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Usage increased 50% in a year - how to track it dow

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  • Talldave
    Talldave Posts: 2,002 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    matelodave wrote: »
    even a cheap and cheerful pond pump will consume around 25-30 watts. Something a bit more meaty would be 50 plus.

    50watts for 24hrs is 1.2kwh x 365 = 438kwh. At 13p/kwh = £57 a year so it's worthwhile checking how much each item uses. Putting them on a timeswitch and only running them for 12 hours a day instead of 24 would halve their consumption

    We were horrified when we found tha tthe transformers for our electrically operated recliner chairs took a continuous 15watts each even when the chair wasn't operating.

    That reminds me of a treadmill I once encountered that consumed 40W when "off", but plugged in.

    The pumps are a definite likely suspect.
  • Norman_Castle
    Norman_Castle Posts: 11,871 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    I've worked out the old TV cost us 4.44 per day and the new one 9.20
    Based on what? The ratings given on the tv will be maximums given to prevent socket overloading. My tv is rated at 60 watts but in use uses 28 watts.
  • Based on what? The ratings given on the tv will be maximums given to prevent socket overloading. My tv is rated at 60 watts but in use uses 28 watts.

    Well if that is the maximum then its less of an increase.
  • Pond pumps:

    We have koi so we can't switch them off for 12 hours or we would have dead koi.

    We have always had three pond pumps.

    The issue isn't our high usage - I'm happy with that as that is what we use.

    The issue is in April almost overnight we went from circa 600kw per month to circa 1000kW per month - whilst the TV might account for 10% of that, there literally was nothing else new added.

    husband has been off since last June and hasn't suddenly been mainlining tea (we have quooker so no kettles meaning shouldn't have any peak)
  • Talldave
    Talldave Posts: 2,002 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Ok, slightly confused because you referred to an additional pump. Doubly confused as I misunderstood your "May June" figures as for two months, not monthly. So my guesstimates on the TV are wrong. Sorry!

    Does your smart meter have a pulsing LED? If so, get a Geo Minim+ and monitor live consumption as you kill circuits on the consumer unit, in order to see where the consumption is going. If there is no flashing LED on the meter, you desperately need a working IHD.

    Getting back to dodgy maths, you appear to have gained a 500W load running 24/7 (like a security floodlight left on 24/7?), or it could be a 3kW load running 10 minutes an hour (immersion heater??).

    You'll only find it by doing some live monitoring.
  • Robin9
    Robin9 Posts: 12,773 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper

    husband has been off since last June and hasn't suddenly been mainlining tea (we have quooker so no kettles meaning shouldn't have any peak)


    I have to go back to the fact that your husband has been at home.
    Never pay on an estimated bill. Always read and understand your bill
  • Robin9 wrote: »
    I have to go back to the fact that your husband has been at home.

    He was at home June 2018 - June 2019

    the electricity only spiked April 2019
  • Talldave
    Talldave Posts: 2,002 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Robin9 wrote: »
    I have to go back to the fact that your husband has been at home.

    But he was at home for 8 months before consumption suddenly leapt by 400kWh per month?

    Perhaps he was reading "How to set up your own cannabis farm at home"?......
  • Talldave wrote: »
    Ok, slightly confused because you referred to an additional pump. Doubly confused as I misunderstood your "May June" figures as for two months, not monthly. So my guesstimates on the TV are wrong. Sorry!

    Does your smart meter have a pulsing LED? If so, get a Geo Minim+ and monitor live consumption as you kill circuits on the consumer unit, in order to see where the consumption is going. If there is no flashing LED on the meter, you desperately need a working IHD.

    Getting back to dodgy maths, you appear to have gained a 500W load running 24/7 (like a security floodlight left on 24/7?), or it could be a 3kW load running 10 minutes an hour (immersion heater??).

    You'll only find it by doing some live monitoring.

    I was working on what I could see previously but yesterday I put all the usage into a spreadsheet and now have pinpointed it to sometime in April.

    Ovo are sending me an IHD so when we get back from holiday, this is exactly what I'll be doing!
  • Talldave
    Talldave Posts: 2,002 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    I was working on what I could see previously but yesterday I put all the usage into a spreadsheet and now have pinpointed it to sometime in April.

    Ovo are sending me an IHD so when we get back from holiday, this is exactly what I'll be doing!

    Good luck! Do come back and let us know the outcome.
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