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

chris_n

Sea_Shell said:

Ultrasonic said:

Sea_Shell said:

Another maths question...

If a Yankee candle* tea light costs 66p and burns for 5 hours giving off 80 watts of heat energy, what is the unit cost per kWh?

Show your workings. 


*Cheaper candles are available 😉

How much does it cost to light the candle?

( 5 hours x 80 Watts = 400 Wh = 0.4 kWh. Cost per kWh = 66/0.4 p = 165 p.)

Thanks.   

The cost of one match and the calories it takes to get up out the chair to do it!!? 😉

Don't forget the heat energy from the match (let it burn the whole way down) and the heat energy released by burning the extra calories in your calculation ;-)

Ultrasonic

Section62 said:

Ultrasonic said:

I suspect the dishwasher question isn't straightforward. One argument for dishwashers is that they use less water but I'm never sure this properly factors in all the water people use to rinse off items before putting them in the dishwasher.

People do this, but the manufacturers usually say it is unnecessary.  If there is enough residual food left on crockery to need rinsing off, then the person/family ought to think about food waste as well, as that may be having a far greater impact on their budget.

If we want to include all the variables, then dishwashing by hand commonly requires drying up using a tea towel, whereas items coming out of the dishwasher are usually dry enough to put away immediately. If so, the calculation should probably include the tea towel washing costs as well...

If you want to play that game I'm sure dishwasher detergent costs more than conventional washing up liquid  .

I've often used a tea towel to dry some items coming out of diswashers actually, although you may say that was a failure on the part of whoever loaded them. My own washing up I leave out on a rack to dry but do use a tea towel if/when I run out of space. The tea towel only ever gets clean water on it though so I don't wash one often. It's certainly not a significant cost  . Energy and to a lesser extent water for those on metered supplies are.

On the rinsing off front I was just going by what every dishwasher owner seems to do, I thought because they tended to find food left stuck to crockery if they didn't.

wild666

SAC2334 said:

If only it was 15 p for a five minute 8kw electric shower on the Oct capped rate  I would nt bother doing my on/off technique , eg quick blast for 40 secs , switch off , when ready then switch back on for a rinse off for 40 sec = 1.20 secs = 8.8 p 

My electric shower plus hair drying afterwards costs me the best part of 27p 

in_my_wellies

jackieblack said:

comeandgo said:

Why do you use bath sheets and not bath towels?  I find I can put my two bath towels, three hand towels bottom sheet, don’t use a top one, duvet cover washed every fortnight, and two pillowcases, tea towels in as one load and clothing is the other load, one week it’s lights, one week it’s darks.  My husband does wash his sports gear by hand.

That’s made me think 🤔 
I’ve always used bath sheets - as a bigger person I couldn’t wrap a bath towel around myself to walk from bathroom to bedroom (have always dried and dressed in the bedroom as it freed the bathroom up for other household members to use)

Now I live alone and have lost almost 5 stone in the last 10 months, so a bath towel would be perfectly adequate and would reduce the weight of my wash, and dry more quickly!  I’m off to dig out a couple of bath towels from my stash and the bath sheets can be packed away!

After I shower I pat dry all over with a flannel. Then finish off by wrapping up in a towel whilst I do my teeth in winter, in summer no need at all for the towel. I taught the children to do this too. Saves no end of washing large towels

TimSynths

jimjames said:

TimSynths said:

The other important thing to consider is getting the most energy-efficient appliances. The most energy-efficient fridge-freezer, the LG GBB92MCBAP, costs £40.63 a year to run at the current price cap, according to the consumer group Which? The least efficient fridge it tested, the Hotpoint FFU3D W 1, costs £178.66.

If those numbers are correct then it could make replacing an old fridge freezer a worthwhile option cost wise. Mine is going to likely cost around £350 a year to run after using an energy monitor to check usage. I don't know how much lower the consumption is over winter months when the room will be slightly lower temperature but it's working out as just under 600kWh of energy per year just on the one item.

I've just looked- its £1900 for the fridge freezer. Gulp.

wild666

PennineAcute said:

I connected a ring door bell in May and also bought their solar panel.  Not needed a charge yet and currently on 98%. 

My ring doorbell is at 67% after 5 months usage but I'm not using motion detection as I live in a block of flats and the neighbours  might complain if every time they pass the thing they are on video. 

brewerdave

jimjames said:

TimSynths said:

The other important thing to consider is getting the most energy-efficient appliances. The most energy-efficient fridge-freezer, the LG GBB92MCBAP, costs £40.63 a year to run at the current price cap, according to the consumer group Which? The least efficient fridge it tested, the Hotpoint FFU3D W 1, costs £178.66.

If those numbers are correct then it could make replacing an old fridge freezer a worthwhile option cost wise. Mine is going to likely cost around £350 a year to run after using an energy monitor to check usage. I don't know how much lower the consumption is over winter months when the room will be slightly lower temperature but it's working out as just under 600kWh of energy per year just on the one item.

Just bitten the bullet and replaced a very old fridge /freezer with a new smaller fridge. The old unit always seemed to be running. Wasn't worth doing when leccy was ~ 11p/kwh. Initial meter reads suggest I'm "saving" ~ 10kwh per week. On that basis it'll pay for itself in ~ 1 year ! 

double_dutchy

Ultrasonic said:

Section62 said:

Ultrasonic said:

I suspect the dishwasher question isn't straightforward. One argument for dishwashers is that they use less water but I'm never sure this properly factors in all the water people use to rinse off items before putting them in the dishwasher.

People do this, but the manufacturers usually say it is unnecessary.  If there is enough residual food left on crockery to need rinsing off, then the person/family ought to think about food waste as well, as that may be having a far greater impact on their budget.

If we want to include all the variables, then dishwashing by hand commonly requires drying up using a tea towel, whereas items coming out of the dishwasher are usually dry enough to put away immediately. If so, the calculation should probably include the tea towel washing costs as well...

If you want to play that game I'm sure dishwasher detergent costs more than conventional washing up liquid  .

Absolutely does! Most people use dishwasher tablets - you can get these for less than 10p ( one per load) if you buy in bulk but if you buy smaller/expensive bags it works out nearer to 20p per tab. You also need "rinsaid" added occasionally plus dishwasher salt (more needed if you have harder water) and occasionally a dishwasher cleaner!

On the rinsing debate, my wife does this but I don't. I think that if I'm required to rinse each plate I might as well wash them and cut out the dishwasher altogether. When I don't rinse I might get the occasional plate with some residue still attached after dishwashing - dealing with these is much less time-consuming than rinsing everything.

brewerdave

double_dutchy said:

Ultrasonic said:

Section62 said:

Ultrasonic said:

I suspect the dishwasher question isn't straightforward. One argument for dishwashers is that they use less water but I'm never sure this properly factors in all the water people use to rinse off items before putting them in the dishwasher.

People do this, but the manufacturers usually say it is unnecessary.  If there is enough residual food left on crockery to need rinsing off, then the person/family ought to think about food waste as well, as that may be having a far greater impact on their budget.

If we want to include all the variables, then dishwashing by hand commonly requires drying up using a tea towel, whereas items coming out of the dishwasher are usually dry enough to put away immediately. If so, the calculation should probably include the tea towel washing costs as well...

If you want to play that game I'm sure dishwasher detergent costs more than conventional washing up liquid  .

Absolutely does! Most people use dishwasher tablets - you can get these for less than 10p ( one per load) if you buy in bulk but if you buy smaller/expensive bags it works out nearer to 20p per tab. You also need "rinsaid" added occasionally plus dishwasher salt (more needed if you have harder water) and occasionally a dishwasher cleaner!

I always look for deals on tabs when we are running out -can usually get them for 9p-12p per tab . The use of the dishwasher is all about convenience - make sure you run it on the lowest temp. you can whilst still getting stuff clean and don't overfill it!

Norman_Castle

jimexbox said:

FreeBear said:

jimexbox said:

FreeBear said:

mr_stripey said:

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

https://support.ring.com/hc/en-gb/articles/4407618977300-Safety-and-compliance-information-for-Ring-Video-Doorbell-Wired - Claims 1.2W when in standby mode. So that would work out at around £5.50 per year assuming 52p per KWh.

A 5W LED bulb, 0.26p per hour.

Couple of decimal places missed on the 5w bulb.

Lemme check the maths....

1KW = 1,000W

5W = 0.005Kw. So for one hour it is 0.005Kwh

1KWh of electricity will cost 52p in round numbers come October.

0.005 x 52p = 0.26p

Your original post was... 

A 5W LED bulb, 0.26p per hour.

To my admittedly 0'level maths, that is 26p an hour. You might read it as something else of course. 

26p is twenty six pence.

£0.26 is twenty six pence.

0.26p is two tenths of a penny plus six hundredths of a penny.

Thats according to my O level maths. You can't count on 0 level maths.