Energy Prices (Strictly NO referrals!)

413x

413x

413x

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McPhee said:
Just done a little experiment; gone round the house and turning sockets off, inc. the oven, washing machine, etc. Only left the fridge/freezer and the boiler running.

The base load has dropped from 92W to 25W. That's easily a 500kWh/year saving!

Realistically, it won't be that low day-to-day as some of the stuff is just going to be a pain to leave off. But Google Home's days are done I think, and there's little reason to leave the washing machine, dishwasher, etc. on standby.
Click to expand...

Mine his 70w with nothing active but everything normally on on.
By that i mean the freezer etc isn't pumping. But router, Google home etc are on.
Actually have a lot of standby stuff

I expect a lot of smart home stuff will go for people really in a tight spot
 

Haggisman

Haggisman

Haggisman

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413x said:
Its all lost with changing suppliers

I was estimated for over a year took a reading when moved in I think another not long after. Then nothing for ages
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Fair enough - I've kept personal logs of all my readings for the last 7-8 years anyway, so I have all the data to hand (yes, nerd :p)

touch said:
If you want to switch to it now from the current price cap, the day rate will be higher than what you're currently paying and so the total bill will be higher unless you have a lot of your usage at the cheaper rate (eg have an EV or battery storage).

If you're looking at is as an alternative to another fix then it might work out cheaper.
Click to expand...

Since I got my EV back in 2019, Octopus Go has had the lowest daily unit rates for me anyway (ignoring the smaller suppliers who have all gone bust anyway!). I've recently just renewed it at 35p/kWh, which was at the time the cheapest fix on the market by at least 10p!

413x said:
Mine his 70w with nothing active but everything normally on on.
By that i mean the freezer etc isn't pumping. But router, Google home etc are on.
Actually have a lot of standby stuff

I expect a lot of smart home stuff will go for people really in a tight spot
Click to expand...

That's a point, we also have 2 Echoes which are obviously "on" 24/7 as well, wonder how much they actually use... :confused:
 

413x

413x

413x

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Haggisman said:
Fair enough - I've kept personal logs of all my readings for the last 7-8 years anyway, so I have all the data to hand (yes, nerd :p)



Since I got my EV back in 2019, Octopus Go has had the lowest daily unit rates for me anyway (ignoring the smaller suppliers who have all gone bust anyway!). I've recently just renewed it at 35p/kWh, which was at the time the cheapest fix on the market by at least 10p!



That's a point, we also have 2 Echoes which are obviously "on" 24/7 as well, wonder how much they actually use... :confused:
Click to expand...

I assume they are power hungry. They can't be powered by USB!
 

LabR@t

LabR@t

LabR@t

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HungryHippos said:
I turned mine off, wasn't really using them anyway.

I also have a Nixie clock (very cool tube clock) but I imagine that is also fairly power hungry, so I closed that down as well.
Click to expand...
  • Echo Dot: 1.75 watts
  • 1st-Gen Echo: 2.95 watts
  • 2nd-Gen Echo: 1.95 watts
  • Echo Plus: 2.4 watts
  • Echo Spot: 1.9-2.25 watts (depending on screen brightness)


Obviously, an Echo uses up slightly more electricity when it’s actively being used, whether that’s playing music or just telling you the weather. Here’s what my Echo devices were pulling while I had music playing (displayed as a range based on the volume of the music):

  • Echo Dot: 2.1-2.4 watts (2.25 watts on average)
  • 1st-Gen Echo: 3.1-3.4 watts (3.25 watts on average)
  • 2nd-Gen Echo: 2.4-3.4 watts (2.9 watts on average)
  • Echo Plus: 3.0-4.3 watts (3.65 watts on average)
  • Echo Spot: 2.6-3.2 watts (2.9 watts on average, and with screen brightness at its lowest)
 

PlacidCasual

PlacidCasual

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I was chatting with a colleague about electricity prices this winter and beyond just the gas price the expected breakdown risk and shortage of reliable supply is boosting the costs enormously. I commented on some of the in day market costs last year being eye watering. This year those may be blasted out of the water. The gas cost element has been exacerbated by 30 years of policy that has degraded reliable generation for intermittent renewables.
 

touch

touch

touch

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Haggisman said:
Since I got my EV back in 2019, Octopus Go has had the lowest daily unit rates for me anyway (ignoring the smaller suppliers who have all gone bust anyway!). I've recently just renewed it at 35p/kWh, which was at the time the cheapest fix on the market by at least 10p!
Click to expand...
Yes, the Go tariff prices are very good*. I'm on the price cap at the moment but have an EV and already with Octopus so I've considered switching a few times. What do you do for gas?

*as I said in my post though, you won't save anything by switching to Go from a price cap rate unless you have most usage through the night.
 

Haggisman

Haggisman

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touch said:
Yes, the Go tariff prices are very good*. I'm on the price cap at the moment but have an EV and already with Octopus so I've considered switching a few times. What do you do for gas?

*as I said in my post though, you won't save anything by switching to Go from a price cap rate unless you have most usage through the night.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately we're at the cap on SVR for gas (still with Octopus) - the only thing even remotely tempting is their gas tracker, but otherwise there's just nothing that's worth changing to at the moment.

You won't save anything <right now>, but the 35p fix I'm on is almost certainly going to be significantly cheaper than the next cap rate, and considering it was only ~5p/unit more than the capped rate, was a bit of a no-brainer.

It's now increased to 45p, so not such an easy decision to make, but I guess we'll find out next week what the new cap is going to be! (my calculations suggest ~52p electric and 15p gas)
 

McPhee

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Haggisman said:
Unfortunately we're at the cap on SVR for gas (still with Octopus) - the only thing even remotely tempting is their gas tracker, but otherwise there's just nothing that's worth changing to at the moment.

You won't save anything <right now>, but the 35p fix I'm on is almost certainly going to be significantly cheaper than the next cap rate, and considering it was only ~5p/unit more than the capped rate, was a bit of a no-brainer.

It's now increased to 45p, so not such an easy decision to make, but I guess we'll find out next week what the new cap is going to be! (my calculations suggest ~52p electric and 15p gas)
Click to expand...

Go is very good. I downloaded one of the comparison apps this morning and at 40p/kWh day and 7.5p/kWh night it would have beaten Agile for me (with the old 35p per kWh cap) by £35 last month. And that's with me charging from a 3-pin plug at a little over 1kW.

Pity I didn't click to this before they put the day rate up :rolleyes: I figured I would save more from a 35p day rate than a 7.5p night rate...
 

touch

touch

touch

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Haggisman said:
It's now increased to 45p, so not such an easy decision to make, but I guess we'll find out next week what the new cap is going to be! (my calculations suggest ~52p electric and 15p gas)
Click to expand...

It's showing me 40p day rate if I sign up now. I think you're right that the next price cap will be higher than that so that has convinced me to sign up. I don't have a smart meter so I've requested one then I can sign up when it's installed.
It's rare that I ever charge the car at home though so I won't be able to take much advantage of the night rate.
 

Troop

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Don't understand why more people are not just buying a second hand 250W and up solar panel (under £100) and a micro grid tie inverter for it(£50)
And just place them somewhere in the sun, that will cover most background use during daylight, this setup will just plug into a 3 pin socket.
 

Curlyriff

Curlyriff

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Troop said:
Don't understand why more people are not just buying a second hand 250W and up solar panel (under £100) and a micro grid tie inverter for it(£50)
And just place them somewhere in the sun, that will cover most background use during daylight, this setup will just plug into a 3 pin socket.
Click to expand...

Because if it anything like my home I would need to still get the panel onto the roof as there isn't anywhere in the garden to place such. And then you would need a spare 3 pin socket to plug in otherwise etc. It not just do this and be done. And most people haven't worried about it till now.

Edit: With that a single 250watt panel is also only about 30kWh so most people would need at least 3 panels for their background day use.
 

LabR@t

LabR@t

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Troop said:
Don't understand why more people are not just buying a second hand 250W and up solar panel (under £100) and a micro grid tie inverter for it(£50)
And just place them somewhere in the sun, that will cover most background use during daylight, this setup will just plug into a 3 pin socket.
Click to expand...
Interested can you list the parts I need, would be perfect for garage
 

Sinbad2000

Sinbad2000

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Troop said:
Don't understand why more people are not just buying a second hand 250W and up solar panel (under £100) and a micro grid tie inverter for it(£50)
And just place them somewhere in the sun, that will cover most background use during daylight, this setup will just plug into a 3 pin socket.
Click to expand...
Also very interested!
is it legal and safe? Plugging into a 3 pin socket sounds to me like a suicide cable
 

Troop

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