Stay with supplier on a variable or move on to something else?

B0bbyEwing

MisterMotivated said:

I believe the point B0bbyEwing is trying ot make, is that the price per kWh doesn't change, regardless of how much you use

I don't believe I tried to make it at all. I think I made that point quite clearly.

MisterMotivated said:

For a start, it would help you get a more realistic forecast based on your usage rather than the media headline figures (e.g. everyone telling me my bill could hit £4,200 a year in January is meaningless considering I use much less than the  average user).

More importantly, there are multiple variables involved in calculating the overall cost, including gas standing charge, electricity standing charge, gas unit price and electricity unit price.  Whether you've a very high usage or very low usage will determine how much of an impact the standing charge has.  Whether you use e.g. 10 times more gas than electricity or vice versa, will determine which of the variables are most important to you when considering a deal.

Agreed with the £4,200. It's like when they talk about average earners & temperatures - they seem to forget that there's parts of the UK that aren't called London. 

But yes, without scrolling back, the 2 guys I mentioned earlier cleared it up for me so I'm more informed now

B0bbyEwing

Just looking to see if I'm using an online calculator in the right way.

So I was reading an article which lead me to look in to how much my soundbar was using while in standby mode. Apparently 6.1Watts.
I've no idea how to convert this in to an understandable figure so I Googled for a calculator. 

Now for rough figures I'm saying that it'll be in standby mode for 24 hours. Probably 23 hours but anyway.
 Using my electricity cost on page 1 of 28.020 this says that this appliance costs me £0.04 in standby mode for a day.

Have I inputted it correctly or am I missing anything?

If this is right then if I know what Watts something uses then I should be able to see what it's costing me.

macman

Yes, it's very simple. 1000W for one hour uses 1kWh, which is the unit your electricity is billed in.
So, for example, a 1 bar electric fire drawing 1000 watts for one hour will use 1kWh.

B0bbyEwing

macman said:

Yes, it's very simple. 

So was this

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DBpOO0AjNF0

But Woody Harrelson still managed to mess it up.


I don't have a clue what you just said. 

What I do know is how to look at an electrical appliance and check if its label tells me the watts on it and then assuming I was on the right path with my last post, I then know how to put this in to a calculator to give me something I can understand.

Starts to get a little iffy when things change though. Such as I know my microwave is 900W but I imagine that's when it's cooking at full whack. What it uses by just being plugged in displaying a clock, I'm not so sure.

pochase

You can always switch off the Microwave at the socket.

B0bbyEwing

pochase said:

You can always switch off the Microwave at the socket.

No I can't. It's fixed in to the wall & is permanently on. There's no switch & the cord is hardwired in so the microwave can't be turned off.

pochase

I only knew hard wired hobs and ovens up to now. Never seen or heard of a microwave.

But we are talking not about a fortune here

In addition to using energy while cooking or heating, a microwave will also use 2 to 7 watts of power while in standby mode

So worst case scenario 5KWh per month, most likely less.

Alnat1

For plug-in appliances you can buy a gadget you can use between the plug and the socket. It will show you the usage at that moment and most can be left in place for a while to give you readings over a longer time (useful for fridge/freezer that turn on and off during the day)

I use a TAPO 110 which cost £10 and also works as a smart plug and timer.

B0bbyEwing

pochase said:

I only knew hard wired hobs and ovens up to now. Never seen or heard of a microwave.

Really? They look similar to this.

Seriously though, I thought you were trying to be smart. Still not fully worked out whether you were or not so looks like my sarcasm shot straight over your head.

Unless of course you're maintaining being smart. Only you know the answer to that.

BUFF

I think that he meant that he had never heard of a microwave being hard-wired in (it really should be on a switched, fused spur though).