is it possible to "leak" electricity?

C_Mababejive

Electricity can leak away. Thats why they make these or unused sockets.

poppasmurf_bewdley

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Electricity can leak away. Thats why they make these or unused sockets.

These are not made to stop electricity 'leaking'. They are to prevent little fingers exploring and getting electrocuted.

ChaunceyGardiner

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

These are not made to stop electricity 'leaking'. They are to prevent little fingers exploring and getting electrocuted.

Don't let Johnny Ball hear you say that.

Cardew

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Electricity can leak away. Thats why they make these or unused sockets.

That is only for electricity produced from Hydro electric power stations, and possibly in the future that produced by wave power.

silverwhistle

lorhen1966 wrote: »

I realise we are not an average sized family and have acknowledged that we are high users so have compared like with like - your situation is very different to mine and doesn't give me anything to compare against. .

But this is the problem for all of us when making these comparisons - how long is a piece of string? I looked at your list of appliances and thought maybe the answer is right there, but that's speaking as someone who doesn't have any TVs in the house. :-) As a single person I import <1800 kWh of gas and electricity into my house per year, but I've got PV panels and a woodburner. There are so many variables that make things difficult. The idea of checking when you are away on holiday is a good one though to get your baseload.

baldelectrician

On the original point


The excess usage may be caused by the following


- Fridge or freezer thermostats (I was at a house yesterday and was in for several hours during which time the fridge freezer did not stop running)


-Under floor heating (electric), this may have a timer / thermostat which may be up too high and running all the time


- Lighting, lights are a low use but long burn time so can cause a lot of money-




For example -my dad has dementia and had 4 x 50 w recessed spots in the kitchen (which he kept forgetting to switch off).
I installed a movement sensor that kept the lights on for 20 mins after someone entered the bathroom (and restarted the timer if it detected movement during that time).
He got a £200 electricity bill refund 2 months later


I put in 6w LED versions in when we did the bathroom up later on

baldelectrician

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Electricity can leak away. Thats why they make these or unused sockets.

Sorry to hijack the thread but these 'safety' socket covers are dangerous and should be binned as soon as possible.


http://www.fatallyflawed.org.uk/

badmemory

I don't think you are using much electricity at all, well not compared to us. Over 8000 Kw per year, small 3 bed with gas heating, only 2 occupants and no tumble drier. But over 1000 per year is used by my son showering! And I can hear the fans on his computer on another floor!

chiny

Electricity can leak... to earth. At one time, gizmos called "earth leakage circuit breakers" used to exist and trip out when the leakage got too bad. I think these are now renamed RCDs or RCCDs or similar. Of course, the tripping current is small, milliamps, to protect life and limb and won't be noticeable on an electric bill.

I had such an electricity leak a few years ago, which kept tripping my upstairs lights. Eventually, I found a cooked spider in a ceiling rose; cleaning it out solved the problem.