Huge daily consumption spike - powercuts???

Jo64

We have recently had a breakdown of our electricity consumption over several years due to having queried a huge rise over a perod of time which frankly is completely outrageous! Ina nutshell over the period of Sept '10 to June '11 daily consumption was an average of 112 units...usually it is between 10 and 20 depending on the season. The only advice we have had is to watch the meter (we've done that and it's fine) or pay for someone (@£200) to come and test the meter. We obviously want to avoid doing this as we can't afford this.
However I have been trying to research into what could be the cause of this anomoly and have drawn a blank. I have a feeling that the following factors MUST have an affect on things. We live in a very isolated village in Wales and have regular powercuts due to weather, trees, powerlines coming down etc. Could this have an effect on things...ie power surges clocking up the usage etc.???

p.s we also have not had any new appliences, building work done and have oil central heating (other questions we've been asked by elec co)

rogerblack

You're sure the meter read was accurate before?
Are you on an energy 7 tarrif?

Jo64

Thanks for the suggestions ... The previous reading was accurate. I'm not sure what Energy 7 is, so I guess we're not on it, and there has certainly not been any change to the type of tariff we're on which might cause any sort of change to the daily usage.

chris1973

You say that visual readings from the meter are 'completely fine', do you mean that they are in line with what you would expect to use in your size of household or in line with the high usage that the bills indicate?

Also bear in mind that changes in technology and familiy size take place over the years, and compared to several years ago, there are a larger percentage of everyday items like Games Consoles, Larger sized screen TV's, Spa Baths etc which may be in use today, which weren't several years ago, and may all contribute to a larger usage pattern if they are applicable to your own domestic situation. Of course non of them would singlehandily account for 112 KW/H per day but the may get it above the figures you saw years ago.

For surges to account for the usage you are seeing, and with the regularity of being a daily event then circuit breakers would be popping, bulbs blowing and sensitive equipment like PC equipment, Sky Boxes etc, crashing and self destructing right, left and centre!.

If the reading(s) on the meter throughout the period tally with the numbers on each physical bill then its not going to be a meter misreading by the supply company or meter reader. Do you also submit readings on a regular basis yourself, either online or via a card if you miss the meter reader visits?

You can test meter accuracy yourself by running one connected appliance of a known rating continuously for a period of 1 hour.

The easiest thing to do is to disconnect everything from the mains (including fridge / freezers which will be fine unopened for 1 hour), and run either a 1KW or 2KW heater on its maximum setting in a coldish room. During 1 hour, a 1KW heater will use exactly 1 unit of Electricity, and a 2KW heater will use 2 units. You can even shorten the period if you like with a 2KW heater as it will use 1 unit of electricity in 30 minutes of use.

So if you do this and see your meter has recorded 5 units for example, then its reasonable to suspect that its out of tolerance and not recording accurately, and so its then well worth the fee to get somebody out to carry out more comprehensive testing / checks.

It is important that whatever appliance you leave running for the period is the only one running in the household and that it draws current continuously throughout the period.

Also bear in mind that a 3KW Appliance running 24/7 would record around 72 KW/H (units) of Electricity per day on its own, so it is easy to miss appliances which might be contributing to the usage. A work colleague had a heater running in his loft whilst doing a loft conversation, then flew off to a winter holiday over Xmas accidentally leaving the heater on full from the day before he left the house.....it did wonders for his Electric Bill!,

chanz4

your supplier should test for free, write the reads down for 7 days at the same time and see what the advances are. If they are high but similar it maybe your wirring or consumer unit. If surges, contact your local distrubution.