Energy Prices

DavecUK I switch the boilers off and wrap a tea towel on the group when I switch the machine off during the day, so that when I turn the machine on again it warms up a bit faster - the boilers themselves only take 7 minutes to warm up from 25 degrees, so I turn them on later.

I’ve been thinking that - unless I’m experimenting with different brewing temperatures - I’d like something a bit more permanent and insulating than a tea towel - a wood box or a 3-d plastic shell? If others are interested, maybe we can make a small lot.

(BTW - double the temp, 16 times the heat loss according to Stefan-Boltzmann)

I’d like to know who they surveyed for this average/typical household usage figure of 2900kw for electricity.

It works out at less than 8kw a day which is very low for a family let a lone, in my case, 2 adults.

Rough estimates;
Kettle, boiled 6 times for 3 mins, about 0.5kw
Oven/cooking for 30 mins, 0.5 - 1kw
Background usage (tv’s, wifi, smart stuff, fridges, gas heating/pumps) @200-300w, 4-6kw ish, can vary vastly for some, mine is about 4.5kw a day
Washing machine, if new, 0.5-0.7kw, if old, 1-1.5+kw on a standard/eco cycle.
Dishwasher, 0.5-1+kw
Lighting, not much if you’ve new LEDs. If not, 0.3-0.6kw during winter
Espresso, don’t think about it, just enjoy it.

It’s going to be tough for some people to keep it low over the winter, especially if they have ANY electrical heating

Electricity is confusing to the vast majority of people which is why the average cost thing is used. I also find it annoying because I know my annual usage, I know current draw of appliances etc. Tell me unit cost and I can work it out cost of usage for myself.

But many people get confused. See the two posts above this referring to kW but meaning kWh. I’m sure both know the difference but still got confused by terminology. The average person won’t know the difference and many aren’t inclined to learn. It’s those people that the average annual cost descriptor is meant to help.

Never underestimate the capacity for people to misunderstand - plenty still think that what they are being told is that annual fuel bills for all are capped at £2.5k. It’s easy to say that it could be explained more clearly but the evidence exists for me to believe that matter how well explained this is many people all still misunderstand. I’d still like to see the proposed unit costs though.

DavecUK if it will go that low

PID range 80 - 130 for all 3… so no go, unless I start fiddling around with the firmware (which may be encrypted in some way) 😁

It would be interesting to see what the empirical (as opposed to Stefan-Boltzmann theoretical) law is at “coffee making” temperatures. Is the ~square valid through the 85 - 95 °C range, as far as you know.

MediumRoastSteam Particularly when one is looking at four distinct components that make up the total… My electricity consumption is about average, but we have a large, old house and spend a lot more on heating, even though winter temperatures are kept low (18 - 20 °C). The impact of standing charges increases is small on my gas bill, but it can be quite considerable on my electricity cost (and so on).

Political obfuscation. When there was the will to make things clearer (e.g. the obligation to quote APR/AER rates), people quickly learned what to compare… they’d do the same if provided unit rates and daily standing charges caps rather than a meaningless “average bill”.

We have a two bed roomed bungalow. The boiler was replaced 15 months ago. It is well insulated. This year to date is 2281.02 kWh and 9521.59 for gas. Hard to see how we could stay within the figures published yesterday really. Am on a very good fix till next September but I too await with interest the actual cost figures

Gagaryn

Guilty as charged! I’m better than that, I’m blaming the callout I received at 1450 on a Friday, 10 minutes before I’d usually finish!

My usage is much higher than the average; 3700kWh in 12 months (Sep 2021-Aug 2022) for electric and 7200kWh for the same time with gas. Gas usage is low because we have a wood burner which does the bulk of the heating in the evenings and our hot water use is low, only ever showering although this will sometimes be twice a day for 2 people.

Our problems are we both get through a lot of training kit with running 6 times a week, and that needs to be washed regularly unless we want it to become a smelly problem. Also, because of all the running we eat a lot! The oven and hob are usually required for most meals and they take 30+ minutes. I’m hoping the PV will help but we are also lucky with the cheap tariff until September 2024.

I’m sure the unit/average/standing charge cost confusion is to baffle customers. Supermarkets do it with produce too. If you want to compare prices of tea bags, some will be shown on the label per bag, others per 100g, others per KG. It seems “accept it and move on” is the only way of staying sane…

Inspector How new are the windows and has the loft been done recently/ is it converted? Age is one thing but mid-terrace has decent advantages.

We live in a drafty 1930s 3bed semi that needs new windows (uPVC but 20yrs old) and work done to the roof (200mm insulation though).

YTD usage according to Octopus = E-2598.79kWh G-9742.07kWh

Two adults, two young children. We overuse the tumble dryer, but other than that try to limit use where we can.

figures coming out while better than worse, it means the average house will still be paying double what they were last year, when you think petrol has had a 40% increase, as well as every other bill in the house, were still goosed

Fuel seems to be starting to come down, once there is found a way to stop the profiteering on the forecourt retailers. Mortgages, despite protestations are not expensive, if you can remember the days when they really were. What has happened is the total irresponsibility of the millenials who despite being told, had no experience of life when interest rates were high and so could not actually imagine the effects of their reckless spending and borrowing habits fuelled by very low interest rates