Talk to me about... smart meters.

[Gramaisc]

My fridge is the killer, big american thing, often hits 2kWh in a day.

I had the good fortune to have bought a fridge-freezer from Resales in the early 80s. It was a Danish item and it had the feature of being two separate items in the same cabinet, a small fridge and a large freezer, but each cooled by separate compressors. This meant that the temperature in each compartment could be properly controlled, independent of what was going on in the other. It also meant that I could, when my shopping strategy changed, turn off the freezer and yet leave the fridge running. This dropped the household total usage quite a bit. The freezer became a wine cellar.

Another big change around the same time was the introduction of the early CFL light bulbs. Cutting lighting and cooling consumption at that point cut the total electricity usage by around half.

Initial data from this morning's coffee boil suggests that I will get around twelve mugs per kWh.

Measured weekly, the average total consumption for the house and shed is around 4.5kWh/day, so there's probably not much fat left to trim off, but it's useful to know what is really going on, as with the unnecessary washing machine standby consumption above.

 

[c0tt0nt0p]

I've now plugged the kitchen electric kettle in via the meter, for a full week's use measurement. After that, I'll do the fridge for a week. And I'll do the dishwasher one day.

The thing is you also need to factor in how much energy you're potentially wasting from boiling water you don't use. I bought one of these at a charity shop last year for twenty odd quid. Just boil what I need...

 

[Gramaisc]

The thing is you also need to factor in how much energy you're potentially wasting from boiling water you don't use. I bought one of these at a charity shop last year for twenty odd quid. Just boil what I need...
View attachment 15124

There is a small amount left in the bottom, but, in the winter, the energy from that all ends up in the house anyway.

So far, it looks like I will get around 15 mug-boils per kWh. I will run it for the week, to get a compatible measurement for the weekly 'statement'.

It's about 0.065 kWh per mug. It would be interesting to see what a mug-boil consumes from a 'direct boiler'.


In related news, I get a regular 14 days per toilet roll, and the birds empty the peanut dispenser in four days.

 

[Gramaisc]

Well, a week of the fridge/freezer was bang on 2.5kWh - much less than I expected.

This week, for some reason has been a low usage event - just 28kWh in total, even though I seemed be be having a fairly standard activity level. It was 33 the week before, for no apparent reason.

I will investigate a few more things now - microwave, computers, etc...

 

[staffordjas]

In related news, I get a regular 14 days per toilet roll, and the birds empty the peanut dispenser in four days

Bloody hell. We get through about 3 a day between 2 of us at least ( hubby does use it to blow his nose , rather than tissues though...)

Our 2 fat ball containers (holding about 6 each) and seed stations , including launching pot fullls across the lawns , are guzzled up daily by the birds & squirrels.

 

[Gramaisc]

Mmm, the microwave boils a mug of milk for about half the energy input that the kettle uses to supply me with a mug of boiled water.

But, it also sits there using 9W just to run a clock that I don't need.

I can foresee a switched socket arrangement occurring - it's not easy to do it now, but it will be done.

9W is 1.5kWh/week. For nothing.

It's only used occasionally, so turning it on and off each time will be no great hardship. Hardly used at all in the summer.

 

[tek-monkey]

Mmm, the microwave boils a mug of milk for about half the energy input that the kettle uses to supply me with a mug of boiled water.

But, it also sits there using 9W just to run a clock that I don't need.

I can foresee a switched socket arrangement occurring - it's not easy to do it now, but it will be done.

9W is 1.5kWh/week. For nothing.

It's only used occasionally, so turning it on and off each time will be no great hardship. Hardly used at all in the summer.

Our microwave is on a smart plug to stop Eric operating it. And the tumble dryer, washing machine, dishwasher...

 

[Gramaisc]

Our microwave is on a smart plug to stop Eric operating it. And the tumble dryer, washing machine, dishwasher...

I put a pneumatic delay switch on the outside lights on the Shed - two minutes to get back into the house.

Another of those would be ideal, setting it to about five minutes would cover pretty much everything I do in there, and then it would knock off the stand-by without me having to remember.

 

[EasMid]

Our microwave is on a smart plug to stop Eric operating it. And the tumble dryer, washing machine, dishwasher...

How does he manage his cooking & laundry etc then?

 

[Gramaisc]

After a campaign of turning off superfluous things that were actually running small drains when pretending to be 'off', and previously having a weekly consumption of around 30 to 32 kWh, imagine my disappointment when this week's reading was 34.

Then imagine my sense of vindication, a few minutes later, when I realised that it was actually 24.

I've had a fire every day in the Shed since November 7th, except one day, and I am looking at about a week left from a €200 wood delivery, so that isn't too bad, and I haven't been at all frugal with it. At times, the cat has felt it necessary to move away from the heat.

I'll refill the oil in April/May and that will give an indication of what the house has used over this winter.

 

[tek-monkey]

Our Feb bill was under our DD amount of £100, meaning only Dec/Jan have gone over. Been paying the same for a year and over £700 in credit as some summer months are negative.

 

[joshua]

Our Feb bill was under our DD amount of £100, meaning only Dec/Jan have gone over. Been paying the same for a year and over £700 in credit as some summer months are negative.

Will they return the 700 or is it going to be used against upcoming bills ?

 

[tek-monkey]

Will they return the 700 or is it going to be used against upcoming bills ?

I can get most of it back, think they usually ask that you leave one months bill worth in credit, but I deliberately ran this up as I wanted to be sure what th solar is really covering. Now I've done a full year I know (assuming no drastic tariff changes) that my electricity pretty much pays for itself and it's only gas I'm really paying for. We did have the energy help last year though that we didn't get this winter, hence waiting a bit longer than a full year. Looks like I can safely drop my DD to £50/month and have no nasty shocks come next december

 

[Jonah]

Our Feb bill was under our DD amount of £100, meaning only Dec/Jan have gone over. Been paying the same for a year and over £700 in credit as some summer months are negative.

My last three electric bills have been £20 under the direct debit amount. Eon still tried to double my monthly payment because of a terrible meter reading from last June. The reader decided I had used over 2 years worth of electricity in just 3 months - all down to a faulty display on the old meter.

 

[Cue]

My last three electric bills have been £20 under the direct debit amount. Eon still tried to double my monthly payment because of a terrible meter reading from last June. The reader decided I had used over 2 years worth of electricity in just 3 months - all down to a faulty display on the old meter.

Tek’s with Octopus, so a company run by actual human beings, thankfully.

The big guys are always a pain about direct debits.

 

[tek-monkey]

My last three electric bills have been £20 under the direct debit amount. Eon still tried to double my monthly payment because of a terrible meter reading from last June. The reader decided I had used over 2 years worth of electricity in just 3 months - all down to a faulty display on the old meter.

Octopus suggested a £0 DD to me! But yeah, they're human, usually really good on the phone.

 

[Glam]

At times, the cat has felt it necessary to move away from the heat.

I need proof of this ^^^

 

[littleme]

I need proof of this ^^^

Yes more pictures of cat please.

 

[Gramaisc]

I need proof of this ^^^

Yes more pictures of cat please.

I asked her if she would be able to find time to pose for a re-enactment, but she said that things are really just that little bit too hectic at the moment.

 

[Lucy]

There is a similar situation in 'my' office. My colleague will meow at me until the fire is lit, at which point she sits far too close for a while, before decamping to the rocking chair a little further away.