[dangerousdave2]

Re: How efficient is my old freezer or how do I tell?

Thank you again.

The lights in the kitchen are old Thorn T150 i think. The hole in the celing to fit them is large and thus a problem.

I think a mass changing of bulbs is a good idea.

. The answer is almost certainly lots of little things, but the dishwasher is still a main culprit.

Yesterday over 34 units were used.

Figures quoted are generally the use at that instance. E.g. saying the diswasher was using 4.5kw is from an instant read digital meter. So if it had drawn 4.5kw for 30 mins, then 2.25kw/h and hence 2.25 units used. That is my understanding.

All the same, the meter clocked up over 34 units yesterday, over 3 times what it has been / should be.

..

[dangerousdave2]

Re: How efficient is my old freezer or how do I tell?

Thank you all for your input. The freezer is off death row and is having the seal replaced on the lid. It is a bit like a shed and no matter what size it is it will be full!
The spotlight has a 150w bulb in it. I didnt know you could get low energy bulbs for them. I will have a look.

The dishwasher was drawing in excess of 4kw mid cycle so is now in the firing line. I have posted on the dishwasher forum re the possible cause.

The cost of electricity here in Northern Ireland is £0.1718 per unit.
There is little competition.

There are lots of lights and it is an old and dark house. 780w in the kitchen, 150 in the hall and 300w in the sitting room.
An old oil filled radiator was using loads. Old as in 40 years old. So that is being recycled.
The consumption should be down to under 10 units a day. A bit of re education and sorting out the dishwasher will make a big difference. The house used 17 units on a day she was out. The oil filled heater was not on, but the dishwasher was.

I was told that electricity can ‘leak’ from faulty / bad wiring. The dishwasher is not blowing a fuse so maybe there is another problem. I plan to hook it to an extention lead from a ‘good’ socket tomorrow. The house was rewired recently but I have a feeling behind the kitchen units was missed/ignored….

Thank you all again for the input. I will keep you posted.
Dave

[dangerousdave2]

Re: Hotpoint DWF33 drawing 4.5kw at mid cycle

It doesnt trip the fuse, or blow fuses in the plug.
The meter is attached to the mains supply, with a remote digital read out.

It was reading 5.554 kw which is huge. The highest it was before was 3.1 kw with a 30+ year old oil filled radiator on. (That is going to be banished to the recycling centre.)

When I turned the dishwasher off the reading was 0.9.. something!
So, if it was 0.999, say 1 kw, then the dishwasher was drawing 4.554 kw.

I did this three times and each time it went from 0.9.. to 5.554 and back again.

I think 13 amp fuses blow instantly at about 20 amps and at about 15 continuous… but that is just an ill informed memory i have somewhere.

The dishwasher was drawing at least 4.5kw. For how long and why, I dont know.

[dangerousdave2]

Re: How efficient is my old freezer or how do I tell?

Ok. All that makes sense. I have a clamp meter on the main supply, I could try it on the power cord for the freezer.

I think that the mix of 780w in the kitchen, 150w in the hall and 500w on an exterior spotlight tends to push the power up.

It is, I think, a question of is replacing old fittings with new low power fittings worth it in the long run?
Living alone and not using a toaster or kettle, or electric to heat paying over £100 a month seems high. Maybe it isn’t??

[dangerousdave2]

Re: How efficient is my old freezer or how do I tell?

Thank you Bob. I reckoned as much. However, I am trying to identify the reason for the jump in usage of electricity. Is there a way of finding out how efficient it is?

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