KWH/Year - What?

JamesFews

Hi All,

I have found out that my fridge freezer uses 275KwH a year. That info is useless to me, I need to find out how much it draws everyday.

I have had solar panels installed and i am trying to get a list together of what uses how much in my household but it seems like all appliances have kwh written on it...i need to find out what that is in a daily amount so that when I look at the energy meter I know exactly how much each appliance is using for my own peace of mind.

So for instance every morning I come down its readin between 200 and 400w being imported before I have even turned the kettle on. So i need to find out exactly whats doing it...and no I cant turn everything off and turn them on one by one because there are some things that need to stay on.

Any ideas guys?

hollie.weimeraner

Well when I was at school some 40 years ago there were 365 days in a year (apart from leap years of course). Therefore 275 divided by 365 gives you the daily consumption. Easy peesy :beer:

HappyMJ

JamesFews wrote: »

Hi All,

I have found out that my fridge freezer uses 275KwH a year. That info is useless to me, I need to find out how much it draws everyday.

I have had solar panels installed and i am trying to get a list together of what uses how much in my household but it seems like all appliances have kwh written on it...i need to find out what that is in a daily amount so that when I look at the energy meter I know exactly how much each appliance is using for my own peace of mind.

So for instance every morning I come down its readin between 200 and 400w being imported before I have even turned the kettle on. So i need to find out exactly whats doing it...and no I cant turn everything off and turn them on one by one because there are some things that need to stay on.

Any ideas guys?

As previous reply 275 divide by 365 and you'll get kWh per day.

I think you're looking for a different figure.

The W rating of the appliance is usually printed in the manual. It might be something like 150W. A fridge compressor runs for around 5 minutes at full power then shuts off for the next 20 minutes and uses nothing which is why your meter might show 400W imported or 200W imported. It'll depend if the compressor is running or not.

Computers might be rated 200W but that doesn't mean they actually use 200W. They usually use around 60W. A laptop power supply might be rated 90W but use 30W. It's a lot of guess work really.

JamesFews

Hmm I see, well thank you for the reply. Looks like I will have to bite the bullet and do the turning off test!

Oh and yes i was looking for a different figure...what the appliances actually draw at any given moment.... which has now been answered by MJ thank you And Hollie I know how to work out the KwH per day but ty

Thanks again
James

matelodave

If you want to check appliance power consumption get an energy monitor or a plug-in monitor if want to measure individual items.

As said above, some stuff switches on & off under the influence of a thermostat or timer so only consumes power when on.

Same with washing machines, dishwashers, heaters, fridges, freezers and even lights. A washing machine rated at 2kw won't actually consume 2kwh in an hour as the heater & motors are only on intermittently during the wash cycle.

My laptop takes 65watts when the battery is flat and only around 30 when it's charged.

The Sky box takes more power when it's recording or playing back than when we are just watching TV or when it's in standby.

reeac

Our place uses around 10kWh per day when we are at home. When we are away on holiday it uses around 3 kWh per day. These data come from our little "Smartpower" meter which sits in our kitchen. When we are away the only demands come from a fridge and a freezer plus trivial demands from a clock or two so essentially it's the fridge and freezer
You mention solar panels; our 2.2 kW system has reduced our draw from the National Grid I.e. What we pay for by about 1000 to 1100kW per annum judging by before and after installation data. We make no particular effort to shift consumption to when the sun is shining.

Nada666

JamesFews wrote: »

Hmm I see, well thank you for the reply. Looks like I will have to bite the bullet and do the turning off test!

Oh and yes i was looking for a different figure...what the appliances actually draw at any given moment.... which has now been answered by MJ thank you And Hollie I know how to work out the KwH per day but ty

Thanks again
James

For a fridge that is as pointless a figure as your original question that you now deny asking.

Your original unwanted question is probably more useful. (Although, to be fair, peak draw would be something you probably want, too - although that is still of limited significance for a fridge.)

A consolation point for at least using 'kWh/year' and not 'kW/h/year'. But taken right back off for using 'everyday' rather than 'every day'.

Smiley_Dan

It is and it isn't pointless. It depends what your goal is. If you're trying to use as much generated power at the same time as importing zero, then the power draw is important.

You can get a Kill a Watt meter, but beware that these devices don't always measure inductive loads (such as compressors, which use motors) completely accurately.

matelodave

Get something like the EnergyHive monitor - I don't have Solar so it's only recording what I use. I know someone on here had it linked in to a Wattson which seemed able to record both incoming and locally generated power.


here's what mine shows http://www.energyhive.com/dashboard/dave and from it I've got a good idea of what's going on during the day and overnight.


We are all electric so it's easy to see when the heating kicks in, the fridge or freezer are running and even when the TV is turned on.


I can also check it on my tablet or mobile phone when I'm away - not that I can do much about it, but I can kick myself when I realise that I've left something on


You can also download daily, hourly and monthly records in CSV format into an Excel spread sheet. Fortunately I do this monthy as it went a bit awry in August when the transmitter (current cost) died and the new one reset the records as it's got a different identity.


This bloke has a Wattson which I think feeds into the EnergyHive server and you can see that it gives lot's more info although I don't know the cost or his configuration http://wattson.energyhive.com/dashboard/AndyW