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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:
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5
LaurieFairyCake · 13/03/2022 08:10

I would say it's on 5 days out of 7 - takes 24 hours ish to dry a load of washing

Think it's cheaper than tumble drying though

OP posts:
BertieBotts · 13/03/2022 08:15

If it is 1kw/h then it's not cheaper than my tumble dryer - that only takes about 1.7kwh for a full drying cycle. But it is a brand new energy efficient one.

3WildOnes · 13/03/2022 08:20

230w an hour. It might be cheaper to use a heat pump tumbler dryer.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

inappropriateraspberry · 13/03/2022 08:21

I still think that the 'business' is using your power, and it shows in your meter. You need to get the electric supplier to come and check the meters etc.

3WildOnes · 13/03/2022 08:23

In 24hrs of drying with a heated airer, assuming it’s on all of that time, then you would be using 5.5kw of energy. A heat pump tumble dryer would use less energy to dry your clothes I think.

cakeorwine · 13/03/2022 08:25

@inappropriateraspberry

I still think that the 'business' is using your power, and it shows in your meter. You need to get the electric supplier to come and check the meters etc.
Agree

That arrangement with the wiring and various meters looks complicated.

LaurieFairyCake · 13/03/2022 08:33

The people from the business are not there at weekends, it was all shut up

Google tells me that the average household uses 8-10kw a day - yesterday we used DOUBLE that (I did a lot of cleaning and used the oven for 90 minutes, the dishwasher 3 times, washed a load of washing, and had the airer on overnight)

OP posts:
cakeorwine · 13/03/2022 08:46

@LaurieFairyCake

The people from the business are not there at weekends, it was all shut up

Google tells me that the average household uses 8-10kw a day - yesterday we used DOUBLE that (I did a lot of cleaning and used the oven for 90 minutes, the dishwasher 3 times, washed a load of washing, and had the airer on overnight)

But overnight, most households use very little - so something is going on.

You don't think it's the business
You thought it was the boiler but have ruled it out
You have 2 meters with some strange wiring and one of them is connected to the business.
You won't get someone to check as it's too expensive

If you use 6KWH overnight for a year, that's going to be more than we use in our house in a year in total.

I think you know what you should do.

OutlookStalking · 13/03/2022 09:25

So have we established whether the "business" is a cannabis farm yet?

LaurieFairyCake · 13/03/2022 09:26

You use less than 6KW per day ? Shock

How? That's way below the average - I don't even know how I can get it under the 13-20 I've been using...

You're right though, I have 2 choices:

  1. Always turn the electricity off overnight - that way that 6kw is not being used
  1. Get an electrician to come in
OP posts:
inappropriateraspberry · 13/03/2022 09:31

@OutlookStalking

So have we established whether the "business" is a cannabis farm yet?
This is what I'm thinking. Whether anyone is there or not, they'll be using a lot of power for lights, heating, hydroponics etc.
cakeorwine · 13/03/2022 09:47

@LaurieFairyCake

You use less than 6KW per day ? Shock

How? That's way below the average - I don't even know how I can get it under the 13-20 I've been using...

You're right though, I have 2 choices:

  1. Always turn the electricity off overnight - that way that 6kw is not being used
  1. Get an electrician to come in
The average is 2900 KWH per year - so 8 KWH per day Low use - 1800 KWH so 5 KWH per day

Just me and DS, No freezer. I work so out a lot of the day.
2 - 3 loads a week.
No tumble drier

cakeorwine · 13/03/2022 09:54

@LaurieFairyCake

You use less than 6KW per day ? Shock

How? That's way below the average - I don't even know how I can get it under the 13-20 I've been using...

You're right though, I have 2 choices:

  1. Always turn the electricity off overnight - that way that 6kw is not being used
  1. Get an electrician to come in
I wonder how much of your daytime use may also be linked to next door?

Maybe have a day of minimal electricity use?
Go out for the day.
Come back and see how much electricity has been used.

sleepyhoglet · 13/03/2022 09:59

If we were to turn the electricity off, I think the boiler would stop working. I once pressed a switch at the wall off not realising for a few days and the boiler didn't work! It's a gas boiler so not sure why

NewModelArmyMayhem18 · 13/03/2022 10:47

Our gas boiler has a switch on the wall that I just flip off at when I go to bed and on again when I get up in the morning (no heating or hot water overnight). The boiler reactivates as soon as the switch is turned back on.

ChickenStripper · 13/03/2022 11:52

@3WildOnes

230w an hour. It might be cheaper to use a heat pump tumbler dryer.
The Bosch technician told us that these do not save anything as it takes twice as long to dry them with these. Sadly we are all going to be faced with these in the future. As with many green ideas the actual reality isn't quite 100%.
BertieBotts · 13/03/2022 12:01

Well the Bosch technician was talking bollocks. Something taking twice as long doesn't make it use twice as much electricity, unless you're talking about something like a heater or a light bulb that is either on or off. For things like a washing machine or dishwasher, they are doing different things and using different amounts of energy at different points in the cycle.

Plus my heat pump dryer that everyone said would take hours dries an entire load to perfectly dry in 1 hour 15 minutes Confused Absolutely no idea what the fuss is about. Maybe they are talking about the first generation of heat pump dryers 20 years ago.

ChickenStripper · 13/03/2022 12:02

@LaurieFairyCake

UPDATE

Getting really annoyed and stressed out now

It's NOT THE BOILER

I used 7Kw overnight last night with the boiler off

However we used the Lakeland heated airer all night to dry washing last night - anyone know if they're one kw an hour ?

Of course it is not the boiler , as someone else said your boiler is gas!

Re your heated dryer read this :

"Popular models currently on sale at Aldi and Lakeland are 300 watts.

But there are some that are more powerful, such as this drying pod from Lakeland which is 1,000 watts.

We asked energyhelpline.com to calculate the cost of running the 300w models, but you can use the same method to work it out for higher wattage ones.

Generally speaking the higher the wattage, the more it will cost to run.

A 300w dryer uses 0.3 kWh - a kilowatt hour is the unit of energy used for billing you electricity.

Currently, the average cost of electricity on a standard variable tariff is £0.21 kWh.

That means it's 6p per hour to run a 300w clothes airer (0.3kWh x £0.21).

If you have it on for eight hours, it would cost 48p, and over a year based on daily use, would add up to an estimated cost of just under £25.

Of course the exact cost can depend on a number of other things as well as the wattage.

The annual cost will change if you use it more or less - for example you might dry your clothes outside instead on dry sunny days.

The price will also depend on how much you pay for your electricity.

You can check with your energy supplier what your electricity unit rate is and it may be on your energy bill too.

You can use the following calculation to work out the cost of running a heated airer if you have the cost of your energy in kWh and the wattage of your dryer.

Uses 300w = 0.3 kWh
Cost per hour = £0.06 (0.3kWh x £0.21)
Cost per use = £0.48 (£0.06 cost per hour x 8 hours)
Cost per year = £24.96 (£0.48 cost per use x 52 days per year)"

According to that it is not your heated airer.

Your choice number 3 is to get a professional to look at this .

ChickenStripper · 13/03/2022 12:09

@BertieBotts

Well the Bosch technician was talking bollocks. Something taking twice as long doesn't make it use twice as much electricity, unless you're talking about something like a heater or a light bulb that is either on or off. For things like a washing machine or dishwasher, they are doing different things and using different amounts of energy at different points in the cycle.

Plus my heat pump dryer that everyone said would take hours dries an entire load to perfectly dry in 1 hour 15 minutes Confused Absolutely no idea what the fuss is about. Maybe they are talking about the first generation of heat pump dryers 20 years ago.

He was talking about the new ones coming out in Bosch that are supposed to be greener and which are going to be law by 2025 or something ?
BertieBotts · 13/03/2022 12:13

It doesn't make sense though. If you look at the technical documents for them they have to publish how many kw/h are used by a single cycle (comparable cycle) and you can clearly see the heat pump ones use less electricity than a standard condenser.

Maybe it's just Bosch ones which are shit :o I have a Beko and it dries lovely. Never have to put it on twice unless I've accidentally done it on the iron dry setting instead of the cupboard dry one.

cakeorwine · 13/03/2022 12:15

Just curious.

You should have a fusebox for your house.
Try turning off each fuse - and seeing what effect it has on your usage.
If you are using 6 KWH as 'background', then you should see something happening on the meter.
If you definitely know that the fuse box is just for the fuses in your house, then hopefully you should see no meter changes when they are all off.

6 KWH is a lot to use overnight. As I said, it's a bit like a toaster running all the time. Or a powerful outside light. It's a reasonable amount of energy being delivered - and that energy has to be being used for something.

LaurieFairyCake · 13/03/2022 13:21

ChickenStripper

At 48p per day - daily use of that 300kw airer would be £175 over the year

OP posts:
ChickenStripper · 13/03/2022 18:08

@LaurieFairyCake

ChickenStripper

At 48p per day - daily use of that 300kw airer would be £175 over the year

but that is not your immediate problem is it?
Tynesider007 · 14/03/2022 09:03

We are going round in circles, it's no good guessing.

Yes gas boilers need electricity, to manage the gas and to pump the water, but even at full blast that would be no where near the electricity being used.

If the electricity is being used up in the house then make a list of everything that might be using it and work through them one by one until you eliminate the problem. Electrical items are marked to tell you what power they draw.

The main big users of electricity is heating, cooling and big screens, washing machines use a fair bit too. There is no way little things like LED switch lights and mobile phone chargers would come close to 6kw a night.

If it's being used by someone outside the house then find out where the connection is and disconnect it. If you still can't work it out you will have to get a professional in.

Just because no one is in at your nearby business doesn't mean they are not using electricity, I thought cannabis farm too. Does it smell funny when you go past?

JellyfishandShells · 14/03/2022 09:16

@LaurieFairyCake

No I use the 4 hour eco wash setting

I never set my cooker or microwave clock - never have, they just blink away all day in a room I'm not in

My cooker and microwave won’t work without the clocks being set and they are both a pain to reset when there is a power cut etc - I can’t believe the saving from them being turned off is worth the faff every time I want to use them