How reliable is an "analyser" pse?

Bertie's_mum

We have been living in our current home for 2 years and our electricity bills have always been high but are getting steadily higher. We have electric (wet?) heating. We are on the Comfort heat tariff (which I think is similar to Flexi heat, from what I have read here), so we have 3 different rates 1, 2 (comfort, low) and 3.

Our supplier has said we appear to use 8 units a day on the low rate (comfort), when we should be using 3/4 units. We are both out at work all day. I try to use electricity within the comfort rate low times (i.e. 1-3pm, 8-10pm (and I've forgotten the middle of the night time, currently).

I have tried to read as much as I can on this site (work permitting) and we switch off everything that we can. We have no heating on yet although have booked for our boiler to be serviced in case that is at fault (only 3 years old).

We go by the Supplier recommendations for the temperature of the boiler in winter and in summer (currently forgotten as I am stressed as I type).

Every so often I take daily meter readings, e.g.

Friday 26.10.06 07.30
Rate 1 - 20,583
Rate 2 - 10,380
Rate 3 - 18,023

Saturday 27.10.06 07.30
Rate 1 - 20,593
Rate 2 - 10,388
Rate 3 - 18,038

We were both out at work from 07.45 to 16.30 on the Friday so we cant see where the electricity was consumed.

The Supplier is going to fit an analyser for 2 weeks (it is usually 1 but they will make it 2 for us). Does anyone consider the analyser will tell us anything sufficiently interesting to warrant our high bills? Do you think it is worth us buying one of those monitor thingies and testing each individual socket/appliance?

Has anyone heard of electricity leaking? how does that happen? The supplier has said they will have the meter checked at the same time the analyser is fitted.. Some time back they had to replace one of the flow (?) switches in the meter cupboard in case that was at fault.. We just cant get to the bottom of our problem so any glimmer of hope would be helpful.

Sorry this is so long, and sorry so many questions.

p.s. Living in the Channel Islands we have only "one" supplier so we can't even think about changing to another.

Cardew

You have used a total of 33 kWh in 24 hours.

That is a total of 12,045 kWh a year(assuming that 33 kWh per day is typical) for a house with electric CH. I note you say your CH is not on, but I assume you are using something? and you heat HW?

Why do you think this is high?

You are using less than half the average consumption for a household in UK(combined gas and electricity) - you haven't said the size of your property.

You need to look at your annual consumption - as said above to see if it is excessive

Bertie's_mum

Thank you Cardew, I was hoping you might give a reply - as I notice you give a lot of sensible replies!

It is a 4 bed house, but we don't use all the rooms - there is only 2 of us and our cats...

Our boiler is on all the time and times have been set on the timeclock (by the Supplier) to catch the low peak tariff rates. In the winter we put the switch on for heat in the radiators and the only other change is to put the temperature gauge slightly higher (as the Supplier suggested that).

We find it very frustrating as I only try to use electricity in the low tariff (apart from having a cup of tea when we get home and then watching the telly, putting the computer on).

We just cannot think what is drawing so much on the electricity.

We are hoping the analyser might provide some results.. and I have asked if they can check our meter again. The supplier said out of 17 houses in our Close, we use the most electricity on the low tariff - yet we are never here - always both at work.

I'll try and work out the annual consumption, and continue to take daily readings - the neighbours must think I am nuts as I am always outside staring at the meter box with my torch and paper and pen..

Thanks for your reply..

Cardew

Thanks for the compliment!
Presumably you heat water on low tariff where possible, that will use a lot of electricity.

Could it be that somehow you are using more hot water than you realize? A bath in the morning perhaps?

You really need to get that annual figure for consumption? However I can't reconcile your feeling that you are drawing 'so much electricity' with that daily figure of 33 kWh, which to my mind is not excessive.

What do you feel is a reasonable figure for an all electric 4 bed house? Bearing in mind that the average energy consumption is 24,000kWh+.

BexTech

We have gas heating and cooking, our daily electricity usage is on average 12.5kWh. So if you have to use electricity for heating and hot water then 33kWh isn't bad at all.