Energy bill increases

[lazybloke]

In an effort to be able to determine total instantaneous domestic electric consumption, based on my elderly, non-smart meter, I arrived at the following formula:

kW = 18 divided by (no of seconds for the disc thingy to do a complete rotation)

In other exciting developments :
a two smartplugs moved to dishwasher and Freesat receiver circuits (latter showing approx 22W when operating and next to nothing in standby).
b worked out how to get my backup PC to power on/off only when actually backing up, instead of just leaving it running 24/7.

HDMi cables can send useful instructions from TVs to connected appliances. Its called CEC.

Good news: when i switch off my TV, CEC tells my freesat box to switch off too, so energy usage drops right off.

Bad news: the freesat box has two power modes: active and passive. The former means the box effectively ignores cec commands and stays on 24x7; nicely responsive but wastes lots of power. The latter enables power savings but the box takes circa 45 seconds to switch on. Surprisingly annoying!

Set-top boxes shouldn't use much energy, but I definitely don't want it on 24x7. Thankfully there's an adjustable auto shutdown that can be combined with active mode. Will have to measure unit consumption to get the best settings...

 

[cougie uk]

HDMi cables can send useful instructions from TVs to connected appliances. Its called CEC.

Good news: when i switch off my TV, CEC tells my freesat box to switch off too, so energy usage drops right off.

Bad news: the freesat box has two power modes: active and passive. The former means the box effectively ignores cec commands and stays on 24x7; nicely responsive but wastes lots of power. The latter enables power savings but the box takes circa 45 seconds to switch on. Surprisingly annoying!

Set-top boxes shouldn't use much energy, but I definitely don't want it on 24x7. Thankfully there's an adjustable auto shutdown that can be combined with active mode. Will have to measure unit consumption to get the best settings...

I measured my virgin box on standby and it was low. Worth it for the recording of programs.

 

[lazybloke]

I measured my virgin box on standby and it was low. Worth it for the recording of programs.

Just checked the manual - mine is supposed to use only 9 watts when in use - and 1 otherwise. I had an idea it was far higher, so will be doing some power meter measurements once I've finished assessing my freezers.

 

[DaveReading]

Just checked the manual - mine is supposed to use only 9 watts when in use - and 1 otherwise. I had an idea it was far higher, so will be doing some power meter measurements once I've finished assessing my freezers.

I had to explain to my wife that it uses additional power when tuned to, or recording, certain channels including Drama, Dave and Yesterday.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

I logged onto the Octopus website today & it realised I was accessing via a Laptop, it told that it was more than 80% & that I should consider turning the charger off for a while, this got me thinking & I don't know the answer. Does a laptop use more electricity if you keep it fully charged as you use it, or should you let it drain to 30% (arbitrary number) then let it charge back up again, rinse & repeat?

 

[jowwy]

I logged onto the Octopus website today & it realised I was accessing via a Laptop, it told that it was more than 80% & that I should consider turning the charger off for a while, this got me thinking & I don't know the answer. Does a laptop use more electricity if you keep it fully charged as you use it, or should you let it drain to 30% (arbitrary number) then let it charge back up again, rinse & repeat?

Never had that when ive logged in via my laptop….but mine is always 100% charged.

 

[fossyant]

I logged onto the Octopus website today & it realised I was accessing via a Laptop, it told that it was more than 80% & that I should consider turning the charger off for a while, this got me thinking & I don't know the answer. Does a laptop use more electricity if you keep it fully charged as you use it, or should you let it drain to 30% (arbitrary number) then let it charge back up again, rinse & repeat?

If it's charged, the charger will step the power down until it needs to top it up again. There is probably very little difference in running it down, then charging in overall use vs always plugged in. That said, running it down and charging is probably better for the laptop battery long term as that's how they are supposed to be used. Less so if it's a works laptop.

 

[Alex321]

I logged onto the Octopus website today & it realised I was accessing via a Laptop, it told that it was more than 80% & that I should consider turning the charger off for a while, this got me thinking & I don't know the answer. Does a laptop use more electricity if you keep it fully charged as you use it, or should you let it drain to 30% (arbitrary number) then let it charge back up again, rinse & repeat?

Some laptops will normally only charge to a % (my Macbook is 80%), unless you override that when you know you need it full because you are going to be away from the mains for a fair while.

But they will adjust the current being taken accordingly. I know my laptop uses much less power than the desktop does.

 

[fossyant]

Some laptops will normally only charge to a % (my Macbook is 80%), unless you override that when you know you need it full because you are going to be away from the mains for a fair while.

But they will adjust the current being taken accordingly. I know my laptop uses much less power than the desktop does.

Laptop, two screens and a docking station, about 45w. Desktop computer 200w plus, 500w if a gaming machine !

 

[cougie uk]

I logged onto the Octopus website today & it realised I was accessing via a Laptop, it told that it was more than 80% & that I should consider turning the charger off for a while, this got me thinking & I don't know the answer. Does a laptop use more electricity if you keep it fully charged as you use it, or should you let it drain to 30% (arbitrary number) then let it charge back up again, rinse & repeat

Better for the battery health if you only charge to 80%.

I'd not be worrying about energy use though. It's going to be less than an old school lightbulb.

 

[Jody]

I'd not be worrying about energy use though. It's going to be less than an old school lightbulb.

Sounds crazy when you put it that way

 

[cougie uk]

Sounds crazy when you put it that way

I think about 65w when charging and that takes a couple of hours - and gives you multiple times that usage.

Meanwhile that bulb outside that's on from dusk til dawn could be 100w...

 

[fossyant]

Gone are the days when you'd have a 500w spotlight in the garden - Ours are about 10w or 20w maximum now !!

 

[Grant Fondo]

I kept seeing Aramco advertising in F1 and the cricket but had no idea what it was?
The anwer is a Saudi oil and gas company, in fact, the worlds most profitable company, no less! Revenue has doubled in the past year, profits of £250 billion. Surprise surprise.

 

[jowwy]

Just found out the broadband box uses 20w an hour, just to send a bloody internet signal around the house….thats 480wh of electric, so around 18p a day. Sheesh