Sub £50 energy consumption monitor. It says it'll save you 25% off energy bills

Vancat

Thanks Cardew
I see your point. Never mind; reading since this morning now says 5kwhs used today so far. So don't know if that's good/bad or whatever, but at least it's making me think about it!;)
Didn't cook today (electric oven, usually on for 4 hours for Sunday roast etc) so next week will be different! Making toast a couple of hours ago sent the alarm off! (Default is 5kwh...I set it to 3.... perhaps too optimistic of me!)
Regards
VC

philng

Just got an efergy meter. They are great. Some observations:

1) Main cost is our use of 9kwh shower for 4 people each day. Just trying out baths last few days to see whether cheaper-First signs are that this will be a lot cheaper-Electric on these days 40% lower! although I know there is the increased gas cost.

2) Surprised at how much Sky+ even on standby costs with DVD player on standby I worked out it costs £50 per year!-Now switch off when not using.

3) Replaced 9 x 60watt light bulbs with energy bulbs-now 9 x 14watts at 75% cost saving.

4) You really notice increase in use on meter when boiling kettle/cooking etc.

5) first day of use 16kw for day have managed 9-11 in last 3 days just by being more aware of leaving things on and reducing shower use.

6) Currently running at 1-2p and hour when nothing on bar American FF and seperate freezer.

7) Plasma 50in costing 3p an hour.

I am sure I will easily save cost of purchase £37 via ecohamster on E bay quickly.

Cardew

A couple of points.

Firstly something is very wrong if your Sky+ box and DVD are costing £50 a year - even on standby. That equates to an average of approx 60 Watts left on 24/7.
There have been many posts that a Sky Box(all varieties) use approx 14Watts - and that corresponds with the 3 I have owned(Sky, Sky+ and Sky HD)
A DVD should be no more than a couple of Watts on Standby,

So you have some faulty equipment or your calculations/assumptions are incorrect.
This is of course the advantage of the £6 Lidl/Aldi type power measuring meter. You just plug in the appliance and you can see the actual consumption over a period of time.

Unless you have very long showers(or share bath water) I doubt that baths will be more economical than electric showers as you use far more water.

The 1-2p an hour equates to 100-200W, with only the FF and freezer; that sounds like you measured that when one or both of the compressors were running.(were they?)
Without those appliances it should be virtually zero. What do they cost to run? Your machine can't tell you.

ic

If you switch your Sky+ off, how is it going to record anything or update its programme guide?

philng

The point I was making was if 4 in a home are using a shower for up to 30 mins per day this is a large portion of your daily Electric usage and my early calculations are that if this is followed every day of a year it will cost almost £160 per year just for showers:

say 5kwh used per day 30 mins per day x 9.5 kwh shower x 9p per unit = 43p per day x 365 = £156

This is out of our total electric bill per year of just over £400 and equates to 40% of our electric.

The sky+ box is brand new and is definitely costing 1/2p an hour on standby which equates to £43 over a year.

espresso

ic wrote: »

If you switch your Sky+ off, how is it going to record anything or update its programme guide?

There is money saving and there is being plain stupid i.e. what is the point of paying for a Sky+ box and then switching it off.

:rolleyes:

I very much doubt that these boxes cost anywhere near £50 per year to run when on standby, and also question this calculation!

Cardew

philng wrote: »

The sky+ box is brand new and is definitely costing 1/2p an hour on standby which equates to £43 over a year.

Well it is faulty! I suggest you get it changed.

0.5p an hour at the 9pkWh you pay is 55 Watts. That is 4 times what it should be.

Just measured mine(again) and it is a steady 12 Watts.

espresso

philng wrote: »

Just got an efergy meter. They are great.

Or perhaps this 'efergy meter' is not as good as the OP thinks it is!

:rotfl:

Cardew

I wonder why people who are aware that their shower is rated at 9kW and that their electricity costs 9p for a kWh need a machine to tell them what the shower costs to run for an hour. 9 times 9 is errr?

Or that their meter indicates a big jump when they switch on the electric kettle. For a 3 kW kettle that will cost 27p an hour!

Chrysalis

philng wrote: »

Just got an efergy meter. They are great. Some observations:

1) Main cost is our use of 9kwh shower for 4 people each day. Just trying out baths last few days to see whether cheaper-First signs are that this will be a lot cheaper-Electric on these days 40% lower! although I know there is the increased gas cost.

2) Surprised at how much Sky+ even on standby costs with DVD player on standby I worked out it costs £50 per year!-Now switch off when not using.

3) Replaced 9 x 60watt light bulbs with energy bulbs-now 9 x 14watts at 75% cost saving.

4) You really notice increase in use on meter when boiling kettle/cooking etc.

5) first day of use 16kw for day have managed 9-11 in last 3 days just by being more aware of leaving things on and reducing shower use.

6) Currently running at 1-2p and hour when nothing on bar American FF and seperate freezer.

7) Plasma 50in costing 3p an hour.

I am sure I will easily save cost of purchase £37 via ecohamster on E bay quickly.

On sky+ if you measuring its best to delay it as the hard drive doesnt power down immediatly when you put in standby, obviously if you have timed recordings on sky+ turning the box off will stop them working.