11,000 kw pa - Help with Electric Usage Audit

sienew

If you haven't already, buy one of these to monitor individual devices to see what they are using: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B097YBXHTW/

dunstonh

sienew said:

If you haven't already, buy one of these to monitor individual devices to see what they are using: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B097YBXHTW/

These are what I used.   Initially for the monitoring and then for devices with hard-to-reach plugs to make it easier to turn off.   You can also run schedules and away modes as well as linking plugs to one on/off switch on the app/google home/alexa/apple and most other third party apps for smart devices.

gazapc

The good news is you don't need to pay someone, lots of help here. With consumption being about 3x average (>2x excluding EV), there are likely some significant savings that could be made.

You've got a long list of items to be checking with plug in meters. Check each applicance you can. Major baseloads are likely to be the various fridge freezers and the pond/fish tankrelated items.

Things others have not highlighted

- can you subtract EV usage from the monthly domestic consumption you posted? That will give a better view of household consumption.

- stepson's mini fridge at 0.8 kWh (when new, possibly more now). Really needed? Noting my modern full size fridge/freezer uses ~1 kWh per day.

- is the electric range completely off when not in use? Is it only used for cooking?

And just to confirm, no electric underfloor heating or radiators/towel rails?

Krakkkers

The mini fridge will cost £100 a year in electricity if it does use 0.8kwh a day.

dunstonh

Krakkkers said:

The mini fridge will cost £100 a year in electricity if it does use 0.8kwh a day.

That mini fridge is using more than our American F/F (0.72kWh a day)

Alnat1

The Bose systems might be using more than you'd expect in standby and in use. We've ditched the one we inherited from the previous owners of the house. 

Petriix

For a start, if you have an EV then you would save significantly by switching to Octopus Go/Go Faster/Intelligent. As long as you can charge sufficiently at home overnight (i.e. you don't need more than 28kWh each night). Then you can load shift your daily washing machine cycle to the cheap rate.

Next I would seriously look at getting solar panels. You'd save a lot just by covering your background usage. 

As for your high consumption... You need to find a way of monitoring the individual items. If you have as smart meter with a working IHD then you can see your exact current usage. Simply turn everything off and ensure it goes to 0 (or close), then turn things on one at a time and observe the difference.

Things like fridges kick in and out so they're slightly harder to pin down, but the fish tanks and pond pump will be obvious.

There was a thread on here (last year?) where a blocked pond pump was responsible for several kWh per day; it was acting as a heater and the water was warm. 

BooJewels

There was a thread on here (last year?) where a blocked pond pump was responsible for several kWh per day; it was acting as a heater and the water was warm. 

It amuses the heck out of me that my blocked pump is still being referenced regularly - I thought about it myself when he said he had pond pumps.  

It was a good 2 years ago now - it wasn't a pond pump, it was actually a pump inside a sump to drain a garden prone to flooding - in my late parent's property.   Because I only visited once a week, it took a while to trace.  The power usage only increased after a storm resulting in a power cut.  The power cut was a red herring - the storm was the pertinent factor. A perfectly sized round pebble had blocked the pump inlet and the water in the sump and in fact the ground for several feet in diameter was hot to the touch.  That little pebble cost me something like 37 quid and a lot of wasted time!  Not helped by not being wholly familiar with the property.

So - OP - check your pond water isn't warm!

TheGardener

Electric Shower + Young adults usually = monster use   it was one of the biggest hitters in our house and on the now legendary @MariaH thread

phillw

Your son could be bitcoin/etherium mining.

An energy monitor/smart meter will give you the total usage, you can then go round turning everything off. If you still can't find what is using the energy, you can start flicking the circuits off on your consumer unit.