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Saving electricity

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    Saving electricity

    I decided to see if there were any easy wins.

    We have oil CH, so only use electric for cooking, kettle, fridge freezer, washing machine, vac etc. Plus we're on private water, with a 1kW borehole pump. According to the energy supplier's figures, we use about 5.6 units per day, which isn't huge. Conveniently, at our current unit rate of 33p, it turns out that a unit per day equates to almost exactly £10/month (£0.33/unit * 365 / 12 = £10.04)

    First I decided to check what our "background" usage was like ie. with all the big stuff switched off. That just left things like clock radios, laptop chargers, router, TV on standby, car trickle charger, oil level monitor. I was a bit surprised to discover that these were consuming 0.5 units per day or 20W/hour (£5/month). It turns out one of the clock radios had an old fashioned PSU with a transformer, instead of the more modern solid state ones. Turning this off reduced consumption to 0.2 units per day (£2/month). OK, saving £3/month ain't much but if you've got old electronic devices on all the time, it's worth checking that they're not running up a significant bill.

    So far, the only other ways I've found of making modest savings are:
    1) only filling the kettle with the amount of boiling water we actually need (2 cups etc); this makes a pretty big difference
    2) flushing the loos less often (each flush drops the water pressure enough for the borehole pump (1kW) to kick in for 40 secs; 100 flushes = 1 kWh unit)

    Any other suggestions?
    Scoots still says that Apr 2020 didn't mark the start of a new stock bull market.

    #2
    Shocking how much leccy my gramophone, crystal wireless and electric heated commode uses
    First Law of Contracting: Only the strong survive

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by _V_ View Post
      Shocking how much leccy my gramophone, crystal wireless and electric heated commode uses
      Ours is a wind-up one, so it doesn't use any.
      Scoots still says that Apr 2020 didn't mark the start of a new stock bull market.

      Comment


        #4
        But seriously, find out which washing machine wash uses the lowest electricity, probably some 30 deg c eco settings.
        Always make sure the washing machine is completely full to max load for every wash.

        An empty freezer uses more energy than a full one (cooling air takes more energy that cooling solids), so keep the freezer full. Don't add lots of warm stuff to a freezer all at once.

        All lights should be LED

        When choosing replacement appliances, it makes sense now to pay more for the most energy efficient models that exist. Because you will make savings very quickly now.

        Running an electric oven costs about 80p per hour, so avoid this if you can us a microwave, or small slow cooker.

        First Law of Contracting: Only the strong survive

        Comment


          #5
          Our fridge freezer is 15 years old. The compressor is 150W and, by my reckoning, it's using about 1kWh per day, which is roughly in line with its energy rating according to what I found on-line. That's £10/month. Is it worth considering replacing it? Don't know.
          Scoots still says that Apr 2020 didn't mark the start of a new stock bull market.

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by DealorNoDeal View Post
            Our fridge freezer is 15 years old. The compressor is 150W and, by my reckoning, it's using about 1kWh per day, which is roughly in line with its energy rating according to what I found on-line. That's £10/month. Is it worth considering replacing it? Don't know.
            Probably worth it at 15 years old. Mind you the most efficient fridge freezers cost a fair bit of cash.
            First Law of Contracting: Only the strong survive

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by _V_ View Post

              Probably worth it at 15 years old. Mind you the most efficient fridge freezers cost a fair bit of cash.
              Trouble is, even if they halved the running cost, saving £5/month, it would take many years to recoup the outlay.
              Scoots still says that Apr 2020 didn't mark the start of a new stock bull market.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by DealorNoDeal View Post

                Any other suggestions?
                Work an extra hour a month and stop sh*tting yourself about it.
                You're an IT contractor. Hardly on the breadline. Your cost of living is still lower than before Covid with all the home working.

                HTH
                See You Next Tuesday

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Lance View Post

                  Work an extra hour a month and stop sh*tting yourself about it.
                  You're an IT contractor. Hardly on the breadline. Your cost of living is still lower than before Covid with all the home working.

                  HTH
                  Retired ex-IT contractor, with nothing better to do than watch the electricity meter.
                  Scoots still says that Apr 2020 didn't mark the start of a new stock bull market.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Bloody hell - our clock radio is ancient (+30 years old).

                    time to buy a new one I think.
                    "I can put any old tat in my sig, put quotes around it and attribute to someone of whom I've heard, to make it sound true."
                    - Voltaire/Benjamin Franklin/Anne Frank...

                    Comment

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