Back ground power use on socket circuits?

[ericmark]

I now have a computer display of power being used and I have a back ground usage of 250 to 500 watt, some will be due to freezers, and some the multi-one-watt stand by power usage, SkyQ uses more, around 24 watt as LNB is powered, but been going around with a power monitor and not finding what is using the power, the freezers are running this is the chest freezer, they average out at around the 120 watt mark for all four, which only accounts for half the back ground use, and turning off the front and rear ring final circuits with the clamp meter on tails I know about even use front and rear of house, and not freezers as they have a dedicated UPS supply.

The two spikes shown, first is a mystery, 1294 watt, looked at iboost+ shows zero watts saved, and both wife and I in bed, I know freezer auto defrost but that's around 160 watt, second 3228 watt was me making coffee, it's like big brother (wife) watching, and the where's my coffee question.

But 60 to 250 watt OK freezers, but seems I have around 200 watt more than I should, not the cost, just interest, where is it going? Since socket circuits easy to check with plug in energy meter, and I am sure will find in the end, but all smart meter users must have had the same, so ideas please.

 

[RandomGrinch]

What apparatus is operating with your PV install?
Although it states the battery charging output and solar input, I wonder what the background draw of the install may be?

 

[ericmark]

Good point however the clamp on was around the tail to the CU and turning off the two main house rings got it down to nearly zero, tested this PC so around 25 watts, I have three plug in energy monitors, two linked to PC, and two without on/off so prefer to use them with essential services, I will in the end find it, but now looking at items where plug not easy to access.

 

[Murdochcat]

FYI our house runs about 300 w background and when my son is gaming it’s about 600 w

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I now have a computer display of power being used and I have a back ground usage of 250 to 500 watt, some will be due to freezers, and some the multi-one-watt stand by power usage, SkyQ uses more, around 24 watt as LNB is powered, but been going around with a power monitor and not finding what is

Background, to my way of thinking, is those thing which run continuously. Items on standby, routers which are always on, freezers not running/on standby. Thsi is as low a consumption as your smart meter will ever show. My SM is set to log and report 30 minute data. That minimum on my record is 40/50w, but is quite rare.

 

[fourtytwo]

I now have a computer display of power being used

From what measurement device ?
Have you attempted to check it's calibration ?

 

[ericmark]

Thank you @Murdochcat nice to know 300 watt is normal. @Harry Bloomfield I am using the Solar Panel software, which I do realise is slow updating, so as also asked by @fourtytwo I am also using two clamp on multi meters to confirm the readings. As a result of using the clamp on meters around the tails I know the use is by the two main house ring finals, very little with flat under the main house, there are 14 RCBO's but to measure each RCBO means removing the cover off the CU, so only measured on the tails. And watched the reduction in use when the 2 RCBO's on the front and rear ring finals are switched off.

I will clearly have reduced bills due to solar panels, I did once have a meter to measure all, until the batteries leaked in the sender for the CT coil, and I know I have always had a back ground usage. And it has been on my to do list for a while to find where it goes, but the solar panel software has given me an extra kick to find it.

In the main it is the over night use, so main things turn on/off in the day, hard to work out what, next to test I think need to be printers, should be 1 watt stand by which is fine, but some thing is way over the 1 watt rule.

 

[pcaouolte]

The things that I found that use more than 1w constantly were:
Games console, internet router, sky box, TV recorder, an old printer, a network switch, an old microwave oven, electric clocks.
Fridges and freezers use significant amounts when averaged over a day.
Since I have been monitoring our home electricity usage it has never dropped below 86 watts, it is usually around 200 watts when no one is at home.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Fridges and freezers use significant amounts when averaged over a day.

That agrees with my findings too, and Eric mentioned four of them. I wonder why he finds it necessary to run four? Fridge/freezer and freezer, are the main culprits for energy consumption here..

We manage quite well with a normal fridge, with a small freezer compartment - as a handy place to put things in for the following days use, then a large upright in the utility room, for the main stock.

 

[hllns]

It's useful to have an audit of 24/7 background power consumers, my parents have a Koi pond with a pump & filter, on doing the sums I worked out a more modern pump would pay for itself in 8-9 months during the recent energy price spike.

 

[ericmark]

We live in officially a town, but really only a village, with three shops, one part of garage and two no easy parking and little choice, so we travel 8 or 12 miles to shop, which clearly costs, we have milk delivered as I have worked out to go into the larger towns costs more than the extra paid for milk, so often only go shopping twice a month.

On fridge/freezer used by daughter, however we really do need to reduce stock and except for Christmas stop using one of the freezers, however the energy meters are showing an average of around 25 watt per freezer, so all together we are looking at around 150 watt, and clamp on is showing around 1.2 to 1.6 amp or 276 to 368 watt and the freezers are not included in that as fed from the UPS supply.

I suppose we could put freezers on a timer so only run 10 am to 4 pm which would reduce export and import, but I am not that penny pinching, it would be nice to have the battery last a bit longer into the evening and the moment they run out around 10 - 11 pm and the reduction in back ground use would go a long way towards this goal.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I suppose we could put freezers on a timer so only run 10 am to 4 pm which would reduce export and import, but I am not that penny pinching, it would be nice to have the battery last a bit longer into the evening and the moment they run out around 10 - 11 pm and the reduction in back ground use would go a long way towards this goal.

There was an energy saving gadget, which delayed the start up of fridges/freezer, so the resulting longer run makes for better economy. Usually, if they are not being opened regularly, as during the day, they can be powered down during the small hours, to have them do one long run next morning. How that might work in with auto-defrost, is anyone's guess.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Tr

Not sure I'm convinced about that. The only way to save is for the fridge to get warmer for some time. If it stays at the same temperature the losses will be the same and it is the losses you pay for.

True, but fewer short runs, more longer runs, are certain to be more economic. Our new upright freezer does seem to do that anyway - my tempearure measurements suggest it goes way below the set temperature, then allows the temperature to rise much higher than our old freezer - thus restricting itself to longer runs of the compressor, to increase it's efficiency.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Still not convinced. If it goes below the set temperature, the losses will be greater.

That depends upon insulation, standards of insulation have been improved a lot over the past few years.

 

[ericmark]

Commercial freezers do the reverse, they do not switch no/off but the motor varies in speed. The advantage I was referring to is when power is used, not how much power is used, if it can be set to use energy when the sun is shining like we do with domestic hot water it would save money, although not energy.