Recently moved house and we've noticed that the electricity bills are rather high. So we purchased one of those energy measurement gizmos and did some monitoring.
The base energy usage is approximately 0.5 kWph which is like having a portable heater on all the time. This is even during the night when only the essential items are on. I've unplugged items, measured the usage at the power sockets and nothing adds up to 0.5 kWph. By my calculations it should be around 0.2 kWph max.
The only thing I've noticed it that with everything off at the mains, and all items unplugged, when we turn on the switch marked 'lounge' there is an immediate use of 200 watts which falls to about 50watts after a while. Also the lounge is wired to the garden lights and I have a feeling there could be leakage here, although how I would test that I have no idea.
So I've had an electrician in to have a look, but if I'm honest, they were absolutely hopeless. They did agree that the base usage should be much lower, but couldn't pinpoint the issue.
My first question: is it worthwhile for myself to go around all the lights and sockets and ensure there are no loose wires? I'm not sure if that would cause the issue.
Second question: ideally I'd like an electrician to come and take a proper look. What kind of questions should I be asking to ensure they are capable (and qualified)? Happy to take recommendations of electricians in the West Yorkshire area.
The base energy usage is approximately 0.5 kWph which is like having a portable heater on all the time. This is even during the night when only the essential items are on. I've unplugged items, measured the usage at the power sockets and nothing adds up to 0.5 kWph. By my calculations it should be around 0.2 kWph max.
The only thing I've noticed it that with everything off at the mains, and all items unplugged, when we turn on the switch marked 'lounge' there is an immediate use of 200 watts which falls to about 50watts after a while. Also the lounge is wired to the garden lights and I have a feeling there could be leakage here, although how I would test that I have no idea.
So I've had an electrician in to have a look, but if I'm honest, they were absolutely hopeless. They did agree that the base usage should be much lower, but couldn't pinpoint the issue.
My first question: is it worthwhile for myself to go around all the lights and sockets and ensure there are no loose wires? I'm not sure if that would cause the issue.
Second question: ideally I'd like an electrician to come and take a proper look. What kind of questions should I be asking to ensure they are capable (and qualified)? Happy to take recommendations of electricians in the West Yorkshire area.