Lazy person's way RE: timers

anon_ymous

Some of this is specific to just myself but some is general

My ultimate aim is to use a night time tariff with enough batteries, so I've got smart extension leads that are individually switched. Equally smart plugs for one item would work

The idea is that my power banks get charged at off peak hours, and then have no charge after. I've been doing that to my toothbrush for a long time but that's less about saving pennies and more about that it doesn't have over charging protection built in

I've got the TV to power down at certain times and then start up again at certain times.. My "home office" is the same, using a single smart plug to put it on a timer

My robot vacuum also only charges between certain times, but that's controlled within the robot instead, not a smart plug

My alarm clock now automatically switches off at 9am on a week day too. I've got a stand alone alarm clock because they're a bit better than mobile phones I find

Even my Dyson only gets charged during certain times now. You can use the much cheaper non smart timers, however I personally prefer the smart ones because they're smaller and if you spend a bit more, you can control individual plug sockets which is quite nice. You can't really do that with the old fashioned ones because they're bulky and would use up more than one plug

Basically, I've got anything that uses batteries to only charge during certain hours. Anything I need to be on, but not all the time, also get automatically turned off at certain hours too

I'm not even sure you even save any money this way (given the cost of the extension leads), however it is at the very least within the ethos of the "2000 watt society" and it's not a bad thing to use less even if your electricity is entirely clean 

EssexHebridean

Not really sure where extension leads come in, but surely this is something that you've always done during the off-peak rate hours since you've been on an E7 or similar tariff? I turn the clock radio off at weekends as it doesn't get used then, but for the tiny amount it takes to run it I don't think I'm fussed about going past that point! 

Magnitio

How much energy do your smart controls consume? They can end up using more than what you are switching off.

anon_ymous

Magnitio said:

How much energy do your smart controls consume? They can end up using more than what you are switching off.

Not a lot at all. Like 0.5w

anon_ymous

EssexHebridean said:

Not really sure where extension leads come in, but surely this is something that you've always done during the off-peak rate hours since you've been on an E7 or similar tariff? I turn the clock radio off at weekends as it doesn't get used then, but for the tiny amount it takes to run it I don't think I'm fussed about going past that point! 

I'm not on it just yet. It's just a way to do it 

Astria

waqasahmed said:

Magnitio said:

How much energy do your smart controls consume? They can end up using more than what you are switching off.

Not a lot at all. Like 0.5w

My alarm clock takes about the same, so I see little point switching it off during the day. Heck, even the full LCD one with reminders, weather and everything only takes about 2W, so about 45p/month.

drsquirrel

Charging powerbanks isn't giong to save you any money, you'd end up losing it on the cost of the batteries/packs.

Using more power through charging batteries is not cleaner either, you're losing energy in the process. Production of the battery packs and extra extensions you may have just bought would have an impact too.

You could save power on the toothbrush by using a standard brush.

If you have hard floors, use a broom.

Go for the high ticket items first.

anon_ymous

drsquirrel said:

Charging powerbanks isn't giong to save you any money, you'd end up losing it on the cost of the batteries/packs.

Using more power through charging batteries is not cleaner either, you're losing energy in the process. Production of the battery packs and extra extensions you may have just bought would have an impact too.

You could save power on the toothbrush by using a standard brush.

If you have hard floors, use a broom.

Go for the high ticket items first.

I've already got said power banks though, largely because I prefer to use a battery and a short wire

I've already gone for the "high ticket" items largely because I recently bought loads of new appliances 

Astria

waqasahmed said:

drsquirrel said:

Charging powerbanks isn't giong to save you any money, you'd end up losing it on the cost of the batteries/packs.

Using more power through charging batteries is not cleaner either, you're losing energy in the process. Production of the battery packs and extra extensions you may have just bought would have an impact too.

You could save power on the toothbrush by using a standard brush.

If you have hard floors, use a broom.

Go for the high ticket items first.

I've already got said power banks though, largely because I prefer to use a battery and a short wire

I've already gone for the "high ticket" items largely because I recently bought loads of new appliances 

Batteries are brilliant for storing power that would otherwise be wasted and cost nothing, eg, solar or wind energy.

But batteries also have a finite life time based on discharge cycles, so I'm not sure if paying E7 prices then adding in loses of inverter/charger, and then the more expensive day time rates would actually make it cheap enough to be worth it.

I do have batteries but don't think it'll save me any money, so they are currently disconnected and waiting for next year.

Qyburn

Magnitio said:

How much energy do your smart controls consume? They can end up using more than what you are switching off.

I measured a TP-Link Tapo P110. It varied between 0.5 and 0.6W when the relay was off, 1.1W when it was on.

anon_ymous

Astria said:

waqasahmed said:

drsquirrel said:

Charging powerbanks isn't giong to save you any money, you'd end up losing it on the cost of the batteries/packs.

Using more power through charging batteries is not cleaner either, you're losing energy in the process. Production of the battery packs and extra extensions you may have just bought would have an impact too.

You could save power on the toothbrush by using a standard brush.

If you have hard floors, use a broom.

Go for the high ticket items first.

I've already got said power banks though, largely because I prefer to use a battery and a short wire

I've already gone for the "high ticket" items largely because I recently bought loads of new appliances 

Batteries are brilliant for storing power that would otherwise be wasted and cost nothing, eg, solar or wind energy.

But batteries also have a finite life time based on discharge cycles, so I'm not sure if paying E7 prices then adding in loses of inverter/charger, and then the more expensive day time rates would actually make it cheap enough to be worth it.

I do have batteries but don't think it'll save me any money, so they are currently disconnected and waiting for next year.

Agreed though I didn't buy them for that reason.

I first used power banks within close proximity years ago when I went abroad and the socket was "miles away" from my phone, and batteries basically give me more flexibility

I didn't buy power banks for the sole purpose of charging them at a cheaper rate. I already have those power banks

That's the bit where it's general to me. But everyone can have timers