Domestic Electricity Use 8000-10,000kWh pa

chris_n

MoreApples said:

MariaH's thread has also been helpful.

I think many are going to have to go through the same learning curve in the next few months.

MoreApples

k_man said:

Be careful comparing measured usage over a short period, with manufacturers rated usage.

The last week has been warm, so FF will have been working harder than normal (so not necessarily a typical week).

Manufacturers don't know how you use your FF (how full it is, how often you open the door, how often you put new things in it, how warm the room is etc), so are typical ratings.
And we know how typical/average figures are not always representative.

Not that there won't be savings with a new one, just they may not be as high as predicted.

Not that warm up here. It was 20ºC in the kitchen at most so hopefully last week will give a bit on an idea. Plus the wet days were not warm. I appreciate it's not the same as winter but hopefully not too far out.

It's an item we'll keep an eye on and consider what's best.

[Deleted User]

MoreApples said:

Those are useful, SparkyGrad, thank you. It's the first time I've seen those. We'd be Southern Scotland I think - we're on the same latitude at Edinburgh. Do you have a link or source for these?

They're from the OFGEM 2020 TDCV decision at https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/decision-typical-domestic-consumption-values-2020 

There was due to be a more recent update, but it was postponed.

michaels

BUFF said:

Once you get outside the major cities/towns here it's not uncommon for there to be no mains gas due to the economics (1/3 of the land area but 9% of the population, 70% of whom live urban). Historically "the Hydro"* was very strong from ~Perth north. 
As well as oil-fired boilers there is also a fair amount of lpg usage too.

*North of Scotland Hydro-electricity Board

Weirdly at current prices oil fired boilers are about 8p per kwh whereas gas is gong to 15p and possibly then 24p so all those who complain that they have to pay for expensive oil are actually getting half price heating now.

littleteapot

michaels said:

Weirdly at current prices oil fired boilers are about 8p per kwh whereas gas is gong to 15p and possibly then 24p so all those who complain that they have to pay for expensive oil are actually getting half price heating now.

Yes for the first time ever that is true. One of my colleagues always said he wished he could get mains gas to his rural home, but I did the same calculation for him recently and came to a similar conclusion - about 8p/kWh for oil compared to my best guess of 16p/kWh for gas!

He has a woodburner as well plumbed into the central heating system so only really uses oil to warm up the house in the morning - not highly dependant on it as he has historically been able to get wood very cheaply.

Airthrey

This thread is really interesting.  I’m also in Scotland, in the central belt, in a four bedroom house built in the early 1970s. It’s double glazed, has cavity wall insulation and about 10 inches of insulation in the attic. There’s only me here now and I’ve plans to downsize in the next few years, but in the meantime, I monitor my gas and electricity usage obsessively.

I'm usually away one or two days a week and know that the house uses 1 - 2 kWh electricity per 24 hours when I’m not here. This has to be the fridge freezer and the router, but I don’t think the latter can use much. The fridge freezer is about 13 years old but it was A rated when I bought it, though I imagine it’d be a lower rating now.

Annually, I use about 1200 kWh electricity and 15500 kWh gas, so my gas costs me more. I know my electricity use is well below average but I’ve worked at getting it this low.

My heating and hot water is from an efficient three year old gas combi boiler. Showers are from hot water heated by the boiler with an over the bath shower. My showers are short and I don’t have baths. No electric blankets or other heating.

I very rarely use the dishwasher which seems to gobble up electricity and have managed to reduce use of the washing machine by getting better at waiting for a full load. I only fill the kettle with what I need, never leave things on standby and don’t leave lights on unnecessarily. I’ve had an induction hob for the last couple of years which seems fairly efficient but the oven is power hungry and I use it as little as possible and I’ve found myself using my microwave more. I now actively consider whether I need to use the oven in a way I never used to.

My electricity usage for July this year was 78 kWh. In January, it was 104 kWh. I was away from home one day a week in both months. I couldn’t keep it this low if I still had family living at home.  

After dithering too long, earlier this month I switched to a fixed tariff for a year that I can get out of penalty free if the predictions for the next rounds of price rises turn out to be wrong.  I found it incredibly hard to voluntarily opt to pay more now, but I’m thinking of it as being like insurance. I use least in the summer months so the worst that can happen is that I’ll have paid £60 or £70 more than I needed to for August and September.

maxmycardagain

Heat Eats leccy....

Cooker/Oven/Hob
Toaster
Cold fill washing machine
Kettle
Electric blanket 
Electric shower

lesser...
Microwave
Fridge
Fans (cold)

changing to LED lights wont make much difference

You really need a smart meter (good luck there)

I can forsee many going to solar panels/batteries with 12v lighting and caravan/camping appliances using an inverter to run "middle" appliances like smart TV's and Computers (with smoothed output of course) or even 240v generators running on red diesel maybe

BUFF

littleteapot said:

He has a woodburner as well plumbed into the central heating system so only really uses oil to warm up the house in the morning - not highly dependant on it as he has historically been able to get wood very cheaply.

I forgot to include biomass (i.e. wood) & I am sure that there are still some using coal & even peat in the Highlands.

@Airthrey, your electricity usage & way of living seems very similar to mine. I am at the stage where I think that I have made all the easy behaviour & fabric changes.
I suspect that  your increased gas usage over mine is due to your house being detached (I am in a terrace)?

maxmycardagain said:

I can forsee many going to solar panels/batteries with 12v lighting and caravan/camping appliances using an inverter to run "middle" appliances like smart TV's and Computers (with smoothed output of course) or even 240v generators running on red diesel maybe

For higher users & particularly those that can use that consumption during the day I certainly agree about solar panels at least.
Sadly, even with a roof oriented SW, as a low user I have never managed to make the economics of solar work for me as the breakeven has usually been ~20 years when run through various calculators (although if we really do see £1/kWh pricing & that is sustained that would massively chop that). 

MWT

maxmycardagain said:

...changing to LED lights wont make much difference

Depends how many 50W halogen downlighters you have a round the house...

Also I wouldn't put too much emphasis on the 'cold fill washing machine'... if you are doing cool washes the energy used to heat the relatively small volume of water really isn't prohibitive.

michaels

maxmycardagain said:

Heat Eats leccy....

Cooker/Oven/Hob
Toaster
Cold fill washing machine
Kettle
Electric blanket 
Electric shower

lesser...
Microwave
Fridge
Fans (cold)

changing to LED lights wont make much difference

You really need a smart meter (good luck there)

I can forsee many going to solar panels/batteries with 12v lighting and caravan/camping appliances using an inverter to run "middle" appliances like smart TV's and Computers (with smoothed output of course) or even 240v generators running on red diesel maybe

Do disagree on lighting, old bulbs were often 100w and sometimes multiple per room - for example down lighters were 50w and we have 16 in our lounge or 0.8kw although we of course have 4w leds  = 64w.  Makes 'much difference' - £967 for 6 hours per day of lighting if electricity goes to 60p per unit