11,000 kw pa - Help with Electric Usage Audit

MWT

Noble1001 said:

MWT said:

Noble1001 said:

I noete that the average use of electricity in the early hours of the morning e.g. 2am is averaging @ 0.22 - 0.25 kw per 30 mins

Just to get this bit clear, are you saying that your average kWh consumption per 30 min period is 0.22-0.25kWh, or that you are using 0.22-0.25kW steadily...

The first translates to 12kWh a day in background load, the second is 6kWh a day...

If you are taking this from your smart meter half-hour data then it is the first one.

Thanks, See below re a days usage by 30 min increments (as per my BG online Account)

Thanks for the chart, so yes, about 2/3 of your daily consumption is in your base load...

Switching to an EV tariff with Octopus, although possible, isn't going to help you much until you get that under control.

Those spikes every 4 hours or so are probably fridge/freezer related, but the chart makes it very clear that you need ot focus on the stuff that is on all the time, not the higher loads you may use at different times of the day.

Your problem is in the base load... 

Spoonie_Turtle

You can't switch to Octopus online at the moment, they want to speak to customers first so you have to contact them via phone, e-mail (slow at the moment), or Twitter.

Petriix

You definitely can switch to Octopus. Three friends have used my referral link this week.

Good luck getting that base load down. I assume that you don't have an IHD for your smart meter?

Noble1001

Petriix said:

You definitely can switch to Octopus. Three friends have used my referral link this week.

Good luck getting that base load down. I assume that you don't have an IHD for your smart meter?

If by IHD you mean an 'in house' monitor then the answer is no...BG have not provided one since we got moved across last Oct. Also, I'm going to ring Octopus tomorrow...thanks for the advice..

Noble1001

MWT said:

Noble1001 said:

MWT said:

Noble1001 said:

I noete that the average use of electricity in the early hours of the morning e.g. 2am is averaging @ 0.22 - 0.25 kw per 30 mins

Just to get this bit clear, are you saying that your average kWh consumption per 30 min period is 0.22-0.25kWh, or that you are using 0.22-0.25kW steadily...

The first translates to 12kWh a day in background load, the second is 6kWh a day...

If you are taking this from your smart meter half-hour data then it is the first one.

Thanks, See below re a days usage by 30 min increments (as per my BG online Account)

Thanks for the chart, so yes, about 2/3 of your daily consumption is in your base load...

Switching to an EV tariff with Octopus, although possible, isn't going to help you much until you get that under control.

Those spikes every 4 hours or so are probably fridge/freezer related, but the chart makes it very clear that you need ot focus on the stuff that is on all the time, not the higher loads you may use at different times of the day.

Your problem is in the base load... 

Yes...totally agree. Fridge Freezer is using 1kw per day (as measured over the last 24 hrs) which is not bad for a 10 year old appliance of it's size. So...more monitoring to follow. Thanks

[Deleted User]

@Noble1001 - in lieu of the energy monitors arriving, can you find photographs of the rating plate for any of the items that people have suggested being possible causes?  That could give a rough indication before doing any active monitoring.

Petriix

Noble1001 said:

Petriix said:

You definitely can switch to Octopus. Three friends have used my referral link this week.

Good luck getting that base load down. I assume that you don't have an IHD for your smart meter?

If by IHD you mean an 'in house' monitor then the answer is no...BG have not provided one since we got moved across last Oct. Also, I'm going to ring Octopus tomorrow...thanks for the advice..

Yes, in house display. In theory the original one from whoever installed it should still work, but they often went dead when switching supplier. Shame as they show energy use live. 

Noble1001

By way of an update, https://1drv.ms/x/s!AkDR2ydIzZNHg6tAjHuWxVXQBPwiKA?e=3haqaO

I have carried out a pretty extensive cost inventory of household appliances, items etc and have also compared my options with Octopus. It has been illuminating to say the least. (The cost per KW is as per Oct 1st rates). Key drivers are the Electric Range Cooker (although annual usage is an estimate) along with other obvious culprits however the Pond Pump and the two Fishtanks (step sons lifelong hobby) are big contributors. No escaping...we just have alot of 'stuff'...sot it really comes down to choices....an over above average bill or stop using as much 'stuff'. I am still considering Octopus however I want to drive our day to day usage down first to then compare and contrast...given the savings will be reduced in pure money terms. Sept is already looking encourging with our lowest usage year to date. 
Thanks for all your tips and guidance.

[Deleted User]

Noble1001 said:

By way of an update, https://1drv.ms/x/s!AkDR2ydIzZNHg6tAjHuWxVXQBPwiKA?e=3haqaO

I have carried out a pretty extensive cost inventory of household appliances, items etc and have also compared my options with Octopus. It has been illuminating to say the least. (The cost per KW is as per Oct 1st rates). Key drivers are the Electric Range Cooker (although annual usage is an estimate) along with other obvious culprits however the Pond Pump and the two Fishtanks (step sons lifelong hobby) are big contributors. No escaping...we just have alot of 'stuff'...sot it really comes down to choices....an over above average bill or stop using as much 'stuff'. I am still considering Octopus however I want to drive our day to day usage down first to then compare and contrast...given the savings will be reduced in pure money terms. Sept is already looking encourging with our lowest usage year to date. 
Thanks for all your tips and guidance.

Of your £4000pa bill, over £1200 is fish tanks and pond?  Wow.

I know nothing about aquatics, is there something you can do to reduce that (I see from your comment that 'getting rid' is not a plausible option)?

badger09

Noble1001 said:

By way of an update, https://1drv.ms/x/s!AkDR2ydIzZNHg6tAjHuWxVXQBPwiKA?e=3haqaO

I have carried out a pretty extensive cost inventory of household appliances, items etc and have also compared my options with Octopus. It has been illuminating to say the least. (The cost per KW is as per Oct 1st rates). Key drivers are the Electric Range Cooker (although annual usage is an estimate) along with other obvious culprits however the Pond Pump and the two Fishtanks (step sons lifelong hobby) are big contributors. No escaping...we just have alot of 'stuff'...sot it really comes down to choices....an over above average bill or stop using as much 'stuff'. I am still considering Octopus however I want to drive our day to day usage down first to then compare and contrast...given the savings will be reduced in pure money terms. Sept is already looking encourging with our lowest usage year to date. 
Thanks for all your tips and guidance.

Thanks for the update. That’s a very impressive spreadsheet. 

I assume you don’t have Smart Meters. We had ours installed yesterday and the results are already quite illuminating😉 

Good luck with your ‘choices’ and please update your thread