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Original poster

I'm thinking about turning my electricity OFF over night

352 replies

LaurieFairyCake · 08/03/2022 05:48

So last night before bed I took a meter reading and right now another

I've used 6 units of electricity over night (only me and Dh, pretty sure the dogs aren't boiling kettles over night)

That works out at £0.85 a night, £25.33 A MONTH Shock

The things that are running every night is fridge freezer, phone chargers, laptop chargers, the clock on the cooker

I've read it's fine to turn off the fridge freezer (no meat in it) as it won't spoil in 8 hours

I can't believe I would save £25 a month doing this !

Anything I've overlooked?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
Original poster
LaurieFairyCake · 08/03/2022 22:11

Well clearly the 6kw was absolutely loads as we've only used a further 12kw between 6am and 10pm

The 6kw overnight last night was between 10-6 (so 8 hours)

The 12kw during the day for 16hours

🤷‍♀️

OP posts:
thisplaceisweird · 08/03/2022 22:20

What a sad life where you can get Botox but you turn your electricity and heat off at night like a mad old grandma and resort to using your phone for light like you're ghost hunting. Not worth the £25.

Original poster
LaurieFairyCake · 08/03/2022 22:21

6 units and 12 units (not sure that's kilowatt?)

OP posts:

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Cost of living
Thelnebriati · 08/03/2022 22:40

Look at your suppliers prices for economy 7, if you use a lot of energy at night (like running the washing machine and dryer) it can work out a bit cheaper, even with the increased day rate.

hollydoyle · 08/03/2022 22:43

@thisplaceisweird

What a sad life where you can get Botox but you turn your electricity and heat off at night like a mad old grandma and resort to using your phone for light like you're ghost hunting. Not worth the £25.
You're probably a Tory whoever wrote this comment. OP I hope you get all the Botox you want :) and I also hope you figure out how to save yourself some money because you do right Smile
hollydoyle · 08/03/2022 22:43

@LaurieFairyCake

6 units and 12 units (not sure that's kilowatt?)
Keep us posted tonight! X
EmmaH2022 · 08/03/2022 22:44

@Thelnebriati

Look at your suppliers prices for economy 7, if you use a lot of energy at night (like running the washing machine and dryer) it can work out a bit cheaper, even with the increased day rate.
Some suppliers are phasing it out though, I used to have it and then was told I had to change.

I took the view that they'd all get rid because it interferes with their profits at the mo.

Thelnebriati · 08/03/2022 22:49

Oh no, we'll be scuppered without it!

EmmaH2022 · 08/03/2022 22:54

@Thelnebriati

Oh no, we'll be scuppered without it!
I'm in London and in a big block of flats. We get all sorts of odd stuff here. Don't worry, it might not affect you.
toomuchlaundry · 08/03/2022 22:55

@Thelnebriati are you running your dryer whilst you are asleep?

Nemorth · 08/03/2022 23:05

@jessieminto thanks so much for getting back to me with a ball park figure. So less than £1 a month to run then really.

It's very helpful to know it's in that region rather than say £50 per year or £100 per year.

Thanks. StarStarStar

Wynona · 08/03/2022 23:34

I have started to use my slow cooker. It seems to use very little electricity and the meat is so tender.

Nat6999 · 09/03/2022 04:30

Things I'm going to do, only use washer/dishwasher when full, do an extra spin on washer to save on tumble dryer time, use slow cooker/halogen oven instead of proper oven, turn boiler down for heating & hot water temp, use steamer so potatoes in bottom, veg in steamer baskets above, dry heavy items on radiators turn fridge & freezer down slightly, use smart plugs for everything, LED light bulbs in all lights, use heated blanket instead of heating if only chilly, water heater instead of kettle, warm pjs, thick socks, hoodie to keep warm. I already don't iron anything, haven't ironed since 2013, get a smart meter. I'm also going to peel, chop & freeze all veg as soon as they are delivered, save on waste & things going off.

Original poster
LaurieFairyCake · 09/03/2022 06:16

I don't have economy 7 (and don't run appliances over night like dishwasher/washing machine - just the fridge)

Dh forgot to turn off the electric on his way to bed last night Grin - no idea why, he's not up yet

But I took a reading when I got up at 5 and again we've used 6 units overnight - so at least I know that consistently now

OP posts:
whatkatydid2013 · 09/03/2022 07:00

No idea what your units are but that seems really high. We don’t turn plugs off at night, leave TV on standby etc. Our usage overnight is 0.5-0.7kwh (between 10pm & 6am). If those are kWh you must have some appliance that runs a lot and isn’t energy efficient so worth trying turning things off individually to figure out what it is.

ivykaty44 · 09/03/2022 07:46

EmmaH2022

Took another photo 21 hours later ( first was 10:30am and today at 7:30am)

Used 6kwh
But tumble dry has been used, oven twice, tv etc

Was curious what a normal average day would be
So that’s £1.14 for 23 hours

I'm thinking about turning my electricity OFF over night
BertieBotts · 09/03/2022 08:28

Economy 7 is being phased out because we don't need it any more.

In the past it was difficult (expensive) to store electricity so people using more in the day and less at night was a problem for the energy companies. That's why they invented those tariffs, along with things like night storage heaters and washing machines with time delay. These inventions helped people to more easily use electricity at night, reducing the load in the day. That helped the energy companies manage the demand so they offered this energy cheaper to encourage people to use it.

Today energy storage is much more advanced and cheaper and so this isn't really necessary any more. A lot of those products that are designed to use energy overnight, like storage heaters, use a lot more electricity than a heater which comes on and off according to a thermostat when you actually want to be warm.

It's shit for us because we live in a flat with storage heaters and no option to change them, but they are incredibly expensive to run because the heating tariff is barely cheaper than the daytime electric.

ivykaty44 · 09/03/2022 08:32

I think, cynically that economy 7 is being phased out

As then they’ll bring in peak electric prices

ChickenStripper · 09/03/2022 08:35

@ivykaty44

EmmaH2022

Took another photo 21 hours later ( first was 10:30am and today at 7:30am)

Used 6kwh
But tumble dry has been used, oven twice, tv etc

Was curious what a normal average day would be
So that’s £1.14 for 23 hours

That's very good. We use between 1.90 and 2.70 each day depending on whether washing and tumble used.
Ariela · 09/03/2022 08:49

@TatianaBis

Freezers start to thaw quite quickly when the power is switched off (or the door left open etc). If it’s only dog food in there, why don’t you switch to tins then you won’t need a freezer.
Depends on the freezer, ours is a Miele and is insulated such that it stays frozen for at least 17 hours in the recent power cut.
ouch44 · 09/03/2022 08:50

Inspired by your thread OP I have dug out our Owl energy monitor thingamy. Now I don't know how accurate it is as it's a few years old - I will try to verify what it says from the meter tonight.

It says we have used 2.5 kWh overnight. Costing 26p. That is with fridge/freezer, TV on standby, all manner of gadgets plugged in including 2 alexas, an Xbox, 4 phones and a fish tank. Also includes gas heating on for an hour in that.

I was lying in the dark in bed with my phone torch checking the meter! I will be going round with my meter today to see if all the chargers plugged in make a difference!

EmmaH2022 · 09/03/2022 10:02

@ivykaty44

I think, cynically that economy 7 is being phased out

As then they’ll bring in peak electric prices

Not cynical, the truth.

I don't have storage heaters but an electric boiler. It was much cheaper to leave it on overnight and switch it off in the morning. Well, it still is cheaper to do that, but not on night time rates now.

In flats, it's annoying to have people run the washing machine at funny times, but in my previous place, someone did that at 5am anyway, argh.

I loved my Economy 7.

Interestingly, I was also told it was bad for the boiler to keep switching it on and off. But I've been doing that about 4 years now, doesn't seem to be an issue.

saffy2 · 09/03/2022 18:00

Cracking up at those people who think she has too many plugs being used. 🙈😂
I’m in one room…and I can see at least 13 things plugged in right now. In my living room, not even the kitchen. I’m curious as to how others live where they don’t have lamps, tvs, internet routers, doorbells, baby monitors plugged in?! Or so people literally go round and plug and unplug those 13 plugs in my sight every couple of hours when you need to turn on the lamp/turn on the tv etc etc?
I don’t think the op is the strange one here for having plugs that are inaccessible or things plugged in which would take an inordinate amount of time to plug and unplug multiple times per day.
In my kitchen off the top of my head I also have 8 things plugged in in there…and that doesn’t include the oven.
I wouldn’t turn off the electric off overnight if I were you op, however you really don’t deserve the ridiculous tones you’re getting regarding having 40 plugs. In one house…🙈😂🤦🏽‍♀️ I’m sorry extremely surprised
By those who aren’t using close to that amount if not more. I’ve got about half that in just 2 rooms in my house!!

cakeorwine · 09/03/2022 18:08

Only skimmed thread.

You can get a device that plugs into sockets and you can measure the power a device is using. That will give an indication if a device is using a lot of power overnight.

6 KWH is a lot overnight. Small LED lights and routers use very little power.

So get one of these devices and plug it into things such as the fridge freezer and see what it does.

cakeorwine · 09/03/2022 18:13

@LaurieFairyCake

Well clearly the 6kw was absolutely loads as we've only used a further 12kw between 6am and 10pm

The 6kw overnight last night was between 10-6 (so 8 hours)

The 12kw during the day for 16hours

🤷‍♀️

You really need to know what devices you have and the power they draw.

That is a lot of energy being used.

(UK average is 2900 KWH per year) so about 8 units per day

Identify the devices that have a high power rating or have a power rating above say 100 - 200 watts and that are on for a long time - and see what you find.

A 100 watt device for 10 hours uses 1 KWH of energy