How low can you go...Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Whatever... electricity grid import

QrizB

Grumpy_chap said:

Is that amount of load typical, or do I need to look at reduction measures?

It's probably typical, but that doesn't mean there's no room for improvement.

The common target over on the "Energy" board is to get baseload below 100 watts, ie. 2.4kWh/day. Some people manage it quite easily, others don't. I'm currently around 120-150 watts and wondering what to switch off next!

mickyduck55

I'm at 175 ATM... One low energy light on, 2 fridges, 1 freezer, Router and Virgin media box... I guess both fridges and freezer are "sleeping"

Spies

I have seen 175w earlier on my IHD, 109w of that is my server so it would be doable.

I will average higher than that with 2 fish tank heaters cycling on and off and a seperate fridge and freezer to contend with.

According to my smart meter data, 0.214kWh is my minimum hourly consumption overnight. 

mickyduck55

Overnight shows the fridges and freezer cycling... no idea what the spike at midnight is... I was already in bed...

70sbudgie

Based on my Octopus data of overnight usage, my baseload is about 140W. Solar panels mean that when we aren't at home daily import is ~2kWhrs (no batteries).

I have been debating with hubby as to whether it is worth investing in one of the energy monitoring plugs. If I can knock off 40W, it would pay for itself in a couple months at current elec rates. But I've not got many places left for reductions - I could put a smart plug on the tv accessories or dismantle the fish tank (which doesn't currently have any fish in it). So I'm not sure if I'd manage to reduce by 40W.

I'm in the process of doing an in depth analysis of smart meter data first, as it only costs my time.

Alnat1

So you're looking for a few small savings on what is already quite a low baseload?

Is absolutely every plug socket you can get to turned off overnight? I found our dishwasher was using a few watts, luckily has wall switch so now goes off. A touch lamp in spare bedroom, battery charger hubby has in garage, both secretly using electric. Friend had plug in air fresheners using 4w constantly. TV set top/Sky boxes use a bit. 

I did turn off my bedside alarm clock for a while but it's back on now. I got annoyed having to put my glasses on to check time on my phone in the night, can see the clock without them.

Happy to send you our 1 neon tetra to put in your tank, it's an unwanted pet that nobody else would take on when mum in law passed 18 months ago. How long do they live????

70sbudgie

Alnat1 said:

So you're looking for a few small savings on what is already quite a low baseload?

Is absolutely every plug socket you can get to turned off overnight? I found our dishwasher was using a few watts, luckily has wall switch so now goes off. A touch lamp in spare bedroom, battery charger hubby has in garage, both secretly using electric. Friend had plug in air fresheners using 4w constantly. TV set top/Sky boxes use a bit. 

I did turn off my bedside alarm clock for a while but it's back on now. I got annoyed having to put my glasses on to check time on my phone in the night, can see the clock without them.

Happy to send you our 1 neon tetra to put in your tank, it's an unwanted pet that nobody else would take on when mum in law passed 18 months ago. How long do they live????

I appreciate that our baseload is fairly low. Mainly because I drive my family mad with turning things off (and I have young children who don't yet have control of their own electronics). But I am curious how low we can go and our non baseload usage is fairly high.

Edit to add: I don't think neon tetras live very long. Possibly not long enough to survive a trip through the post at >18 months.

ispookie666

I have given up on trying to cut back on leccy.  
Rough estimate for worst case scenario £150 for the month of december with No solar generation and using night rate to charge the battery.  

Best thing I did was to shut down my 7ft x2ft x 2ft marine tank - It used to guzzle 15KWh per day 

Coastalwatch

ispookie666 said:

I have given up on trying to cut back on leccy.  
Rough estimate for worst case scenario £150 for the month of december with No solar generation and using night rate to charge the battery.  

Best thing I did was to shut down my 7ft x2ft x 2ft marine tank - It used to guzzle 15KWh per day 

That's a startling revelation. I wonder then, what it must cost to run a hot tub!

Spies

Based on last January's usage my electric bill for Jan 2023 is looking like £130 and my gas £210 

I have two tropical tanks with 100w heaters in so they'll use a fair bit during colder days.