Faulty Meter?

Pandoras_Socks

Hey guys, I recently got hit with a pretty big bill by british gas (£190 for the quarter) which might not seem that large but I live in a bedsit, so I figured something was amiss here especially given the fact I live pretty much minimalistically. I recently had some boiler repairs done too and after having contacted my letting agent I was informed my boiler is now running on 24 hour supply constantly and not off-peak, i'm not even sure if this is correct information because as far as I was aware the electricity supply completely switches to off peak at 1am regardless of what label is above the plug, anyway I digress.

I've been turning my boiler off whenever it's not in use since the last quarterly bill so its rarely on and the only other thing using electricity more than a few hours a day is my computer (i've never used the heating yes I like the cold)

So i submitted my meter reads today to see how I'm doing 12 days into the month after the last read and my daytime usage is nice and low, but the night time usage seems outlandishly high. I'm not leaving anything on overnight, I turn my boiler off every night before i go to bed and the only other electricity being used is my fridge really, because of this i'm at a bit of a loss as to why my night time usage is so high.

Readings are below anyway;

1st read; Day = 46.0 kwh / night = 112 kwh
2nd read; Day = 76kwh / night = 596 kwh
3rd read; day = 199kwh / night = 1348

And as mentioned I submitted readings 12 days after the bill today, and my usage is 16kwh on the day meter and 117kwh on the night meter.

I'd really appreciate any advice or just a second opinion really, thanks guys.

Biscuit_Tin

Over what periods are the meter readings taken?

Are they actual meter readings, or the consumption quantities?

One thing you might want to try is turning off all your appliances and seeing if the meter records any consumption

Probably unlikley that just one register is recording a faulty consumed quantity, as I think the metering is the same 24/7 - it just records the consumption on a different registry as appropriate.

macman

Are you saying that you have an electric boiler driving a wet CH system, or by 'boiler' do mean an immersion heater in your hot tank?
If the former, then being on E7 is insane, as all your heating costs will be on peak rate. If the latter, then why do you turn your immersion heater off at night when you should be heating up your hot water on cheap night rate?#Forget PC's and fridges, what burns power is hot water and heating.

Pandoras_Socks

Biscuit_Tin wrote: »

Over what periods are the meter readings taken?

The figures i posted were consumption, the reading intervals were 1 month, 2 months, 3 months, 12 days.

One thing you might want to try is turning off all your appliances and seeing if the meter records any consumption

Going to try this when i get a chance (the fuse breakers are locked behind 2 doors which as of now i dont have the keys to, ill be getting my hands on them within a a few days

Probably unlikley that just one register is recording a faulty consumed quantity, as I think the metering is the same 24/7 - it just records the consumption on a different registry as appropriate.

I agree, there's been some strange circumstances that meant the readings have never been reliable/predictable though. This is the first month in the 6 i've lived here that the boiler has been functional for over a week basically.

Pandoras_Socks

macman wrote: »

Are you saying that you have an electric boiler driving a wet CH system, or by 'boiler' do mean an immersion heater in your hot tank?

It's 2 immersion heaters in the water tank basically, one runs 24 hours a day so it runs from 7am till 1am on peak supply and 1am till 7am on off peak supply/

If the former, then being on E7 is insane, as all your heating costs will be on peak rate. If the latter, then why do you turn your immersion heater off at night when you should be heating up your hot water on cheap night rate?#Forget PC's and fridges, what burns power is hot water and heating.

Basically both of the immersion heaters in the boiler blew out, one runs 24 hours a day if its left on, the other runs on off peak supply, when it was fixed however the immersion heaters were both swapped out but the thermostat on the off peak heater was broken and was NOT replaced, so while i do have a working off peak immersion heater i can't actually use it because when it's turned on it just heats up indefinetly.

I turn it off at night for this reason, but given the 1 working heater is brand new it boils the tank in about 1 hour, so i turn it off overnight, then turn it on when i wake up for about an hour so i can get a shower, then turn it off for basically the rest of the day, maybe switching it on for an hour here or there for hot water to wash up with etc.

Thanks for the replies btw guys.

[Deleted User]

Watch out for analogue timer switches, which govern the switchover times, being way off the correct time. I see many of these happily clicking the night time digits up in the middle of the afternoon. Thats a plus factor if you are aware of it. If you have one of these, check the pointer at the bottom to see what time the meter thinks it is.
Also beware of meter readers who can`t tell night from day when they check these meters. I went to one only yesterday as a check read for the meter reader who logged down night for day and vice versa. Very common with digital meters where they just use rates 1 and 2 to indicate night and day.

lstar337

Pandoras_Socks wrote: »

the immersion heaters were both swapped out but the thermostat on the off peak heater was broken and was NOT replaced, so while i do have a working off peak immersion heater i can't actually use it because when it's turned on it just heats up indefinetly.

Get this fixed immediately.

Not only is it costing a bomb, it could actually turn into a bomb! OK, a little over the top, but an immersion heater with no thermostat is dangerous.

OhReally_2

Pandoras_Socks wrote: »

...Basically both of the immersion heaters in the boiler blew out, one runs 24 hours a day if its left on, the other runs on off peak supply, when it was fixed however the immersion heaters were both swapped out but the thermostat on the off peak heater was broken and was NOT replaced, so while i do have a working off peak immersion heater i can't actually use it because when it's turned on it just heats up indefinetly....

Is that so?

Personally I have never come across an immersion thermostat that has ever failed in the closed position (and believe me I have seen a lot of failed immersion thermostats in my time)

However, following I believe 2 rare examples of such incidents having occurred resulting in tragic accidents, for over 10 years now, it has been policy that all immersion heaters now have a supplementary thermal cut out. This applies to any repair, replacement or installation in a domestic property.

Refer: BS EN 60335-2-73:2003+A2:2009 Household and similar electrical appliances. Safety. Particular requirements for fixed immersion heaters.

Time to get a professional in.

Pandoras_Socks

lstar337 wrote: »

Get this fixed immediately.

Not only is it costing a bomb, it could actually turn into a bomb! OK, a little over the top, but an immersion heater with no thermostat is dangerous.

Its been "fixed" as far as my LL is concerned, the immersion heater in question isn't actually working / doesn't turn on so its not actually using any power, I know it's not ideal but its how it is

OhReally; wrote: »

Is that so?

Personally I have never come across an immersion thermostat that has ever failed in the closed position (and believe me I have seen a lot of failed immersion thermostats in my time)

I had both my LL's electrician and plumber in to do the job and while they aren't happy with the job they were basically strongarmed into rushing/finishing they've let it that way, like i said the off peak immersion heater isn't actually functioning, but when it is turned on it works constantly and eventually opens the P/T relief valve and constantly drains hot water until it's turned off.

The main factor as to why they're so unwilling to have it fixed is because not only is it installed illegally (less than 20% of the actual tank is visible) to gain access you have to basically remove half of the kitchen units, i'd probably have to take my LL to court to get it fixed.

Pandoras_Socks

sacsquacco wrote: »

Watch out for analogue timer switches, which govern the switchover times, being way off the correct time. I see many of these happily clicking the night time digits up in the middle of the afternoon. Thats a plus factor if you are aware of it. If you have one of these, check the pointer at the bottom to see what time the meter thinks it is.
Also beware of meter readers who can`t tell night from day when they check these meters. I went to one only yesterday as a check read for the meter reader who logged down night for day and vice versa. Very common with digital meters where they just use rates 1 and 2 to indicate night and day.

I've been in once to check the meters and they are the readings are being taken the correct way around, this was however at the start of my tenancy when the numbers were A LOT lower than what they are now, my night reading was initially a good 2000 units below my day reading, now however it's actually catching up. I'm starting to suspect it might have been tapped into after something a neighbour "mentioned" to me, so as soon as I can get back in i'll be isolating the breaker's inside my flat, then checking the actual meter to see if it's still clocking up, it's digital too by the way.

Thanks again guys.