Another faulty electric meter thread

TheLookingGlass

Hi all

I recently moved into a new build one bed flat, and suspect that my electric meter is faulty. The developer has directed me to get in touch with my supplier.

My supplier was originally British Gas, who initially estimated a consumption of 1.94kwh a day, which might have been optimistic, but it's just 1 bed flat, with LED lighting, wet underfloor heating (ie. not electric), no immersion heater, etc.

I first noticed the high readings when I changed supplier and submitted meter readings to British Gas. Apparently I'm using 7kwh per day - this is over a period of 3 months.

My supplier now is Solarplicity, and I've reported it to them. They said I'll receive a letter with a confirmed date for an engineer to come out in mid December. It will cost £70 if it's not faulty.

My neighbour also has a one bed flat. His consumption over the last few months (according to his meter) is 2.35kwh per day.

I spoke to him about his appliance use and we're pretty similar, although I probably use the dishwasher slightly more and cook slightly more than him (induction hob and fan oven).

Do you think these small differences could add up to almost 5kwh per day?

Can anyone suggest tests before the engineer visit? My meter is digital and doesn't have decimal points - I don't think it's possible to do a kettle test or anything similar.

Thanks

System

Hi. A daily consumption of 7kWhs per day is by no means excessive. It you use a dishwasher then heating the water and drying the dishes can use more electricity than you might think. Going down the route of getting your meter checked is somewhat OTT. I would have done some simple consumption checks first. For example, reading the meter; running a dishwasher cycle and then checking how many units you have used. Do the same before and after you use the oven.

On what basis did BG calculate usage of 1.94kWhs a day?

https://www.cse.org.uk/advice/advice-and-support/how-much-electricity-am-i-using

reeac

We use 3 kWh per day when we are away on hol. ...just the two fridges and two freezers.

House_Martin

That seems fine to me, 7kwh a day when the average is around 9 kwh a day with gas heating.
If you have an electric fire with 2 or 3 bars they are 1 kwhs each so one hours use with one bar would use 1 unit on the meter.
A kettle is nt really any good for measuring usage.
Depends what figures where fed to BG to come up with such a low figure as less than 2 kwhs a day estimate.
Personally I would cancel the "engineer " because there is a chance you will lose £70.
Do some more tests before going down that road

matelodave

We have to be on holiday with everything switched off including the fridge but not the freezer, router, skybox, powerline adapters and a couple of clocks and we still use 3.5kwh a day. This increases to 8-10 when we are heating water, cooking, watching TV, computers, making coffee etc.

It rises to 14-15 when washing, drying or dishwashing, so your 7kwh a day is pretty good.

Nick_C

We are currently using 9 KWh a day. Two person household. All LED lighting. Washing machine, tumble dryer, electric oven, power shower, water softener. Gas hob, gas CHHW. No dishwasher. Over the year, the average has been 8 KWh/day.

I am careful not to waste electricity. When we are watching TV, we have two lamps on totaling 10 Watts. TV is switched off when not in use, not stand by. Navy showers, not Hollywood showers. Use the top oven, not the main one, for small quantities. Cook veg in the oven or microwave instead of boilng in a pan.

At the risk of stirring up another hornet's nest, can you get a smart meter? The IHD may help you reduce your consumption. If you can't, I would suggest reading your meter at least daily and recording the results. Also, do a reading when you go out to work and when you get home. Measure your background usage.

Good luck.

LewisHamilton

Averaging 7 kWh per day would suggest to me that your electricity meter is not faulty.

I average 5 kWh per day, work from home and I do not have a dishwasher. I live alone and my shower is not electric as use gas for all heating purposes. I do have an electric over and hob and LED lighting like you, which is why we are averaging at a similar amount.

The difference of 2 kWh over 365 days would suggest over 12 months you use 730 kWh more electricity than I do. Using an average price per kWh of 13 pence after VAT, that would suggest you are paying £94.90 more than me for electricity over a full year or about £8 per month. You have a dishwasher that I do not have and maybe other electrical appliances such as an electric towel rail?

I don't know but I'd say your electricity consumption is low for the circumstances you describe as I consider my daily average of 5 kWh to be low. I think your more than likely wasting £70 to have your meter tested for accuracy.

In fact, I am 98% confident that your meter is not faulty and it is recording within tolerance. If it is faulty, I'd be extremely surprised.

TheLookingGlass

Thanks for all the replies

Isn't it a bit strange though that my usage is three times my neighbours, and he lives in a virtually identical flat and uses the appliances a similar amount?

We've got a residents facebook group and I just checked over a post I put on there a while ago, and this is what people came back with:

(Next door neighbour mentioned above - 2.35kwh per day)
Neighbour 1 - 2kwh per day
Neighbour 2- 7.7kwh per day (says he runs the dishwasher twice a day)
Neighbour 3- 8kwh per day (complaining)
Neighbour 4- 3.3kwh per day

In terms of tests - the meter is down the corridor in a cupboard, and it doesn't have decimal places after the kwh reading. This makes it quite difficult to run a dishwasher cycle and find out how much electricity it uses - My meter could be reading 100.0 or 100.9kwh and it would still show 100 (correct me if I'm wrong)

Hengus - The BG estimate was a personal 12 month projection when I moved into the flat.

Reeac - I just checked online and my fridge freezer uses 0.75kwh per day, so if you've got two fridges and two freezers that sounds about right.

matelodave - yours sounds high though? Unless you have a massive old freezer that's using 3kwh a day?

Nick - thanks for the info on your usage. I've taken a number of readings and they all come out at a little over 7kwh per day, but yes I'll measure my background usage when I go to work.

Someone else in the development has had a smart meter installed so I'll request that first - that's probably the best place to start Thanks for the tip.

If anyone could advise on the way to carry out tests or my neighbour's usage that would be great. I know mine doesn't seem bad but it seems much higher than everyone else's and I think I'm fairly energy conscious (but not quite as much as Nick!)

TheLookingGlass

Thanks for that Lewis. Yes I do have a heated towel rail! It's on a timer for 1.5hours in the morning, which according to the label would use 0.7kwh...so it's all adding up.

I'll do the following now..

-Cancel the appointment
-Request a smart meter
-Monitor my background usage over a few days

I'll let you know how I get on.

Thanks everyone

LewisHamilton

TheLookingGlass wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies

Isn't it a bit strange though that my usage is three times my neighbours, and he lives in a virtually identical flat and uses the appliances a similar amount?

We've got a residents facebook group and I just checked over a post I put on there a while ago, and this is what people came back with:

(Next door neighbour mentioned above - 2.35kwh per day)
Neighbour 1 - 2kwh per day
Neighbour 2- 7.7kwh per day (says he runs the dishwasher twice a day)
Neighbour 3- 8kwh per day (complaining)
Neighbour 4- 3.3kwh per day

In terms of tests - the meter is down the corridor in a cupboard, and it doesn't have decimal places after the kwh reading. This makes it quite difficult to run a dishwasher cycle and find out how much electricity it uses - My meter could be reading 100.0 or 100.9kwh and it would still show 100 (correct me if I'm wrong)

Hengus - The BG estimate was a personal 12 month projection when I moved into the flat.

Reeac - I just checked online and my fridge freezer uses 0.75kwh per day, so if you've got two fridges and two freezers that sounds about right.

matelodave - yours sounds high though? Unless you have a massive old freezer that's using 3kwh a day?

Nick - thanks for the info on your usage. I've taken a number of readings and they all come out at a little over 7kwh per day, but yes I'll measure my background usage when I go to work.

Someone else in the development has had a smart meter installed so I'll request that first - that's probably the best place to start Thanks for the tip.

If anyone could advise on the way to carry out tests or my neighbour's usage that would be great. I know mine doesn't seem bad but it seems much higher than everyone else's and I think I'm fairly energy conscious (but not quite as much as Nick!)

I'd forget about your neighbours usage. It's irrelveant as we all use electric and the appliances diffirently and they could also be providing misinformation about their usage.

However, are all the meters located in the same cupboard? If so, you might want to just double check that you are being billed to the correct meter first of all. Run high usage appliances such as the oven and a kettle at the same time and check your meter

TheLookingGlass

Yes they're all in the same cupboard. Checked that it's mine by turning it off!