electricity consumption help

[lilly123]

i am not sure if anybody will be able to help me or not, i currently have very high electricity bills, i burn between 30-48 units a day, i do not have any boilers or heaters, my heating and hot water comes from a communion boiler so therefor these are included in with my weekly rent, i have looked at my electric meter wheel and it seems to be slow one minute then it begins to spin very fast, i have looked at the wheel with exactly the same appliances on when this happens, i rang my energy supplier and was told (which i believe is untrue) that even if i turn off all the power by the main switch that the wheel would still spin for around 2 hours,i did try this and of course the wheel stopped, i need help in finding out if something in my property is pushing out a surge to warrant my high electricity consumption, , i have sat today taking readings and it just does not ring true that one second the reading is 1.22kw then this jumps to 3.88, i have all different readings throughout the day with the same appliances on, no more no less, the highest was 4.88. upon writing this i have used 61 units in 24 hours, i also do not have any old appliances, i do not run a buisness, i live in a a 3 bed house with just myself and my 26 yr old daughter.
would be greatful for any advice
thanks in advance

 

[Marvo]

I wouldn't worry about technical stuff like surges to be honest and just for the record, a meter won't keep spinning once the power is switched off. When appliances are switched on their energy consumption isn't necessarily constant, some of them have internal thermostats or timers so when a fridge is switched on for example sometimes when you look at your meter it will be running quicker because the compressor is running, later when it's cold enough inside the compressor stops running so the meter would slow down.

I might suggest that you get someone qualified to check out your installation and maybe test the accuracy of your meter. They could also establish whether there's any circuits in you house that are causing you to pay for electricity that's being used elsewhere such as communal areas if it's a flat or even a neighbouring property. It should be possible to do this in less than an hour so the cost would be low.

 

[tbs1983]

As above, get someone in who can test for you, does sound as though you have some kind of problem somewhere.

 

[monkeyelectric]

Thats a huge amount of electricity to use in 24 hours, what is your exact location? There will probably be someone on here that can help

 

[Octopus]

Buy and install an Owl meter. You can then see the consumption and can find out what is using the power, by switching items on and off.

Also if you can turn off the main switch on the fuseboard for a while too. Comsumption of that rate suggests a kettle, heater, immersion or cooker.

 

[monkeyelectric]

Or does your daughter have an electric heater on somewhere that she's not told you about

 

[lilly123]

Thanks for all advice, i do have efergy meter and no not heaters, woke at 6.30 this morning my display on efergy meter was reading 2.66 kw, no lights on, may be thinking im connected to street lighting lol, sat and watched efergy meter, which jumped from1.12kw to 3.65kw, this was for just over 1 minute, i have kept a log yesterday 8 hour log, with same appliances on, and got varies readings,some very high some low, im based in london, no house share or flats, my energy company are going to send someone to check my electric meter, this will be in 3 weeks time, so if i was to call an independent electrician in do i ask them to do a loop test? Thanks, have a electricfying day
Lilly

 

[Marvo]

Sorry about the delay in your posts appearing on the board, for some reason they keep ending up in the moderation queue.

Any qualified and experienced electrician should be easily able to find out where the mystery kilowatts are going.

 

[chrish_1977]

Economy 7 perhaps? Need a professional to take a look

 

[Rampantchilli]

YOUR METER SHOULD STOP WHEN YOU SWITCH OFF ALL YOUR ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION, you are charged on that movement. when the 'man from the company' comes out make sure he does a fixed load test, ie boils your kettle, this will indicate if its reading correctly under load, then get him to a NO LOAD check, ie with your power off, you should not use a fraction of a unit, he should apply a clamp meter to your phase conductor to measure current used. if he finds anything wrong with your meter and changes it, make sure you get in writing from him exactly whats wrong, and the details of your 'old' meter including the serial number, so that your compensation can be worked out fairly.
what ever happens get your wiring checked, more than likely its due anyway.
if there is an unresolved issue with your electricity supply, dont change supplier until its sorted, and contact OFGEM if you feel you are being fobbed off, they can bring a lot of pressure to bare and tend to speed things up, they can also dictate to your supplier how much they owe you

 

[lilly123]

Economy 7 perhaps? Need a professional to take a look

hi i am on this Tariff: Energy Assist Standard Elec, i am still trying to find someone professional to take a look, as soon as i find someone and find the outcome i shall post back, thank you for advice that has been given so far x

 

[Octopus]

A couple of years back my father in law decided to change suppliers, so he duely rang the supplier up, they asked for a reading and it transpired that their meter had only registered 2 units in 12 months!

Back to the OP - do you keep your older bills? This could be useful when comparing quarter on quarter.

 

[lilly123]

thank you rampantchilli x will do that x

 

[lilly123]

i do have my older bills, i shall keep with this supplier until i have a full professional reports x

 

[trev]

How long has this been going on?
(I'm not referring to the song here Geordie )

 

[lilly123]

hi, i have been compalining to my supplier now for about 2 years or more x

 

[trev]

2 years and they've done nothing? Get on to OFGEM, screw your supplier they've had their chances and by the sound of it are messing you around.

 

[lilly123]

really, i shall ring them tomorrow and have a word with them thanks x

 

[Marvo]

I agree, if they've given you the runaround for that length of time I'd escalate it or I'd hand it to my lawyer to deal with them.

 

[IanFletcher]

I would certainly get your meter changed immediately if its one of the old 'rotating disk' type, Are you sure your not looking at the small tenths wheel?. I recently got one of those little electric metering devices that are designed to scare you to death, and the first thing i noticed was how my electric fluctuated quitye a lot. With fridges, lights, standby's, and surprisingly, the enourmaous PS in my computer, the readings are all over the place. For my peace of mind i turned evrery swith off in the house. (youd be surprised at what is easy to miss in a house these days) Then i got a pen and paper and worked out what every appliance used individually. Thats when i was amazed how much my computer and assorted peripherals used. At least the, you will ahvean idea of whats going on. Good luck

 

[BrianDB9]

You can do you own test with a known load eg 2kw electric heater should use 2 units of electricity in 1 hour , if your using 30 kw a day its more than a kilo watt per hour , i'm just reading my annual statement for a 3 bed semi its 11 kwh per day,with Gas fired space and water heating .

I did come across a job recently where the property had a dryer cabinet with an electric heater in the bottom and left it on 24/7 for 2 years because the switch wasn't identified it ran up £600 debt !

Make sure you know what all switches are for and if you can't identify them - switch them off one at a time until it becomes obvious what they are for. (check for critical equipment like freezer as you go )

Be careful with on neon indicators - just because the aren't lit doesnt mean the switch isnt in the on position the neon can fail.

If your on communal heating and hot water have you got your own "back up" immersion heater ? switch it off or it will heat the water in the cylinder and will cycle on and off as you draw hot water off thereby cooling any cylinder of stored hot water.

 

[trev]

I agree, if they've given you the runaround for that length of time I'd escalate it or I'd hand it to my lawyer to deal with them.

OFGEM won't charge her though, and they have sharp pointy teeth.

 

[lilly123]

i am not sure if i posted this already, this morning i woke, never put on any lights, checked my efergy meter with a light from my lighter and it was reading 264kw, then after 10 minutes it dropped to 168 x so do not know how long it was showing 264 x

 

[BrianDB9]

If it read 264 i'd be out of there - the heat from that the place would be on fire ! kettle = 2kw ? so 132 kettles ? suspect efergy meter is faulty ? or decimal point in wrong place maybe 2.64 ? Immersion heater is 3 kw

 

[lilly123]

thanks, there is no back up what so ever, if the heating and hot water supply goes off we have to wait for them( council) to fix the problem, there is no storage heaters, no boilers no dryer cabinet, i did switch off my main supply via the main switch therefor nothing was working, i then put 1 switch on at a time in the main box then i plugged in 1 appliance (on) at a time to try and distinguish if it could be any of my appliances, this was not the case, also i do not have any old appliances, thank you for your advice x

 

[trev]

Let us know how this pans out please

 

[lilly123]

i sure will do i have had such good advice from all of you, which i thank you all, xx as soon as i have anything to report i shall do so xx

 

[trev]

Same applies if you need any more info Lilly

 

[BrianDB9]

I work for a social housing (council) we have our own energy advisers and like me electrical surveyors who would come out free , i suggest you contact your housing provider and escalate to councillor if they ignore you, the electricity meter is a contract between you and your supplier but you may well find your landlord will fight your corner - we certainly would i have regular battles with the suppliers re incorrectly wired supplies etc. You could also request your supplier installs a "check meter" ( or get council to do ) so you have two meters working at same time that way you could determine if there was a fault on the meter and then claim back the same proportion of what you have paid.

 

[trev]

The thing is Brian, this has been going on for two years and the supplier have, from what I've made out from this, fobbed her off. Time to escalate I'd say

 

[Marvo]

From what I've seen of Lilly's posts she's probably far too nice and polite when she deals with her supplier and the low-life's have just given her the runaround. The supplier will have a record of all the correspondence as well as their steps (or lack of) to resolve so they're unlikely to change they're tactics unless she gets more proactive with them.

I would also suggest Trev is on the right track with some kind of official complaint to a third party with 'sharp pointy teeth'.

 

[BrianDB9]

I agree Ofgem would probably make the supplier go and investigate the meter but if the efergy meter is showing unexpected load as well it does sound like a load does exist from somewhere and is worth checking out - its the councils installation so they are responsible for its safety. It costs nothing to call them.

Probably clutching at straws but if its an upstairs flat - does it have PIV (Positive Input Ventilation) some units have a 500 Watt heater that kicks in when the loft falls below 10 C they cycle on and off. They have a "heater enable" switch that can be switched off.

 

[Octopus]

Write to the Chief Executive.

Too often people complian by phone but that's not good enough. DO IT IN WRITING.

 

[Geordie Spark]

2 years and they've done nothing? Get on to OFGEM, screw your supplier they've had their chances and by the sound of it are messing you around.

Spoken like a true Geordie.

I'm proud of ye bonny lad.

 

[Geordie Spark]

Write to the Chief Executive.

Too often people complian by phone but that's not good enough. DO IT IN WRITING.

Yes ... I agree with this.

My dear departed Dad always said; "A telephone call isn't worth the paper it's written on".

That advice became my mantra during my 20+ years of being in business and saved me a lot of hassle.

That said, there's nothing wrong with making your telephone call and backing it up in writing later. Something along the lines of:

"Dear xxxx

Further to our telephone conversation of xxxxx, the following is my understanding of what we discussed and agreed upon.

(insert here what was said & agreed - as you see it)

Should your views differ, please contact me - in writing - within the next xxxx days otherwise I shall assume the version of events written here is a true and accurate one.

Yours ....."

Post it Recorded Delivery and ALWAYS keep a copy !!!

 

[Midwest]

No one has climbed into your loft (or meter cupboard) and helping themselves to your electricity!

 

[Octopus]

Yes ... I agree with this.

My dear departed Dad always said; "A telephone call isn't worth the paper it's written on".

That advice became my mantra during my 20+ years of being in business and saved me a lot of hassle.

That said, there's nothing wrong with making your telephone call and backing it up in writing later. Something along the lines of:

"Dear xxxx

Further to our telephone conversation of xxxxx, the following is my understanding of what we discussed and agreed upon.

(insert here what was said & agreed - as you see it)

Should your views differ, please contact me - in writing - within the next xxxx days otherwise I shall assume the version of events written here is a true and accurate one.

Yours ....."

Post it Recorded Delivery and ALWAYS keep a copy !!!

Thats a greatly worded draft letter and should be followed

 

[lilly123]

hi, i am honestly wondering if i am actually connected to the street lighting as i do have 1 street light outside of my house, Midwest, lol i am tempted to turn off my power supply to see if my neighbours lights do go off it will be one week today that i shall have my energy supplier attend to check my meter, then i shall take it from there, i have already said to them that i am going to with hold any payments to them until this situation is resolved or they have at least done their part in helping me find the problem, i understand that it is the councils responsability as well and therefor i shall put aside my rent monies until (if it is not a faulty meter) they resolve this situation, as i can not afford to pay these amounts that i am paying have a good evening and thank you xx

- - - Updated - - -

thanks you for your kind words x

 

[thomas-1981]

I would request a check meter from your supplier as this will confirm if the meter is working correctly. These are usually fitted and left for a month. If the meter turns out to be accurate then get on to the council to inspect the installation.

 

[ayjay]

how much in pounds are your bills?
are the meter tails hot?
i think theres something fishy going on, one street light wont cause this problem
you need an accreditted sparky to checkout the wiring