Why is my electricity usage so much higher in Winter?

artyboy

So... gas I understand, we have gas for central heating and hot water, and that's used much more in winter. What I don't get is why I'm using so much more electricity - in the region of 500kWh extra in winter months versus summer.

Obviously will need to investigate further but any obvious things that I may have missed? Lighting - yes that will be on longer, but every light in the house is LED so wouldn't expect that much of an impact. I initially also thought that there might be some extra electrical demand on the heating/hot water system, but it's Megaflo, which means it shouldn't require any pumping?

We have changed the main TV from an old plasma to a new OLED, which would also have a bit of impact. But other than that, no real lifestyle/appliance changes. And no... no electrical heaters apart from an ancient fan-thingy in the conservatory, but that appears to work by fanning the Hot water pipes that go into it. Won't even come on if those pipes aren't warm...

Any ideas where that extra 500kWh of electricity is going in Winter?

Mstty

People tend to hibernate more, more indoors than out so more electrical items on etc.

More cooking less cold food and salads.

By winter do you mean just the 3 months of winter or October to April? This makes a difference.

victor2

Our electricity usage is pretty constant all year round, with only a small spike in the winter, which I put down to lights (even though they are LED) being on longer and the OH using an electric blanket all night.

As @Mstty says, maybe you are cooking more hot meals. TV shows are traditionally better in the winter than the summer, so maybe you watch more TV too (with a nice cup of hot chocolate)!

Jyana

The reasons I've heard for higher winter usage is that people are home more, so it's not just lights are on but gadgets are used more too. More TV, gaming, home cooking, etc. It all adds up pretty quickly, 500kwh spread over October to Feb/March is less than 3kwh a day so it doesn't take that much to reach that really.

BUFF

also boiler pump will be running in winter to circulate hot water to rads ( & to Megaflo) but not summer. Especially if it is older it will be noticeable.
In my case my winter electricity consumption is ~20kWh/month above summer.

daveyjp

Very little change in electricity useage for me month by month last year (£10 difference on a fixed rate).  Lifestyle doesn't change much and having gas for cooking helps.

The extra use will be lights on longer, central heating pump running and possibly more use of the tumble drier.

MWT

artyboy said:

...I initially also thought that there might be some extra electrical demand on the heating/hot water system, but it's Megaflo, which means it shouldn't require any pumping?

It is still going to need to pump the hot water around your central heating system.

The mains pressure means you should need to pump for the showers for example, but it doesn't help to move the water through the radiators...

artyboy said:

We have changed the main TV from an old plasma to a new OLED, which would also have a bit of impact.

That should result in a drop in consumption.

Krakkkers

Yes, my old 50 inch plasma drew about 400w and my new LCD 55 inch draws about 100w.

Snwps

It could be that due to the weather you are unable to dry your laundry outdoors so rely more on the tumble dryer or a heated airer, or use a dehumidifier. Also my electric shower will have to use more electric in the winter as the water from outside is that much colder than it is in the summer so it has to work harder to get the temperature up. 

May even look at washing clothes, you may do more loads in the winter having worn thicker heavier clothes like jeans/jumpers/fleeces etc than in the summer when you wear light clothes, shorts, tshirts and vests etc. 

TheBanker

More hot drinks? I boil the kettle more in winter because in summer I usually drink cold drinks during the day, in winter I drink tea.

Do you have an electric shower? People might be turning the temperature up in winter.

My electric bill goes up a bit in the winter but I think it's a combination of lots of small things, rather than one specific appliance. 

DullGreyGuy

TheBanker said:

More hot drinks? I boil the kettle more in winter because in summer I usually drink cold drinks during the day, in winter I drink tea.

And yet ironically hot drinks cool you down and cold drinks heat you up because your body over compensates for the temperature of the drink.

Generally I think its because people spend more time at home using lights, tvs, computers etc and eating more hot food. You typically also pay to heat your home that means your fridge/freezer has to work as hard in winter to cool their contents as summer. Add in electric blankets or showers and its even more so though I guess if you have AC then it may balance out a bit more