Lets talk Energy Consumption

[platypus]

Note this thread isn't about prices, I'm sure people know how to shop around for a good deal etc.

I'm interested in what peoples energy usage is. I'd like to be more energy efficient, more energy concious, and more "green". A good place to start is ones bills. We've got a smart meter fitted on our electricity supply, and it's a useful visual indicator of how much energy we're using. It helps saves money too . We're a 2 bed house.

According to figures from recently defunct EnergyWatch, the average UK gas consumption per bedrooms of a household (kWh):

1 10,000
2 15,000
3 25,000
4 29,000
5 or more add 2500 kWh per room​

Now on my latest bill for the quarter March-June, our gas consumption was 2,970kWh. Which multiplied by the other quarters (and allowing for higher usage in winter) means we're well below average consumption for gas.

Average electricity consumption per bedrooms of a household (kWh):

1 2,500
2 4,000
3 5,500
4 6,000
5 or more add 250 kWh per room​

The only concern for me here is that the break down in Night/Day units is almost 1:4, Night usage being 183kWh, and Day usage being 567kWh (from my provider night runs 11pm-6am), but again we're below the average usage for a 2 bed house.

 

[jcr]

my last yearly figure was 1549.40 kwh. i use gas for cooking heating and hot water.

 

[Fourstar]

I honestly have no idea though I do know I'm not very economical with my usage and would probably be on the higher end of the scale. Unless of course the average household in this country is profligate in their usage.

The only concern for me here is that the break down in Night/Day units is almost 1:4, Night usage being 183kWh, and Day usage being 567kWh (from my provider night runs 11pm-6am), but again we're below the average usage for a 2 bed house.

Surely this means you are absolutely on the wrong tariff and are wasting much of the money you save in reduced consumption!

Economy 7 is for people who use the majority of their electricity during the night.

 

[mundstick]

Having just come to the end of my current tariff I have been looking at my usage.

Please to say that I come in under the averages you have here. Not sure what else if anything I could to be greener though?

 

[blueacid]

Economy 7 works out as a saving if you're using approx 30% of your power overnight (if you get the exact price per kWh at day/night you can of course calculate the percentage properly).

Even little things like setting the timer on the washing machine to run overnight add up. Check also that the timers on any hot water / heating systems you've got are programmed correctly.

 

[Jonny69]

We're way below average. I know that because our bills are cheaper than most people.

I genuinely think people waste a lot of energy both foolishly and also without realising it. Leaving lights on etc is an obvious one, but running multiple pc's, games consoles and Sky boxes really racks up electricity usage. It's also quite evident to me that using a combi boiler without a water cylinder is more efficient and our A rated dishwasher (hot fill) uses less energy and water than washing by hand.

But same as mundstick says, there's not much else you can do short of generating your own energy or diverting shower/bathwater into the garden to water it.

 

[Cuchulain]

I don't know what my yearly KW/H figures are but the year before last I was paying around £85 per month for electric (cooking, heating pump for an oil boiler and immersion), we swapped every bulb in the house for energy saving ones and now my bill is down to £53 per month even with an extra baby in the house and a lot more tumble drier usage.

 

[platypus]

Surely this means you are absolutely on the wrong tariff and are wasting much of the money you save in reduced consumption!

Economy 7 is for people who use the majority of their electricity during the night.

I'm not on Economy 7, I was just showing the breakdown of times we have on our bill. Our provider does have Economy 7 tariffs, which is why I presume our bill is also broken down this way. No point whatsoever us having cheaper electricity overnight as we barely use it. Only thing I can think of is the occasional wash. The commander in chief does have a habit of doing washes during the evening though, I shall have to put a stop to that.

 

[Sunbed]

In our 2 bed house we use:

2122 Electric
4240 Gas

and that's for the coldest months. Seems quite low!

 

[blueacid]

I'm not on Economy 7, I was just showing the breakdown of times we have on our bill. Our provider does have Economy 7 tariffs, which is why I presume our bill is also broken down this way.

Oh, so your property has an Economy 7 meter, but you're on a standard tariff?

My new place has everything electric, but no economy 7... will have to mind out for the heating charges come winter!

 

[bledd]

I don't know what my yearly KW/H figures are but the year before last I was paying around £85 per month for electric (cooking, heating pump for an oil boiler and immersion), we swapped every bulb in the house for energy saving ones and now my bill is down to £53 per month even with an extra baby in the house and a lot more tumble drier usage.

Swapping bulbs makes a huge difference. Halogen light strips are the worst offender, if you've got 2x strips of 5 bulbs in your kitchen, that's ~500w !

2x 'normal' energy saving bulbs is around 25w

Sure, it's less light, but costs almost 20x more for them

 

[platypus]

Oh, so your property has an Economy 7 meter, but you're on a standard tariff?

My new place has everything electric, but no economy 7... will have to mind out for the heating charges come winter!

I do wonder if its worth switching to Economy 7, but it would require a big shift in our usage of electricity.

A cheaper day tariff would be ideal....

Swapping bulbs makes a huge difference. Halogen light strips are the worst offender, if you've got 2x strips of 5 bulbs in your kitchen, that's ~500w !

We have too many of these because the other half insists on having them in the bathroom and kitchen .

 

[AHarvey]

Before xmas, I put up a curtain over the front door and thicker curtains in 2 of the bedrooms, gas bill dropped a massive £10 a month just from doing that. So over the coming year I am going to add extra layers to the curtains, and add on in kitchen and back door.

Also added a gadget to the TV that turns off one set of plugs when you turn the tv off and has one that perm stays on. So phone and sky are attached to the perm on side, and tv,, dvd, wii, harddrive and xbox all the things you don't need on when the tv is off.

Other ideas too, getting cavity wall insulation and flooring the attic over the insulation and insulating the actual roof instead. going to look at making some mini homemade solar panels too to see how well it makes hot water, then increase size and add to garage roof.

 

[Goldy]

This was my household energy consumption for yesterday in a half-hourly bar chart.

Total consumption: 13.2 kWh
That is considerably below average, its usually about 17-18 kWh this time of year.

This is an automatic meter reading sent to my data retrieval server every morning.

Edit: should mention the values are in w/hr. So 1000 = 1kW.

 

[dod]

I'd like to be more energy efficient, more energy concious, and more "green".

Look at reflective panels for the back of radiators, thicker curtains, reduce temperature thermostat by one degree, draught strips on doors/windows if appropriate, extra insulation in loft/roof space etc etc.

If you've got some extra capital have a look at Solar for electricity generation rather than water heating. The Feed in Tariffs available make it a more attractive option than previously. Same thing with biomass, the Renewable Heat incentive comes into force next year.

The Green deal might also be of interest although I haven't really looked into it in any detail as we don't really work with householders.

http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/legislation/energybill/1010-green-deal-summary-proposals.pdf

 

[bledd]

I couldn't give a monkeys about being 'green'

My pocket is all I care about