electric usage

Norman_Castle

gill5blue said:

by all reports my tv left on standby for 5 years(it actually doesn't have an off button) uses next to no electricity, but my smart meter disagrees.

Your smart meter will measure whole house usage, if its a modern tv it should use less than 1w in standby which is difficult to check when combined with other items.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Watt_Initiative

k_man

gill5blue said:

hi All,
Update....
I have been using the tapo plugs for 5 weeks and reduced my usage by 65 units(£19.50), comparing to 2021.
I know it is not exact science but usage is down, feedback is great and they help you to be mindful.
by all reports my tv left on standby for 5 years(it actually doesn't have an off button) uses next to no electricity, but my smart meter disagrees.
gill5blue

Depends on the TV. Newer ones use less than 1W on standby, older ones can use much more (especially some smart ones that have network features enabled by default)

By my maths, saving 65 units over 5 weeks is reduced background of 80W.
Assuming this is down to just the TV (as your reference to the TV left on standby suggests), that is more like the TV being left on previously, rather than standby.

wild666

gill5blue said:

Hi, is there a post on here that tells you how much electricity household items use?
I've been trying to reduce my electric usage and wondered how to find out as accurately as I can how much electric usage I use.
I have also bought 2 remote control plugs to turn off things like microwave etc.
Gill5blue

If you want to save electric then just turn off everything not in use that could save you a couple of hundred pounds per year depending on how energy efficient appliances are and how often the appliances turned off are powered on to use.

My appliances are not the most energy efficient and I save up to £220 per year by turning them off when not in use. 

victor2

wild666 said:

gill5blue said:

Hi, is there a post on here that tells you how much electricity household items use?
I've been trying to reduce my electric usage and wondered how to find out as accurately as I can how much electric usage I use.
I have also bought 2 remote control plugs to turn off things like microwave etc.
Gill5blue

If you want to save electric then just turn off everything not in use that could save you a couple of hundred pounds per year depending on how energy efficient appliances are and how often the appliances turned off are powered on to use.

My appliances are not the most energy efficient and I save up to £220 per year by turning them off when not in use. 

That is roughly equivalent to a constant 90 watt load, which must be quite a collection of not-so-efficient devices.

@wild666 has previously indicated a bigger than usual desire to be frugal, which more people may aspire towards as costs increase. For many, there can be a benefit in looking into which particular device(s) can be switched off from standby when not in use, and will make a significant saving. Finding an acceptable balance between convenience and cost is a challenge though!

daz9643

I decided to check tonight where my standby power is going, my Panasonic combination microwave uses 72W in standby, with the new price cap of 51.8p in October that works out at £326 per year ! 

victor2

daz9643 said:

I decided to check tonight where my standby power is going, my Panasonic combination microwave uses 72W in standby, with the new price cap of 51.8p in October that works out at £326 per year ! 

That seems ridiculously high. How did you check it?

daveyjp

Circa 8% of the power output of the oven just to run an LED display doesn't look right.  7.2w would be closer to reality.

victor2

I was thinking more like 0.72W if it's a relatively modern microwave.

Coffeekup

daveyjp said:

Circa 8% of the power output of the oven just to run an LED display doesn't look right.  7.2w would be closer to reality.

I started turning things off at the wall last September and saved 40kwh a month. I only turned off the washing machine, microwave, TV, sky box, CD player and amplifier, I never had any gizmos but I knew the microwave was a guzzler after a couple of days of readings. Which promoted me to turn the TV, sky box, amp and cd player off at the wall when not in use, I saved more energy but not as much as just turning the microwave off 

Mine is a non branded one from a supermarket, I should give it to a charity shop as I don't use it.

[Deleted User]

daz9643 said:

I decided to check tonight where my standby power is going, my Panasonic combination microwave uses 72W in standby, with the new price cap of 51.8p in October that works out at £326 per year ! 

Hi,

think you're getting mixed up with Watts and kWh which is 1000 time more.