3 bed home - Excessive energy usage?
Discussion
eldar said:
I live in a similar house, and the OH is also keen on using power....
annual average 14kw/day power , gas 19kw/day. £800 or so a year.
40kw a day says something is going on.
Well OP says they have downlighters (presumably halogen GU10s) in every room and that they are regularly left on all day. annual average 14kw/day power , gas 19kw/day. £800 or so a year.
40kw a day says something is going on.
Given you would normally have 5-10 in a reasonable sized room and they are 50+ watts each, that could be a large chunk.
5 * 50 w * 12 hours = 3KWh
3KW * 3 rooms = 9KW h ...
Our bill is about 120 to 130 pounds a month.
Three bedroom detached house 35 years old.Central heating plus electric oil heater in the kitchen dining room.
We are in our house most of the week and we don't skimp on heat.Thermostat set at 21c.
I also set the oil heater on a low through the day and evening.We have a combi boiler and the shower is electric feed.
House is cavity insulated and double glazing.I leave all the radiators on through the house.One radiator in the main bedroom is thermostatic controlled.The rest of the radiators are fully set open and are 35 years old.
Thanks for listening.>;)
The bill is Gas/Electric.
Three bedroom detached house 35 years old.Central heating plus electric oil heater in the kitchen dining room.
We are in our house most of the week and we don't skimp on heat.Thermostat set at 21c.
I also set the oil heater on a low through the day and evening.We have a combi boiler and the shower is electric feed.
House is cavity insulated and double glazing.I leave all the radiators on through the house.One radiator in the main bedroom is thermostatic controlled.The rest of the radiators are fully set open and are 35 years old.
Thanks for listening.>;)
The bill is Gas/Electric.
Edited by pim on Thursday 19th January 12:50
if it helps- we're in a 1926 4 bed house. I monitor our energy and like others have ensured every bulb has been changed where I can. I have insulated the attic roofs substantially. this made a big difference.
anyway gas/electric is £95 a month. my wife's works part time so the house is rarely unoccupied.
we have coal/log burner. that's on all the time and certainly makes a difference.
when I renewed the CH, I zoned upstairs and downstairs (i.e to be seperate circuits).......... that certainly helps as you just run heating where you want it.
I still wander round the house turning everything off- my wife/girls leave everything on and running.
anyway gas/electric is £95 a month. my wife's works part time so the house is rarely unoccupied.
we have coal/log burner. that's on all the time and certainly makes a difference.
when I renewed the CH, I zoned upstairs and downstairs (i.e to be seperate circuits).......... that certainly helps as you just run heating where you want it.
I still wander round the house turning everything off- my wife/girls leave everything on and running.
Ok, from the advice given (much appreciated by the way) I think I really need to sort out my downlighters in the first instance. It appears I have 2 types.
Kitchen and Bedroom 1 has a total of 18 bulbs which are 7GU 10 Dimmable 7W 2700K 40D
The rest of the house is fitted with a total of 38 GU5.3 two pronged bulbs, i appear to have some 50W and some 35W
Could someone be so helpful as to suggest what would be the most sensible way of tackling this changeover? i.e. do I have to change all of a particular type at once or would I have to do a room at a time?
Kitchen and Bedroom 1 has a total of 18 bulbs which are 7GU 10 Dimmable 7W 2700K 40D
The rest of the house is fitted with a total of 38 GU5.3 two pronged bulbs, i appear to have some 50W and some 35W
Could someone be so helpful as to suggest what would be the most sensible way of tackling this changeover? i.e. do I have to change all of a particular type at once or would I have to do a room at a time?
41kwh electricity is really excessive. When I looked at mine last year, it averaged 17kwh, and I thought that was high.
I bought an electricity monitor, and it really helped me to understand what was using all of the power.
In my case, 400w of power is being consumed all of the time even if I am not physically using anything, so that explain 9.6kwh straight away.
Generally, cooking/lighting/home entertainment only uses another 2-3kwh, so my summer usage is around 13kwh per day.
The rest was down to two electric underfloor heating systems that I have on for an hour or so a day in the winter. Very nice to have, but virtually doubles our electricity usage in the winter, despite the environmental claims made by their manufacturer - Warmup.
At 41kwh, you are likely to find a few devices consuming ridiculous amounts of power - underfloor heating, old fridge/freezers, external 'beer' type fridges etc.
Lightbulbs are the other one if you leave them on a lot of the day. We used to have 8 x GU10 bulbs in our hallway that chewed through 400W of power when left on. Replacing the bulbs with LED ones cut that down by 90%.
The most useful thing with the monitor is to see what the house is consuming on standby.
I bought an electricity monitor, and it really helped me to understand what was using all of the power.
In my case, 400w of power is being consumed all of the time even if I am not physically using anything, so that explain 9.6kwh straight away.
Generally, cooking/lighting/home entertainment only uses another 2-3kwh, so my summer usage is around 13kwh per day.
The rest was down to two electric underfloor heating systems that I have on for an hour or so a day in the winter. Very nice to have, but virtually doubles our electricity usage in the winter, despite the environmental claims made by their manufacturer - Warmup.
At 41kwh, you are likely to find a few devices consuming ridiculous amounts of power - underfloor heating, old fridge/freezers, external 'beer' type fridges etc.
Lightbulbs are the other one if you leave them on a lot of the day. We used to have 8 x GU10 bulbs in our hallway that chewed through 400W of power when left on. Replacing the bulbs with LED ones cut that down by 90%.
The most useful thing with the monitor is to see what the house is consuming on standby.
272BHP said:
Ok, from the advice given (much appreciated by the way) I think I really need to sort out my downlighters in the first instance. It appears I have 2 types.
Kitchen and Bedroom 1 has a total of 18 bulbs which are 7GU 10 Dimmable 7W 2700K 40D
The rest of the house is fitted with a total of 38 GU5.3 two pronged bulbs, i appear to have some 50W and some 35W
Could someone be so helpful as to suggest what would be the most sensible way of tackling this changeover? i.e. do I have to change all of a particular type at once or would I have to do a room at a time?
They're low voltage (12v) halogen MR16 lamps. Not ideal for swapping to LEDs unfortunately. They will have a mains to 12v transformer to drive them. If the lights are recessed then the transformers will be somewhere in the ceiling void, hopefully fairly accessible. There'll be at least one transformer per room/set of switched lights, maybe more.Kitchen and Bedroom 1 has a total of 18 bulbs which are 7GU 10 Dimmable 7W 2700K 40D
The rest of the house is fitted with a total of 38 GU5.3 two pronged bulbs, i appear to have some 50W and some 35W
Could someone be so helpful as to suggest what would be the most sensible way of tackling this changeover? i.e. do I have to change all of a particular type at once or would I have to do a room at a time?
The problem you could have is that most of the transformers (the older ones at least) don't like LED bulbs because the load is so much lower than they were designed to drive. I had a 4x MR16 light fitting with the transformer inside it. It would handle 3x LEDs plus one halogen bulb, but if I tried to fit 4x LEDs it stopped working.
First thing to do is remove as many of the bulbs as you can get away with and see how much energy that saves. Take daily meter readings for at least a week before and after.
So, you'll either (probably) have replace the transformers to use LEDs throughout, or change all the light fittings. If they're all recessed ceiling lights, it might be easier, cheaper, better to swap the fittings to GU10 (mains ones). Or a quick and dirty method is to swap as many of the halogen MR16s to LED MR16s as you can before they start misbehaving (typically buzzing, flickering). Obviously you'll have a mixture of light outputs (intensity, beam angle, colour temp) between the halogen and LED. The LEDs probably won't be as bright, especially the cheaper bulbs), if you can stomach that scenario?
Whichever you choose to do, carefully check the beam angle of the LEDs (they typically range from 36 degrees to 120 degrees, spot to wide angle). The narrower the beam, the brighter the light (for the same wattage). I always go for 'warm' colour temperature LEDs, as the cooler ones usually look too cold/harsh, especially coming from halogen/filament lamps, but that's a matter of taste.
Having said all that, unless you leave all the lights on all the time, it's probably only accounting for 10kWh per day at the most. So you're still a bit on the high side. Did you forget to mention your heated swimming pool or hot tub? Next biggest power consumer is an electric shower (up to 10kWh). If you have one of those make sure your missus isn't spending half an hour in there every day!
essayer said:
I recommend the Loop energy monitor, nice and easy to set up.
Those non-LED downlighters probably cost you 25p/hr to run on their own. Easy £30 per month saved on changing those alone - although probably payback on the LED cost will be a good few months (don't buy cheap LED bulbs).
I was recommended to buy the Wickes own brand bulbs and they were only £2.50 each. They have only been in a few months, so I can't comment on long term reliability yet.Those non-LED downlighters probably cost you 25p/hr to run on their own. Easy £30 per month saved on changing those alone - although probably payback on the LED cost will be a good few months (don't buy cheap LED bulbs).
Even with the cheap bulbs, it will take a while to payback unless you use them a lot.
I might have my hallway light on for an hour a day, so when it using 400w I was using about 150kwh per year, now down to 15kwh. Assuming electricity costs 13p per kwh, I am saving £17.50 each year, but the bulbs cost £20.
If I had 16 bulbs in a living room I used for five hours a day, I'd save £170 in the first year for the £40 cost of the bulbs. That's definitely worth having!
austinsmirk said:
I still wander round the house turning everything off- my wife/girls leave everything on and running.
In the past, when wife, daughter and mum in law were all present, it was not unusual for me to come home and find EVERY light in the house on! I $hit thee not, every last bulb in every room on. British Gas (our electricity supplier) fitted a smart meter for us before Christmas.
It's taught me a lot about our usage (and can make you paranoid with it's display showing soaring cost when the kettle, oven or shower goes on). Basically you watch the meter at it's lowest usage rate (about 2p an hour for us) and get the kids to go and switch different things on. Kettle knocks it up to 36p and shower to 77p an hour. We seem to be ranging between £1.80 - £2.30 a day (4 bed house, 2 kids 2 adults in winter).
Some things on standby are more expensive than you'd think. Xbox costs £40 a year aparently.
Plugging VW GTE Milf Float hybrid in to charge is costly (same as putting kettle on) but still cheaper than the petrol costs for equivalent mileage.
Wife is finding this new-found KwH scrutinising nerdery coupled with financial tightness a turn-off though. Only downside.
It's taught me a lot about our usage (and can make you paranoid with it's display showing soaring cost when the kettle, oven or shower goes on). Basically you watch the meter at it's lowest usage rate (about 2p an hour for us) and get the kids to go and switch different things on. Kettle knocks it up to 36p and shower to 77p an hour. We seem to be ranging between £1.80 - £2.30 a day (4 bed house, 2 kids 2 adults in winter).
Some things on standby are more expensive than you'd think. Xbox costs £40 a year aparently.
Plugging VW GTE Milf Float hybrid in to charge is costly (same as putting kettle on) but still cheaper than the petrol costs for equivalent mileage.
Wife is finding this new-found KwH scrutinising nerdery coupled with financial tightness a turn-off though. Only downside.
mjb1 said:
They're low voltage (12v) halogen MR16 lamps. Not ideal for swapping to LEDs unfortunately. They will have a mains to 12v transformer to drive them. If the lights are recessed then the transformers will be somewhere in the ceiling void, hopefully fairly accessible. There'll be at least one transformer per room/set of switched lights, maybe more.
The problem you could have is that most of the transformers (the older ones at least) don't like LED bulbs because the load is so much lower than they were designed to drive. I had a 4x MR16 light fitting with the transformer inside it. It would handle 3x LEDs plus one halogen bulb, but if I tried to fit 4x LEDs it stopped working.
First thing to do is remove as many of the bulbs as you can get away with and see how much energy that saves. Take daily meter readings for at least a week before and after.
So, you'll either (probably) have replace the transformers to use LEDs throughout, or change all the light fittings. If they're all recessed ceiling lights, it might be easier, cheaper, better to swap the fittings to GU10 (mains ones). Or a quick and dirty method is to swap as many of the halogen MR16s to LED MR16s as you can before they start misbehaving (typically buzzing, flickering). Obviously you'll have a mixture of light outputs (intensity, beam angle, colour temp) between the halogen and LED. The LEDs probably won't be as bright, especially the cheaper bulbs), if you can stomach that scenario?
Whichever you choose to do, carefully check the beam angle of the LEDs (they typically range from 36 degrees to 120 degrees, spot to wide angle). The narrower the beam, the brighter the light (for the same wattage). I always go for 'warm' colour temperature LEDs, as the cooler ones usually look too cold/harsh, especially coming from halogen/filament lamps, but that's a matter of taste.
Having said all that, unless you leave all the lights on all the time, it's probably only accounting for 10kWh per day at the most. So you're still a bit on the high side. Did you forget to mention your heated swimming pool or hot tub? Next biggest power consumer is an electric shower (up to 10kWh). If you have one of those make sure your missus isn't spending half an hour in there every day!
Thanks for the info. sounds complex with the MR16 i might try a few LEDs in each room and see how I get on. The problem you could have is that most of the transformers (the older ones at least) don't like LED bulbs because the load is so much lower than they were designed to drive. I had a 4x MR16 light fitting with the transformer inside it. It would handle 3x LEDs plus one halogen bulb, but if I tried to fit 4x LEDs it stopped working.
First thing to do is remove as many of the bulbs as you can get away with and see how much energy that saves. Take daily meter readings for at least a week before and after.
So, you'll either (probably) have replace the transformers to use LEDs throughout, or change all the light fittings. If they're all recessed ceiling lights, it might be easier, cheaper, better to swap the fittings to GU10 (mains ones). Or a quick and dirty method is to swap as many of the halogen MR16s to LED MR16s as you can before they start misbehaving (typically buzzing, flickering). Obviously you'll have a mixture of light outputs (intensity, beam angle, colour temp) between the halogen and LED. The LEDs probably won't be as bright, especially the cheaper bulbs), if you can stomach that scenario?
Whichever you choose to do, carefully check the beam angle of the LEDs (they typically range from 36 degrees to 120 degrees, spot to wide angle). The narrower the beam, the brighter the light (for the same wattage). I always go for 'warm' colour temperature LEDs, as the cooler ones usually look too cold/harsh, especially coming from halogen/filament lamps, but that's a matter of taste.
Having said all that, unless you leave all the lights on all the time, it's probably only accounting for 10kWh per day at the most. So you're still a bit on the high side. Did you forget to mention your heated swimming pool or hot tub? Next biggest power consumer is an electric shower (up to 10kWh). If you have one of those make sure your missus isn't spending half an hour in there every day!
10
What about the 7W GU10s are they an easy replacement for LEDs?
Oh, yes we do have an electric shower, I am the only user normally as both my wife and young son prefer the bath.
Edited by 272BHP on Thursday 19th January 16:28
Just as a comparison my 4 bed house built in 2005 uses approx 80 kWh gas / 8.5 kWh per day in Winter, which averages out to be approx £100 on a fairly decent Scottish Power fixed tariff which is ending in 3 months time.
That's with my wife home all day looking after our new born baby so heating is on 20 degrees all day, then 21.5 in the evening.
That's with my wife home all day looking after our new born baby so heating is on 20 degrees all day, then 21.5 in the evening.
4 bed detached here. Just checked total useage for 2016 -
17,000 kwh of gas useage - or 46kwh per day.
2700 kwh of electricity - or 7.4kwh per day.
£900 per year or £75 per month. We just pay £90 a month so always have a decent credit built up. 2 women in the house who don't know how to switch anything off. Still running Ikea energy bulbs from circa 12 years ago. Still the best bulbs made ( IMO )
17,000 kwh of gas useage - or 46kwh per day.
2700 kwh of electricity - or 7.4kwh per day.
£900 per year or £75 per month. We just pay £90 a month so always have a decent credit built up. 2 women in the house who don't know how to switch anything off. Still running Ikea energy bulbs from circa 12 years ago. Still the best bulbs made ( IMO )
captainzep said:
Plugging VW GTE Milf Float hybrid in to charge is costly (same as putting kettle on) but still cheaper than the petrol costs for equivalent mileage..
How much cheaper? I have a separate garage, so would need a feed fitting, and I can't see that going electric would save me much?
How much is a full charge and how many miles does it give you?
272BHP said:
Normally the wife handles the energy bills in the house and I am ashamed to say its never something that I have put any thought towards. However, I am between contracts at the moment so I am spending some time in the house during the day.
I noticed on Monday that although the thermostat is set to drop to 12 deg in the unoccupied hours it was still about 22 deg when I came back from the Gym at 1000. Radiators all on full. So I started doing some digging and logged onto the Scottish Power web site and looked at our energy usage.
Ok, so its winter but we are using on average 102 kWh of gas and 41 kWh of electricity daily. in a small 3 bed home with 2 adults and 1 child.
That seems pretty outrageously high for a small 3 bed house that is normally unoccupied during weekdays doesn't it?
Only the two of us, we are both out from 8:30 until 5:00I noticed on Monday that although the thermostat is set to drop to 12 deg in the unoccupied hours it was still about 22 deg when I came back from the Gym at 1000. Radiators all on full. So I started doing some digging and logged onto the Scottish Power web site and looked at our energy usage.
Ok, so its winter but we are using on average 102 kWh of gas and 41 kWh of electricity daily. in a small 3 bed home with 2 adults and 1 child. That seems pretty outrageously high for a small 3 bed house that is normally unoccupied during weekdays doesn't it?
Edited by 272BHP on Wednesday 18th January 11:09
This time of the year, which to be honest is really quite mild,
We are using 7 electric units a day, and
We use using about 3,5 gas units a day.
for a smallish 3 bed semi.
Loads of loft insulation, and all the wall cavities are filled with the fluffy stuff.
The bill this month was about 51.00
Much less than the 2 bed bungalow we used to have.
R1
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