Potential Electricity Meter issue

Paul205 · 15 Feb 2018

Dear All,

I have contacted my energy supplier as my property seems to be using around 36 units of electricity a day and I believe that considering the electrical items I have on that this is too high.

My energy supplier have suggested I could have a faulty meter.

My energy supplier have asked me to do a test for 7 days which I am preparing to do.

I have attached a photo of my meter which appears to only have one rate. I have then attached photos of the 3 individual displays that are shown when I press the 'display cycle' button.

Are faulty meters a common occurance and is it possible for the installer to have selected an incorrect rate or mode?

Cheers

Paul

EFLImpudence · 15 Feb 2018

Pictures missing ???

Do you have any night storage heaters?

Paul205 · 15 Feb 2018

nope no storage heaters. the pictures should be shown but there are three displays which are rotated by the cycle display button. These are:-

Rate 1 (and then the units)
Rate 8 (and then 88888888)
t (and then the units)

JohnW2 · 15 Feb 2018

Paul205 said:
I have contacted my energy supplier as my property seems to be using around 36 units of electricity a day and I believe that considering the electrical items I have on that this is too high.

That does sound quite high, given that you don't have storage heaters. I have a very large house but (albeit by being 'fairly careful') I usually run at 25 - 30 units per day.

What sort of electrical items do you use regularly for appreciable periods of time. Storage heaters aside, it is primarily heat-producing items that use a lot of electricity - immersion heaters, tumble dryers, cookers, fan heaters and other electrical heaters etc.

Kind Regards, John

Paul205 · 15 Feb 2018

Thanks John, I appreciate your expertise, I do have underfloor heating, but before u gasp(!) I would appreciate an answer to the question about the wrong reading being set. A bit like I suppose someone fitting the wrong miles per hour or kilometers per hour card behind your car speedo!

EFLImpudence · 15 Feb 2018

At least they have acknowledged that the meter could be faulty. I think that is unusual.

I wouldn't say faulty ones are common; not unheard of.

It states 1000 impulses per kWh.

I don't think there is anything to select. They just workout the amount on your bill.

EFLImpudence · 15 Feb 2018

1000 imp/kWh

With a 1000W load that is one light flash every 3.6 seconds.

Doggit · 15 Feb 2018

You say you have UFH, but is that electric, or water. If it's electric, what's the wattage, and how often is it on for. If you left it off for a day, would the number of units drop.

Paul205 · 15 Feb 2018

I have electric UFH which is around 5kW on for 2 hours a day so certainly a large load. Theres not much more else on in the house to be honest

JohnW2 · 15 Feb 2018

Paul205 said:
Thanks John, I appreciate your expertise, I do have underfloor heating, but before u gasp(!) I would appreciate an answer to the question about the wrong reading being set. A bit like I suppose someone fitting the wrong miles per hour or kilometers per hour card behind your car speedo!

As EFLI has said, I don't think there is anything to 'set', and the accurate performance would have been checked before it left the factory. However, although, as has been said, not uncommon, anything electronic can 'go wrong'.

Do you know what power your UFH is, and do you have it on continuously, or what?

To give you an idea of what I recently said, the following shows you a typical period during which my ('very large') house was continuously occupied. I use electric water heating, but no electric cooking (other than microwave) and usually no electrical heating of any sort (very occasional fan heaters) - so just the usual lighting plus the usual electrical appliances and equipment ....

Kind Regards, John

Paul205 · 15 Feb 2018

see above John

Doggit · 15 Feb 2018

Find out the rating on your fridge and freezer, and multiply them by 24. Take the TV, and multiply it by however long you have it on. Do an estimate of the lights etc, and I suspect you'll find that's the other 26Kw.

Iggifer · 15 Feb 2018

Yea there’s nothing to set with a dumb meter. They just power them up and it does the recording. And I guess if they’re dual tariff they’re pre-programmed with times.

Taking 10kWh out of the 36 certainly makes it sound more believable.

JohnW2 · 15 Feb 2018

Paul205 said:
see above John

If you only have the UFH on for 2 hours per day, I would suspect that it's probably drawing power for much of than 2 hours (rather than being 'off' for a substantial proportion of time, by virtue of its thermostat). If that's roughly the case, then 5kW (do you really mean that?) for 2 hours would be 10kWh (10 units) per day, which is roughly the difference between your usage and mine.

Kind Regards, John

EFLImpudence · 15 Feb 2018

Paul,

Do you have any gas?

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Potential Electricity Meter issue

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