how low is your leccy consumption now, this very week..... asking for a friend

maxmycardagain

Deleted_User said:

I expect freezers use a lot. I only use 3 kWh a day and have a electric cooker and hob, but no freezer or dishwasher, use the washing machine once a week and don't use the tumble dryer.

 May I suggest you get an air fryer and stop using the leccy oven?/hob?

Ally_E.

dunstonh said:

Ally_E. said:

Robgmun said:

Chrysalis said:

Crazy how variable things are, on another forum many have daily usage at about 20 kWh a day and they consider my usage tiny, but then my usage seems high compared to those posting 3 kWh a day.

My daily average is 6-7 kWh a day.

The difference is that most normal non-MSE people aren't obsessed about saving money like we are and 20 kWh was pretty common. I know because I was one of them. Once I started to take notice a month ago it went from an average of 20 down to about 8-10 without impacting our daily lives.

I could go lower but that would mean much bigger changes that would we'd find reduces our comfort. We're pretty happy with where we are now

Even when we were mining crypto we didn't use more than 12kW/h a day. Not sure what people who use 20 are doing

Living normal lives.

We used 18kWh in early summer but after learning a bit about our use, it dropped to around 8-10kWh a day.    During the winter, it is nromally around 58kWh per day but I am hoping for it to be around 48kWh per day.  (heating/water is oil, not electric)

Not sure how you can call 58kW/h a day leaving normal lives, but to each their own. Our current use with gaming PC, multiple laptops, TV, FF, washing mashine, Liberal use of the oven is all around 6kW/h a day. 

QrizB

Ally_E. said:

dunstonh said:

Living normal lives.

We used 18kWh in early summer but after learning a bit about our use, it dropped to around 8-10kWh a day.    During the winter, it is nromally around 58kWh per day but I am hoping for it to be around 48kWh per day.  (heating/water is oil, not electric)

Not sure how you can call 58kW/h a day leaving normal lives, but to each their own. Our current use with gaming PC, multiple laptops, TV, FF, washing mashine, Liberal use of the oven is all around 6kW/h a day. 

I think dunstonh has an electric Aga that buns through 30kWh/day all by itself. Here's a recent (& lighthearted) Guardian article about them:

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/sep/13/70-to-run-an-oven-for-a-week-how-the-fuel-crisis-has-aga-owners-ripping-out-their-stoves

When I was growing up in the rural hinterlands a kitchen stove was a common feature, even in social housing, although those were rarely Agas and were solid-fuel rather than electric.

Mstty

maxmycardagain said:

Mstty said:

wrf12345 said:

Currently 1.3-1.5kw a day, one grilled meal a day, small freezer (newish), three cups of coffee, six hours on computer/24 inch led monitor, four hours LED 40 inch TV (inc 5W amplifier, sat receiver, TV on eco mode), all bulbs 1-2W LEDs, cold water showers, no hot water, no heating (gas turned off at meter since Feb), no fridge... quality of life just the same as when I was using twice as much electricity. Live alone in 3 bed bungalow so have total control over things, much more difficult when lots of people, everything except freezer is turned off when not in use and freezer in coldest part of house, unheated, north facing hallway.

But would you say that was an enjoyable existence?

better that than throwing money into the energy suppliers bank accounts, but if that is what you prefer, carry on

Ridiculous answer but something I have come to expect from you. The suppliers make 2% in general on capped rate tariffs.

Plus the question was to wrf unless this is a second account you use?

dunstonh

Ally_E. said:

dunstonh said:

Ally_E. said:

Robgmun said:

Chrysalis said:

Crazy how variable things are, on another forum many have daily usage at about 20 kWh a day and they consider my usage tiny, but then my usage seems high compared to those posting 3 kWh a day.

My daily average is 6-7 kWh a day.

The difference is that most normal non-MSE people aren't obsessed about saving money like we are and 20 kWh was pretty common. I know because I was one of them. Once I started to take notice a month ago it went from an average of 20 down to about 8-10 without impacting our daily lives.

I could go lower but that would mean much bigger changes that would we'd find reduces our comfort. We're pretty happy with where we are now

Even when we were mining crypto we didn't use more than 12kW/h a day. Not sure what people who use 20 are doing

Living normal lives.

We used 18kWh in early summer but after learning a bit about our use, it dropped to around 8-10kWh a day.    During the winter, it is nromally around 58kWh per day but I am hoping for it to be around 48kWh per day.  (heating/water is oil, not electric)

Not sure how you can call 58kW/h a day leaving normal lives, but to each their own. Our current use with gaming PC, multiple laptops, TV, FF, washing mashine, Liberal use of the oven is all around 6kW/h a day. 

Because people lead different lives and what is normal for one person is different to another.   58kWh a day is high but its probably typical for similar properties in our area (but some will have higher oil use as oil AGAs are very common around here) but you see plenty of people posting that they are in 20kWh ballpark who have no heavy devices.

QrizB said:

Ally_E. said:

dunstonh said:

Living normal lives.

We used 18kWh in early summer but after learning a bit about our use, it dropped to around 8-10kWh a day.    During the winter, it is nromally around 58kWh per day but I am hoping for it to be around 48kWh per day.  (heating/water is oil, not electric)

Not sure how you can call 58kW/h a day leaving normal lives, but to each their own. Our current use with gaming PC, multiple laptops, TV, FF, washing mashine, Liberal use of the oven is all around 6kW/h a day. 

I think dunstonh has an electric Aga that buns through 30kWh/day all by itself. Here's a recent (& lighthearted) Guardian article about them:

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/sep/13/70-to-run-an-oven-for-a-week-how-the-fuel-crisis-has-aga-owners-ripping-out-their-stoves

When I was growing up in the rural hinterlands a kitchen stove was a common feature, even in social housing, although those were rarely Agas and were solid-fuel rather than electric.

It is the AGA that is the main culprit for the use.  The horse walker is another in winter.  

The Guardian article is a hatchet job.  They are anti-AGAs and run a similar article to that periodically.    There isn't an AGA that costs £70 a week to run.  Although it would have done had the Government not capped the price.  Eco 7 rates using 39 kWh per day.  That is £49 a week on April price cap but looking at the E7 rates that have been published so far, many of the night rates have dropped a lot.   Still keeping my fingers crossed for when mine get published.

Ally_E.

I've seen an increase of secondhand AGAs for sale in our areas, with such high energy use I can see why since they would be secondary source of heat in our area. 

lindatoo

3 bed house gas CH and hot water. 1 adult, 2 cats. averaging 2.4kwh electricity per day. Hoping to stay under 3kwh throughout the winter months. Aiming for annual usage of under 1000kwh last year was 1500kwh. I am a fixed rate for electricity well under the cap for both unit and SC until Nov 23. which meant I paid a little more between Nov 21 and April 22 but I'm benefiting now.

I no longer have my TV on if I'm using my PC.

I rarely have hot drinks (through choice, don't particularly enjoy them).

Rarely use the oven, use an air fryer, instapot, microwave and occasionally a slow cooker. (If any one can tell me how to cook a crispy fruit crumble without using the oven, I'd be very grateful)

Ceiling lights rarely on. Although now it's getting darker I will be deploying some of the suggestions I've read on this thread of using low energy lamps in my kitchen rather than using the whole darn nine spots and multi bulb pendant light that are all wired up to same switch despite having a switch at each end of the kitchen. 

Everything that is not in use is switch off at the plug. 

Washer on once a week, occasionally twice, on low quick wash programme and line dried. Hoping to keep drying outside as long as possible.

Stopped hoovering every day which is one of things that I'm finding toughest and no steam mop anymore, reverted to the old fashioned way.

I actually enjoy my daily war with the smart meter. Sometimes it wins, most of the time I do. My family think I'm mad, they're probably right.

My main issue is going to be with the gas. Not fixed, Last year I used about 11000kwh, which I really want to reduce. I have been looking on line, to try to understand what would the best settings for my Worcester Greenstar 29cdi combi, none of it makes that much sense to me.

The main radiator in my living room is under the window with floor length curtains, not sure if I should buy some shorter ones,

My front door is draughty I have put some new draught excluder round it but its still draughty and not just at the bottom so getting cushion or bean excluder will not solve the problem so looks like being another curtain.

And then there's the cats who are constantly wanting to go out and come back every 15-20 mins and they literally hurl themselves at the door if I try to ignore them, so heat will be constantly escaping that way. Anyone want two not very well behaved cats?

michaels

The curtains are an additional thermal barrier so the radiator heat going to the cold side of that barrier at the coldest time of day is definitely not a winner.

If you look at your summer gas usage that should give you an idea of how much goes on hot water (savings from showers not baths, low flow shower head, consideration of the amount of energy needed to get hot water for washing up etc from a combi) and how much on heating.  Suggestions are use radiator thermostats to only heat the rooms you use when you use them, heat the person (heated electric throw etc) and possibly even use electric room heaters (I prefer oil filled radiators to convection or fan heaters, I think they provide a 'better quality of heat' to keep one room warm rather than the whole house, especially if you are on a cheap electricity fix relative to the current gas price.

But also consider personal circumstance and comfort - do you have other things that give you more pleasure for the saved expenditure?  There are no pockets in a shroud...

Green_hopeful

lindatoo said: 

My front door is draughty I have put some new draught excluder round it but its still draughty and not just at the bottom so getting cushion or bean excluder will not solve the problem so looks like being another curtain.

And then there's the cats who are constantly wanting to go out and come back every 15-20 mins and they literally hurl themselves at the door if I try to ignore them, so heat will be constantly escaping that way. Anyone want two not very well behaved cats?

Re your draughty front door we had draught excluder fitted on the outside. It’s fixed to the frame with a metal strip and has a rubber edge that pushes against the door when it’s shut. I have had it fitted at a couple of houses and it’s made a big difference. 

Re the cats perhaps see them as a heat source when they are in. 

PS your electricity usage is excellent. 

lindatoo

michaels said:

The curtains are an additional thermal barrier so the radiator heat going to the cold side of that barrier at the coldest time of day is definitely not a winner.

If you look at your summer gas usage that should give you an idea of how much goes on hot water (savings from showers not baths, low flow shower head, consideration of the amount of energy needed to get hot water for washing up etc from a combi) and how much on heating.  Suggestions are use radiator thermostats to only heat the rooms you use when you use them, heat the person (heated electric throw etc) and possibly even use electric room heaters (I prefer oil filled radiators to convection or fan heaters, I think they provide a 'better quality of heat' to keep one room warm rather than the whole house, especially if you are on a cheap electricity fix relative to the current gas price.

But also consider personal circumstance and comfort - do you have other things that give you more pleasure for the saved expenditure?  There are no pockets in a shroud...

i agree with you about circumstances and comfort and I certainly have no intention of sitting in the cold, but I want to make sure that I get most out of my heating. Last year I was on a gas fix, so cranking the heating up wasn't an issue but I was aware even then that I could do better by eliminating issues of draughts and that my curtains and door were not helping but I'd recently recdecorated and chosen curtains that I wanted for my room, so I ignored it, and I could do so again this year without putting myself in the poor house but I want to be more energy efficient, Like most people I'm going to pay more but I don't want to needlessly waste money. I guess I have to decide if I will actually save anything by buying new curtains. I suspect I will but I'm not sure. I did wonder if I would be better using my cheaper electricity and getting some form of electric heating particularly when we thought energy would be going up again in January.

I use about 2000 kwh for hot water a year may be a little less. I was away for quite a while over summer so that's an estimate based on me being at home all year, so about 9000kwh is on heating.

I have a large radiator in my hallway which does not have a TRV and I'm fairly sure I can't turn it off either and the engineers who upgraded my heating said something about it being because it is where the thermostat control is (I may have got that wrong) which is why I'm concerned about the draught coming through the front door. To be fair I don't fully understand but I think it might be causing my boiler to have to work harder. Also I have a radiator cover on the hall radiator and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. But either way I'm using a lot of energy heating my hallway and staircase which is obviously not a space that I use much.. I hope this makes sense as I said I'm not as clued up on the subject as I'd like to be.