There is something consuming electricity (and cant identify what it is)

javixeneize

Hi

I have seen this morning that there is something consuming 3.24kwh. I was not using anything special so i was surprised to see that figure. I tried to identify where the problem was switching off all the fuse box levers, and i just decreased it in 0.2kwh. 
So, i was in a situation where i had just the main switch on, all the other switches off, and something was still consuming more than 3kwh

If i switch off the main switch, obviously, it goes to 0

How can i identify what is this?

Thanks

Ultrasonic

Instantaneous power is measured in kW. Total energy use over a period of time is measured in kWh. 

I think you mean you're looking at the instantaneous power figure shown on your smart meter in home display, giving you  a figure in kW. Is this correct? 

The most obvious cause for energy use when you aren't expecing it is an imersion heater though.

javixeneize

Hi

Yes, its kW, sorry.

I have an immersion heater, but when i switch everything off, i think the immersion heater switches off as well,right?

Petriix

3kW is basically a constantly boiling kettle. It's going to be producing a lot of heat so it should be fairly obvious.

The first thing is to check that the energy is actually being used and not just misreported by whatever you're using to measure it. Check that the meter is ticking up in line with the consumption.

Then check if there are any secondary circuits which aren't connected to your main consumer unit. Could there be a separate circuit for storage heaters or an immersion?

Maybe a photo of the CU and meter setup would help.

There was one thread on here where the unidentified usage turned out to be a water pump with a stone lodged in it. It was effectively working as a small heater, slowly warming an outdoor pond.

QrizB

javixeneize said:

Hi Yes, its kW, sorry.
I have an immersion heater, but when i switch everything off, i think the immersion heater switches off as well,right?

Do you have Economy 7? sometimes the E7 appliances have their own separate fusebox / consumer unit.

Can you post a photo of your meter & consumer unit?

tim_p

javixeneize said:

So, i was in a situation where i had just the main switch on, all the other switches off, and something was still consuming more than 3kwh

If i switch off the main switch, obviously, it goes to 0

If you’re saying that with ALL the breakers off and the main switch on, something is consuming 3kW (is this reflected on the meter by a rapidly flashing led or a spinning wheel?) then it would sound like there is another circuit that doesn’t go through that consumer unit. Garage? Outbuilding?  Not many appliances in a household pull 3kW, things that do will generally be heaters of some sort. 

javixeneize

So, turns out you are right guys. I switched off the water heater and usage went down to normal. Why is it out of the normal switches, i dont know but... hey

So, my question now is... i have my hot water system configured at 7.30am, and switching off at 8am. i had a shower, and at 9am, when hot water switch was supposed to be off, it was still working. Is this normal? My understanding is that it would only work during the period of time i have it configured (7.30-8 and 18-18.30)
Thanks

MWT

Check again during the day, if it is not there then it could well be E7 related. 

Storage heaters wired on their own circuit switched by the meter most likely. 

QrizB

javixeneize said:

So, turns out you are right guys. I switched off the water heater and usage went down to normal. Why is it out of the normal switches, i dont know but... hey
So, my question now is... i have my hot water system configured at 7.30am, and switching off at 8am. i had a shower, and at 9am, when hot water switch was supposed to be off, it was still working. Is this normal? My understanding is that it would only work during the period of time i have it configured (7.30-8 and 18-18.30)

Glad to know you found the mystery load.
Regarding the timer on the water heater, there are a couple of things that might have happened. Sometimes the clock drifts so it reads the wrong time. Other times the switching bit fails so it's always on (or always off). Or maybe someone in your household over-rode it and set it to always on?

Ectophile

If we assume that 0.24kW is your background load, then it's a 3kW load. There aren't many of those, and they all involve things getting hot.

My guess would be an immersion heater. Or big electric fire.

doodling

Hi,

If you are saying that if you turn off all the little switches in the consumer unit the heater carries on working, but if you turn off the main switch in the same consumer unit the heater stops then either you have a very unusual installation, or one of those little switches in the consumer unit is broken and not disconnecting the power when it should.

In the second case, you need to get an electrician out to replace the little switch as that little switch is what stops your house burning down if your immersion heater develops a fault.

Providing a photograph of the consumer unit(s) and how they are connected to the meter would help establish which of those two cases you have.

Is one of those little switches labelled as supplying the immersion heater?