Parents' £80 Elec. bill p.m, surely too much?Emersion heater?

buel

Hi and thanks for your answer.
Well they dont have the 'bill's so to speak because it is a pay-as-you-go meter but they do have a list of how much they've paid in the last 12 months and how much electric they used. The reason id like to find out if they've been overcharged is that i've been told that it is more frequent than people think so before i get them to swap to Eon direct debit+paperless billing id like to find out for sure you see!

BLT_2

savemoney wrote: »

Yes 90p is a lot for a tumble, I say no more than 20p

I've been robbed, it cost me 50 euros last time I went to Amsterdam

espresso

buel wrote: »

Ok, i have just bought an 'Owl' (Wireless Electricity Monitor) for my parents, now we will see what the big users are and aren't....... :)

So what useful info have you gained from using your "brilliant 'Owl' energy monitor" then?

buel wrote: »

Hello again!
Sorry for the late update but i've finally got my parents to go through every house aplliance with me and the brilliant 'Owl' energy monitor and i have listed everything on a piece of paper!
Basically the worst ones that my parents either did use or do use are:

Tumble Dryer: Min 1.336kwh/Max 2.399kwh(Now use a rotary washing line most on of the washing)
Pond pump+Fridge Freezer(on 1 plug): Min 0.580kwh/Max 1.320 (on all the time)
C/Heating(kerosene fueled):
Hot water: 0.193kwh
Heating: 0.097kwh
Both: 0.290kwh

Basically the constant useage from 8am to 11pm is between 0.0700kwh and 1.200kwh (i assume the variance is due to fridges/freezers coming on and off?)

They are currently with Scottish Gas electricity payment meter but plan to change to Eon direct debit paperless billing to save 40% (according to Eon)
The normal price for their Scottish Power electric is 11.22p per unit but apparently they are on the social tarriff so actually get charged 9.98p per unit.
The normal price for their Scottish Power standing charge is 17.29p per day but apparently they are on the social tarriff so actually get charged 9.98p per day.
They apparently get the difference refunded every 6 months and have had £32 in August 2009 and £39 in February 2010.

Im sorry if this information is put accross in a complicated way, i have tried my best!

I have two questions:
1, is this medium or high useage?
2, How can my parents tell if they have been charged too much in the past?

The figures posted above do not help!

How many units are being used each day, week, month? Read the meter regularly, how easy is that!

You have stated "that they have used 12,366 kWh of electricity during the previous 12 months" which is high consumption but how much is being used now?

MrsBartolozzi

I've nothing to add as far as the tarriff is concerned. What I would suggest is, if your parents' washing machine does not spin well on the cycle they like to use they should put the load onto another spin cycle after it's washed to get the remaining excess water out (maybe you could have a look and see which would be the most appropriate) before hanging up to dry or putting in the tumble dryer). The extra spin will use very little electric compared to what it takes to dry in a tumbler. (source: Which? magazine)

buel

Quote:
Originally Posted by buel
Ok, i have just bought an 'Owl' (Wireless Electricity Monitor) for my parents, now we will see what the big users are and aren't....... :)

So what useful info have you gained from using your "brilliant 'Owl' energy monitor" then?

Why do i get the impression that you were taking the p**s out of either me or the 'owl' energy monitor with this response?

As for getting the units per day/week/month, let me explain that i only travel to see my parents once a week as it is quite far away so to get this far (willing to swap suppliers, willing to change from pay-meter, actually using an energy monitor) is quite pleasing! I am going to their house tomorrow where i shall hopefully get stuck into the owl and the various options available.
Am i correct in thinking that what i need to do is get my parents to take a reading from both the meter and owl at regular intervals, such as once per day, to get an accurate measurement of how much they use? Im not sure the owl has this option but i guess it has...

st999

take a reading from both the meter and owl at regular intervals, such as once per day

Yes

although the Owl meter will not be as accurate as the electricity meter

st999

"brilliant 'Owl' energy monitor"

I know that I use 0.0150 kWh during the night although mine is an Eon monitor and it is connected to my computer.

buel

Hi again, i have looked through the FAQ on the Owl website and rang the contact number from the site and no one seems to be able to verify that it does have the capability to give a total of units/kwh used during a given time (say, 8am to 8am the next morning) so that i/they can compare it to the meter, thus establishing once and for all whether the meter is reading correctly or incorrectly! One thing the Owl number helper did say was that there is a usb device you can buy to connect to a PC but i just find it a bit strange that the owl doesn't have this capability?

espresso

buel wrote: »

Hi again, i have looked through the FAQ on the Owl website and rang the contact number from the site and no one seems to be able to verify that it does have the capability to give a total of units/kwh used during a given time (say, 8am to 8am the next morning) so that i/they can compare it to the meter, thus establishing once and for all whether the meter is reading correctly or incorrectly! One thing the Owl number helper did say was that there is a usb device you can buy to connect to a PC but i just find it a bit strange that the owl doesn't have this capability?

You seem to be expecting rather too much of the Owl monitor! It displays a representation of the power being used at that time in kW and it also has a total energy used display, shown in kWh.

They are not particularly accurate and you could easily do your own meter check by using say a 3kW electric heater for 20 minutes and reading the meter before and after.

If you want to know how many kWH units have been registered on the Owl between 8am to 8am the next morning, you will need to look at the total energy used display at 8am each day.

Owl do now sell a USB connect device but if you had wanted this functionality, you would have been better getting a free energy monitor from British Gas or e-on as they have memory/PC interface already built in.

You would be far better checking individual thermostatically controlled appliances with a plug in type monitor e,g, here

lu_lu_2

Hi Buel,

A few suggestions that might help your parents to reduce their elec costs:

Light bulbs - Are all of their light bulbs including garage, outbuildings, sheds & patio lights the new energy efficient ones? If not replace matching the wattage to the type of usage ie lower wattage in rooms where they are not reading or sewing.

Switch the washing machine off on the wall even though it has been switched off on the control panel & is showing no lights. I discovered on another forum website that some machines still draw elec. I don't know why but have checked mine with an EF monitor & it was constantly drawing 11 watts Costing about £20 per yr!!

This then raised the question about my tumble drier & dish washer. The TD does not appear to draw any elec when switched off on the panel but the DW did!! I now switch ALL appliances off on the wall.

Switch the microwave off on the wall if it is fitted with an interior light.

Only use an elec oven to cook, not to reheat (use the microwave) as elec ovens eat elec also switch off on the wall when not in use.

Switch the TV off on the wall when not in use, it will still use a considerable amount of elec if left on standby.

Computers, laptops, printers & internet - switch all off on the wall or buy a clever gizzimo which will do it for you. (Pls can another clever MSE'er advise what this is called & where to buy)

Switch lights off in rooms which are not in use. If this would make your parents feel like moles then I would suggest buying inexpensive table lamps with low wattage bulbs to make their home feel lived in.
Fit manual/adjustable timers to the table lamps so that they come on when it starts to get dark & go off at their usual bedtime. These are also a good security feature when they go out & are welcoming when they get home.

Freezers - if these are old then it might pay them to replace them. My old upright freezer was drawing 1.6 kw per day my new one, cost £290 last Nov, draws less than 0.8kw per day ie half the cost.
Chest freezers are considered to be more cost efficient to run but are less user friendly especially by older people & those with a back problem. I think you said that your parents freezers are in an unheated room, this is not ideal but Beko now state that their freezers are suitable for non heated rooms. I believe that Which? have tested some of them & have approved them. (I bought a Beko & it survived last winter in my garage which dropped to Zero degrees!!)

I was surprised that you Mum was using the TD as many times a week as she was. Was she washing all the curtains because it seemed an awful lot of laundry for just 2 people.

Another suggestion - if the car doesn't go in the garage or your parents have a covered vereanda or similar why not rig up a washing line. I have one in my garage (car won't fit, there are too many things that might come in useful that I should probably get rid of!!)

Hope some of this is of use,

Good luck

Ps I managed to get my elec D/D down from £28pm to £13pm until the latest price hikes!!