Excessive bills - what is draining the power? 22kw standing??!

iGiDK · 25 Nov 2018 at 20:47

Random one have you got a water tank / megaflo?

My mate had a similar issue a while back when he moved in to a new house, took him a while to find the root cause!

There was an override switch for the megaflo which heated the water via an electric induction (a solution if ever the gas boiler was out of action). Someone had left that switched on.

Hope you get it sorted whatever it is

Dis86 · 25 Nov 2018 at 21:50

You're reading wrong. It's 22kwh not 22kw. Very very different. What fridge-freezer do you have? Alarm system? Cctv? Anything else left on?

Psycho Sonny · 25 Nov 2018 at 22:09

Dis86 said:
You're reading wrong. It's 22kwh not 22kw. Very very different. What fridge-freezer do you have? Alarm system? Cctv? Anything else left on?

even still 22kwh is like 900 watts of stuff all day long.

if it's a new build the culprit will be the lights. my dad just got a new build and it's using bulbs in chandeliers and stuff which are like 20-40W each with 10 bulbs on it.

so leaving a light on all day coupled with everything else on standby and fridges, etc looks likely.

@Vanilla go round your house with a notepad. right down the type and number of every bulb in the house. go to screwfix and order the cheapest multipacks you can find. i kitted my whole house out in LED's and usage went from £60 a month to £20 a month.

or it could be electric showers. the main users of leccy are heating air or water. kettles, washing machines, showers, electric heaters, etc.

if that isn't the case then probably lights being left on.

also i very much doubt it's the solar panels they will be generating nothing in winter

BigBoy · 25 Nov 2018 at 23:44

Outside lights or dusk to dawn lights are a good shout...

1pudding1 · 26 Nov 2018 at 00:06

But when hes not home the lights wont be on and the shower wont be used so its not those?

dmsims · 26 Nov 2018 at 00:28

Just turn off each switch on the CU until your consumption reduces - your starter for 10

Kol · 26 Nov 2018 at 10:25

Vanilla said:
This is the period I was on holiday for. Compare that to when i'm not on holiday and it's barely any difference!! I have solar panels also.

Before going away I

* Turned off the Hot Water and heating at the main switch. I left them totally off.
* Turned off any devices such as NAS
* No heated towel rails were on or anything heavy duty electric.

Can the fridge and freezer really be have such a power draw? 22KW in a day with no one home?!

@Psycho Sonny

Armageus · 26 Nov 2018 at 10:51

Psycho Sonny said:
also i very much doubt it's the solar panels they will be generating nothing in winter

They will be less effective maybe due to duller and shorter days, but certainly not "generating nothing"

bimbleuk · 26 Nov 2018 at 11:34

Meter clamp is the quick way to tell if you actually have a draw or it's a supplier issues.

As for Smart meters I've had a SMET1 one for over a year which was borderline for connecting back and so is a bit hit n miss so I have to enter manual readings anyway to be sure of an accurate bill. I've been trying to switch to an EV compatible tariff so I can charge at a lower rate in the morning.

So far either the suppliers won't switch me because of my current meter isn't compatible. My current supplier only support their own charger install and other suppliers won't accept new customers directly to the EV tariffs. The ones that do have a tariff have such high standing charges it negates any gains of an early morning reduction.

Green Energy UK - TIDE tariff looks to be cheaper for me but when I started the switch process they called back and said they can't install the required SMET2 meter until March next year and the temporary tariff is more expensive then my current one so that's on hold too.

Psycho Sonny · 26 Nov 2018 at 12:35

1pudding1 said:
But when hes not home the lights wont be on and the shower wont be used so its not those?

he went away on holiday. did he leave any lights on to make it look like he was home?

or outside lights being triggered or on a timer and they aren't LED.

Armageus said:
They will be less effective maybe due to duller and shorter days, but certainly not "generating nothing"

it may as well be. i have solar panels FYI some days they do make nothing but I'm in Scotland where the weather is crap and therefore less effective for solar panels.

LabR@t · 26 Nov 2018 at 12:39

My old pir light was 400w! Changed to 20w led.

dod · 30 Nov 2018 at 13:34

Psycho Sonny said:
even still 22kwh is like 900 watts of stuff all day long.

It's about 1.83kW running continuously, 24 hours a day.

OP, there's some useful indicators here on appliance consumption, only rough though

https://www.cse.org.uk/advice/advice-and-support/how-much-electricity-am-i-using

for monitors have a look at something like this

https://www.geotogether.com/consumer/product/minim-electricity-monitor-led-sensor/

Psycho Sonny · 30 Nov 2018 at 13:44

dod said:
It's about 1.83kW running continuously, 24 hours a day.

OP, there's some useful indicators here on appliance consumption, only rough though

https://www.cse.org.uk/advice/advice-and-support/how-much-electricity-am-i-using

for monitors have a look at something like this

https://www.geotogether.com/consumer/product/minim-electricity-monitor-led-sensor/

1.83 *24 = 43.92

unless kwh =/= 1000w constant for an hour or 100w for 10 hours constant

dod · 30 Nov 2018 at 13:46

Psycho Sonny said:
1.83 *24 = 43.92

unless kwh =/= 1000w constant for an hour or 100w for 10 hours constant

Oops, yes, not sure what happened there

Wouldn't think I'd been doing this for almost 40 years

PiKe · 30 Nov 2018 at 13:54

Eagerly awaiting the outcome of this thread, just what exactly is using the 22kwh??

DarkHorizon472 · 30 Nov 2018 at 13:55

PiKe said:
Eagerly awaiting the outcome of this thread, just what exactly is using the 22kwh??

Check the loft for loads of lights, heaters and automatic water equipment :eek:

Simon · 30 Nov 2018 at 18:52

Wish people wouldnt get their kW and kWh confused.

wesley · 30 Nov 2018 at 19:47

is it possible that you are actually using 0.22kwh but the smart reader reporting wrong? or the energy supplier got the decimal point wrong?

i used 1400KWH in the last 12 months. 1400 / 365 = 3.86kw per day

but can get low as 200kw a day when i'm away holiday (i leave everything on with a upstairs hall light on 24/7 too)

hence i think you may actually used 0.22kw

LuckyBenski · 2 Dec 2018 at 10:50

Psycho Sonny said:
it may as well be. i have solar panels FYI some days they do make nothing but I'm in Scotland where the weather is crap and therefore less effective for solar panels.

Yep, o got back from holiday last week to continuous rainy/grey London weather. South facing panel is producing about 50W if the sun is out, some days it doesn't even start generating. West facing panel powers up but doesn't produce a single watt. On a sunny summer day these two banks normally go over a kilowatt each.

Vanilla · 2 Dec 2018 at 15:16

Not gone dead guys, just waiting on a smart meter to work out what this was.