adrianc
Member of DD Central
Posts: 9,014
Likes: 4,825
|
Post by adrianc on Aug 27, 2022 8:47:48 GMT
I cannot comment on whether this is the right time to grab that deal, it seems so very strange and luckily it will not affect me so I just don't have the understanding that you do.
What I would say is, if we are now talking about £5k as part of the annual budget for energy then INSULATE like crazy, seal off drafts and review vampire equipment.
Vampire equipment includes the microwave clock, the breadmaker clock, the toaster LED, the kettle LED, the cloud backups, the wifi, the trickle feed to security lights etc etc
Turn off most things at the wall whenever they are not in use (avoid turning off the fridge) :-)
Yes, but... Most of that vampire draw is infinitessimally low. Sure, it adds up, but it's not actually that high. Multiply a few watts by the number of hours, and you're looking at days to get to a single kWh. Pennies per day, even at high prices. The PITA factor has to be calculated in. If you want to get a picture of it, then a smartmeter's display or even a cheap plug-in meter... www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334531233467
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2022 9:01:44 GMT
I walked through a store a few days back and pointed out to the manager (and owner) which of her lights were very very inefficent. "But I was told they are all low energy", yes but if they warm the back of your hand like a toaster that should be a clue
small savings.
24 hours a day 7 days a week 52 weeks a year soon adds up.
PITA is just weak talk to refer to a habit, "I habitually leave the power on", time to use that habit gene that we all have and make the habit Turn-off rather than leave-on else you will be habitually spending more money ;-)
Using a tumble drier Using a tumble drier and not venting, just leaving the door open
Yesterday I saw a guy sat in a stopped car, air con on, window open, engine running. I bet he wonders why he spends so much money and is first to the front for any hand outs, you see wastefulness is a habit too.
What we will need is a little old lady as minister for energy saving (with an engineering degree)
|
|
agent69
Member of DD Central
Posts: 5,625
Likes: 4,195
|
Post by agent69 on Aug 27, 2022 9:06:14 GMT
I'm fortunate to have plenty of cash stashed away for a rainy day, so shouldn't be too badly affected by any rise in energy prices. Realistically I'm more concerned about stock market movements (my portfolio was down £30k in the first 6 months of the year, but now only £2k down) than energy prices. However I have storage heating and an economy 7 tariff, and found myself doing strange things recently:
- I keep a record of the meter readings every day and check what the impact is of running the dish washer / washing machine at night
- Wash the dishes in the sink the old fashioned way (I assume a sink full of hot water costs less than running the dish washer?)
- Yesterday I timed how long it takes to boil the kettle. 2kw kettle x 3 minutes to boil = 0.1KwHr (about 3p on my daytime tariff)
I don't normally shop around for my energy supplier, but might need to start looking.
|
|
mrk
Posts: 807
Likes: 753
|
Post by mrk on Aug 27, 2022 9:13:20 GMT
Given today's announcement of the October price cap rising a staggering 80% to £3,549, and well above the 42% rise anticipated by Martin Lewis and MSE, has anybody else been tempted to sign up to a fixed tariff? I fixed it a couple of weeks ago, after taking a closer look at the Cornwall Insight forecasts. So I'm already paying pretty much the same prices that will apply under the cap from October 1st, but I won't be affected by any further rises in January and April.
|
|
mrk
Posts: 807
Likes: 753
|
Post by mrk on Aug 27, 2022 9:30:08 GMT
PITA is just weak talk to refer to a habit, "I habitually leave the power on", time to use that habit gene that we all have and make the habit Turn-off rather than leave-on else you will be habitually spending more money ;-) On pretty much any modern smartphone or laptop you can simply open a system monitor app and see exactly how much battery each app used. Why isn't something like that available for home electrical installations? I'd like to see daily/weekly/monthly reports of how much electricity was used by the fridge, dishwasher, washing machine, etc.
|
|
adrianc
Member of DD Central
Posts: 9,014
Likes: 4,825
|
Post by adrianc on Aug 27, 2022 9:31:33 GMT
PITA is just weak talk to refer to a habit, "I habitually leave the power on", time to use that habit gene that we all have and make the habit Turn-off rather than leave-on else you will be habitually spending more money ;-) On pretty much any modern smartphone or laptop you can simply open a system monitor app and see exactly how much battery each app used. Why isn't something like that available for home electrical installations? I'd like to see daily/weekly/monthly reports of how much electricity was used by the fridge, dishwasher, washing machine, etc. How would the smartmeter know what's plugged in where? Or, indeed, which socket was drawing power? A smartmeter will give you a total, of course.
|
|
mrk
Posts: 807
Likes: 753
|
Post by mrk on Aug 27, 2022 9:41:17 GMT
On pretty much any modern smartphone or laptop you can simply open a system monitor app and see exactly how much battery each app used. Why isn't something like that available for home electrical installations? I'd like to see daily/weekly/monthly reports of how much electricity was used by the fridge, dishwasher, washing machine, etc. How would the smartmeter know what's plugged in where? Or, indeed, which socket was drawing power? Indeed, it's not even possible with current installations. It would need to be something built into the installation, where there's a central monitoring unit that gives you a break down of usage by socket, then you can configure which appliance is plugged into each socket, or something like that.
|
|
adrianc
Member of DD Central
Posts: 9,014
Likes: 4,825
|
Post by adrianc on Aug 27, 2022 9:42:52 GMT
How would the smartmeter know what's plugged in where? Or, indeed, which socket was drawing power? Indeed, it's not even possible with current installations. It would need to be something built into the installation, where there's a central monitoring unit that gives you a break down of usage by socket, then you can configure which appliance is plugged into each socket, or something like that. Just cut out the middleman, and have wifi-connected appliances report back to the monitoring unit directly. Save complicating the wiring. 'course, all that monitoring requires power...
|
|
keitha
Member of DD Central
2024, hopefully the year I get out of P2P
Posts: 3,875
Likes: 2,313
|
Post by keitha on Aug 27, 2022 10:57:31 GMT
I have some smart switches etc.
I'll repeat findings from before :-
TV Box 10 Watts in standby, TV 5 Watts, IHD uses 2 watts, Soundbar 5 watts, dvd player in standby 20 Watts.
DVD player is now unplugged the others are now on a smart switch and only in use/standby for 7 hours a day
I save 20 watts for 17 hrs and 20 for 24 hours 340 + 480 , 820 watts per day 365 days as near as makes no difference 300kWh per year @ 50pkWh that’s £150
the smart switch I used cost £10 so covers itself in under a month.
Apparently Virgin Boxes are quite high usage Games consoles can use 220W per hour
seriously if you have old style bulbs lets say they are 50 Watt, and you have 4 in lounge, used 5 hours a day 6 months a year 200 watts per hour, 1 kWh day, 180kWh a year £90 4 decent quality LED bulbs under £20 but using 1/10 of the electricity, total for year 1 £29 a saving of £61.
|
|
|
Post by mostlywrong on Aug 27, 2022 11:00:25 GMT
Indeed, it's not even possible with current installations. It would need to be something built into the installation, where there's a central monitoring unit that gives you a break down of usage by socket, then you can configure which appliance is plugged into each socket, or something like that. Just cut out the middleman, and have wifi-connected appliances report back to the North Korean government directly. Save complicating the wiring. 'course, all that monitoring requires power... Fixed that for you...
MW
|
|
|
Post by mostlywrong on Aug 27, 2022 11:04:55 GMT
With regard to boxes talking to a central control system, I reckon we are a few years away. There are already standards in place but the cost of implementing the systems has always been too large for the big manufacturers.
However, given the turmoil in the energy markets, maybe that is something that will appear sooner than I expect.
MW
|
|
|
Post by mostlywrong on Aug 27, 2022 11:09:43 GMT
Has anyone yet seen an actual price for a KWh from each company for the target period or are we all still groping in the dark?
So to speak...
Sorry. Couldn't resist.
I skimmed the OFGEM documents last night and they made as much sense as the rubbish published by the media.
MW
|
|
bernythedolt
Member of DD Central
Posts: 2,392
Likes: 2,170
Member is Online
|
Post by bernythedolt on Aug 27, 2022 11:39:04 GMT
Has anyone yet seen an actual price for a KWh from each company for the target period or are we all still groping in the dark?
So to speak...
Sorry. Couldn't resist.
I skimmed the OFGEM documents last night and they made as much sense as the rubbish published by the media.
MW
Have a look at the MSE page. They show the typical tariff for every region of GB, both before and after 1st October.
|
|
bernythedolt
Member of DD Central
Posts: 2,392
Likes: 2,170
Member is Online
|
Post by bernythedolt on Aug 27, 2022 11:46:24 GMT
Given today's announcement of the October price cap rising a staggering 80% to £3,549, and well above the 42% rise anticipated by Martin Lewis and MSE, has anybody else been tempted to sign up to a fixed tariff? I fixed it a couple of weeks ago, after taking a closer look at the Cornwall Insight forecasts. So I'm already paying pretty much the same prices that will apply under the cap from October 1st, but I won't be affected by any further rises in January and April. Thank you. You did well there. I was offered a fix back then for around £4k, too, but the MSE best suggestion at the time was for most people to stay on the capped tariff. Curses! Having seen the size of yesterday's cap increase, and Cornwall Insight's projections to come, they have modified that advice and now say a fix would work for many people.
|
|
bernythedolt
Member of DD Central
Posts: 2,392
Likes: 2,170
Member is Online
|
Post by bernythedolt on Aug 27, 2022 11:55:14 GMT
I'm fortunate to have plenty of cash stashed away for a rainy day, so shouldn't be too badly affected by any rise in energy prices. Realistically I'm more concerned about stock market movements (my portfolio was down £30k in the first 6 months of the year, but now only £2k down) than energy prices. However I have storage heating and an economy 7 tariff, and found myself doing strange things recently:
- I keep a record of the meter readings every day and check what the impact is of running the dish washer / washing machine at night
- Wash the dishes in the sink the old fashioned way (I assume a sink full of hot water costs less than running the dish washer?)
- Yesterday I timed how long it takes to boil the kettle. 2kw kettle x 3 minutes to boil = 0.1KwHr (about 3p on my daytime tariff)
I don't normally shop around for my energy supplier, but might need to start looking.
Save your time, don't bother. As MSE says, there is no competition out there now. Prices have risen to the extent that every major supplier is now pegged to the government capped rate. So you'll get pretty much the same tariff wherever you move (besides which I believe most suppliers are not taking on switchers right now?). Your own supplier might be offering a 'loyalty' fixed tariff if you check their website. Your best bet, IMHO, is have a good read of the MSE energy page. Martin Lewis is right on top of this stuff.
|
|