The true cost of running electrical devices - a useful guide?

[cakeorwine]

I did a thread a while ago on electrical devices - even more relevant now with the coming increase in energy costs.

This might be useful for people to get an idea of what it costs to run devices.

These calculations are based on a unit of electricity being 45p / KWH which is what it could be in October (it's currently about 27p / KWH)

A 1 watt device run for 1000 hours uses 1 unit of energy.

There are 8760 hours in a year - so that 8.76 units of energy = £3.90

For context, my Alexa is about 3 watts and it's on all the time - so it would cost 3 * £3.90 = about £12 a year to run.

A TV is between 50 - 100 watts.

So if a 100 watt TV was run for 10 hours, that's 1 unit (100 10) - so about 45p per 10 hours or 4.5p per hour*

A hairdryer is about 1500 watts (on high speed, high heat). So in 1 hour, it's used 1.5 units or 67p. - so about 1p a minute

A PlayStation 5 on active gaming is about 200 watts - so in 5 hours, it's used about 1 unit - so 8p per hour

An electric shower - about 10 kilowatts, so in 1 hour (full speed, full heat) - it's used £4.50 - so about 7p a minute

Just a few examples - but you can see how devices use energy

Standby mode is very good now - about 1 watt - so a device on standby will use about £4 per year. Obviously lots of devices on standby do add up.

I am sure people can post other examples. It's just useful to know where your energy goes.

We also don't know with the new price cap if standing charges will increase or will it just be the actual cost of energy?

So I have no idea where you got your £1000 from. Do you?

I'm on a deal which started in April and is currently just above the price cap but my standing charge is just under 50p a day so I think the gas is 24.4p a day and the electric 24.8 per day so that is about £180 a year, even if it doubled and doubled again it would be £720 a year or £60 a month and my direct debit is currently £400 a month and although I'm a little in credit it will balance out over the winter so for me the standing charge is no where as big an issue as the use of gas and electric. Reducing the use of gas and electricity is definitely going to be useful and necessary for me.

Why aren't they good for the bathroom and skin?

I don't live somewhere with water shortages thankfully.

DS is starting to pick up the message. He came through to the front room today. I looked at the energy monitor and asked him if his computer was still on. He did go in to his room and turn it off.

I will be turning his shower off if he doesn't learn to properly regulate his time in there.

It's surprising how much less electricity I use when DS is not here! No PC whirring away and no long showers.

I hope people have found some of the tips useful - and no doubt in a few months time, this thread may be revived

Does anyone know how much music equipment uses like electric guitar, speakers, amps etc.?

Think we're going to have to retire the big PC, OH can use the smaller, less power hungry machine for his office work. Just ordered solar panels though, hoping that'll make a big difference.

Best thing to do is plug in a plug in energy monitor.

It lets you see exactly what it's using.

Or just do an hours session and see the KWH used. Make it loud!

I'll see if I can find one in town tomorrow.
Just had to sign a new electricity contract for 3 times the unit price we're paying now as our company is folding and didn't manage to sell our contract (unsurprisingly) and shall have to make the most of the last month of affordable electricity before sauna becomes a distant memory.

An hour's session is no use at all for something like a freezer.

Good thing I was talking about music and what it costs to run a music system, guitar and amps then....

But yes, a freezer or a fridge is very different.

Can you help work out the running costs of one of these please.

www.screwfix.com/p/glen-2150tie7-freestanding-or-wall-mounted-convector-heater-white-500w-815-x-211mm/992hv

Power output - 500w

Am thinking of this for home office use so the heating does not have to be on the whole house just for me.

Correct me someone if I am wrong.

If you kw price is 30p [per hour]
so 500w is 15p. Per hour.

The hard thing to work out about this is because it heats up and then maintains its heat output so a temperature is maintained.

It will use 0.5 KWH per hour when it is on full heat. But once the room is warm enough, it then occasionally kicks in to try to maintain the temperature. So there are a lot of variables to consider.

Room size
Room insulation
Outside temperature
Draughts

@cakeorwine is there any idea whether using gas with a combi boiler and running a bath is cheaper than a shower for the children?

Our water usage is capped charges. Just trying to work out if shower actually cheaper.

This kind of thing is great for reducing water use when bathing young children. We had one from a friend but alas our bath is the wrong shape (too curved) so it leaked which was really annoying.

They are probably cheaper second hand.

www.amazon.co.uk/BabyDam-Bathwater-Barrier-Converts-Standard/dp/B01KKI3OJ0/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1YZ8A8LDVFJ29&keywords=bath+divider&qid=1659988826&sprefix=bath+divider%2Caps%2C94&sr=8-5

However now looking at that curved shape in the photo I realise we didn't fit it correctly so maybe it would have worked after all! Doh. (I've got rid of it now)

No idea really on a gas boiler - we do have one but it's not as 'up to date' as the electric shower when it comes to updating the smart meter - there seems to be a log.

If you want to really work it out, you could look at the gas meter before and after you run a bath and see how much gas you used. But you would have to adjust it to the KWH.

DS was back after a few days away. I had been making the most of not much power being used - when he returned, he had a nice electric shower. About 1/3 of my daily electric usage is his shower!

Can definitely see how we can cut down.

I really hope people use some of the advice on this thread for themselves or relatives. I know it's going to be hard but there are things people can do to reduce costs.

Can anyone recommend an energy monitor plug? There seems to be loads with dodgy reviews on Amazon

DH & I have been discussing whether it would be better or worse to have the hot water on just once a day instead of twice. Does anyone have a definitive answer?

@cakeorwine thank you.

@Cuck00soup what do you use your hot water for? Baths. Or just washing up and hands?

I would like an answer too!

There must be someone on mumsnet who knows the answer!

please can I also have a recommendation for an energy reading plug?

I don’t have an energy monitor through British Gas as they say they don’t supply my area. I do have an app though that shows me usage over a day, but I can’t narrow that down to certain appliances.

a few days ago I spent the whole day putting washing on and I also used the dryer as I just wanted to get it all done, did four loads and didn’t use economy setting as I wanted it done quickly. But my bill for that is about £1.50 more than the average days before, how can that be? I thought it would be much more and usually avoid using the dryer.

Also, since the kids have been off school my cost is showing as being a pound or two more than the weekdays before. But the only difference is a few phone chargers being on for most of the day and the television being in more. Do chargers really cost that much? I really want a monitor that I can look at while things are on, I keep contacting British Gas and keep getting that message. They are receiving my usage figures daily through the smart meter, so how hard can it be to provide a monitor?!

Mainly hand washing, yes. Some dishes for a pre-rinse too, but as they go in the dishwasher it would be ok to use cold water I guess.

DD has an evening bath a couple of times a week. I suppose I'm wondering whether to set the water to just come on in the morning and then boost it if DD wants a bath.

Wouldn't it be great to have a spreadsheet with actual costs for comparison