My Energy use Diary

setmefree2

bigpaws23 wrote: »

Hi setmefree; I actually meant 0.6p, as in, just over HALF a penny. Sorry if I didn't make that clear............

Doh - it's me:D

setmefree2

Hi:hello:

1)We are going away soon so I'm working on running down my freezer so I can turn everything off while we are away.
2)I bought some tumble drier balls but havn't used them yet as I have been line drying.
3) As mentioned we have been having problems with our car battery as it we don't drive our car enough. Anyway, we have bought this:-

[FONT=&quot]http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=115194&C=Maplin&U=SearchTop&T=solar%20panel&doy=7m7[/FONT]





It's a 4.8w solar panel. The one we bought previously was too small and had no impact. Hopefully this will give the battery enough power so that it's not flat everytime we want to drive it...fingers crossed, as this has become a right problem in our house.;)

Currently averaging about 11kw per day....
All The Best



SMF2

PS the SMFs are obviously ahead of the curve as I just found this on the BBC news web site:-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7492647.stm

Prius 'to be part solar-powered'

SuiDreams

You've done really well i need to start tracking my enegy usage again as its increased again this year. I did this last year and managed to get my usage down by quite a bit. I've updated last years spreadsheet with this years readings and there is quite a difference on last year. I used double the amount of gas in early spring as I did last year, think this is due to the colder weather and having to have the heating on longer than normal, Plus elctricity usage has been going up slowly since getting my lap top, think it may be getting left on way too long.

thescouselander

SuiDreams wrote: »

You've done really well i need to start tracking my enegy usage again as its increased again this year. I did this last year and managed to get my usage down by quite a bit. I've updated last years spreadsheet with this years readings and there is quite a difference on last year. I used double the amount of gas in early spring as I did last year, think this is due to the colder weather and having to have the heating on longer than normal, Plus elctricity usage has been going up slowly since getting my lap top, think it may be getting left on way too long.

I seriously doubt your laptop is using that much electricity. Even when charging the battery at the same time as using the computer it wont use much more than 60w, just using the computer (not charging the battery) will be a lot less than this (probably less that 20w).

SuiDreams

thescouselander wrote: »

I seriously doubt your laptop is using that much electricity. Even when charging the battery at the same time as using the computer it wont use much more than 60w, just using the computer (not charging the battery) will be a lot less than this (probably less that 20w).

will have to re think its probably a few things added together. Will start my investigations

Cardew

setmefree2 wrote: »

3) As mentioned we have been having problems with our car battery as it we don't drive our car enough. Anyway, we have bought this:-

[FONT=&quot]http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=115194&C=Maplin&U=SearchTop&T=solar%20panel&doy=7m7[/FONT]

It's a 4.8w solar panel. The one we bought previously was too small and had no impact. Hopefully this will give the battery enough power so that it's not flat everytime we want to drive it...fingers crossed, as this has become a right problem in our house.;)

Just a couple of points on this.

The peak output is 4.8w - approx 0.25 amps. most of the time it won't produce that much.

However assuming it did produce its maximum for 12 hours a day it will take 17 days to produce electricity worth 10p penny(1kWh)

Realistically it wont produce electricity worth £1 in a year

£50 invested will produce £3 a year!

It will be much much cheaper to charge up your car using a battery charger as required.

setmefree2

SuiDreams wrote: »

You've done really well i need to start tracking my enegy usage again as its increased again this year. I did this last year and managed to get my usage down by quite a bit. I've updated last years spreadsheet with this years readings and there is quite a difference on last year. I used double the amount of gas in early spring as I did last year, think this is due to the colder weather and having to have the heating on longer than normal, Plus elctricity usage has been going up slowly since getting my lap top, think it may be getting left on way too long.

Hi:hello:

I do find that I have to have saving energy at the front of my mind at the mo, otherwise I'll slip back into old ways.:eek: I guess after awhile, like many MSE things, it will become second nature. It's things like trying to remember to check the weather to pick the right day to do washing - abit of planning is necessary for me.:p

I found my lap top was reasonably energy efficient - compared to a desk top - I'm not ready to give up surfing yet:D

Good Luck with the energy reductions!

SMF2

setmefree2

Cardew wrote: »

Just a couple of points on this.

The peak output is 4.8w - approx 0.25 amps. most of the time it won't produce that much.

However assuming it did produce its maximum for 12 hours a day it will take 17 days to produce electricity worth 10p penny(1kWh)

Realistically it wont produce electricity worth £1 in a year

£50 invested will produce £3 a year!

It will be much much cheaper to charge up your car using a battery charger as required.

Hi Cardew,

I take your point and you are dead right but to be honest this wasn't about money. We don't drive our car much and it gets left for long periods undriven and the battery goes flat. However, we live in London in an area of street parking so it's not possible for us to keep it on a trickle charger easily as it involves trailing a wire over the pavement. So we are trying to find ways of keeping our battery charged. We are currently going through a car battery per year - which is definitely neither green or cheap:eek::D....

....we're hoping this solar panel will solve our problems, fingers crossed.

SMF2

setmefree2

I did half an hours ironing yesterday:p and consumption was .33 KwH - so 1 hour of ironing would use approx two thirds of a KwH.:D

Cardew

setmefree2 wrote: »

Hi Cardew,

I take your point and you are dead right but to be honest this wasn't about money. We don't drive our car much and it gets left for long periods undriven and the battery goes flat. However, we live in London in an area of street parking so it's not possible for us to keep it on a trickle charger easily as it involves trailing a wire over the pavement. So we are trying to find ways of keeping our battery charged. We are currently going through a car battery per year - which is definitely neither green or cheap:eek::D....

....we're hoping this solar panel will solve our problems, fingers crossed.

SMF2

Hi,
A couple of points.

I agree that the only realistic purpose of these panels is to provide tiny amounts of power where no mains electricity is available.

It was a little confusing when you posted the message amongst all the measures to save money, as it certainly won't achieve that aim!

On the point of your car, new fully charged batteries(you buy one a year!) should stay charged for weeks - even months - at a time without going completly flat.

I think it is possible you have a fault on your car that is causing a slight drain on the battery when static, or it is not charging properly when you do start the engine.

Even if the battery did go flat it should not need replacing yearly - or even every 5 years.