Energy Prices (Strictly NO referrals!)

[Begbie]

Are these any good?

dhb Men's Merino Long Sleeve Base Layer (M_ 200) | Wiggle

Buy your dhb Men's Merino Long Sleeve Base Layer (M_ 200) from our Baselayers range at Wiggle. £15.00. Free delivery available.

www.wiggle.co.uk

I've got one of these, ages old and as good as any merino base layer. Also check decathlon but £27 is good.

 

[chrcoluk]

Today I have a customer who buys the 4 frozen McCain frozen jacket potatoes for £2.50. They claim that the cost of heating them up for 5 mins each in microwave is cheaper than buying a pack of jacket potatoes from the produce section for 45p and baking them.

I have a combined microwave oven so can do proper jacket potatoes in 12-14 mins.

Checking supermarkets online these packs are the only way to buy jacket potatoes.

Morrisons have some potatoes that they advertise as baking potatoes and look reasonably sized in photo, but then the reviews state they the size of tinned potatoes. :/

What happens if you dont have a combined microwave oven, you just microwave them?

 

[Surveyor]

Checking supermarkets online these packs are the only way to buy jacket potatoes.

Morrisons have some potatoes that they advertise as baking potatoes and look reasonably sized in photo, but then the reviews state they the size of tinned potatoes. :/

What happens if you dont have a combined microwave oven, you just microwave them?

How to microwave a baked potato | Good Food

Fancy a jacket potato for dinner? Speed it up by starting off the potato in the microwave and finishing in the oven or under the grill for a lovely crispy skin.

www.bbcgoodfood.com

The only downside to cooking jacket potatoes in the microwave is that you won’t get that crisp skin you’d get from long oven baking. But you can either halve them and turn them into loaded potato skins and grill them, or bake the jackets in the oven for a few mins to crisp up.

 

[Zenduri]

Damn!

Can you imagine how much abuse and probably tears/breakdowns they are getting?

Our guys took 37000 calls on 1st April, there were 3000 calls waiting all day from 9am to 5pm. The staff sickness rate rocketed too in the following week as people were getting burnt out and stressed from a) taking obscene amounts of abuse and/or b) listening to single parents/ oaps saying they cant afford to heat and eat.

I expect they will take a whole tonne of abuse again x10 on 30th Sept

 

[Rilot]

Today I had a day off work and have spent it running around the house with a meter, trying to work out what the hell is drawing a constant 350W at idle.

TV and AV gear when off: 2W
Workshop: 30W
Router and switchgear: 12W
Various chargers and wall warts: 0.5W here and there

Can't work it out. Going to kill the power to different sections of the house to try and narrow it down once the mrs has finished work and I can turn things like the broadband off.

 

[Rai200]

Today I had a day off work and have spent it running around the house with a meter, trying to work out what the hell is drawing a constant 350W at idle.

TV and AV gear when off: 2W
Workshop: 30W
Router and switchgear: 12W
Various chargers and wall warts: 0.5W here and there

Can't work it out. Going to kill the power to different sections of the house to try and narrow it down once the mrs has finished work and I can turn things like the broadband off.

Fridge and freezer?

 

[413x]

Today I had a day off work and have spent it running around the house with a meter, trying to work out what the hell is drawing a constant 350W at idle.

TV and AV gear when off: 2W
Workshop: 30W
Router and switchgear: 12W
Various chargers and wall warts: 0.5W here and there

Can't work it out. Going to kill the power to different sections of the house to try and narrow it down once the mrs has finished work and I can turn things like the broadband off.

Yeah should be clear with a draw of that! I mean that's what my plasma TV draws!

 

[squerble]

Today I had a day off work and have spent it running around the house with a meter, trying to work out what the hell is drawing a constant 350W at idle.

TV and AV gear when off: 2W
Workshop: 30W
Router and switchgear: 12W
Various chargers and wall warts: 0.5W here and there

Can't work it out. Going to kill the power to different sections of the house to try and narrow it down once the mrs has finished work and I can turn things like the broadband off.

First guess was fridge-freezer

 

[Ayahuasca]

A large, older model fridge-freezer will draw around that.

 

[dl8860]

First guess was fridge-freezer

Even the biggest fridge freezers should only be around 50W on average. Maybe it's 350W when actively cooling, but Rilot made it sound like it was a constant idle thing.

9000 MultiSwitch Freestanding Fridge Freezer 178.2 cm Side by Side Fridge Freezer | AEG

RMB954F9VX

www.aeg.co.uk

This is my fridge, and it's hench. According to spec sheet its 412kWh/yr = 412,000/8760W = 47W

Perhaps it's more efficient than older fridges, but I really doubt any could be 7 times as much usage.

 

[krooton]

Yep, my recommended DD has just been raised from £218 to £340

 

[Troop]

I'm currently on bulbs variable at

30.2p day
21.1p night
48.2p standing charge

And I'm considering going onto that same Octopus Go you mentioned (if they'll let me without an EV which some earlier in this thread indicated you can). It's a 32% increase in day rate but a good drop in night, SC in my area is actually a tad lower at 47.9p a day.

My issue is I don't know what my bulb variable will change to even if I know what the 'cap' is, so even though it's predetermined I can't make the choice.

Am I being thick and the info is actually out there? Can anyone help on this?

My guess is moving to the Octopus tariff to be fixed is worth doing.

Bulb have an EV tariff that you don't need a EV, I'd be looking there first as you are already with Bulb, could just be a quick swap for you.
@Ron-ski is with bulb on the EV tariff

 

[Rai200]

Even the biggest fridge freezers should only be around 50W on average. Maybe it's 350W when actively cooling, but Rilot made it sound like it was a constant idle thing.

9000 MultiSwitch Freestanding Fridge Freezer 178.2 cm Side by Side Fridge Freezer | AEG

RMB954F9VX

www.aeg.co.uk

This is my fridge, and it's hench. According to spec sheet its 412kWh/yr = 412,000/8760W = 47W

Perhaps it's more efficient than older fridges, but I really doubt any could be 7 times as much usage.

Are your old appliances costing you money?

Are the latest advancements in energy efficiency being reflected in your household appliances? The Opus Energy team investigate with some interesting results.

www.opusenergy.com

Says an average older model can use 1,000kwh a year (114w). So an older fridge freezer and a chest freezer could account for a fair bit of the 350w.

 

[Chris Wilson]

I know an old lady whose neighbour offered to put a double socket in the lounge of her terraced house for free when she mentioned she hadn't enough of them. (You've guessed the rest, right...?).

 

[V F]

Today I had a day off work and have spent it running around the house with a meter, trying to work out what the hell is drawing a constant 350W at idle.

TV and AV gear when off: 2W
Workshop: 30W
Router and switchgear: 12W
Various chargers and wall warts: 0.5W here and there

Can't work it out. Going to kill the power to different sections of the house to try and narrow it down once the mrs has finished work and I can turn things like the broadband off.

Children there? Riots in the household if you turn that off.

 

[danlightbulb]

I know an old lady whose neighbour offered to put a double socket in the lounge of her terraced house for free when she mentioned she hadn't enough of them. (You've guessed the rest, right...?).

No, please continue.

 

[squerble]

No, please continue.

Notsureifserious.jpg but terraced house... so neighbour added in a double socket but also tapped her supply into their own house next door....

 

[danlightbulb]

Notsureifserious.jpg but terraced house... so neighbour added in a double socket but also tapped her supply into their own house next door....

Sure, but detail would be nice. Spur through party wall? From fusebox? How was it discovered etc.

 

[Chris Wilson]

Notsureifserious.jpg but terraced house... so neighbour added in a double socket but also tapped her supply into their own house next door....

Yep, but the barsteward was so thick he tightened the fascia screws so tight (presumably to deter its removal), he stripped one of them. After a year, during which the old girl saw her electric bill rising horrendously, she she unplugged her vacuum cleaner and the socket came off the wall. She called an electrician, not being enamoured with the bloke next door's handiwork, and the devious scheme was revealed.

Apparently it's far from uncommon, but usually it's done in an empty property by breaking in, feeding a spur through the wall, and awaiting the new buyer or tenant. `Course, I live in a bleedin' bungalow Oh well, back to the grindstone.

 

[woppy101]

Today I had a day off work and have spent it running around the house with a meter, trying to work out what the hell is drawing a constant 350W at idle.

TV and AV gear when off: 2W
Workshop: 30W
Router and switchgear: 12W
Various chargers and wall warts: 0.5W here and there

Can't work it out. Going to kill the power to different sections of the house to try and narrow it down once the mrs has finished work and I can turn things like the broadband off.

It’s a pain but I would turn off every socket in the house except the energy monitor then turn them on 1 by 1 checking the power draw after every one