Energy Prices (Strictly NO referrals!)

One 48 said:
Good advice and thanks, will go audit my electricity usage from today ... one more reason for me to go Smart meter i suppose :)
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No problem, I read somewhere that even a microwave left on at the plug at the October price cap could cost £2 a month (no source, could be lies), imagine 10 tiny little devices like that left on and all of a sudden you've got an extra £240 a year in your pocket!

Nearly everything I use is right next to the plug that it's plugged into, so it's not really any effort at all to switch it on and off easily.

I have a WiZ smart plug for my TV/Apple TV/Soundbar, believe they draw next to nothing, and the amount of times i've sat down on the sofa after a mad day at work then had to get up and switch it on makes those few watts worth paying for :p

I used to be very cavalier about energy usage, i'm (used to be) lucky enough to see a electricity bill for £100 a month and say paying that is worth the time saving of having everything switched off at the plug, but when that looked to change to £200+ in April I made a change and am glad that I did!

Hopefully your energy audit helps to bring your bill down a bit, you can go to the next step and get a plug in energy monitor for ~£20 from Amazon, but I just think switching almost everything off is the quicker and easier solution
 
Megahurtz400 said:
No problem, I read somewhere that even a microwave left on at the plug at the October price cap could cost £2 a month (no source, could be lies), imagine 10 tiny little devices like that left on and all of a sudden you've got an extra £240 a year in your pocket!

Nearly everything I use is right next to the plug that it's plugged into, so it's not really any effort at all to switch it on and off easily.

I have a WiZ smart plug for my TV/Apple TV/Soundbar, believe they draw next to nothing, and the amount of times i've sat down on the sofa after a mad day at work then had to get up and switch it on makes those few watts worth paying for :p

I used to be very cavalier about energy usage, i'm (used to be) lucky enough to see a electricity bill for £100 a month and say paying that is worth the time saving of having everything switched off at the plug, but when that looked to change to £200+ in April I made a change and am glad that I did!

Hopefully your energy audit helps to bring your bill down a bit, you can go to the next step and get a plug in energy monitor for ~£20 from Amazon, but I just think switching almost everything off is the quicker and easier solution
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I think i read the same article, i started turning my microwave off at the wall and now its broke not even a month in haha. Although it was a cheapo one
 
One 48 said:
Good advice and thanks, will go audit my electricity usage from today ... one more reason for me to go Smart meter i suppose :)
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I'm not against smart meters, but I wouldn't get a smart meter hoping that they will pinpoint what is using energy. In reality, for me at least, the fancy graphs that show daily/weekly/monthly usage are about two days behind. You could walk around with the IHD (In Home Display) that is supplied with the meter and see if your usage drops as you slowly turn things off.

What helps me the most is taking and recording regular meter readings - from the IHD if its working and allows you to do so, otherwise directly from the meter. I take readings every month and I can go back some time.
 
SSE have moved me over to OVO this month, i'm on a 1 year fix that ends in Feb 2023 and I've just checked online and the rates i'm on now are slightly lower than what I was with SSE. I'll take that as a very minor win haha.
 
the shadow said:
If it has a clock that lights up ovens also
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Yep, luckily the switch for my over and hob are right next to it and bright red so nice and easy to switch on and off. Means the clock is never right, but who actually uses their oven to tell the time these days?

On smart meters, I tried three times to get a smart meter installed and took time off work for the appointment and no one turned up. I also think that due to my meter being in the middle of the building it won't get any signal so won't work anyway. I take a reading twice a month while on the way down the hall on the way to my car, am now on a variable DD so I can know exactly how much energy i've used that month so I can know if i've been lazy with turning things off and if I need to make changes.

Was on holiday for two and a half weeks in August, looking forward to my bill in the next few days! :D Unless I left something on haha
 
Philz0r said:
i started turning my microwave off at the wall and now its broke not even a month in haha.
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that's the issue - especially with expensive electronics turning them on and off multiple times a day can reduce their lifespan - the quality of the relays in smart switches too;
(I'm researching smart switches that are clean)

that said - I could probably have replaced my , never off, amp with the energy I would have saved over 20 years - heat does go into the room in winter time though ,
a similar discussion, to high wattage graphics cards.
 
jpaul said:
that's the issue - especially with expensive electronics turning them on and off multiple times a day can reduce their lifespan - the quality of the relays in smart switches too;
(I'm researching smart switches that are clean)

that said - I could probably have replaced my , never off, amp with the energy I would have saved over 20 years - heat does go into the room in winter time though ,
a similar discussion, to high wattage graphics cards.
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Once a day my oven if that goes on for 20/25 min so i think there is no reason for the light to be switched on 23 hours of the day
 
One 48 said:
Is this allowed, is he for real?
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he was devils advocating the rights of the high consumption/rich energy user, which a tiered energy pricing would disadvantage.
- the repetitive nature of the thread is because there remains a single thread, unlike a complete covid sub-section during rampant covid times, so groundhog day, or goldfish in bowl , as you suggest.
 
One 48 said:
How come we have so many Armchair Energy experts here who google to debate their friends statements, Ad_Infinitum, over and and over again.

We all know its a big problem, but surely instead of winning a futile argument that nobody here is ever going to succeed to ... a ground Dog Day thing, cant we stray away from this constant bickering and one up man ship? during this very important UK energy crisis, or is it all about I'm right and he is wrong Ego's here.

Is that the way of it?
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It's been the way of this forum for eternity, if you're looking for advice, help, and people actively trying to reduce their bills I'd suggest the MoneySaversExperts forum, specifically the Energy section, there are loads of very smart people there who'll give pretty good advice. Just make sure you give as much information as possible about what devices you use and for how long
 
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