standby electricity costs

elantan

i have been trying to get on top of our gas and electricity consumption and have learned a few things along the way ... the latest being ive taken meter readings just before going to bed and the only electricity being used is to run the fridge freezer p.c etc ... we used 5 units over a 12 hour period, the only other consumption ( other than the standby things) was t.v plus digital box for 30 mins and the kettle boiled just enough for a coffee ... multiplying that by two ( as there are 24 hours in a day) leads me to understand that we are using 10 units per day purely on running things on standby ...

so last night we unplugged the kettle ( not sure if it uses anything up when its not boiling) we unplugged the dehumidifyer, the cameras ( burgled last year) and turned off the p.c this morning we did the same 30 mins t.v and digi box and kettle for coffee and we only used 3 units ...

is this normal for standby consumption ?

penrhyn

So 2Kwh over 12 hours, i.e. 166 watts / hour. Was the dehumidifier on before?

elantan

O we left that off both nights ... But have kept it on previous to this

rogerblack

elantan wrote: »

i have been trying to get on top of our gas and electricity consumption and have learned a few things along the way

I'd strongly recommend getting one of these: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Energenie-Energy-Saving-Power-Meter-/320503970289?pt=UK_ConsumerElectronics_PowerAdaptors_SM&hash=item4a9f8679f1

(or similar - I have no idea about this seller).

It makes this trivial - you plug the appliance in, and if it's one that turns on and off, you get a total after a few hours for that appliance only.
If it's one that is on all the time in standby - then you get a figure instantly.
Really handy, and makes it possible to go round every single item in your home quite fast.

Though the first thing to do is to turn _absolutely_everything_ off - and see if the meter stops turning/flashing/beeping/mooing.

elantan

Thanks ... I was more wondering if 10 or maybe 6 units in 24 hours is a normal amount for standby things ... I am changing bulbsand turning lights off ... Only boiling what we need in the kettle, turning the cooker off a wee bit early and the oven as well ... So I am slowly getting there ... But our daily consumption was 18 units per day ... To think 10 of these were standby was a bit of hair raising lesson to learn

rogerblack

First thing you need to work out is is the meter faulty, or is there some load you do not know of connected.
10kWh standby/day is rather high - 10/24 = 350W or so.

If the supply meter does not move with everything - and I mean everything, fridges, cookers, phone chargers - off, it's not likely to be due to a fault.

The above load is costing you 90p/day.
If with the aid of the plug-in-meter, you can reduce it to 60p/day - then it's paid back in under a month.

10kWh is high.
Dehumidifier could easily use two, digital TV box in standby - another one, fridge and freezer one each, ... Do you have an immersion heater?

Working out which appliances are using more power is tricky without a meter.
In short - if it's stone cold, it's not using much power.
If it's warm it may be.

DVardysShadow

penrhyn wrote: »

So 2Kwh over 12 hours, i.e. 166 watts / hour. Was the dehumidifier on before?

No, not 166 Watts/hour

It's 166 Watt hours/hour

ie 166 Watts

victor2

Don't underestimate what a fridge/freezer uses. Modern TVs on standby use next to nothing.
If you do get one of the monitors mentioned, just put it on your fridge for 24 hours and you'll soon see how much that accounts for. Other things will add up but are small in their own right - alarm system, broadband modem/router etc. Switch the power off for a few hours and see what you have that you can't live without.
If you have an electric shower, that uses a lot and you can't put one of those monitors on it as it won't have a 13 amp plug, but just watch the meter zip round while the shower is running and you'll soon get an idea of what a 10 minute shower costs!

penrhyn

DVardysShadow wrote: »

No, not 166 Watts/hour

It's 166 Watt hours/hour

ie 166 Watts

My brain hurts.:D

MillicentBystander

Make sure the freezer is full (put bread in it if need be). It costs more to run an empty freezer than a full one.

Pincher

Have a look at the John Lewis website, it tells you what each model uses a year. If it's wildly out, maybe you have a broken seal or the magnet isn't holding the door shut. Coolant leak?

My total electric bill was 1101 for 1st Aug to 1st Nov, so 12kWh per day. I have two showers fans that are PIR and humidity triggered, and then nine lights that are PIR sensor triggered.

Wireless security cameras are the stupidest idea ever.

No wire to carry the video, great, but you have to run a power cable to each location anyway, and then you have to install a 3 pin socket! In the most awkward places, which is why you bought wireless in the first place. With the wired camera, the 20m cable carries the video and the power in one co-ax sized cable: You mount the camera, plug it in, and that's it. If you are in, and don't need the camera system on, you switch the base station off, and everything is off.

With the wireless setup, you have to wire all the remote sockets to a common switch, even more installation hassle, so you can switch them off. If you didn't wire it that way, you are forced to have it on forever, which becomes a permanent standby drain.