Using a smart meter to save electricity

yeah only way is turn off at the fuse box and turn on one at a time.

There'll be something somewhere, hardwired smoke alarms, aerial amplifier or something.

Chasing parasitic draws is a right old pain but well worth it, I cut our base load by over 100watts by going through everything in the house with the smart metre
 
ok, done that. That was helpful for finding stuff, but even adding that together doesn't explain 40w, so I'm putting that down to either the smart meter not updating, or me not leaving it long enough, or insufficient scientific method. 40w is what all my stuff uses on standby, so somehow that was reported when everything was off at the wall, idk. This time it was actually 0 with some of the fuses off.

As a general observation, the power draw of some stuff is hard to measure. Things with wifi connect when turned on, and do stuff, then settle down. Things with batteries charge when turned on, then are charged so settle down. Some devices connect to each other, so the cost may be somewhat shared.

anyway, I've got some numbers for each item now, here's a rough summary:


these ones seem like a lot to me, thoughts?:

- wired smoke alarms x2: 3w total
- boiler idle: 5w
- router (bt smart hub 2): 17w
- pc when turned off: 5w


these ones are all <1w each:

- tv standby
- robot vacuum standby x2
- dab radio standby x3
- wifi laser printer standby
- misc lamps n stuff

total: 40w


also noted down some values for devices I commonly leave on/idle during the day:

pc idle: 66w
work laptop idle: 31w
tv on: 70-100w
 
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I think the top chunk sound about right
router is spot on, boiler seems maybe a little high but it depends what its doing, if its got temp monitoring on and maybe a powered hard thermostat?

pc i thought should be more like 1w but if there are devices that can in effect still be powered attached they could be still using juice. I believe many pcs will still power some USBs etc in sleep
If its fully off then thats "high"

Must say though smart meter monitoring is ok in general but not great for lower level recording a proper meter is better
 
40W is already very low as a base level, and turning off motherboard LEDs isn't going to make any difference at all. If you want per-device energy monitoring you want either a smart plug or an energy monitor you can plug a device into to see real time energy usage.
 
OK, so that's the base load reasonably well investigated, seems like I'm in a good situation as far as that's concerned.

Now to look at appliances that I've noticed use a metric butt-ton of energy:

These may seem like silly questions, but forgive me, I'm just one guy with one house and still using first appliances, so don't rly know what's normal. All my appliances are 10 years old so it's a possibility to replace them if there's a good reason to.


washing machine:

When I first got this washing machine (it came with the house, my first washing machine) I used the eco cycle, because I figured it would cost the least. For a 60c wash that's a 3 hour 15 minute runtime. Fairly quickly I got bored of that and switched it to normal mode, which brings that down to 2 hours 30 mins.

(I wash bedding at 60c every week because of dust mite allergy, towels twice a week at 40c, clothes as needed at 30c)
(Runtime is slightly shorter for lower temperatures)

Fairly recently, and embarrassingly, I realised I can adjust the runtime (the icon is not clear at all). So now I turn it down to 1 hour 30 mins and can't tell the difference in the result. But it does let me go even lower. So that begs the question - how long should a normal wash take?

It also flags 2 flaws in washing machine design:
1. I've been peeing away energy for no reason other than the washing machine defaulted to it. Washing machines should default to shorter runtimes.
2. Washing machines should remember your runtime settings. Every time I turn the washing machine on it defaults to the longest runtime.


dryer:

I have a Bosch heat pump condenser. It is very slow, but supposedly it's efficient, not sure it's worth it. It's in my garage due to lack of space and constantly carrying washing out to the garage is tedious so I'm tempted to get a washer-dryer combo when I replace either my washing machine or my tumble dryer. Thoughts on washer-dryers?

I have one set of bedding so I need to wash and dry it in the same day, it tends to take 2 cycles in the dryer.

For towels I use 1 cycle then hang them up overnight.

Any thoughts on dryer types? Is this normal for my type of dryer?

I'm ordering some eco balls out of curiosity as someone recommended them. Any experiences on how much eco balls help?


dishwasher:

As with the washing machine, this was my first dishwasher and I initially ran it on eco 50c, it took ages (never measured it to see how long). I quickly gave up on eco and used normal 65c which takes about an hour.

I recently tried the 30 mins 65c setting and can't tell the difference in the result. So that's what I'm doing all the time now.
 
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throwaway4372 said:
It also flags 2 flaws in washing machine design:
1. I've been peeing away energy for no reason other than the washing machine defaulted to it. Washing machines should default to shorter runtimes.
Click to expand...
Despite taking longer, the eco programmes on both the Washing Machine and Dishwasher should use less energy overall. (That's generally why ECO is the default, certainly on newer machines)
 
throwaway4372 said:
OK, so that's the base load reasonably well investigated, seems like I'm in a good situation as far as that's concerned.

Now to look at appliances that I've noticed use a metric butt-ton of energy:

These may seem like silly questions, but forgive me, I'm just one guy with one house and still using first appliances, so don't rly know what's normal. All my appliances are 10 years old so it's a possibility to replace them if there's a good reason to.


washing machine:

When I first got this washing machine (it came with the house, my first washing machine) I used the eco cycle, because I figured it would cost the least. For a 60c wash that's a 3 hour 15 minute runtime. Fairly quickly I got bored of that and switched it to normal mode, which brings that down to 2 hours 30 mins.

(I wash bedding at 60c every week because of dust mite allergy, towels twice a week at 40c, clothes as needed at 30c)
(Runtime is slightly shorter for lower temperatures)

Fairly recently, and embarrassingly, I realised I can adjust the runtime (the icon is not clear at all). So now I turn it down to 1 hour 30 mins and can't tell the difference in the result. But it does let me go even lower. So that begs the question - how long should a normal wash take?

It also flags 2 flaws in washing machine design:
1. I've been peeing away energy for no reason other than the washing machine defaulted to it. Washing machines should default to shorter runtimes.
2. Washing machines should remember your runtime settings. Every time I turn the washing machine on it defaults to the longest runtime.


dryer:

I have a Bosch heat pump condenser. It is very slow, but supposedly it's efficient, not sure it's worth it. It's in my garage due to lack of space and constantly carrying washing out to the garage is tedious so I'm tempted to get a washer-dryer combo when I replace either my washing machine or my tumble dryer. Thoughts on washer-dryers?

I have one set of bedding so I need to wash and dry it in the same day, it tends to take 2 cycles in the dryer.

For towels I use 1 cycle then hang them up overnight.

Any thoughts on dryer types? Is this normal for my type of dryer?

I'm ordering some eco balls out of curiosity as someone recommended them. Any experiences on how much eco balls help?


dishwasher:

As with the washing machine, this was my first dishwasher and I initially ran it on eco 50c, it took ages (never measured it to see how long). I quickly gave up on eco and used normal 65c which takes about an hour.

I recently tried the 30 mins 65c setting and can't tell the difference in the result. So that's what I'm doing all the time now.
Click to expand...

All seems ok apart from heat pump drier in the garage.
Heat pumps are less efficient in low temps

Lots of hate in regards washer driers and partly justified. They are a lot more complicated and the washing capacity is higher then drying generally so if you want to combine your washing more inefficicently. (IE stop and take some wet washing out or do a smaller load than you could have)
The can be useful however, just expect more breakdowns.

Most eco modes use less energy by washing for longer at lower temps.
Washing machine and dishwasher most of the energy is the heating of the water.
 
Replies in line

throwaway4372 said:
OK, so that's the base load reasonably well investigated, seems like I'm in a good situation as far as that's concerned.

Now to look at appliances that I've noticed use a metric butt-ton of energy:

These may seem like silly questions, but forgive me, I'm just one guy with one house and still using first appliances, so don't rly know what's normal. All my appliances are 10 years old so it's a possibility to replace them if there's a good reason to.


washing machine:

When I first got this washing machine (it came with the house, my first washing machine) I used the eco cycle, because I figured it would cost the least. For a 60c wash that's a 3 hour 15 minute runtime. Fairly quickly I got bored of that and switched it to normal mode, which brings that down to 2 hours 30 mins.

(I wash bedding at 60c every week because of dust mite allergy, towels twice a week at 40c, clothes as needed at 30c)
(Runtime is slightly shorter for lower temperatures)

Fairly recently, and embarrassingly, I realised I can adjust the runtime (the icon is not clear at all). So now I turn it down to 1 hour 30 mins and can't tell the difference in the result. But it does let me go even lower. So that begs the question - how long should a normal wash take?

It also flags 2 flaws in washing machine design:
1. I've been peeing away energy for no reason other than the washing machine defaulted to it. Washing machines should default to shorter runtimes.
2. Washing machines should remember your runtime settings. Every time I turn the washing machine on it defaults to the longest runtime.
Click to expand...
The longer run time is often the power to heat the water/let it drain naturally before spinning. Read the manual for exact maths on each mode. It's normally tabulated on the back page.
throwaway4372 said:
dryer:

I have a Bosch heat pump condenser. It is very slow, but supposedly it's efficient, not sure it's worth it. It's in my garage due to lack of space and constantly carrying washing out to the garage is tedious so I'm tempted to get a washer-dryer combo when I replace either my washing machine or my tumble dryer. Thoughts on washer-dryers?
Click to expand...
Washer dryers are crap imho. You get a hot damp ball of mess. Or you run it with far less more often. Heat pump is better - they're slow because they aren't cremating your clothes and making them shrink. They perform best in naturally warm rooms tho. I put mine on timer overnight so run time is irrelevant..the cost to run it is imperceptible on eco7.
throwaway4372 said:
I have one set of bedding so I need to wash and dry it in the same day, it tends to take 2 cycles in the dryer.

For towels I use 1 cycle then hang them up overnight.

Any thoughts on dryer types? Is this normal for my type of dryer?
Click to expand...
Bedding is a nightmare as it balls up. Buy more than one set.
throwaway4372 said:
I'm ordering some eco balls out of curiosity as someone recommended them. Any experiences on how much eco balls help?
Click to expand...

I used to flog them. I think they work.
throwaway4372 said:
dishwasher:

As with the washing machine, this was my first dishwasher and I initially ran it on eco 50c, it took ages (never measured it to see how long). I quickly gave up on eco and used normal 65c which takes about an hour.

I recently tried the 30 mins 65c setting and can't tell the difference in the result. So that's what I'm doing all the time now.
Click to expand...
Again, rtfm.
 
The washing machine manual does have a power usage table, but it doesn't include all modes, most notably it does not include eco modes. Fail.

I don't know what happened to the dryer manual.

The dishwasher manual does have a power usage table, it is complete!
Eco: 130-140 mins, 1.0-1.2 kWh, 14-16l water
Normal: 100-110 mins, 1.4-1.6 kWh, 19-21l water
30 mins: 30 mins, 0.9 kWh, 9l water :cool: winner
 
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