Help me work out how I'm using so much electricity??

[Crazybengalcats]

Hi, I know there are a million threads on this topic and I've read most of them, but I could really do with some help working out why the electricity usage is so high in our household.

I'm with Bulb and the annual estimated electricity usage is 14,000kwh :(

Here's what we have in the house:

Combi boiler

Electric oven and hob - we do oven cook a lot of things and some days the oven is on 2-3 times (we might eat something spicy later in the evening after children have eaten, for example) and each morning we boil coffee on the hob using a coffee pot.

Electric shower (all three children shower daily, 10 mins each roughly, partner most days, me every other day)

Kettle - boiled a few times a day, I do tend to fill it up each time

Toaster used maybe 3 times per week

3 x tvs on standby 24/7, one used for the xbox in our room which dp is on most evenings for a few hours

3 other xboxes plugged in but switched on infrequently

3 x sets of led lights (one in each of the children's rooms) - always on but this week I've started turning them off during the day.

Printer - plugged in and switched on all the time.

Alexa device

Google home device

Many phone and laptop chargers left plugged in and on at the wall

Washing machine - new this year and a rated, plus a tumble dryer - a rated. I do lots of washing (2-3 loads per day), one load at 60 degrees and the others at 40.... only an hour for each cycle though.

Tumble dryer I was using for most loads but have been trying to hang the washing out while it's been sunny recently

Chest freezer and a small undercounter fridge which are both -2 years old.

That's it!

Does anyone know the most likely culprits for the high electricity bills?

We can't get an in home display as we have a 1st gen smart meter so was thinking of trying one of the energy plugs to monitor usage but would like to start with one of the most likely electricity-guzzling appliances first!

Thanks in advance

Towels washed after only one use???

Honestly I'm incredulous at the waste, no wonder the planet is fucked tbh

I've just read a printer on standby can use £75 of electricity a year. Also phone chargers pull electricity even if not in use but still plugged in.
Turn off as many items as possible.

@BarbaraofSeville I'm not new, I know the stupid washing habits of half the posters on here, I'm hoping that maybe @Crazybengalcats can tell us why people do this

Line dry clothes
Children don't need showers everyday. Just flannel wash face and mucky bits.
Half full kettle
Cook all meals together to save putting on cooker multiple times.
Turn off heating now it's warmer

As PPs have said, no need to wash towels that often. At all. I wash towels every few weeks, they get hung up and dried and I wash them when they smell like they need a wash or I need more whites for my white wash! There's 5 of us and I do roughly 5 loads of washing a week. All dried on the airer or rotary line these days as much as possible. I mostly only do laundry on my days off, but to get more dry I've been doing it on other days and paying the DCs a £1 per load to hang it on the airer! Probably costs me more than using the TD, but that's not the point.

Oh and I actually measured the energy used by the Xbox while it's on standby. 9w! £20 a year for each one...

Oven is not allowed on unless cooking multiple things, we use the air fryer for smaller stuff like nuggets, wedges, burgers etc. Lids on pans. Kettle filled only as much as needed.

@poshme

And for comparison- we are family of 5, cooking on electric. Teenagers with devices etc. Average annual usage over the last 3 years is 4,200 kWH

Similar here, 5,500 roughly last time I checked, though probably closer to 6,000 now. 3 teenagers plus DH and I.

why were you leaving lights on all day.
did you grow up with servants.
i just don't understand your way of living.
many good tips from other posters above.

Do you really need 3 TVs. Unplug one permanently and I'm sure you'll notice the difference.

Your amount of washing is crazy. Towels can be used lots more than once. Trousers and jeans can be worn more than twice.

@Wouldntitbenicetobeinyourshoes

Our smart meter goes red when the electric oven goes on, we’ve started using an air fryer which leaves the smart meter on green when it’s on.

Airfryer is great, costs far less to run. I’ve cut down the number of wash loads. 3 a day is massive, it’s like a giant kettle heating the water, especially to 60. Avoid tumble dryer if possible. Do you have anywhere to dry indoors?

Why do you need 3 xboxes?? Can't they share?

Also, washing towels after every wash is way too excessive - unless they're not drying properly in between use the once a week should be fine.

If they're getting smelly in between then they need to be hung up to dry properly between uses.

You can get shower timers from most water suppliers and they recommend reducing your shower by just 1 minute each to help with water wastage.

You could also switch to a stove top kettle if it's better for you to use gas rather than electricity (and depending on your stove).

Turn off everything at the wall when not in use, standby is really wasteful. (And why on earth were you leaving led lights on all the time??)

In the evenings, you don't always need hall or landing lights on. If you just need to see where you stepping between sitting room and kitchen for example, you could get a motion sensor night light for the plug socket.

You could put the WiFi on a timer plug so that's its turned off overnight every night.

If you're making more than 2 slices of toast at once, you might find it costs less to toast it under the grill.

I wash towels once a week or once a fortnight. They are hung up straight to dry after use so they don’t get smelly. Pyjamas washed once a week.
My children are younger but they shower twice a week then once at swimming. I guess this will change when they are teens.

I am interested in the eco settings on the washing machine as I never considered this since they take ages! But I’ll check how much they will save.

@dementedpixie

You dont need to wash towels after 1 use. Hang them up and reuse a few times. That's just wasteful.

I do use airers and the banister as I don't own a tumble dryer

This, same with pyjamas.

That's about 38 units a day.

The biggies are the showers, the tumble dryer, and the washing machine.

Halve the washing and use lower temperatures, halve the shower times and you'll nearly halve your electricity bill.

Your water bill would improve as well if you're on a meter.

Next would be kettle, only fill what you need. Then probably the gaming pcs and everything else being on standby.

Ovens maybe, but you need to cook . And once up to temperature they're not too bad.

Navy showers anyone?

Re line drying clothes...you can get airers that hook over doors and radiators etc.

There are all sorts of wall mounted airers you can get, the least obtrusive of which I think are these (see pic)

Also, you don't need to dry things outside until completely dry. If just waiting for cuffs to dry they'll finish off inside - over the radiator or if you have an airing cupboard in there.

Pic

Oh and if clothes are otherwise clean but need freshening up, then you can air them outside for an hour or two and spot clean marks.

This, same with pyjamas

Pyjamas - I wear mine for a week then wash them.

I do 10-12 loads a week between 5 (adult-sized) people and three of us are doing exercise/sport/gym regularly. It's a fair bit of washing but it isn't 3 loads a day. A lot of stuff gets hung up as it can't all go in the dryer and if its nice it goes outside and I just wait until there is a dryerful to put it on.

Ditch the tumble.
Turn off, don't standby.
Shorter showers.
Only boil what you need.
I think just those would make a big dent.

Myself and 2 teens, 3 bed house, were usibg 4000 a year. The main difference I can see is electric showers, tumble dryer, chest freezer and more left plugged in.

My eldest is at Uni most of the time now and I am seeing a drop in last the months I think that's all down to her using the restricted fire. It gobbles up power! Now form to 3500 a year I reckon.

*electric fire.
Weird autocorrect

The gaming PCs will use a lot. As others have said, cut right back on your laundry both in terms of volume and temperatures used. I couldn’t not shower every day and neither could my family so we just get in and out as quickly as we can.

Boil what you need in the kettle. I switch off every plug that’s not in use bar TVs on standby due to location of plugs. Saving there would be minimal anyway.

Line dry or I hang a few bits over radiators, clothes horse and light weight stuff on hangers on the curtain rail in the bedroom.

Bedding can be a challenge to get dry in winter, particularly duvet covers so I use a flat sheet between me and the duvet cover so the actual cover only needs washed a couple of times a month. Sheets and pillow cases dry pretty quickly.

Showers.

30 minutes per day on a 9000 watt shower is 4.5kwh

4.5*365 = 1640 KWH

So cut down. We use a shower timer.

Def stop boiling a full kettle. Or get a thermos and make a day’s worth of tea/coffee in one go (I do this when camping

You still use the same amount of electricity if you boil a lot in 1 go for a thermos or if you just boil small amounts during the day. Because of physics.

With kettles - just boil what you need.