Inductions cooker high standby energy usage

Jibber123

We've just had a new Smeg TR4110IP induction range cooker fitted (about 2 months ago). I noticed the other day our energy monitor seems to be quite high on standby. About 650W. I went around the house and made sure everything was off and unplugged (including phone charges) apart from the internet box and wireless repeaters, fridge freezer in the kitchen and the freezer in the garage and it was still reading 600W, this will be costing nearly £2000 a year when the new tariff kicks in in a couple of weeks! Both freezer and fridge freezer are only a couple of years, I looked them up and they use around 260kWh per year so about £100 each, that means the virgin media box and 2 wifi repeaters are using £1800 of electric a year! I then turned the cooker off at the wall switch as I was getting desperate to find what else was using electricity, and the energy monitor dropped to 440W. So the cooker was using 160W on standby just to light a digital clock on the front!

Sandtree

Have a look at https://greengumption.co.uk/2013/03/induction-hobs-the-question-of-standby-and-the-power-factor/

FreeBear

Just had a peruse of the technical specifications - No where does it mention the quiescent (standby) power consumption. Rather remiss of Smeg... In comparison, my base line energy consumption is around 50W - This consists of a router, two small computers, assorted smart tech, oven/microwave clocks and an induction hob.

160W in standby is excessive in my opinion - I'd suggest contacting Smeg and see what they have to say.

Rodders53

The meter is probably not reading accurately due to the power factor of the hob control power supply.

https://greengumption.co.uk/2012/11/the-hidden-cost-of-efficient-electric-induction-hobs/  read both articles - it's quite illuminating.

I'm fairly sure most modern devices to get EU CE mark approval have to be under 0.5 W (true power) in standby.

grumbler

What sort of 'energy monitor' is it?

I think, if it's a smart meter monitor, it has to display the real power that you pay for.

If it's just a 'clip-on' monitor, then, yes, it effectively measures the electric current, not the power.

GDB2222

If the induction hob is consuming 160w on standby, it would get pretty hot.  Does it have a built in cooling fan?

maisie_cat

Rodders53 said:

The meter is probably not reading accurately due to the power factor of the hob control power supply.

https://greengumption.co.uk/2012/11/the-hidden-cost-of-efficient-electric-induction-hobs/  read both articles - it's quite illuminating.

I'm fairly sure most modern devices to get EU CE mark approval have to be under 0.5 W (true power) in standby.

Thank you for that, interesting read after being slightly freaked by the idea that my Smeg induction cooker is consuming loads of power on standby.

coffeehound

Are we covered by EU directives now?  160 watts standby seems nuts

Sandtree

coffeehound said:

Are we covered by EU directives now?  160 watts standby seems nuts

As explained in the two links, its not really 160w but a limitation in how the meter calculates the current draw which doesn't impact the actual usage. 

We have transposed historic directives into UK law en mass and are going through the process of reviewing/repealing etc... we are not in the EU and so aren't covered by EU Directives any more.

BikingBud

Sandtree said:

coffeehound said:

Are we covered by EU directives now?  160 watts standby seems nuts

As explained in the two links, its not really 160w but a limitation in how the meter calculates the current draw which doesn't impact the actual usage. 

We have transposed historic directives into UK law en mass and are going through the process of reviewing/repealing etc... we are not in the EU and so aren't covered by EU Directives any more.

Now UK Law - 

The Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products and Energy Information (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019

But that doesn't mean we will not see and be able to buy items that are CE marked, in fact I would expect that many items we purchase will have CE markings for many years to to come. 

eg:

EN 60350-1 - Household electric cooking appliances - Part 1: Ranges, ovens, steam ovens and grills - Methods for measuring performance

EN 60350-2 - Household electric cooking appliances -- Part 2: Hobs - Methods for measuring performance

Also bear in mind historic BS and DIN underpinned most EN and:

• ISO standards are standards developed by the standardisation institute ISO, and IEC standards are developed by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). EN standards are usually ISO or IEC standards that the European Commission has harmonised.

You can buy the IEC from here or review the contents here and for the standby power they refer to another - IEC 62301:2011, Household electrical appliances – Measurement of standby power

It does comment upon power factor however, it states: 

"The objective of this standard is to provide a method of test to determine the power consumption of a range of products in relevant low power modes (see 3.4), generally where the product is not in active mode (i.e. not performing a primary function). This standard does not specify safety requirements. It does not specify minimum performance requirements nor does it set maximum limits on power or energy consumption." 

Nevertheless that's the great thing about standards, they're like standard! - 

• "International Standards are widely adopted at the regional or national level and applied by manufacturers, trade organizations, purchasers, consumers, testing laboratories, authorities and other interested parties. Since these standards generally reflect the best experience of industry, researchers, consumers and regulators worldwide, and cover common needs in a variety of countries, they constitute one of the important bases for the removal of technical barriers to trade. This has been explicitly acknowledged in the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade of the World Trade Organization (WTO TBT Agreement)."

So while we may not be subject to EU law or directives we'll all still be harmonised and happy

InvertedVee

I'm chasing down my base load to see if I can make some savings.

And it looks like my Zanussi ZCI66250XA cooker is using 25W when in standby. I measured this by monitoring the Bright app, which pulls data from my smart meter. The cooker was not heating anything, so the only load would be the electronics associated with the clock and induction hob. There is some temperature sensing even when the hobs are off - the cooker will sometimes beep if a hot pan is left on the hob surface. But 25W seems a lot - that's £75 a year at the current EPG-limited tariffs.