Electricity Consumption Problem HELP!

cescesc

Hi Guys, You guys are the oracle of all knowledge and I am hoping to pick your brains.

I think i have an Electricity consumption problem. I check my meter personally every month as a minimum, some times i check it every week.

I always send off my findings to the electricity company so i am paying exactly what i use.

Last quarter I paid £126 for my electric usage which is reasonable and not too much cause for concern. I checked the meter on 9th September 2009 and got a reading of 24227. I then checked the meter again on 10th October 2009 to find the reading now at 25171 which is an increase of 943, which acording to my calculations of

first 150kwh @ 21p and 11p therafter to equal £31.50 + £87 ro give a total of £118.50

So thats only £18 less in one month of what it was for 3.

In the past 4 months nothing has changed, nothing new has been purchased, same amount of people living in the house, spending the same time in the house. Only difference i can think that has changed is the dark hours, so the lights are on an hour extra a day and also the heating is on a little more. but the Boiler is gas so that shouldnt do anything.

I now open this to you? Has anyone had this kind of problem or can anyone think of why i am using 3 months electric in 1 when nothing has chnaged in my percieved usage?

Any help would be much appreciated

Regards

Cesc

Premier_2

Is the tier 1 qty correct. Usually suppliers quote this per qtr, but you have loaded all this into one month. That may explain some of the apparent higher cost.

Is the property heated by electricity? You seem to have used a lot of electricity if it isn't. If it is heated by electricity, I suspect you weren't using any heat 4 months ago.

Edit: just saw you say heating is by gas. Almost 30kWh of electricity per day is high. Check the meter daily and confirm this is what you are using. If it is, you need to start looking closely what is consuming all this. Perhaps consider getting an owl meter, or similar, to monitor usage.

cescesc

Nope, its all actual readings. I have been in the house just shy of a year and have always given the meter readings i have taken to the company, which they have then used to calculate my bill, so i can be pretty much certain its correct.

Starting yesterday I have been taking meter readings daily.

From 10:00pm last night to 7:00am this morning (9 hours) all that was on was the Fridge Freezer and my radio Alarm clock. The TV and Sky Digital Box where on stand by. When I checked the meter this morning the reading had increaded by 11.

From 7am to 6pm there will be no one in the house and the same is left on, I will take another reading and see what the result is.

I have followed your advice and ordered an OWL Micro Home Energy Meter, which, will arrive at some point on Friday. So I will be able to check power consumption of all my appliances and the house from then.

mikey72

Was the last reading of 24227 the one off the bill, or have they used an estimate? My owl says I used 700Kw last month, 5 of us, lots of energy saving lights, and gas central heating. My wife hasn't even turned on the electric fires yet. That's only £70 on my tarriff though, so get a few quotes for switching.

(Used 8 units from midnight to now, similar items, fishtank and a couple of lights as well this morning)

cescesc

mikey72 wrote: »

Was the last reading of 24227 the one off the bill, or have they used an estimate? My owl says I used 700Kw last month, 5 of us, lots of energy saving lights, and gas central heating. My wife hasn't even turned on the electric fires yet. That's only £70 on my tarriff though, so get a few quotes for switching.

(Used 8 units from midnight to now, similar items, fishtank and a couple of lights as well this morning)

Cheers Mikey,

Yes, all meter readings have always been mine, no estimates, no assumptions.

I have also read on here that its a good idea to turn the main Circuit Breaker off for an hour or 2 too see if the meter ticks over. I will try this tonight, 2 hours without power to the freezer shouldnt be too much of a problem

Mark_Hewitt

cescesc wrote: »

I have also read on here that its a good idea to turn the main Circuit Breaker off for an hour or 2 too see if the meter ticks over. I will try this tonight, 2 hours without power to the freezer shouldnt be too much of a problem

Yep, as long as the freezer door is closed even switching it off overnight shouldn't be too much of a problem, but not something to do every day of course!

Premier_2

cescesc wrote: »

Nope, its all actual readings. I have been in the house just shy of a year and have always given the meter readings i have taken to the company, which they have then used to calculate my bill, so i can be pretty much certain its correct.

Hi cescesc,

It wasn't the actual meter readings, more your calculation that isuspected may be in error. i.e. the number of tier 1 units.
As I mentioned, these are normally quoted by suppliers per quarter.
Or does your quarterly bill say its 450kwh @ tier 1?
The supplier will actually charge on a daily basis pro-rata if you were not billed for an exact quarter.

cescesc wrote: »

Starting yesterday I have been taking meter readings daily.

From 10:00pm last night to 7:00am this morning (9 hours) all that was on was the Fridge Freezer and my radio Alarm clock. The TV and Sky Digital Box where on stand by. When I checked the meter this morning the reading had increaded by 11....

Something is definitely wrong there.

The fridge freezer should only be using about 1 kwh per day if working normally.

I'm not sure what the sky box uses exactly in standby but I would have thought 50w would be high, so 0.35 kwh over 7 hours.

The tv really should be turned off, rather than left in standby, when not in use (as should any other item not required to be powered), although that wouldn't account for anything like the usage you are recording.
Even a big tv turned on only uses about 500w max, so 3.5kwh over 7 hours.

The clock usage would be insignificant.

So that means:
1. there are lots of other things you've forgotten about.
2. someone has tapped into your supply (presumably to run their cannabis factory the amount of leccy you are consuming)
3. the meter has gone wrong.

It'll be interesting what you uncover once you start using the owl meter.

Premier_2

cescesc wrote: »

...
I have also read on here that its a good idea to turn the main Circuit Breaker off for an hour or 2 too see if the meter ticks over. I will try this tonight, 2 hours without power to the freezer shouldnt be too much of a problem

That's a good idea ... it's a quick way to uncover all those electrical items that consume power that you use, but have forgotten about.

Another way is to turn off that fridge/freezer, tv, clock & skybox and see if the meter still records usage ... that will indicate other things are consuming electricity (assuming the meter is not faulty). Then you task is to go around and hunt them out, turning them all off until the meter stops. Turn them off at the wall, not on the appliance as they may still consume power.

Then just turn on the items you really use. i.e. sky box, clock & fridge/freexer

cescesc

Looks Like i have some detective work to do tonight.

Thanks for all the help so far and I will keep you informed with my findings

mikey72

If you amortise the 150kw over 3 months you can knock about £20 off your usage so call it £100.
Other things that made up our overnight useage are usually my wife running the dishwasher and/or washing machine and/or tumble dryer and/or iron when she gets up.
Showers in the morning, or last thing at night.
Little fan heater in the bathroom my wife would leave home without.
Multitude of computers, router, tv, dvd digibox, enough wallcubes to actually build a wall.
Fishtank, with heater, filter, lights, pumps.
Two fridges/freezers
Every light still being on even when the kids have left for school, or gone to bed.
Central heating pump.
Electric blanket.
And the rest probably that no one told me about.

cescesc

Its amazing what little things you can forget.

As well as the Fridge Freezer and my radio Alarm clock. The TV and Sky Digital Box on stand by, I forgot the Router and Modem in the back room. Although this does not still account for all the 11 Units I used it does highlight the fact it is very easy to forget about things.

I guess that tonight, and the flicking of the main CB will give me a more accurate account if my Meter is faulty or I am funding local terrorism providing electricity for a cannabis farm