The new normal: £2 to tumble-dry and £45 a year for a smart doorbell

TimSynths

TheGardener said:

The price quoted for a shower seems very low? 

How we made our calculations

To get running costs for appliances we multiplied their power consumption, in watts, by the number of hours used, and divided by 1,000 (the watts in a kilowatt-hour) to reach a kWh figure. We then multiplied that by the unit price of electricity or gas now and from October.

The single person’s consumption was based on their using the washing machine and tumble dryer once a week, showering daily for five minutes, cooking in the oven every day for an hour and using the dishwasher once a week. They would also vacuum an hour a week and watch 10 hours of TV.

The childless couple’s consumption assumes they use a washing machine and tumble dryer twice a week, shower separately daily for five minutes each, use the oven for an hour seven days a week, the microwave three times a week, run the dishwasher twice and vacuum for an hour. They watch 20 hours of TV.

For the family we assumed that they use the washing machine seven times and the tumble dryer five times, all shower once a day for five minutes each, cook in the oven seven times for an hour at a time, use the microwave eight times, the dishwasher five times, hoover for two hours, watch 30 hours of TV and use an Xbox for 10 hours.

The retirees’ consumption was based on using the washing machine and tumble dryer twice a week, the oven four times, microwave eight times, an electric radiator for seven hours, both showering once a day for 10 minutes and watching 40 hours of TV.

molerat

The big problem with the current situation is that cutting back on anything will save some money but it will still not stop spending a lot of money.  Running the projections through my spreadsheets shows that based on previous use my gas bill for December will be just under my total gas bill for 2021 and December 2023 will be 1.5 times that total for the year due to the 10 x increase in unit price.  Very few, if any, people will be able to cut back by over 50% which will be the necessary action to bring down bills so many will carry on as normal and not pay.  You can't get blood out of a stone, the current projections on energy debt will be in bankruptcy territory and there will be many that will take that option.

TheAble

£45 for a smart doorbell, that's gotta suck. At these prices we're gonna see some folks trading down to a free door knocker.

And maybe putting the washing on a clothes horse could become a thing..?

molerat

TheGardener said:

The price quoted for a shower seems very low? 

Agreed.  I reckon more like 20p currently.  A modern 9 kW shower is 0.15 units per minute so 0.75  for 5 minutes. 0.75 x .27p  = 20p

Even a 6 kW shower will currently cost 13.5p.

QrizB

TheGardener said:

The price quoted for a shower seems very low? 

I think they've priced a gas mixer shower, not an electric one.

Buster_Danog

Washing machine cycle at 33p seems very cheap. I thought it was much more than that in the first place.

Sea_Shell

"The childless couple’s consumption assumes they use a washing machine and tumble dryer twice a week, "

Unless you've got a very large load WM, I very much doubt many couples get away with only 2 loads of washing a week.   What about towels, bedding?

jimpwarsop

How much power does a rampant rabbit use if its running for three hours a day ?

Asking for a friend.

wild666

QrizB said:

mr_stripey said:

how does a ring doorbell "cost" that in electricity? Am I missing something?

It looks like they've counted it as 10 watts for 24h a day, every day.

I have no idea if 10W is an accurate number.

I use to have smart bulbs they used 4 Watts in standby mode and 11 Watts turned on. I hardly have any lights on now as I'm in bed before it gets dark and only have the light on for 5 minutes in the morning to make a flask of tea and a sandwich.

kaMelo

jimpwarsop said:

How much power does a rampant rabbit use if its running for three hours a day ?

Asking for a friend.

I think that may need a full cost/benefit analysis.