EDF have upped our monthly DD to £860, equivalent to £10,300 per year for our 3 bedroom semi

[Deleted User]

BooJewels said:

I weighed a small towel yesterday and it held 217ml of water at the end of the cycle and an extra 8 minute spin got a further 52ml out - 24% of it.

Now that is commitment to accurate data that I can really respect!

BooJewels

Thanks @[Deleted User] - it started in another thread and it appeared I was the only one to habitually do extra spins - as I dry using a pulley airer.  There was some skepticism that it offered any benefit, so I've been weighing one item in each load I do, just out of curiosity really.  Even though I knew there was a benefit,  I've been surprised both by just how much water items still hold at the end of a cycle but how much extra another spin gets out too.  My cotton and bamboo hand towel weighed 286g dry and 503g after the end of the cycle and 451g after an additional spin.

mroshaw

poppellerant said:

I hope it's not too late for this, but take photos of your meters and the readings before the installer removes them.  When I had my smart meter replaced with a SMETS2 this year, I took photos soon after the engineer had called to let me know that he would be with me in 10 minutes time.  If your meters shows different screens when you press a button, take photo of these too.

When the meters are installed, keep the IHD plugged in as close as possible to the meters.  I was able to view both my gas and electric usage the same evening the engineer installed the meters, although I was warned it can take a bit longer than this.

One more thing I noticed while reading this thread, was your laundry situation.  Do you use quick and short cycles, believing that they are economical? It's common for people, especially the older generation, to put a full load of laundry in the machine and stick it on a certain cycle just because it has a short time (ie: Silks cycle).  In reality, this is bad for the machine, your laundry and your wallet.  A fully loaded cottons cycle should have faster and longer wash cycles, as well as spin cycles - meaning your clothes will dry quicker than a quick burst from a Silks cycle.

Slightly off-topic, but I knew somebody who would use a quick cycle on their Samsung machine to do a weeks worth of washing.  Every few months they complained about having to clean out black lumps from the pump.  This was the result of the laundry detergent pods not having enough water or time to dissolve properly!

Not too late, and duly noted! Two chaps here now, fitting both meters. We've got a couple of photos before, will take a couple of after, when they're done. Thanks again for the heads up! 

poppellerant

mroshaw said:

poppellerant said:

I hope it's not too late for this, but take photos of your meters and the readings before the installer removes them.  When I had my smart meter replaced with a SMETS2 this year, I took photos soon after the engineer had called to let me know that he would be with me in 10 minutes time.  If your meters shows different screens when you press a button, take photo of these too.

When the meters are installed, keep the IHD plugged in as close as possible to the meters.  I was able to view both my gas and electric usage the same evening the engineer installed the meters, although I was warned it can take a bit longer than this.

One more thing I noticed while reading this thread, was your laundry situation.  Do you use quick and short cycles, believing that they are economical? It's common for people, especially the older generation, to put a full load of laundry in the machine and stick it on a certain cycle just because it has a short time (ie: Silks cycle).  In reality, this is bad for the machine, your laundry and your wallet.  A fully loaded cottons cycle should have faster and longer wash cycles, as well as spin cycles - meaning your clothes will dry quicker than a quick burst from a Silks cycle.

Slightly off-topic, but I knew somebody who would use a quick cycle on their Samsung machine to do a weeks worth of washing.  Every few months they complained about having to clean out black lumps from the pump.  This was the result of the laundry detergent pods not having enough water or time to dissolve properly!

Not too late, and duly noted! Two chaps here now, fitting both meters. We've got a couple of photos before, will take a couple of after, when they're done. Thanks again for the heads up! 

No worries.  I also took photos of the meters on the night before and submitted these readings to my energy company to ensure we both had accurate records - even though I submit readings every month anyway.

Now I have a smart meter, I just record my own meter readings at the same time each month.  It might seem pointless doing so, but it can help you monitor your usage accurately in between EDF's bi-yearly bills.  Especially if EDF's IHD (In Home Display) suddenly stops showing your gas supply and readings, as mine has done.

BooJewels said:

I've been doing some washing experiments using my smart plug monitor and compared a quick 40°C wash to a long 30°C wash, because I'd noticed that the quick wash didn't actually spend much time washing.  The 40°C quick cycle took 55 minutes, of which only 21 minutes was heating the water and sploshing it about.  That cycle used 0.5kWh - most of which was that first 21 minutes, in heating the water.  The normal length 30°C wash took 100 minutes, but it spent 46 minutes heating the water and actually washing before it emptied any water.  That full cycle was 0.4kWh - it only topped 0.3kWh in the last stages of spinning.

So you can make your energy give rise to a better wash by not doing a quick wash - I think I've been doing it wrong for years.  I also reiterate my earlier comment about doing an extra spin cycle - I weighed a small towel yesterday and it held 217ml of water at the end of the cycle and an extra 8 minute spin got a further 52ml out - 24% of it. That should really help air drying times.

ETA: I've been reading machine specs for my son who's buying and several have commented to only use liquid wash in short cycles, not pods or powder, as they don't have time to dissolve, just as @poppellerant posted.

My only concern with spinning twice is wear and tear on the machine, particularly the drum and motor bearings.  I supposed if you allowed a 30 minute gap in between spin cycles, this should allow the bearings to cool down plenty.  But I bet if you do a spin cycle straight after one has just finished, your bearings won't last as long due to the heat.

I agree about using liquid on quick cycles.  But I am against liquid and pods, as the liquid builds up a slime in the drum, causing mould and bacteria to grow and result in a whiffy machine, especially when washing at low temperatures.

Monthly maintenance cycles, consisting of a boil wash using either a very small amount of biological power or soda crystals, can help stop the growth of bacteria and mould.  However there may come a time when the constant use of liquid or pods requires several boil washes to eliminate any problems.

ariarnia

poppellerant said:

mroshaw said:

poppellerant said:

I hope it's not too late for this, but take photos of your meters and the readings before the installer removes them.  When I had my smart meter replaced with a SMETS2 this year, I took photos soon after the engineer had called to let me know that he would be with me in 10 minutes time.  If your meters shows different screens when you press a button, take photo of these too.

When the meters are installed, keep the IHD plugged in as close as possible to the meters.  I was able to view both my gas and electric usage the same evening the engineer installed the meters, although I was warned it can take a bit longer than this.

One more thing I noticed while reading this thread, was your laundry situation.  Do you use quick and short cycles, believing that they are economical? It's common for people, especially the older generation, to put a full load of laundry in the machine and stick it on a certain cycle just because it has a short time (ie: Silks cycle).  In reality, this is bad for the machine, your laundry and your wallet.  A fully loaded cottons cycle should have faster and longer wash cycles, as well as spin cycles - meaning your clothes will dry quicker than a quick burst from a Silks cycle.

Slightly off-topic, but I knew somebody who would use a quick cycle on their Samsung machine to do a weeks worth of washing.  Every few months they complained about having to clean out black lumps from the pump.  This was the result of the laundry detergent pods not having enough water or time to dissolve properly!

Not too late, and duly noted! Two chaps here now, fitting both meters. We've got a couple of photos before, will take a couple of after, when they're done. Thanks again for the heads up! 

No worries.  I also took photos of the meters on the night before and submitted these readings to my energy company to ensure we both had accurate records - even though I submit readings every month anyway.

Now I have a smart meter, I just record my own meter readings at the same time each month.  It might seem pointless doing so, but it can help you monitor your usage accurately in between EDF's bi-yearly bills.  Especially if EDF's IHD (In Home Display) suddenly stops showing your gas supply and readings, as mine has done.

i second this. not because of 6 monthly bills but because our billing period starts mid month and we always used to change to whatever best new fix there was so often changed. having a sheet with our readings on it all from the same time of the month means we can compare month to month and to same month last year/year to year more accurately than trying to work it out from general yearly averages. and it means once a month we can just double check the readings from the smart meter arent entirely out from our readings so will hopefully spot any problems like dying batteries sooner than otherwise. 

Slinky

I'm amazed you have managed to get smart meters installed by EDF so quickly. I moved to them at the beginning of September and was told the only way I can get off my Economy 7 tarriff was to have smart meters installed (long story-ongoing complaint). I'm not against smart meters and keep saying yes everytime they're offered, but as yet, no sign of an appointment to fit them. I must have agreed at least 3 times in the last 3 weeks. My understanding was that there's a shortage of meters.

Regarding energy use on washing machines, I've checked with a Tapo and my 30 degree Easy Care programme which is 97 minutes long, uses 0.5kwh. However, if I fill it with 15 litres of gas heated hot water from the hot tap via a watering can, it uses .3kwh. OK so the 15 litres will have cost money to heat, but I'm pretty sure it won't be 0.2kwh.  I've checked several times with several different types of washing including heavy towels, and they all come out at 0.3kwh.

mroshaw

Quick update: the smart meters are in and I think they've paid for themselves already! Not that we paid for them, mind.

The two engineers were absolutely legends. They stuck around while the meters were calibrated and started to show some results. The electricity usage immediately peaked at over 3kWs! Puzzled, and slightly horrified, we all scoured the house for the culprit. One of the EDF engineers spotted a fuse switch marked "underfloor heating", tripped it, and we saw the usage plummet.

Turns out the electric mat underfloor heating that we thought was "off" was very much in a state of "on", and was costing us about £1 an hour! Didn't even cross our minds that it was even on, let alone that much of a drain on power.

We're all currently huddled around the display, willing it to stay below the red threshold - currently around 360W as a baseline with the odd light and screen on. I'm almost tempted to put those 40W halogen bulbs back in, just to see how bad those must have been!

Lesson learned today - smart meters are AWESOME, and will really help to pinpoint money-saving opportunities!

BooJewels

poppellerant said:

My only concern with spinning twice is wear and tear on the machine, particularly the drum and motor bearings.  I supposed if you allowed a 30 minute gap in between spin cycles, this should allow the bearings to cool down plenty.  But I bet if you do a spin cycle straight after one has just finished, your bearings won't last as long due to the heat.

I must admit, I'd never given bearing wear a single thought and I'm not going to worry about it too much now.  I only do 2 or three washes a week and I'm not hammering my machine.  I don't know what the usual life expectancy of a washing machine is, but I'm on my third in just over 40 years, so I think I've got reasonable service from them.  

Slinky said:

Regarding energy use on washing machines, I've checked with a Tapo and my 30 degree Easy Care programme which is 97 minutes long, uses 0.5kwh. However, if I fill it with 15 litres of gas heated hot water from the hot tap via a watering can, it uses .3kwh. OK so the 15 litres will have cost money to heat, but I'm pretty sure it won't be 0.2kwh.  I've checked several times with several different types of washing including heavy towels, and they all come out at 0.3kwh.

I saw you mention that elsewhere - at what point do you add the water to the machine - before you start, once running?  I'm not sure that saving 7p or 8p is going to be worth the inevitable wet feet!

@mroshaw Delighted that things are working well for you - maybe now you've found an energy guzzling culprit, you can treat yourself to some tumble drying from the savings.  I had a spike in energy and eventually traced it to a convector heater in the cellar - which has an inbuilt timer switch - which it transpires was on for 20 hours a day and off for 4, instead of the opposite.  The timer was somewhat counter-intuitive and it was only after I'd walked past it a couple of times and only sub consciously noticed it was warm at an unexpected time, that the penny dropped.   

ariarnia

mroshaw said:

Turns out the electric mat underfloor heating that we thought was "off" was very much in a state of "on", and was costing us about £1 an hour! Didn't even cross our minds that it was even on, let alone that much of a drain on power.

wow. congratulations i guess they wouldn't run at full pelt for a full 24 hours so it will be interesting to see what the difference that is by the end of the month. 

Miser1964

mroshaw said:

Turns out the electric mat underfloor heating that we thought was "off" was very much in a state of "on", and was costing us about £1 an hour! 

Good news that you've located such a big use of electricity. Confirms that anything which get hot is always priority for energy saving