Oct price cap increase likely to push energy bill to over £10k... for a family of 4...

MariaAH

MWT said:

MariaAH said:

I’m struggling to see how the remaining use adds up to remaining 7.8kWh..,

Sorry if I missed it, but did you get a chance to check your overnight use and get an idea of the baseload?

I know that will include the freezer, but you can check the specific amount for that using your TP monitor at the same time...

Good idea…the kids are back an up later than us, but will give it a go. 

Sea_Shell

Just a left field thought.

Did the property have a hot water tank (with additional immersion) BEFORE the combi boiler was installed.

If so, are you 100% sure it's been removed and/or decommissioned.

Not hidden up in the loft etc.

could it be quietly heating the same old stagnant water over and over ... Like groundhog Day.

nadsat

MariaAH said:

Alnat1 said:

@MariaAH Would it be possible one day to turn absolutely everything off at the switches, including FF, router etc. Check meter to see if there's still something using electric.

Hopefully meter shows no use, take reading, one person have their normal shower, check meter again.

We actually have an electrician coming on Tuesday to do exactly that…to check which circuits are drawing power. The showers don’t impact electricity as we have a combo boiler normal pressure. Will update again after electrician visit. But if I can’t get under 12kWh a day even with no oven use, kids not here and no tumble dryer, I’m screwed come October!

I'd dream of 12kWh a day electricity - I'm looking at 25-30kWh on our current usage. The only saving grace is we use hardly any gas during the summer - only for hot water and the cooker hob. 

Mstty

MariaAH said:

Mstty said:

I have to agree our absolute heaviest day in the last three months was Thursday this week at 12.4kWh but that included three washing machine loads (2.4kwh), two tumble dryer loads(2kwh), legionella burn to 60oC(3kWh) (we are all electric so yes that was electric as well) hob used and oven(1kwh)(first time in ages) as well as the normal background usage of fridge freezer, TV, router and laptops for work all day.

Have you checked there is no electric immersion switch turned on for the hot water burning a few kWh.

We don’t have an immersion heater..,just combo boiler. 

Sorry you have said this before but is there an old tank somewhere in the house, after all we are looking for a mystery source?

If it were me I would read the meter and turn.all.the fuses off and check it's still.not going round then systematically one by one.

MariaAH

Sea_Shell said:

Just a left field thought.

Did the property have a hot water tank (with additional immersion) BEFORE the combi boiler was installed.

If so, are you 100% sure it's been removed and/or decommissioned.

Not hidden up in the loft etc.

could it be quietly heating the same old stagnant water over and over ... Like groundhog Day.

Frightening thought… will check after tea?! 

I did a reading at 9pm on 17 Aug and another at 8:30 the next morning. Kids had been in London and did not get home until the small hours. Certainly from 2am until 8:30 everyone was asleep. And during that 12 hours…6.3kWh consumed 😳

k_man

MariaAH said:

Been using the TP link monitors and we have some unidentified daily kWh that it’s hard to pinpoint…

both kids were away for a couple of days so was an ideal opportunity to measure minimal use. During those 2 days, everything was off in son’s room (gaming PC) and no EV charging was done. Both days were approx 12kWh each day. 

so what did we use…

TP monitor showed freezer as 2.3kWh (double what it should be)
TP monitor showed TV stack (TV, PS5 etc) as 1.9kWh (watching TV several hours in evening, hubby on PlayStation for couple of hours)

I’m struggling to see how the remaining use adds up to remaining 7.8kWh..,
> boiled kettle 2/3 times each day (we have a pump thermos flask so am boiling full kettle and filling flask to see if that is cheaper)
> used the hob (induction) for 10 mins to boil pasta in one pan and peas in another on one day (using water from thermos flask to save energy). Oven was not used either day. Second day we ate at IKEA (cheap meals). NB lunches were sandwiches or similar using no energy 
> microwave for 2 mins each day for milk/porridge
> toaster used once a day for 2 slices of toast.
> dishwasher used once each day on auto setting (adjusts for volume and level
of soiling)
> washing machine used once each day
> TV in our bedroom watched for and hour or so each day
> iMac used for 8 hours on first day, but only a couple of hours on the second. 

Honestly, does that really seem about right?

btw, am cooking vegetable stew in slow cooker and delicious smell wafting through house..,

8kWh per day doesn't seem that far off.
Not that it can't be reduced, but doesn't indicate excessive readings, or a fault.

Most households use at least 1 - 2 kWh per day (75 - 100W background usage) just with other stuff that is on:
Router, Sky box, alarm, smart devices, chargers, sleeping PCs etc

10 hours for the iMac is another 1 - 2 kWh

Dishwasher is likely to be 1 - 2kWh
Washing machine similar (unless cold wash)
Kettle, microwave, hob and toaster another kWh

Potential savings are using dishwasher and washing machine less often. Once a day seem a lot of 3 people, and twice what I would expect.

k_man

k_man said:

MariaAH said:

Been using the TP link monitors and we have some unidentified daily kWh that it’s hard to pinpoint…

both kids were away for a couple of days so was an ideal opportunity to measure minimal use. During those 2 days, everything was off in son’s room (gaming PC) and no EV charging was done. Both days were approx 12kWh each day. 

so what did we use…

TP monitor showed freezer as 2.3kWh (double what it should be)
TP monitor showed TV stack (TV, PS5 etc) as 1.9kWh (watching TV several hours in evening, hubby on PlayStation for couple of hours)

I’m struggling to see how the remaining use adds up to remaining 7.8kWh..,
> boiled kettle 2/3 times each day (we have a pump thermos flask so am boiling full kettle and filling flask to see if that is cheaper)
> used the hob (induction) for 10 mins to boil pasta in one pan and peas in another on one day (using water from thermos flask to save energy). Oven was not used either day. Second day we ate at IKEA (cheap meals). NB lunches were sandwiches or similar using no energy 
> microwave for 2 mins each day for milk/porridge
> toaster used once a day for 2 slices of toast.
> dishwasher used once each day on auto setting (adjusts for volume and level
of soiling)
> washing machine used once each day
> TV in our bedroom watched for and hour or so each day
> iMac used for 8 hours on first day, but only a couple of hours on the second. 

Honestly, does that really seem about right?

btw, am cooking vegetable stew in slow cooker and delicious smell wafting through house..,

8kWh per day doesn't seem that far off.
Not that it can't be reduced, but doesn't indicate excessive readings, or a fault.

Most households use at least 1 - 2 kWh per day (75 - 100W background usage) just with other stuff that is on:
Router, Sky box, alarm, smart devices, chargers, sleeping PCs etc

10 hours for the iMac is another 1 - 2 kWh

Dishwasher is likely to be 1 - 2kWh
Washing machine similar (unless cold wash)
Kettle, microwave, hob and toaster another kWh

Potential savings are using dishwasher and washing machine less often. Once a day seem a lot of 3 people, and twice what I would expect.

Forgot to add, as suggested, a worthwhile exercise is to systematically turn off devices in each room, and then turn off the breakers one at a time.

Quicker with a smart meter and IHD, but even with a normal meter, in a few hours you would have a picture of usage by room/circuit.

MariaAH said:

Sea_Shell said:

Just a left field thought.

Did the property have a hot water tank (with additional immersion) BEFORE the combi boiler was installed.

If so, are you 100% sure it's been removed and/or decommissioned.

Not hidden up in the loft etc.

could it be quietly heating the same old stagnant water over and over ... Like groundhog Day.

Frightening thought… will check after tea?! 

I did a reading at 9pm on 17 Aug and another at 8:30 the next morning. Kids had been in London and did not get home until the small hours. Certainly from 2am until 8:30 everyone was asleep. And during that 12 hours…6.3kWh consumed 😳

Did this include any of the high power stuff (EV, dishwasher, washer etc)

MariaAH

k_man said:

k_man said:

MariaAH said:

Been using the TP link monitors and we have some unidentified daily kWh that it’s hard to pinpoint…

both kids were away for a couple of days so was an ideal opportunity to measure minimal use. During those 2 days, everything was off in son’s room (gaming PC) and no EV charging was done. Both days were approx 12kWh each day. 

so what did we use…

TP monitor showed freezer as 2.3kWh (double what it should be)
TP monitor showed TV stack (TV, PS5 etc) as 1.9kWh (watching TV several hours in evening, hubby on PlayStation for couple of hours)

I’m struggling to see how the remaining use adds up to remaining 7.8kWh..,
> boiled kettle 2/3 times each day (we have a pump thermos flask so am boiling full kettle and filling flask to see if that is cheaper)
> used the hob (induction) for 10 mins to boil pasta in one pan and peas in another on one day (using water from thermos flask to save energy). Oven was not used either day. Second day we ate at IKEA (cheap meals). NB lunches were sandwiches or similar using no energy 
> microwave for 2 mins each day for milk/porridge
> toaster used once a day for 2 slices of toast.
> dishwasher used once each day on auto setting (adjusts for volume and level
of soiling)
> washing machine used once each day
> TV in our bedroom watched for and hour or so each day
> iMac used for 8 hours on first day, but only a couple of hours on the second. 

Honestly, does that really seem about right?

btw, am cooking vegetable stew in slow cooker and delicious smell wafting through house..,

8kWh per day doesn't seem that far off.
Not that it can't be reduced, but doesn't indicate excessive readings, or a fault.

Most households use at least 1 - 2 kWh per day (75 - 100W background usage) just with other stuff that is on:
Router, Sky box, alarm, smart devices, chargers, sleeping PCs etc

10 hours for the iMac is another 1 - 2 kWh

Dishwasher is likely to be 1 - 2kWh
Washing machine similar (unless cold wash)
Kettle, microwave, hob and toaster another kWh

Potential savings are using dishwasher and washing machine less often. Once a day seem a lot of 3 people, and twice what I would expect.

Forgot to add, as suggested, a worthwhile exercise is to systematically turn off devices in each room, and then turn off the breakers one at a time.

Quicker with a smart meter and IHD, but even with a normal meter, in a few hours you would have a picture of usage by room/circuit.

MariaAH said:

Sea_Shell said:

Just a left field thought.

Did the property have a hot water tank (with additional immersion) BEFORE the combi boiler was installed.

If so, are you 100% sure it's been removed and/or decommissioned.

Not hidden up in the loft etc.

could it be quietly heating the same old stagnant water over and over ... Like groundhog Day.

Frightening thought… will check after tea?! 

I did a reading at 9pm on 17 Aug and another at 8:30 the next morning. Kids had been in London and did not get home until the small hours. Certainly from 2am until 8:30 everyone was asleep. And during that 12 hours…6.3kWh consumed 😳

Did this include any of the high power stuff (EV, dishwasher, washer etc)

No high power stuff during that 12 hour window.

MattMattMattUK

nadsat said:

MariaAH said:

Alnat1 said:

@MariaAH Would it be possible one day to turn absolutely everything off at the switches, including FF, router etc. Check meter to see if there's still something using electric.

Hopefully meter shows no use, take reading, one person have their normal shower, check meter again.

We actually have an electrician coming on Tuesday to do exactly that…to check which circuits are drawing power. The showers don’t impact electricity as we have a combo boiler normal pressure. Will update again after electrician visit. But if I can’t get under 12kWh a day even with no oven use, kids not here and no tumble dryer, I’m screwed come October!

I'd dream of 12kWh a day electricity - I'm looking at 25-30kWh on our current usage. The only saving grace is we use hardly any gas during the summer - only for hot water and the cooker hob. 

That seems very high, 25-30kWh of electricity per day puts you in the top 10% of users, probably in the top 5% and that includes people with huge homes. Any idea why it is so high?

k_man

MariaAH said:

k_man said:

k_man said:

MariaAH said:

Been using the TP link monitors and we have some unidentified daily kWh that it’s hard to pinpoint…

both kids were away for a couple of days so was an ideal opportunity to measure minimal use. During those 2 days, everything was off in son’s room (gaming PC) and no EV charging was done. Both days were approx 12kWh each day. 

so what did we use…

TP monitor showed freezer as 2.3kWh (double what it should be)
TP monitor showed TV stack (TV, PS5 etc) as 1.9kWh (watching TV several hours in evening, hubby on PlayStation for couple of hours)

I’m struggling to see how the remaining use adds up to remaining 7.8kWh..,
> boiled kettle 2/3 times each day (we have a pump thermos flask so am boiling full kettle and filling flask to see if that is cheaper)
> used the hob (induction) for 10 mins to boil pasta in one pan and peas in another on one day (using water from thermos flask to save energy). Oven was not used either day. Second day we ate at IKEA (cheap meals). NB lunches were sandwiches or similar using no energy 
> microwave for 2 mins each day for milk/porridge
> toaster used once a day for 2 slices of toast.
> dishwasher used once each day on auto setting (adjusts for volume and level
of soiling)
> washing machine used once each day
> TV in our bedroom watched for and hour or so each day
> iMac used for 8 hours on first day, but only a couple of hours on the second. 

Honestly, does that really seem about right?

btw, am cooking vegetable stew in slow cooker and delicious smell wafting through house..,

8kWh per day doesn't seem that far off.
Not that it can't be reduced, but doesn't indicate excessive readings, or a fault.

Most households use at least 1 - 2 kWh per day (75 - 100W background usage) just with other stuff that is on:
Router, Sky box, alarm, smart devices, chargers, sleeping PCs etc

10 hours for the iMac is another 1 - 2 kWh

Dishwasher is likely to be 1 - 2kWh
Washing machine similar (unless cold wash)
Kettle, microwave, hob and toaster another kWh

Potential savings are using dishwasher and washing machine less often. Once a day seem a lot of 3 people, and twice what I would expect.

Forgot to add, as suggested, a worthwhile exercise is to systematically turn off devices in each room, and then turn off the breakers one at a time.

Quicker with a smart meter and IHD, but even with a normal meter, in a few hours you would have a picture of usage by room/circuit.

MariaAH said:

Sea_Shell said:

Just a left field thought.

Did the property have a hot water tank (with additional immersion) BEFORE the combi boiler was installed.

If so, are you 100% sure it's been removed and/or decommissioned.

Not hidden up in the loft etc.

could it be quietly heating the same old stagnant water over and over ... Like groundhog Day.

Frightening thought… will check after tea?! 

I did a reading at 9pm on 17 Aug and another at 8:30 the next morning. Kids had been in London and did not get home until the small hours. Certainly from 2am until 8:30 everyone was asleep. And during that 12 hours…6.3kWh consumed 😳

Did this include any of the high power stuff (EV, dishwasher, washer etc)

No high power stuff during that 12 hour window.

Then that is odd. 
6.3 kWh in 12 hours, (assuming all background always on) means 13 kWh in 24h.
More than the measured daily usage, which includes high power usage....