4015 electricity units per year... okay for us?

belowtheline2013

Hi guys

I have read through a few of the threads in here and have found that the average 3300 units per year for duel fuel. I don't know if 4015 is "okay" or quite shocking to some? It's hard to compare to the average as households vary so much!

We live in a 3 bedroom upper flat (the four in a block type so own front door etc.) We are two adults, a toddler and baby. OH works full-time and myself part-time so I am home 4 days a week with the kids. During the day we generally don't have the TV or anything on but OH likes it on all evening when he comes home. The TV etc. have to be left on standby as the TV is broken and if we switch the power off we can't get the sound to come back on. We also have a laptop which is probably fully charged twice a day. Other than that we have basic phones which only need charged once or twice a week. I cook using electricity at lunch and teatime. I try to be a bit economical when cooking and if something needs oven cooked I will try to make a whole meal in the oven. I will even boil eggs and veg, potatoes etc. in the same pot so I don't have two going! I vacuum generally once a day and can be pretty crappy at turning lights off but my OH follows me around switching them off behind me.

I have just got myself a Kindle Fire HD which seems to need charging most of the day although maybe less once the novelty of it wears off!

OH has a playstation which can be on all evening too (say 7pm-11pm) but would always be unplugged at bedtime.

We have a cold-fill dishwasher but it is brand new and claims to use 80% less energy than hand washing. Our washing machine is cold-fill and usually on twice a day.

We have an electric shower and generally shower once a day each (kids take a bath every hour day from the gas). I can be in the shower over 30minutes some nights as it's my way of unwinding after a bad day with the kids!

I don't use a tumble dryer (I use several clothes horses instead!!)

I'm guessing I could do quite a few things to cut our electricity -

Turning lights off when we are not in the room
Taking shorter showers or only showering every other night
Switching laptop charger off when done charging instead of leaving on all day!!

Am I missing anything?

I have thought about buying a new TV as OH is convinced it uses loads of electricity (I don't know) but I'm not convinced that it would be cost effective with the cost of the TV in too. Also our fridge freezer was second hand, it's an old "Kelvinator 2" but again I am not convinced that buying a new one to save electricity would be worth the extra cost in the long-term as the one we have is working perfectly fine.

I'm hoping that by posting it will shame me into saving electricity and updating you all. I just want to know that 4015 is not completely outrageous?

Gas consumption is excellent - 5-6 units per day so around £12 er month for us. Haven't had the heating on yet as it's reasonably warm but I expect this to jump alot when the time comes.

Nada666

I would relax and maintain your lifestyle and only alter things where and when you like. Cut unnecessary consumption if you like. Nothing wrong with being above average - nearly fifty percent of households are, don't you know?

Nada666

(And I am sure the OH's primary motive for wanting a new telly is to reduce electricity consumption!)

penrhyn

A thirty minute electric shower ( 9.5 Kw) would probably consume around 4Kw.
i.e 28 Kw a week, say 1500Kw over the year.
|Showers / Washing Machine / Electric Kettle / Electric Cooker,/Dish Washer is where you are using your electricity.
Chargers and lighting consumption is miniscule by comparison.

Get yourself a monitor and you'll get a better idea.

spiro

The two things to try and save on would be the shower, maybe turn it off part of the time while your washing and the washing machine twice a day (14 loads a week) sounds excessive. Also what temp do you wash at? Using a cool wash will reduce the consumption.

keith1950

I have just got myself a Kindle Fire HD which seems to need charging most of the day

As penrhyn but ......

Check that there is not an immersion heater that you don't know about ?

victor2

Shower will probably be the biggest user of electricity. As suggested, you could try to reduce the time in there a little. If it's an old CRT TV, it could be using quite a lot when on. That and the Playstation on for 4 hours a day could add up. Modern TVs use next to nothing on standby, difficult to say what yours will be using. For that sort of thing, one of the plug-in monitors, less than a tenner on fleabay, might be useful. Fridges tend not to use an awful lot, but they are on 24/7, so it can add up. Spending money on a newer energy efficient one may reduce the running cost a bit, but is very unlikely to be justified on cost - unless of course you find the existing one is faulty.

If you want to see what you are using on a daily basis, read your meter at about the same time each day for a few weeks and vary your use a bit to see what impact it has. Takes a little bit of effort, but costs nothing to do.

penrhyn

Sign up to imeasure, and record your weekly meter readings.

http://www.imeasure.org.uk/

Boxman

Certainly for your domestic situation and cooking with electric I suggest 4,015 kWh pa is by no means excessive. As others have said your main user is your shower which probably accounts for getting on for 40% of your annual consumption. The way to cut this back is obvious.

From my own experience as a conservative estimate you would probably save say 1 kWh per day with a new f/freezer ie around £48 to £50 but whilst the old one is working OK it is probably not worth changing just for that reason as the pay back time would be getting on for 6 years. Again, a new TV (but not a plasma) would use a bit less electricity but it is not worth buying one just for that reason.