the "Here & Now" power consumption audit

mike65

I dunno if the mods might like to sticky this but I thought it could be illuminuting if posters just wrote down the list of items that consume electrical power right now.

Me at home

PC 350w
LCD screen 15w
Clock radio 5w
Low energy bulb 11w
Fridge 70w approx
NTL digibox stand-by 5w

Thats it I think.

Mike.

barrett1965

I'm not sure what I consume at home but here are some steps I have taken to conserve electricity:

Replaced all bulbs throughout the house with CFL's ( I've actually seen a reduction in my ESB bill)

Replaced old desktop PC with a new laptop.

I use my mobile to wake up instead of plugged-in clock radio.

Considering getting rid of dishwasher. (I'm finding this rather difficult)

I plan to get a LCD TV at christmas to replace my CRT.

I walk to shops etc when I can.



I'm not sure if I have gone OT a bit, but I thought it might be relevant.

Nukem

Have a very good standby calculator in work that il post when i can.
You enter all the things you have in your house and it tells you how much energy you use just on standby.

CJhaughey

I got a meter from lidls a few years ago, it plugs in to the wall socket and whatever appliance you use plugs into it.
it looks just like a timer.
The meter can give you instantaneous consumption in watts, the voltage and there is another feature that allows you to enter the price of a unit and it will calculate the cost of running the appliance for a given time.
I find it interesting and useful to see exactly what is using the most juice.

jimogr

CJhaughey wrote:

I got a meter from lidls a few years ago, it plugs in to the wall socket and whatever appliance you use plugs into it.
it looks just like a timer.
The meter can give you instantaneous consumption in watts, the voltage and there is another feature that allows you to enter the price of a unit and it will calculate the cost of running the appliance for a given time.
I find it interesting and useful to see exactly what is using the most juice.

Anyone know where I could pick up a reasonable priced of those?

Del2005

jimogr wrote:

Anyone know where I could pick up a reasonable priced of those?

B&Q for ~EUR40, seen them in the Belgarde store on Friday. Don't know if it's cheap or dear.

silverharp

As an aside I think the ESB has to think about variable pricing, starting off maybe with peak prices in the morning and early evening to encourage people to adjust usage patterns and when people get used to it live hourly rates especially if wind power is to be made more useful, also people ought to be able to get a readout of power and price.

po0k

Get a clamp meter.
Goes around the flex, measures power rating.
Quicker to use, don't have to power things on and off.

prospect

Was thinking about this when lying in bed last night, it occured to me that at nighttime we have the following using power:

1. Fridge in Kitchen
2. Microwave - It is installed ina cabinet and there is no easy access to the plug.
3. Oven - Must get into the habit of knocking off the isolation switch
4. Freezer - Soon to be two freezers...
5. Fridge in bar
6. TV in master bedroom is on standby - it is mounted high on the wall and difficult to reach
7. Overhead projector clock
8. Alarm
9. 4x hard wired smoke detectors
10. 4x outdoor motion sensors - I presume these constantly use some power?
11. Baby monitors

Flipping heck, now i feel bad

kerrymaninld

Things you may have forgot:-

- Doorbell
- Circulating pump(s) in your heating system