Help us to reduce our energy costs

Andy_WSM

YORKSHIRELASS wrote: »

Our oil heating system uses electricity to power the pump. I am starting to wonder how much this actually uses - the heating was on for about 3 hours yesterday.

Hardly anything!

Electric shower? How long is it in use for?

System

Worth a glance. Desktop PC on for 6 hours a day = 1Kwh. Little things x time soon add up.

Appliance Rating
Immersion heater 3000W
Fridge 40-120W
Electric fire 2000-3000W
Fridge-freezer 200-400W
Oil-filled radiator 1500-2500W
Electric shower 1500 - 3000W
Electric mower 500-1500W
Dishwasher 1050-1500W
Electric drill 900-1000W
Washing machine 1200-3000W
Hairdryer 1000W
Tumble dryer 2000-3000W
Heating blanket 130-200W
Iron 1000-1800W
Plasma TV 280-450
Vacuum cleaner 500-1200W
LCD TV 125-200W
Towel rail 250W
Video, DVD or CD 20-60W
Deep fryer 1200W
TV box 30-40W
Toaster 800-1500W
Games console 45-190W
Kettle 2200-3000W L
Laptop 20-50W
Microwave 600-1500W
Desktop computer 80-150W
Oven 2000-2200W
Tablet (charge) 10W
Grill/hob 1000-2000W
Broadband router 7-10W
Dehumidifier 300-700W
Smart phone (charge) 2.5-5W
Extractor fan 1-36W

lstar337

Hengus wrote: »

Electric shower 1500 - 3000W

Electric shower is going to be more like 7500 - 10500W.

System

I stand corrected. Just found this site:

http://www.sust-it.net/electric-showers.php

YORKSHIRELASS

Thanks all, really helpful, especially Hengus. Our shower is 7.5kw, its fairly new and I remember its the only one we could get to fit. I have bought a little kitchen timer to put in the bathroom so everyone can try and get a shower in less than 5 minutes.

My hubby has been to Wickes today and they had LED bulbs in the sale for £3.99 so he bought the last 6 they had. These are now swapped over.

I am going to keep taking daily readings for a couple of weeks before I jump to any conclusions about what is going on.

matelodave

If you reckon you are using 18-20kwh a day without washing or heating then you need to have a serious look at what is using it all. Your shower will be using 1kwh every eight minutes so look to how long everyone uses it.

Our average over the whole year is 20kwh a day but we are all electric - heating, hot water, washing, drying, cooking, dishwashing etc.
In the summer it's around 8kwh a day including hot water but it can wind up to 50 kwh a day in the winter when it's very cold (-10 or lower) and the heating is working hard - it's a heatpump and so very sensitive to temperature variations.

unicell

In October 2013 I installed a Voltage Optimisaton unit. My home has every energy saving device imaginable. I work in Utilities Monitoring so also have automated meter reading equipment attached to the electric, gas, water and solar PV meters. If you have access to the technology AMR is the best method to identify efficiencies but do invest in new equipment, it always has a payback. Especially, a new gas boiler.

matelodave

Have a look at this, it's a continuous plot of our electricity consumption over time using EnergyHive.

http://www.energyhive.com/dashboard/dave

It comprises of a clip on sensor which fits onto one of the cables between the meter and fuseboard and measures the power flowing through the cable. This is wirelessly transmitted to a bridge unit which is connected to your broadband router. The dashboard shows what is being used and when. No electrical knowledge is required as it just clips on.

It can really help you manage your electricity consumption as it gives you virtually real-time information (a reading is sent every six seconds) so you even see when someone turns on a light, boils the kettle or turns the TV on. Stuff like the heating or immersion heater use really show up but it also shows what is just sitting cooking away all the time.

The energy baseline shows what is always being consumed even when you though everything was turned off (mine is stuff like the router, Skybox and other odds and sods but it still costs me £250 a year before I switch anything else on )

When you know what's using it you can do something about it.

Martyn1981

Hello Yorkshirelass. Bit of a long shot this one, but is there any chance your fridge/freezer is faulty?

I'm generalising, but if a new freezer uses 1kWh per day, and an older less efficient one 2kWh per day, you could find that a 'tired' out machine running the compressor most of the day uses 4, 5 or more kWh per day.

When it/they are running the compressor they will make much more noise, are they doing this a lot through the day (most of the day) or just short spells every few hours?

Mart.

YORKSHIRELASS

Martyn1981 wrote: »

Hello Yorkshirelass. Bit of a long shot this one, but is there any chance your fridge/freezer is faulty?
Mart.

Yes, this is perfectly possible actually. Our freezer was given to me by my brother at least 10 years ago - and I am not even sure how long he had it before he moved. We have found one thats A rated for £160 so I think its worth the investment.

We only used 15 units yesterday which is much better. I am still monitoring it.

Thanks for the other suggestions.