Background Electricity Usage 8760 hours a year

Penelopa.Pitstop

cx6 said:

45w background all day every day seems high- and expensive !

try and find out what is 'always on' and think.if anything could be turned off at the plug when not in use

items that come to mind are routers, tvs, chargers, laptops etc

My house uses around 155W in the background. That will include router, outside lights when on, quite a lot of thermostats (in every room), boiler, solar panels for water, etc. I switch off whole computer equipment overnight (but not router or wifi, because I have Ring doorbell and chimes), switch on entertainment in reception room only when using, etc. I tried to minimise usage of all device and switch off everything possible.

Depending on the time of the year, when I get up in the morning, I have 1.5Kwh used already or up to 3kWh if heating was on.

matelodave

Another thing that people forget is electric recliner chairs - our older ones used around 15 watts each when idle, two of them on continuously got through over 260kwh a year

We've replaced them now and the new chairs only draw  0.2watt each  but we still turn them off when they aren't in use.

We've got FTTP with VoIP so there's power drawn by both the ONT and the router and they both need to be continuously otherwise we lose our phone connection. (It happened last week when we had a half hour power cut). The CCT cameras also need the router to function properly.

 As said above most of this stuff doesn't use a lot individually but when it's added up and then multiplied by the number of hours in a year it can become quite substantial, especially at 30p/kwh.

victor2

My electric garage door uses 6W in standby. Suppose I could put a timer on it, but that would guarantee I'd roll up one wet and windy night and be unable to open it without stopping and getting out of the car!

Had it about 20 years and still get a kick out of being able to open the door as I approach and drive straight into the garage.

There could come a point where the pleasure and convenience is tarnished by the running cost though...

Ant555

Penelopa.Pitstop said:

cx6 said:

45w background all day every day seems high- and expensive !

My house uses around 155W in the background. 

Im roughly the same at 160w and this thread has alerted me to a couple of things I had overlooked but will be checking when I get home tonight.

My house alarm - decades old I reckon and it stopped functioning as an alarm ages ago and I only keep it in place for powering the light up box outside as a deterrent. Maybe I should get a 12v adapter and wire the light up alarm box direct to it?

My PoE CCTV system - ive just been on the manufacturers site and each camera could draw 7-10w, in addition to the recorder box itself.

Shedman

All this talk about saving a few quid on turning stuff off is all well and good but what price convenience, security, and the sheer joy of telling the only female that listens to me to do something and it's actually done 😅

Xbigman

Shedman said:

All this talk about saving a few quid on turning stuff off is all well and good but what price convenience, security, and the sheer joy of telling the only female that listens to me to do something and it's actually done 😅

That's a valid point. It comes down to each individual (or family) to decide what level of convenience they are prepared to pay for. Personally I find it highly convenient to keep my energy usage as low as possible and have more money in my pocket to spend. Others may prefer to spend their money differently. 
I would say, is it really that inconvenient to flick a few switches when I go to bed? For me it isn't.

Darren

Ultrasonic

Xbigman said:

Shedman said:

All this talk about saving a few quid on turning stuff off is all well and good but what price convenience, security, and the sheer joy of telling the only female that listens to me to do something and it's actually done 😅

That's a valid point. It comes down to each individual (or family) to decide what level of convenience they are prepared to pay for. Personally I find it highly convenient to keep my energy usage as low as possible and have more money in my pocket to spend. Others may prefer to spend their money differently. 
I would say, is it really that inconvenient to flick a few switches when I go to bed? For me it isn't.

Darren

I think the environmental impact aspect is important too, rather than just cost.

Ant555

Xbigman said:

I would say, is it really that inconvenient to flick a few switches when I go to bed? For me it isn't.

WhatsApp messages on the family group chat 2 weeks ago..

"The XBox isnt working, ive tried everything"

"everything? Even switching it on at the plug?"

"its working now"

k_man

Remembered I had an old Oneclick Intelliplug (purchased 15 years ago).

Used to use when standby power for older TV was much higher (new is <0.5w, and needs to be left powered for regular OLED maintenance)

Installed it to automate turning on/off the ever growing collection of streaming devices, so they are now controlled/triggered by AV amp power.

Should reduce background usage by 15- 20W.

cx6

We are using 28p / unit now as the rough unit price of April price cap but my electricity supplier is quoting 41p per unit for a 1yr fix, so that tells you where prices are going in October !

When I left for work this morning my background use read 8W (3W if I turned the boiler power off - the boiler isn't set to come on until I get home but I decided to leave the boiler on). Not sure what is drawing the 3W yet.