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