Electricity monitor just saved someone £60 after they lost £100

allisonw

Here's one for all you who say an electricity monitor is a waste of money and to read your meter instead.

My mum, who lives on her own, was complaining about the cost of her electricity, to her grandkids, as she always does when they switch on things, she doesn't mean it really, who said that mum, me, had an electricity monitor and to ask her for a loan of it.

So me and the kids go to see granny and set up the electricity monitor. So then the kids go about switching everything off, first time they were at granny's without the TV being on:rotfl:

With everything off except an alarm clock and the phone, the reading was 210 watts. So where was this 200 watts being used?

Searched everywhere for something left on. Couldn't find out what it was so I started switching circuit breakers off and on.

The 200 watts only disappeared when the circuit breaker for the lights was switched off but there were no lights on and also all the bulbs were energy saving.

Then one of the kids says what about the attic?

My mum says that no one has been up there since one of the grandkids put the Christmas stuff up there.

She can't get up to it herself so the grandkids go up there for her if needed.

So open the loft hatch and what do we see? light. 2 100 watt bulbs that had been left on since Christmas.

So about £100 worth of electricity till then and since nobody will have gone up till Christmas another £60 worth would have been wasted.

So although I never paid for the monitor it was certainly worth it taking it to my Mum to see what she was using.

And she cannot read her meter herself as it is 8 feet from the floor in a cupboard. Even the meter readers complain about it when they come to read her meter.

only_mee

Nice result

lu_lu_2

Energy monitors are worth their weight in gold for ensuring everything is switched off, all properties should have one. Especially useful for older people with poorer memories.

Cardew

Marcusp wrote: »

Hi Cardew, do you not think that the electricity monitor was useful in this situation?

Absolutely - makes it a 'must buy' for everyone in the land; especially if you are likely to leave two 100 watt bulbs on in the loft!!

Someone in New Zealand was killed by a block of ice falling from a plane - that justifies everyone throughout the world buying and wearing a tin hat.

No contest about the monitor though, especially if you have Grandkids who check your consumption regularly!

I retire defeated!

Plushchris

It wouldnt have saved them £60 had they paid for it...

Andy_WSM

Cardew wrote: »

Absolutely - makes it a 'must buy' for everyone in the land; especially if you are likely to leave two 100 watt bulbs on in the loft!!

Someone in New Zealand was killed by a block of ice falling from a plane - that justifies everyone throughout the world buying and wearing a tin hat.

No contest about the monitor though, especially if you have Grandkids who check your consumption regularly!

I retire defeated!

LOL :rotfl:

daveyjp

My sisters house went up in flames after a loft light was left on - 6 months work to repair.

My attic light is wired to the landing light, both are low energy bulbs and I know I won't leave it on.

brewerdave

Good tip about loft lights - to add to the the one about checking that the immersion heater is not on continuously !! (my mother's bete noire!!)

moonrakerz

Actually...............as the loft had 200W of heat constantly being fed into it, so there would have been a lower temperature differential between the loft and the rest of the house - so less heat would have been lost through this route - thus reducing the central heating costs