I'd then know if it would be worth replacing the freezer and probably have also figured out if there was anywhere else I could cut costs. Seemed such a simple plan!