Electricity usage seems high

[richjdavies]

Given the conversation has gone this way.

Our experience across hundreds of households at homebug/ ebug.

Big users either:
1. Use lots of hot water (20 mins shower per person every day) -- either actively or wasting (leak, drips, or old outside geyser)
2. Have some kind of heating on (e.g. just leave a fan heater on all day-- "but it's only a small one")
3. Have lots of OLD appliances -- e.g. bar fridge and a chest freezer and the spare fridge (all from the 90s all on 24/7 "just incase", "they don't make them like they used to" is right, they wouldn't be allowed to make such inefficient stuff nowadays!)
4. Also maybe using high energy appliances unusually high amounts (e.g. driers, bad old dishwashers, washing machines at 60deg and long cycle).
5. Possibly, but minor, old (incandescent or halogen spots) and excessive (huge floodlights) lighting
6. Mining rig or other known about side gig (running a hair salon, swimming school, etc)... Huge reverse osmosis and bore hole water say...

Never seen a TV or electronics have any real impact. Chargers or things on standby is an old wives tales at this point.

That being said all of the above also apply to anyone wanting to reduce usage. Even if you only use 400kWh, no excuses to not get it down to 300kWh if you want!

 

[Geoff.D]

Think people thinking about kettles are a bit weird to be honest. Hot water from 20 to 100 degrees uses about 0.02kWh per cup.

So you need to boil 50 cups to use a kWh.

Yup, we find that boiling water in a kettle in the kitchen is better overall, than wasting all the water in a long pipe run from a geyser installed close to the bathrooms.

 

[Geoff.D]

they don't make them like they used to)

They definitely don't make em like they used to!

Try telling my mom her 2nd hand 1948 fridge must go ( GEC imported 2nd hand fridges in bulk after the war from the USA, and converted them to 220 by adding a transformer) is an exercise in futility.

 

[wingnut771]

Yup, we find that boiling water in a kettle in the kitchen is better overall, than wasting all the water in a long pipe run from a geyser installed close to the bathrooms.

I've given up on my dad running the hot water in the kitchen (about 20l) to fill up an icecream tub to defrost the milk. He just gets angry at me. I don't know why, he doesn't pay the bills.

 

[airborne]

I just realised my geyser is fitted outside in the open, that must mean that during winter especially that’ll need a pretty significant amount of extra power to keep the water warm?

Are there any simple ways can I insulate it to bring down the power consumption?

 

[wingnut771]

I just realised my geyser is fitted outside in the open, that must mean that during winter especially that’ll need a pretty significant amount of extra power to keep the water warm?

Are there any simple ways can I insulate it to bring down the power consumption?

The geyser is pretty insulated. Insulate the pipes.

 

[Geoff.D]

I just realised my geyser is fitted outside in the open, that must mean that during winter especially that’ll need a pretty significant amount of extra power to keep the water warm?

Are there any simple ways can I insulate it to bring down the power consumption?

depends on the quality of the geyser and the insulation. If the geyser feels hot to the touch in winter, additional loss is happening which could be reduced with a properly fitting geyser blanket.

 

[wingnut771]

depends on the quality of the geyser and the insulation. If the geyser feels hot to the touch in winter, additional loss is happening which could be reduced with a properly fitting geyser blanket.

I don't think geyser blankets are weather/UV proof and won't last long outdoors.

 

[thehuman]

With a cold geyser you should be able to see how accurate your prepaid meter is , let element run for a hour , see how many units gone
Just watch if thermostat stop heating before hour is complete

 

[one poster]

With a cold geyser you should be able to see how accurate your prepaid meter is , let element run for a hour , see how many units gone
Just watch if thermostat stop heating before hour is complete

did not think of this. Good idea. Will need to know the size of element (1.5/2/3kW etc.) of the geyser though.

If the meter has a blinking LED, or other indication of rate of energy use, a shorter period than an hour would be possible.

That electric kettle could maybe rather be used as it should be easier to have an indication of the size of the load (i.e. check the kettle label vs possibly climbing in the roof to go see if there is maybe a colour visible on the element), and there is no guessing whether the load is on/off.

 

[Speedster]

With a cold geyser you should be able to see how accurate your prepaid meter is , let element run for a hour , see how many units gone
Just watch if thermostat stop heating before hour is complete

Geyser element ratings arent 100% either. My 3kW rated element is closer to about 2.85kW according to the inverter.

 

[Lupus]

A lot of people fill the kettle to the brim for 1 cup.

Still would need to boil it 10 to 20 times to get one unit, depending on the kettle

 

[Lupus]

Yup, we find that boiling water in a kettle in the kitchen is better overall, than wasting all the water in a long pipe run from a geyser installed close to the bathrooms.

I keep telling the lady that Sweep South sends, don't fill the bucket from the hot water tap, boil the kettle and use that, firstly I'm on solar so it's not a problem, secondly when she does use the hot water tap she can use enough to require 8kwh just from the geyser.

 

[wingnut771]

With a cold geyser you should be able to see how accurate your prepaid meter is , let element run for a hour , see how many units gone
Just watch if thermostat stop heating before hour is complete

It will probably take about 2 hours. Make sure temp is set to 55.

 

[wingnut771]

Still would need to boil it 10 to 20 times to get one unit, depending on the kettle

Not the point. Still uses 10 times the energy.

 

[rh1]

I live with a family member in a 2 bed, 2 bath unit.
There is a single geyser, a fridge, a washing machine and dishwasher.
Electronics include a TV, Android TV box, my media server and gaming PC (These two use R250 worth of electricity in a month because I only play Dota).
Stove is gas, we use gas heaters during winter. And oven usage is minimal at best (maybe once a week).

Our electricity bill is R1800pm (We get our electricity through Impact Meters) and we use approx. 650KWh in a month.
This seems a little high to me, but I would like to hear what others are paying for similar situation.
And I would appreciate any recommendations when it comes to reducing this amount.

It is high;

I used before solar approximately 600 kWh units a month.

This include
2/3 Fridges (I stopped using one)
Full Electric Stove/Oven
2x A/C
Pool Pump
Irrigation pump & wellpoint pump & pump for laundry
Desktop PC
3 x Tvs
Yes it was not running 24/7 except geyser and fridges, but I was not exactly shy to use my devices/appliances.

 

[killerbyte]

It is high;

I used before solar approximately 600 kWh units a month.

This include
2/3 Fridges (I stopped using one)
Full Electric Stove/Oven
2x A/C
Pool Pump
Irrigation pump & wellpoint pump & pump for laundry
Desktop PC
3 x Tvs
Yes it was not running 24/7 except geyser and fridges, but I was not exactly shy to use my devices/appliances.

This is what I thought.

Here is a FULL breakdown of what we have running:
10x 3W LED downlights
3x 5W LED spots
3x 10W LED lamps (the ones with batteries in the bulb)
3x 5W LED globes
1x 42-inch TV
1x fridge (two adults so we open it only when we need to and close it quickly)
1x washing machine
1x dishwasher (used twice a week)
1x Android TV box
2x standing fan
1x ceiling fan
1x water feature pump
1x garage motor (gets uses 2-4 times a day)
1x Oven (gets used 1-2 a week)
1x Halogen convection oven (used 2-3 times a week) 1350W
1x Saeco Coffee machine (gets used 5 times a day when I WFH, twice when I work from office) 1800W
1x geyser (not sure on size but its not massive, a long 15min shower will drain it)
1x 1000W microwave
1x media server (i5, no GPU, has a 500W PSU [80Plus Bronze])
1x gaming PC (Ryzen 1700, GTX 1080, has a 1000W PSU [80Plus Plat]) I play Dota on it or just watch series, rarely play anything that requires serious power. I have used a meter on my PCs and monitors and at the time I measured it the monthly cost to run them was R250 (I monitored them for a full month.)


No Aircons, no weekly cake bake, no pool pump, no electric heaters.

 

[richjdavies]

Not the point. Still uses 10 times the energy.

6 times maybe if it's 10, maybe get a smaller kettle!

On the hot water front, basic rules of thumb:

Normal hot (55/60) = 1kWh for 20L (sink full)
Boiling water (90/100) = 1kWh for 10L (50 cups, 9-10 full kettles

Personally never liked plumbers or landlords telling me that a geyser constantly dripping is okay -- to me it indicates a failure of design or maintenance. If my petrol tank kept dripping I'd fix it, same with this.

On geysers outside -- aish -- the standing losses on an outside geyser are basically impossible to predict and very high! Wind is the problem, even if it's not hot to the touch, wind blowing over something makes for huge losses (that's why your CPU has a fan, or why you blow on hot food!). That and getting wet. Get that geyser inside or in a box of some sort...

Both of the above are reasons why switching geysers off can have an impact - less time overheating and doesn't obey the 2 days to cool down rule

 

[richjdavies]

This is what I thought.

Did I miss the bit where you said how many kWh you used?

 

[wingnut771]

6 times maybe if it's 10, maybe get a smaller kettle!

On the hot water front, basic rules of thumb:

Normal hot (55/60) = 1kWh for 20L (sink full)
Boiling water (90/100) = 1kWh for 10L (50 cups, 9-10 full kettles

Personally never liked plumbers or landlords telling me that a geyser constantly dripping is okay -- to me it indicates a failure of design or maintenance. If my petrol tank kept dripping I'd fix it, same with this.

On geysers outside -- aish -- the standing losses on an outside geyser are basically impossible to predict and very high! Wind is the problem, even if it's not hot to the touch, wind blowing over something makes for huge losses (that's why your CPU has a fan, or why you blow on hot food!). That and getting wet. Get that geyser inside or in a box of some sort...

Both of the above are reasons why switching geysers off can have an impact - less time overheating and doesn't obey the 2 days to cool down rule

So a geyser blanket is a good idea then, even though its not outdoor proof, it should still be enough for a few years to isolate it from the wind. When it falls apart, put a new blanket on I guess. They're not expensive.