units of electricity

[Sash4]

We are having dis-agreements with the energy company...

Over the last few days we have been taking readings of the units used,,, apparently we are using 28 units per day, we have only the basic appliances an are all A or A+ rating,, they are on a maximumo f twice a day normally once,,, over the last few days we never used a thing ( i mean Nothing)... and used 24 units..... even worse was last night nothing was on apart from the tv, no hot water no heating etc etc....and from 7 pm till 1 pm the next day it used 15 units and the only thing was the tv....

i have tried switching off everthing from the fuse box, and the meter didnt budge,,,,just dont have a clue what is using the power

 

[big-all]

28 units as you know 28kw

only things that heat up will use any real power

like heaters emersion heaters

how many kids with playstion/computer do you have!!!!

how many computers do you have running!!!

how do you heat the water and your house

do you have several outside lights on contunuously and what is there wattage!!!!

what lighting do you have within your house !!!

do you have any sort off heating in a garage or shed!!!

your usage although high is only 2kw an hour

i have no heating off electric but manage an average of 12/13 units a day throught the year

 

[Sash4]

We have none of the above, the central heating is gas, the pc is a laptop run off batteries, it works off something called a Drayton Lifestyle LP241 24 Hour Digital Dual Channel ,,, We have the same appliances as we did in the last house but for some reason we are using double if not treble the electric.....

if we use them or not we still going by the meter use the same units....

we have twice now deliberately not used everything including heating and water and its still the same,,,the energy company just wont listen...they say must have a dodgy appliance but if its not on it aint dodgy lol..

12/13 units is an acceptable usage and thats give or take what we used in the last house.....

This all points to the heating system but with all that off and everthing else it still burns the electric....

 

[Taylortwocities]

Underfloor heating, somewhere?
Neighbour growing weed on your electricity?

 

[big-all]

light bulbs !!!!!

shed heating !!!

secutity lights !!!

how many lights do you have on at the min and are they low energy!!!!

a plazma and a computer can run up 10 units a day between them

2+ 500w security lights can use up 14units if left on continuously in the dark

5 60w spots can use up 3 kw a night


"A" rated dosnt mean cheap to run it just means it wastes the units as efficiently as possible

 

[Diyisfun]

Did I miss the fridge & freezer.

Its easy to see what is using elec, watch the dial till it stops.

 

[Steve]

A fridge or freezer with a faulty thermostat can run continuously without you noticing (ok, you'd notice it if a fridge did this, but you wouldnt know a freezer was doing it unless you sat next to it for hours and listened to it) Get your hands on a thermometer that goes to -40, or a laser probe and test the freezer temp (or sit next to it and listen lol) It shouldnt run more than an hour at a time, with at least an hour break if nobody opens it.

Its also common for old freezers to run continuously with no gain in temperature, because they are low on gas. However a domestic freezer this old is likely to run on a gas that is now banned. We had a couple of chest freezers condemned at work once, since they were low on gas, just maintaining -15 degrees by running constantly. They couldnt be recharged with gas because the refrigerant they used was banned.

 

[Chri5]

Turn everything off (as in unplug, switch off all items).

If the meter is still reading use, then pull / switch off each fuse.

If all fuses are pulled no use should be recorded, by process of elimination you should be able to find which circuit on the fuse board is still eating juice.

Classic errors include loft light being left on and immersion heater being switched on (and the neon light on the switch being duff).

Please report back what circuit is still taking juice, having done the above suggested elimination exercise.

 

[BS3036]

I did hear of someone who went into their loft one summer, and found a two bar electric fire still switched on since the previous winter. They had switched it on when they had been worried about pipes freezing, and then forgotten about it.

 

[Softus]

i have tried switching off everthing from the fuse box, and the meter didnt budge,,,,just dont have a clue what is using the power

One of these would help you to find the hungry appliance:

 

[JohnD]

you haven't got a washing machine, a dishwasher, a tumble drier or an electric shower then?

Are you going to answer big-all's questions?

 

[Sash4]

Thanks guys for the replies,,Softus thats great thanks i;ll have a look for that the morn......

And John if you read the threads of the topic you will see,,IN the first post i said i had only basic appliances,, What does that translate to you,,,,,and the next post Big al asked about other things i answered by saying NONE OF THE ABOVE,,and the heating was gas etc......

Read the replies before giving off the atitude !!!!

 

[Softus]

And John if you read the threads of the topic you will see,,IN the first post i said i had only basic appliances,, What does that translate to you,,,,,and the next post Big al asked about other things i answered by saying NONE OF THE ABOVE,,and the heating was gas etc......

Read the replies before giving off the atitude !!!!

Actually, Sash4, JohnD's reply doesn't look like it implies any attitude - he's simply trying to understand the specifics in order to give the best advice.

Also, it has to be said, I can't find anywhere your reply of "none of the above" in answer to big-all's list of suggested appliances.

 

[Sash4]

We have none of the above, the central heating is gas, the pc is a laptop run off batteries, it works off something called a Drayton Lifestyle LP241 24 Hour Digital Dual Channel ,,, We have the same appliances as we did in the last house but for some reason we are using double if not treble the electric.....

if we use them or not we still going by the meter use the same units....

we have twice now deliberately not used everything including heating and water and its still the same,,,the energy company just wont listen...they say must have a dodgy appliance but if its not on it aint dodgy lol..

12/13 units is an acceptable usage and thats give or take what we used in the last house.....

This all points to the heating system but with all that off and everthing else it still burns the electric....

 

[Softus]

Hm, fair play - I don't know how I missed that.

Anyway, there are actually some questions by big-all that you didn't answer, but no matter.

Is your immersion heater switched on, or off?