Fridge freezer costing £20 per day to run?

[Buttonsluna]

Hi there ,

We have just realised our standard size Liebherr fridge freezer is costing us over £7,000 a year to run . Obviously we’ve unplugged it and bought a new one (arriving today), but do you think I can get compensation from the company?

It took us a whole quarterly bill period to realise it‘s been using over 100 KWH per 24 hours. Our bills went up dramatically before that, but we put it down to both WFH.

Basically we now owe thousands of pounds we can’t afford (I feel sick and I’m having panic attack about how we’re going to pay).

As soon as we realised there was a problem when submitting our meter read, we bought a plug to check how much electricity each appliance is using. We were shocked that our Liebherr FF cost £23.50 over a 24 hour period!!!

We purchased it from John Lewis 10 years ago. Is there any recourse for compensation or do we have to suck it up? Is this just what happens when FF break down- is it normal? It seemed to be functioning ok, everything cold/ frozen and no frost or anything.

If you have any ideas please help. We acted as soon as we realised there is a problem so please don’t tell me I’m stupid for not noticing, I am busy working mum and struggle as it is to keep up with all life admin. Obviously I’m checking meter constantly now.

So it's only recently starting costing more to run?

Btw 100 KWH is 10x the average household energy use in U.K.

I’m open to ANY ideas on how we can get help to pay/ report to ombudsman etc so others aren’t stung.

Obviously we’re paying for it to be recycled professionally.

That can’t be right, are you sure it wasn’t 100w? It’s only on a 13amp plug. Isn’t the average 20kw a day for a standard house?

Has it only recently started costing that much? So it’s faulty?

That’s a huge amount of money but I think after 10 years unfortunately they’ll just say it was faulty, have you contacted the manufacturer?

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz we noticed our bills went up dramatically when we moved into a new house just before Covid. We assumed because we have an immersion heating water 247 (we’ve been told by heating professionals we need to keep it on for efficiency reasons). There’s a chance the FF could have been damaged in move I guess. Also Covid - WFH explained partly another jump in bills.

Unfortunately I can’t check old bills as our supplier went bust and it was all online

But it’s only recently (last 3 months) when bill went up to £800 pcm.

Was it your smart meter that told you or a dedicated plug?
(I did read OP just making certain as some data heads for smart meters are wrong)

@LawnFever I haven’t contacted the manufacturer or John Lewis yet. I just wanted to get advice before I do as I’m in a bit of a spin about it.

I have young children and v high childcare costs so money is incredibly tight.

We spent extra to get a Liebherr because we were assured it’s reliable and would last longer than other models, because German manufactured etc.

We used this to monitor applicance use

www.amazon.co.uk/Monitor-Backlight-Electricity-Consumption-Analyzer/dp/B085S7Q1T4/ref=mp_s_a_1_2_sspa?psc=1&crid=2ADMOHKWQTND6&keywords=plug+energy+monitor&sprefix=plug+energy+%2Caps%2C90&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyOEU0MUJDQzdFTkI0JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNDc3ODAyMk5LRDVNRjVWWjVCUCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNzU1NzEyM0swV09DNlhZTTNBNSZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX3Bob25lX3NlYXJjaF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1636965971&sr=8-2-spons

I’ve also been looking at the meter outside (not smart meter).

^ that was directed @TheQueef

You arent supposed to keep an immersion heater on all the time. Have you tried having it on a timer instead?

@dementedpixie I know we were shocked too. Have had two heating experts confirm it needs to be on 247 otherwise will cost more to run. Didn’t seem right to me either, hence second opinion sought. It was installed in 2019.

Could you not do a trial with it on a timer and see if you save money?
Do you have gas central heating or are you all electric?

Is the kwph calculation definitely correct?

Do you have underfloor heating?

I don't think you'll have much recourse over a 10yo fridge that's gone faulty. I'd maybe get electricity companies to check it or query if they should have flagged a massive increase in usage

But the immersion heater I'd take a reading today then in 3days do the same. Then put it on timer do the same for 3 days and see what the difference is.

You will have no recourse - you would struggle for any legal recourse for any issue with a product 10+years old

I could believe the immersion heater staying on IF it’s perfectly insulated (no heat loss) and on a thermostat (so not heating until you use some and cold water goes in)…if the temp doesn’t change it won’t need heating again so can stay on!

Unfortunately the immersion and water is not linked up with the gas boiler. So there is no timer. I know, it seems like a terrible system. But it states in the boiler manual that it doesn’t heat up water. I couldn’t believe it either.

Yes the device we used tells you how much energy you’ve used and how much it costs (we inputted the unit price). It definitely costs £23.50 to power the FF over last 24 hours. Electricity meter outside confirms this

Ok thanks everyone I’m just clutching at straws, pretty much knew that would be the case.

I wouldn’t have thought it possible for a FF to draw down so much electricity. It might be 10 years old, but it’s a Liebherr and was told they’re the Rolls Royce of FF.

Are you sure its not faulty wiring? Have you plugged something else in that socket?

@dementedpixie Yep we have an Ideal boiler for heating only- was installed new by BG in 2019 by previous owners. We have all paperwork.

Are you sure it's the fridge freezer? Does it appear to be doing anything unusual? Noisy, very hot around the vents, seals damaged etc?

What is the stated power of the FF and what do you get if you multiply this by the cost of a unit of energy? You're basically saying that the appliances uses about 4-6 months worth of energy in a single day which, however faulty it is, sounds very unlikely without the fuse going or it setting on fire or something.

I'd be looking at the use of the immersion heater TBH. Those things eat electricity and most of us have childhood memories of our parent's fear of it being accidentally left on so leaving it running all the time doesn't sound like good advice at all.

Get the ff services by the manufacturer. Get an electrician to check the wiring to the socket it uses.

Have you tried plugging the ff into a different socket (even run an extension from another) to see if it uses the same?

@Theunamedcat That is a very good point-hadn’t thought of that! I will check during work break. The property was rewired just before Covid (by an expensive and I thought reliable electrician, so hopefully it’s not that or I will lose all faith!!)

Honestly if the immersion is only for hot water then why on earth is it staying on all day? Flick it on when you wake so that theres water for a hot shower, turn it off till the evening for showers/baths.

Use the kettle to heat water for dishes during the day