Electricity Usage

Hi maumau. If I were you, I’d buy only one Sonoff power measurement meter. One will also have to buy a short electric extension cord (that's another R75), cut it in half, and connect the ends into the Sonoff. Then leave the device on one appliance for a day or two, say your TV. Then move it to your fridge for a day or two. Or a week. Or a month. Me thinks.

To measure the electricity used by your geyser won’t be that easy. You’ll have to get into the roof. One’s stove will also not be easy, that normally hasn’t got an ordinary plug.
 
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beesboertjie said:
Hi maumau. If I were you, I’d buy only one Sonoff power measurement meter. One will also have to buy a short electric extension cord, cut it in half, and connect the ends into the Sonoff. Then leave the device on one appliance for a day or two, say your TV. Then move it to your fridge for a day or two. Or a week. Or a month. Me thinks.

To measure the electricity used by your geaser won’t be that easy. You’ll have to get into the roof. One’s stove will also not be easy, that normally hasn’t got an ordinary plug.
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That makes sense tks beesboertjie.
 
maumau said:
Sorry for stupid question - would you attach one of these to each appliance?
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Hi - exactly what beesboertjie said :)

I just want to see my AV system (processor / power amp / TV / PS4 a few extras) and PC (2 x PCs / monitor / printer / speakers etc) - so I'll be doing the above to try out. I was interested in a deep freeze so thought I'd let it run a few days, but ended up close to a month (I'll finish the month though)
 
isie said:
would love to hook up a gas geyser as a backup to my Solar
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Just remember that gas geysers also require electricity. I think just for the initial spark just like gas stoves. I learnt this the hard way last year in an apartment I was renting. There's no stored warm water in most gas geysers as it heats up the water immediately as it comes through. So whenever the electricity was out, I had ice cold water.
 
At R 230 a throw, that is an expensive detector to install permanently on all appliances. There are other ways to undertake permanent and continuous power measurements.
 
SaiyanZ said:
Just remember that gas geysers also require electricity. I think just for the initial spark just like gas stoves. I learnt this the hard way last year in an apartment I was renting. There's no stored warm water in most gas geysers as it heats up the water immediately as it comes through. So whenever the electricity was out, I had ice cold water.
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Plenty of units that just use Torch batteries for the ignition
 
Geoff.D said:
At R 230 a throw, that is an expensive detector to install permanently on all appliances. There are other ways to undertake permanent and continuous power measurements.
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Hi Geoff D. Long time no see. Welcome back. How?

How on earth can I monitor my power consumption, permanently, for each individual appliance, without such a device as Dolby’s Sonoff or Cius’ Owl.

Last month I used 314,2 kWh. It was cold, and I used my heater quite a bit. How much electricity did my heater consume? How can you tell that without a Power Consumption Meter? Please tell me how.
 
beesboertjie said:
Hi Geoff D. Long time no see. Welcome back. How?

How on earth can I monitor my power consumption, permanently, for each individual appliance, without such a device as Dolby’s Sonoff or Cius’ Owl.

Last month I used 314,2 kWh. It was cold, and I used my heater quite a bit. How much electricity did my heater consume? How can you tell that without a Power Consumption Meter? Please tell me how.
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If you want to tell what an individual appliance uses the device Dolby is talking about is just the thing.

Permanent monitoring of appliances requires a solution where you have a simpler detector system on each circuit feeding into one logging device.
Will see if I still have the info on the ones I investigated a few years back.
 
I'm a late poster to this post, but for what it's worth I have managed to get my elec consumption down to approx. 12 to 15 kWh per day usage.
I have a prepaid elect meter, and I buy elec units for my address in Swellendam, WC, via the Internet (PayCity). If my internet (supplied by Hellcom ISP) is down (which it often is in this town) I go to the local Spar, or Checkers, and buy the units I want, and pay via cash or credit card. I record my pre-paid elec meter reading every day, and keep a spreadsheet of elec usage

There is only myself and my vrou living in our home, but I do have a smallish swimming pool which increases our elec usage in summer when I need to run the pool pump more often.

I converted to a LPG cooker hob years ago. But when we use the oven (my vrou makes the best cheese scones in the world!) obviously the kWh consumption goes up slightly.
 
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atomcrusher said:
I'm a late poster to this post, but for what it's worth I have managed to get my elec consumption down to approx. 12 to 15 kWh per day usage.
I have a prepaid elect meter, and I buy elec units for my address in Swellendam, WC, via the Internet (PayCity). If my internet (supplied by Hellcom ISP) is down (which it often is in this town) I go to the local Spar, or Checkers, and buy the units I want, and pay via cash or credit card

There are only myself and my vrou living in our home, but I do have a smallish swimming pool which increases our elec usage in summer when I need to run the pool pump more often.
I converted to a LPG cooker hob years ago. But when we use the oven (my vrou makes the best cheese scones in the world!) obviously the ......?
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Lost connectivity did you ? heh heh:erm:
 
atomcrusher said:
I'm a late poster to this post, but for what it's worth I have managed to get my elec consumption down to approx. 12 to 15 kWh per day usage.
I have a prepaid elect meter, and I buy elec units for my address in Swellendam, WC, via the Internet (PayCity). If my internet (supplied by Hellcom ISP) is down (which it often is in this town) I go to the local Spar, or Checkers, and buy the units I want, and pay via cash or credit card. I record my pre-paid elec meter reading every day, and keep a spreadsheet of elec usage

There is only myself and my vrou living in our home, but I do have a smallish swimming pool which increases our elec usage in summer when I need to run the pool pump more often.

I converted to a LPG cooker hob years ago. But when we use the oven (my vrou makes the best cheese scones in the world!) obviously the kWh consumption goes up slightly.
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Used to do the same but got gatvol of doing the manual monitoring. Bought an Ellie's efergy unit which has helped me

Now, during day, I know house uses on average 300w per hour when pool pump or geyser is not running. With pool pump on, 1.1kw, and at night when we sleeping , about 420w, which is for all the outside lights.

Changed all my outside lights to 10w LED floodlights . Property is now well lit and using even less electricity.

This week
15e51b0324e4dc53815120be6651bb90.jpg


Today , you can see when I turned on geyser for one hour and then later during day when the pump was on

5ff06aa20cc1b03bc0a1594914ab1f67.jpg


Trying to get usage down to just under 20Kwh a day, so I only need 600kWh a month.

Gonna try using sonoffs to turn off all equipment in lounges , etc when not being used.
 
Geoff.D said:
At R 230 a throw, that is an expensive detector to install permanently on all appliances. There are other ways to undertake permanent and continuous power measurements.
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Agreed.

But it's fantastic as a temporary measure to see what is using. As I say, can clip it to a multiplug and use that in various areas to check them.

But I think the price is because electricity consumption is only a secondary use of it. Remote monitoring, scheduling, control etc is it's actual task. I'm just using it because I have it.
 
I was hoping to get under 400kWh this month, but I'm sitting at 395kWh right now, so I won't make it. However since the start of this thread I'm heading towards half (granted, it was winter with heaters)

Can you guys see your idol consumption, so if you go to work and run the normal stuff with no kettle, lights etc? I seem to be about 0.3 or 0.4
 
SaiyanZ said:
Just remember that gas geysers also require electricity. I think just for the initial spark just like gas stoves. I learnt this the hard way last year in an apartment I was renting. There's no stored warm water in most gas geysers as it heats up the water immediately as it comes through. So whenever the electricity was out, I had ice cold water.
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They usually have a manual override.

For that matter a pair of matches even.
 
SauRoNZA said:
They usually have a manual override.

For that matter a pair of matches even.
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Mine needs power as it has a supercharger.
Smaller ones normally run off batteries though.
 
PrePaid-electricity.png

In August I used 314 kWh, it was cold and I used my heater quite a bit.
In September I used 284 kWh, I did not use the heater as much.
During October I should use less than 300 kWh … its summer now.

Each calendar month, the first 50 kWh costs R0,97 per kWh. Thereafter it's R1,25 per kWh.
You don't want to go over 350 kWh, then it costs you R1,76 per kWh. Stay under 350 kWh.
If one uses more than 600 kWh a month, then it costs R2,08 per kWh. That's far too much.
These are the rates where I stay. Graskop, Thaba Chweu Local Municipality, Mpumalanga.
In Cape Town you might be paying R2,34 per kWh including VAT. In Johannesburg R1,34 per kWh.

Due to illogical restrictions, I'm not allowed to buy 350 kWh for R424,93. I think its silly.
With online banking (EFT) I must select R30 R50 R100 R150 or R300. That’s inexplicable.
I can pay R350 and get 290 kWh. Or pay R380 and get 314 kWh. Or pay R400 and get 330 kWh.
This morning, on the 1st October, I bought R100 and R300 and got 330 kWh. Average R1,21 per kWh.
 
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