Quick headsup - leccy saving stuff at maplins

[samuelellis]

Thought i would give you guys a quick headsup on some stuff Maplin are selling cheap at the moment

http://www.maplin.co.uk/efergy-elite-wireless-ener... - energy meter, clip the monitor onto the output of your electricity meter and it sends details of how much you are using at any one point so you can work out what is costing you a lot of cash and arrange to have it come on during offpeak if you have economy7 electicity


The other thing is this

http://www.maplin.co.uk/infrared-tv-and-audio-stan... - it sounds a bit of a gimmick but i have one of these now setup so when i press standby on my av decoder remote it power off at the mains
-The TV
-The AV decoder
-The Blu-Ray
-The Media centre PC

and ive seen it drop 0.10kw an hour off the meter with no real problems as the TV, AV decoder, blu ray and PC remember the settings. I know it does not sound much but think how long all this stuff is left on standby overnight

Just figured i would give you guys a headsup as we are all in a position where we are trying to save some cash

[rolex]

Customers of British Gas can get those type of energy monitors free of charge

http://www.homeheatingguide.co.uk/british-gas-ener...

[page3]

Had an energy monitor but it seemed pointless as it doesn't save you anything, just tells you what you are using. Well, I use electricity when I need to. Telling me this isn't at all helpful.

Also be careful switching off AV gear. Often it is designed to remain on, and while switching it off will save a few pennies, it could well lead to more expense when it fails prematurely.

Just my opinion of course...

[mattdaniels]

page3 said:

it doesn't save you anything, just tells you what you are using. Well, I use electricity when I need to. Telling me this isn't at all helpful.

They can help you change your usage habits which can save you money. This can be helpful. Just my opinion of course.

[Simpo Two]

rolex said:

Customers of British Gas can get those type of energy monitors free of charge

http://www.homeheatingguide.co.uk/british-gas-ener...

No, they have paid for it in their higher bills.

[page3]

mattdaniels said:

They can help you change your usage habits which can save you money. This can be helpful. Just my opinion of course.

I'll agree it would help a certain percentage of consumers. Just no use for me!

[northandy]

mattdaniels said:

They can help you change your usage habits which can save you money. This can be helpful. Just my opinion of course.

I agree, it was useful for me as I could show the OH how much it costs to leave all the lights on in the house and how much it costs to boil the kettle, not use it, then boil it again half an hour later.

[samuelellis]

northandy said:

mattdaniels said:

They can help you change your usage habits which can save you money. This can be helpful. Just my opinion of course.

I agree, it was useful for me as I could show the OH how much it costs to leave all the lights on in the house and how much it costs to boil the kettle, not use it, then boil it again half an hour later.

Yep that is what im using it for to work out way to use what i have more efficiently

[rolex]

Simpo Two said:

rolex said:

Customers of British Gas can get those type of energy monitors free of charge

http://www.homeheatingguide.co.uk/british-gas-ener...

No, they have paid for it in their higher bills.

Good point Simpo They can help though. With mine I was very surprised at the amount of power it takes to boil a kettle. Two cups of tea only gets two cups of water in the kettle now.

[samuelellis]

rolex said:

Simpo Two said:

rolex said:

Customers of British Gas can get those type of energy monitors free of charge

http://www.homeheatingguide.co.uk/british-gas-ener...

No, they have paid for it in their higher bills.

Good point Simpo They can help though. With mine I was very surprised at the amount of power it takes to boil a kettle. Two cups of tea only gets two cups of water in the kettle now.

Yep it is quite a shock that your kettle takes a fair chunk more to run than pretty much anything else

[Funk]

mattdaniels said:

They can help you change your usage habits which can save you money. This can be helpful. Just my opinion of course.

Yep, my bills have plummeted since getting one of these from my electricity supplier. In fact, I've just had to reduce my monthly Direct Debit to them as I would've ended up owing them money. I'm sure there's even more that I could do, as my flat 'idles' at around 500w. Quite an eye-opener to see it shoot up into kWs with the dishwasher/washing machine/kettle etc on.

I have some remote control sockets that I need to get around to fitting. It's just a case of 'grouping' stuff onto specific extensions that will mean I can remotely turn on or off batches of devices in one go (much like the extension lead in the OP's link, but with unique control for up to 5 sockets). I think mine was Maplins-sourced as well.

Yep, it was: http://www.maplin.co.uk/remote-controlled-mains-so... Seems they're also on offer, I may buy another set!

[mattdaniels]

page3 said:

mattdaniels said:

They can help you change your usage habits which can save you money. This can be helpful. Just my opinion of course.

I'll agree it would help a certain percentage of consumers. Just no use for me!

That's good - it's rare for consumers to know what their usage pattern is over a week or a month, and be in a position to make informed decisions as to whether they are on a suitable tariff based on their usage pattern, without some kind of monitoring and data analysis.

[fatboy b]

Saving power is mainly common sense. Boiling enough water for the amount of tea you're making - washing machine & dishwasher overnight (if you have the right tariff) etc. I really can't see the point of energy monitors TBH, besides I get a bill every 1/4, and I can work out a daily usage from that (if I really want). We have no kids, so it's just the two of us, and we're both savvy enough to switch things off when not in use.

No nanny state required here.

ETA. Our leccy is forecast to be about £650 this year. If I really look at what's on that can be turned off, I could maybe save 10 - 15% of that. FFS that's less than £2 a week. My time is more valuable!

Edited by fatboy b on Monday 16th May 07:44

[Funk]

fatboy b said:

Saving power is mainly common sense. Boiling enough water for the amount of tea you're making - washing machine & dishwasher overnight (if you have the right tariff) etc. I really can't see the point of energy monitors TBH, besides I get a bill every 1/4, and I can work out a daily usage from that (if I really want). We have no kids, so it's just the two of us, and we're both savvy enough to switch things off when not in use.

No nanny state required here.

ETA. Our leccy is forecast to be about £650 this year. If I really look at what's on that can be turned off, I could maybe save 10 - 15% of that. FFS that's less than £2 a week. My time is more valuable!

Edited by fatboy b on Monday 16th May 07:44

But hold on a sec... If your electricity company put your bill UP by £100 a year for no real reason, I bet you'd shop around. Similar for car insurance etc.

A £100 saving is £100 saving after all! Different strokes, I guess; I reduced my electricity bill from around £800 a year to £600 without really making any drastic changes.

[fatboy b]

Funk said:

fatboy b said:

Saving power is mainly common sense. Boiling enough water for the amount of tea you're making - washing machine & dishwasher overnight (if you have the right tariff) etc. I really can't see the point of energy monitors TBH, besides I get a bill every 1/4, and I can work out a daily usage from that (if I really want). We have no kids, so it's just the two of us, and we're both savvy enough to switch things off when not in use.

No nanny state required here.

ETA. Our leccy is forecast to be about £650 this year. If I really look at what's on that can be turned off, I could maybe save 10 - 15% of that. FFS that's less than £2 a week. My time is more valuable!

Edited by fatboy b on Monday 16th May 07:44

But hold on a sec... If your electricity company put your bill UP by £100 a year for no real reason, I bet you'd shop around. Similar for car insurance etc.

A £100 saving is £100 saving after all! Different strokes, I guess; I reduced my electricity bill from around £800 a year to £600 without really making any drastic changes.

Yes I would shop around if they put the cost up as that's paying more for the same - just like car insurance is.

As I see it now, our energy consumption is pretty much as it's going to be. We boil the kettle, we watch TV, we use the computer, we do the washing etc. We don't leave things on needlessly - we use common sense. It's our way of life, and I see no reason to spend a disproportionate amount of effort in cutting it down to save £2 a week.

[dave_s13]

I got one of these "free" from N-Power.

It's fvkin useless.

My kitchen is all electric; kettle, induction hob, washer/drier, dishwasher etc.

The only way I could save money is to cook in the dark, with a portable gas stove, in dirty underwear and eat off dirty plates (Ok I could wash them in flat cold water).

The more realistic way of saving a few quid is to keep on top of your supplier and change it every now and then. Even that is a monumental pain in the arris though.

[northandy]

samuelellis said:

Yep that is what im using it for to work out way to use what i have more efficiently

Worked out over the last 12 months we have cut our electricity usage by 20%, tbh I don't look at the monitor anymore but it served it's purpose in our house.