Behaviour Change

[andrewducker]

So, I picked up an Efergy wireless electricity monitor. Which proudly says on the outside of the box "Save up to 20% on your electricity bill through greater awareness!"

And I can see why they say that. Because the first thing I did, after clipping the sensor around the wire between the meter and the fusebox, was wander around the flat turning lights off and trying to get our electricity usage down to zero.

It turns out that the biggest thing I can do is turn off the TV and Amp when I'm not watching TV. That'll save me 1.5p/hour, right there.

The biggest thing I _can't_ do is turn off the fridge-freezer, which seems to gulp down electricity by the bucket load.

It seems that having the internet router/wireless use negligible amounts (the meter goes down to 0.01kW, but it didn't even register the router being turned on and off), so I shall cease worrying about that. Turning off lights as I leave the room is worthwhile though.

And so does replacing the fridge/freezer when we redo the kitchen, which is slated for next year. We'd been semi-planning to anyway, because it's noisy and clunky, but this moves it up the priority list.

I have a score to minimise, so now I am obsessed!

Comments

[ajr.livejournal.com]

You'll probably find that the big consumers of electricity are anything involving heat. So, depending on your home setup; hot water heater, kettle, tumble dryer, washing machine, that sort of thing.

We've got one here, but it hasn't really changed our usage of electricity that much, as we're not the sort to leave things on/on standby anyway. The biggest thing it revealed is how much electricity the fancy lights in the kitchen use, but seeing as the alternative to using them is to stumble around in the darkness, there's not much to do about that. Just remember to turn them off when out, really. :)

[andrewducker]

The kettle is a big consumer when it's on - but I only put in enough water for a single cup of tea, so it's never on for more than a minute.

[autopope.livejournal.com]

Note the tumble drier/washer-drier point. I live in a top-floor flat with a tiny airing cupboard so we pretty much rely on the drier. Luckily I spent a bundle on a high-efficiency one about five years back when the old one died.

In general, anything running off a wall-wart that charges at USB power levels you can probably ignore; iPads, phones, that sort of thing. Even a laptop at full power only draws as much juice as a dim incandescent light bulb (and much less when it's asleep). The big surprise is probably going to be your monitor, if you have one -- I know this one in front of me right now (Apple 24" Cinema display) can draw up to 300 watts when it's also charging a Macbook via the built-in magsafe connector.

[andrewducker]

We don't have a drier, instead we have clothes airer on a pulley that runs the whole length of the front hall (about 15 feet long by about 4 feet wide).

The washing machine is also ancient, and probably less efficient than it could be. It's been repaired twice since I moved in, and will also go when the kitchen gets ripped out.

I am sooooo looking forward to having a new kitchen/washing machine/fridge freezer/cooker.

My 22" screen uses about 40-50 watts. Which is a fair chunk, but not as bad as the cinema display sounds! In fact, my 37" TV only uses about 70W, if I remember last night's measurements correctly.

[autopope.livejournal.com]

Strong rec: investigate Miele washer-driers. They're very expensive, but they're designed for a 15-20 year heavy-use life, they're really efficient, and they're ridiculously quiet compared to a regular washer-drier. (Oh, and part of the regular package is a five year warranty from the manufacturer -- who provide the kind of service you usually associate with folks like Rolls Royce --so you can laugh at Comet if they try to upsell you an expesive policy.)

Bought one seven years ago -- haven't regretted it.

[alitheapipkin.livejournal.com]

But any drier is going to be more expensive to run than just having a washing machine and air drying your clothes. Those pulley airers are seriously great things.

[autopope.livejournal.com]

Yes they are, and one of these years I'm going to see whether it's feasible to get one installed in this flat. (The problem I foresee is that they have to be load bearing, so they need to be screwed or bolted to ceiling joists. Which is way beyond my handyman pay grade (which is actually very low).)

[andrewducker]

Those look gorgeous!

And sadly massively outside of my price range. The whole kitchen is going to cost about £3.5k, spending a third of that just on the washing machine isn't really feasible.

But I shall remember the make for when we've moved somewhere nicer and are redoing things in style. If I was planning on owning a washing machine for 15 years then they look like something worth having.