Electricity readings rising fast

Ingenious_jim

I have tried all items for an hour each. And only time it went up was when we cooked and that was to be expected. Our cooker is turned off after every time we cook anyway. Everything is back on now so I'm going to check in 24 hours to see what is going on.

Gerry1

Check the loft. There might be something stupid up there such as a forgotten 3kW fan heater set to the frost protection setting.

Unfortunately their thermostats are often very primitive and inaccurate, so they kick in at far too high a temperature. Could be quite difficult to spot if it only fires up between midnight and dawn !

Also check for heat tape wrapped around the pipes.

MWT

Ingenious_jim wrote: »

In the time since starting this post about 3 hours ago we have used 5kwh and only a TV one light and a fan we're on.

Ingenious_jim wrote: »

I have tried all items for an hour each. And only time it went up was when we cooked and that was to be expected.

That 3 hours would have been from around midday, did you use the cooker for lunch?

Kernel_Sanders

OP casually mentions his electricity-guzzling cooker yet in the OP there was no mention of it in his comprehensive list. I wouldn't waste time indulging him any further until he answers the immersion heater question.

Gerry1

Leisurely use of an instantaneous electric shower by several people must be the prime suspect hiding in plain sight.

Look at the meter, turn on the shower, and if the red light (marked 1000 imp/kWh) starts flashing faster than a car's turn indicator then you've solved it !

You can get a good idea of the consumption at any moment from the flash rate.

• If it's flashing slowly, the number of kW is 3.6 divided by the number of seconds between flashes. If the background consumption (fridge, freezer, standby items etc) is 150W then you'll see a flash every 24 seconds.

• If it's flashing rapidly, the number of kW is the number of flashes in one minute divided by 16.67. If only a 3kW kettle is in use, you'll see 50 flashes per minute.