Temporary High Power Usage

mmmmikey

Gambler said:

mmmmikey said:

Gambler said:

Gerry1 said:

Gambler said: Phantom load of 300w per hour since about midday yesterday.

Nooooooo !  You’re confusing everybody (and perhaps yourself as well) by repeatedly muddling up your units.  As previously explained, 'Watts Per Hour' is a completely nonsensical term.

EITHER your mean plain Watts, an instantaneous value comparable to speed or pressure of a liquid, OR your mean Watt hours, a cumulative value comparable to distance travelled (miles) or bucketfuls used (gallons or litres).  Obviously very different things.

What you’re trying to say is that you’ve had 

• 'a phantom load of 300Wh per hour since about midday yesterday'

which boils down to

• 'a phantom load of 300W since about midday yesterday' in Plain English. 

That would normally read less than 30 this time of the day. It's been like that for nearly 2 days now. Unplugging everything downstairs makes no difference.

Turning the ground floor sockets off in the fuse box is the only way to get rid!

....so there are a few possibilities I can think of:

1. You have missed something, possibly something plugged in behind a cupboard, or maybe the circuit doesn't just cover the downstairs sockets 

2. When you are testing, you're not giving the IHD time to react before moving on to the next device. It can take up to 10 seconds for an IHD with a good connection to react - longer for one with an intermittent connection 

3. When you are testing, you're not isolating / unplugging the device, leaving the possibility that the switch you're using is faulty and you're not really switching the device off (faulty switches are not uncommon)

4. The circuit itself is faulty, or possibly just one of the sockets / outlets 

I'd suggest going round the entire property with a clipboard and making a list, room by room, of every single outlet. Then switch off each circuit at the consumer unit and test every outlet to make sure the ones you think should go off have gone off. This will help you identify any outlet you may have missed in the downstairs circuit that is using the energy. Don't forget the garage, shed, outside, etc. And check the lights too, it wouldn't be uncommon for an outside light to be wired into the same circuit as the sockets.

After doing that, retest every appliance by unplugging it, or removing the fuse for fused outlets. Make sure the IHD is reacting to the test, for example before unplugging something, switch it on and make sure the reading goes up. Then switch it off and make sure the reading goes down. Then unplug it and see what happens. This is especially important if you are taking the IHD from room to room. As you do the testing, see if any of the outlets / plugs are warm which is a good sign of an issue.

If none of that works, it's time to call an electrician to check the wiring. An electrician will have test equipment to assist in the fault finding that you're unlikely to have access to as a DIYer.

Good luck, I'm sure you'll track it down if you persevere 😊 

Thanks Mikey, I have no problem getting an electrician to check but I'm assuming they'd have to be here when it's happening?

It's back to normal now again!

Much better if they're there when it's actually happening as that will let them help you establish where the problem is if it isn't the wiring. There are still useful checks they can do even if the problem isn't happening at the time, but this kind of intermittent issue can be very difficult to track down if it's not happening at the time. Personally, I'd be inclined to map everything out myself in the first instance and make a list of what socket / outlet is on which circuit. Even if you have to get an electrician in, your effort won't be wasted as it will save them time and reduce the cost to you.

teaselMay

Given the age of your house I'd have thought that makes it quite likely that it is some sort of protection system - although iirc it happened in the summer too didn't it, or was that someone else? and so maybe not as simple as frost or flood protection, but something like that. Vs in my 1950s terrace the wiring has been added to in various places and the circuits are all a bit random and messy as a result making it more likely here to be something wired into a circuit that it doesn't appear to belong to.

As above try to map everything out as best you can and then see if you can find an electrician who likes a challenge

Gambler

teaselMay said:

Given the age of your house I'd have thought that makes it quite likely that it is some sort of protection system - although iirc it happened in the summer too didn't it, or was that someone else? and so maybe not as simple as frost or flood protection, but something like that. Vs in my 1950s terrace the wiring has been added to in various places and the circuits are all a bit random and messy as a result making it more likely here to be something wired into a circuit that it doesn't appear to belong to.

As above try to map everything out as best you can and then see if you can find an electrician who likes a challenge

Thank you, yes happened last May too.

Gerry1

Two golden rules for a difficult problem like this.

1. Unplug all appliances, physically take the plugs out of the sockets.  Did you do this?  Take fuses out of fixed spurs, having first turned everything off at the consumer unit.  Also disconnect everything to do with the solar system.  Look inside the loft very carefully, there may well be something to protect the tank and pipes.
   
2. Forget the IHD, which could be on the wrong screen or showing a cached reading.  Measure consumption by watching the flashes on the metrology light (marked 1000 imp (impulses) per kWh or similar) on the meter on the wall. That's real time, no consumption means no flashes.

As it's a detached house it's unlikely to be the neighbour's meter, but do the Meter Sanity Test anyway to reduce the possibility that it's a rogue meter.  Modern ones can occasionally do silly things.

QrizB

Gambler said:

debitcardmayhem said:

debitcardmayhem said:

Do you have a basement or is it a basement flat, it could be a sump pump? 

Do you have a sump pump, just wondering bearing mind the amount of rain.? 

I don't believe so, its a 3 bed detached built in 2021.

Mains drainage, or off-grid with a packaged sewage treatment plant?

Gambler

Hi 

Me again!

Okay same issue since 11pm Monday night, continuous 300W.

I've been working so not had chance to look. This morning I tried the usual.

1. Turn off ground floor sockets at the fuse box. The 300W then disappeared as usually happens.

But the difference this time around is all the sockets are still working!?

This definitely wasn't the case on previous occasions as the fridge freezer would be off and the smoke alarm would start beeping.

tim_p

Can you post a picture of your fuse box / cupboard so all external wiring is visible. (Don’t remember seeing a pic posted)

Gambler

tim_p said:

Can you post a picture of your fuse box / cupboard so all external wiring is visible. (Don’t remember seeing a pic posted)

I did try to post a pic earlier. Will try again now.

Gambler

Gambler said:

tim_p said:

Can you post a picture of your fuse box / cupboard so all external wiring is visible. (Don’t remember seeing a pic posted)

I did try to post a pic earlier. Will try again now.

Trying again!

Reed_Richards

Both my old house and my current one had two ring mains wired together when I moved in.  So the neutral of Ring 1 was connected to Ring 2 and vice versa.  This would stop a fuse box switch from working to disconnect the power.