Electricity meter readings are 20x higher than average and I don't know why

BooJewels

WiserMiser said:

It was a sump pump used to stop a garden becoming waterlogged.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/76497486/#Comment_76497486

Thanks for that - I didn't even bother looking - but it was a bit longer ago than I'd realised.

Swipe

I was going to say, most fish pond pumps are well under 100W, especially modern ones.

Mister_G

My brand new Hozelock Aquaforce 8000 is 95W

Ectophile

Swipe said:

I was going to say, most fish pond pumps are well under 100W, especially modern ones.

But they may take rather more if they are stalled.

brianposter

Water pumps are worth mentioning because there is a suspicion that a faulty pump can completely screw up a smart meter. 

Qyburn

brianposter said:

Water pumps are worth mentioning because there is a suspicion that a faulty pump can completely screw up a smart meter. 

Do you means actually damage the meter or its function? Or you mean consume a large amount of electricity, which is correctly metered?

Swipe

My Oase pond pump is around 15 years old and does a check for blockages or anomalies every 30 mins and will shut itself down automatically if detected.

brianposter

Qyburn said:

brianposter said:

Water pumps are worth mentioning because there is a suspicion that a faulty pump can completely screw up a smart meter. 

Do you means actually damage the meter or its function? Or you mean consume a large amount of electricity, which is correctly metered?

It is only a suspicion but what I mean is that the meter may start to produce inconsistent and illogical readings. Experience with a fault in my house which may, or may not, have been caused by a faulty water pump. 

MeteredOut

brianposter said:

Qyburn said:

brianposter said:

Water pumps are worth mentioning because there is a suspicion that a faulty pump can completely screw up a smart meter. 

Do you means actually damage the meter or its function? Or you mean consume a large amount of electricity, which is correctly metered?

It is only a suspicion but what I mean is that the meter may start to produce inconsistent and illogical readings. Experience with a fault in my house which may, or may not, have been caused by a faulty water pump. 

Can you explain who has this suspicion (other than you), and how is it that a water pump (or, indeed, any single item that uses electricity) could "completely screw up a smart meter"?

Hint: the smart meter does not know which item is using the energy. Any link to you meter fault and your water pump fault is entirely coincidental, and suggesting that water pumps in general may cause an smart meter issue is not helpful to the OP.

BooJewels

It's worth noting that the OP hasn't posted here for a while - it was an old thread someone resurrected.  They live in a flat, so a pond pump is not likely to be a culprit in their particular case. 

It just ended up a tongue in cheek aside here, after someone mentioned pond pumps, as I did have an issue a few years ago with a spike in electricity usage after a power cut - that may or may not have been relevant - caused by a blocked pump.  A lot of the regulars here helped me at the time, so it is remembered periodically as one of the more preposterous outcomes of wayward increased electricity usage.