Is anyone here an electrical engineer with technical knowledge.

rogerblack

Cyril wrote: »

Thanks Spiro.

I would say the estimates since the reading have been circa 975 units per quater.

The property is a 1 bed mobile home that we use for day living when seeing to the horses so no big family usage although the heater was on in the day. ( Big radiator thing )

As others have said - 2kW* 8 hours * 3 years = 16000kWh - so it's not completely out-of-the-realms of possibility.

First thing is to read the meter on one day, then the next, and compare the reading, and see if the change is reasonable.

If it's a constant load that's been left on, then it would only need to be maybe 500W.
Turn _everything_ off - and see if the light flashes, or the meter disk moves at all.

HalloweenJack

or even - 2kw * 12hours * 18 months ( 3 winter periods over 3 years) = 12960 kwh

Owain_Moneysaver

If it's an electronic meter it's not impossible that a spike might have corrupted the memory but if that was the case I'd have expected your telly to be dead as well.

Cyril

Thanks all.

It doesn't sound as if its a spike then in reality so we'll just have to monitor our consumption.

maxmycardagain

sorry but if subjected to the sort of load suggested all cables inside and outside the property, and all your RCD trip switches would have melted and the house would be alight.....

HalloweenJack

whats the output of your electric radiator?


a 3kw radiator (purchased from comet for £40) would potentially use the same energy as a 2kw one , but for 4 hours a day less

3000*8*540 (days = 18 months, 6 months per year for 3 years) = 12960 kwh

Cyril

Thanks HJ i'll have a look.

chris1973

I work in Electronics, but not for a DNO or a linesman, (who I suspect you'll need to answer your question with any authority). However i'll add my 2p worth.

The pole mounted thing, is a Transformer. These are fitted in rural locations to drop the high transmission voltage (usually around 11kv or 32kv) which is carried over the poles, down to the 230 / 240v which you get in a property.

These are therefore fitted 'upstream' of the actual meter, in other words the high voltage passes through it and reduces to the lower voltage before it reaches the meter, rather than the transformer being fitted after the meter, where any consumption during a malfunction would be registered. The meter is therefore only monitoring what is being fed through the consumer unit and into the property, and not what is being lost through network faults or losses before it reaches it.

Electricity meters, especially modern digital ones, are reasonably immune to interferance from spikes and surges, they have to be because of instability in the network such as high winds and lightening. Chances are, any surge large enough to damage it, would have caused it to either display an error or just stop working altogether.

Interesting that the Transformer exploded and you are suffering from high consumption!. In my (limited) experience rural transformers exploding are usually down to two main factors. Namely, the inside copper coils running low on cooling oil, or excessive demand being drawn off them - although the service fuse into the property should blow long before damage is caused to the transformer. Are you certain that your mobile home (and any other buildings owned by you) is the only property being fed from this pole or more importantly, your meter?.

Cyril

Thankyou Chris.

I think it unlikely anyone else is connected tbh as it was a new supply to us and no-one else is around. The only other people I can think it would possibly be is the Highways agency if they were needing any electric for repairs as the transformer is next to a motorway.

JC_Derby

Fault current flows towards source. the transformer exploding will not have caused your high meter reading.
excellent answer by the way from Chris.