Power Meter for measuring appliance running costs

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Essex
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United Kingdom
I'm keen to find out why our house still burns 30 units a day, even though only one child still lives at home and we heat and cook with oil (no gas).

I'd like a meter that clips round a power cable and tells me how much the device is using, so that I can check if TVs on standby really do use loads etc. If it's very clever and can be programmed with price per unit and converts it into pence per hour that would be good but I'm happy to input raw figures into a spreadsheet to do the sums if necessary.

Does such a beast exist? If so, where?
 
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Many thanks for that - on order from Maplins.

Our meter (a roundy roundy one) has an 05 87 sticker which is I guess when it was installed or last checked. Do they become inaccurate with age? Can we ask for its accuracy to be checked, or a new one installed?
 
30 Units a day does sound heavy usage. We use 10 units in a 3 bed semi with 0 kids one large TV, 2 computers & the rest of the usual stuff.

JonB
 
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Once you have worked out your daily consumption, compare it with a daily reading from your meter. Do this a few times until you have proof. Maybe even get a witness to check the figures or even post them back here for us to analyse. Then hit them with a counter charge because that sticker tells me the last time that meter was calibrated was May 1987, 20 years !! theres no way that meter can be accurate. Dont tell them yet or they'll just come round and change it and take your evidence away.
 
just for interest here is a list of some tvs and videos i have checked

w= watching s=standby p= tape playing

matsui tv 75w-w 0-s 0% standby

seg tv 38w-w 9-s 24%

fergison 45w-w 4-s 9%

naiko 34w-w 10-s 30%

alba 32w-w 6-s 18%

orion 35w-w 4-s 11%

jmb tv vid 32w-w 3-s 33-p 9%

jvc video 6w rec 2-s 6w play 33%


so the average is going to be around the 13% mark on stanby
 
Hi,

I've just created a 'Accuracy of domestic meters' thread which coincidentally is very similar to this.

Overall we use just under 30 units a day in a largish house, oil heating, electrical cooking, no gas, approx 6 units overnight, 24 overday, as it were, just the two of us.

I think that this is excessive, and we have a continually running pump for the swimming pool which uses about 12 units a day. Your use is er, extra excessive.

I've not found that turning TV/DVD/HiFi etc from standby to off makes any measurable difference (although it must save some use!).

Rgds.
 
Right, meter has arrived from Maplins.

All fuses in CU removed except the one that runs the utility room. Turned off boiler, fridge and washing machine in utility room. Round and roundy thing is stationary.

Ran the tumble dryer for 97 minutes (worried the washing was looking brown so aborted experiment at this point rather than the planned 2 hours).

Energy meter says 2.64 kWH consumed, house meter says 3.02 (14.4% over-read). This bears up with the interim figures I took at 20 minutes as I was too impatient to wait (+15.1% at 20 minutes)

So the meter is probably over reading and, as our units used have remained fairly constant over the 4 years I have records for, probably has for some time.

So who do I tackle and how? (bearing in mind that we've had at least three suppliers in this time)

All opinions gratefully received.
 

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