Does plugging in at home use a lot of leccy? (1 Viewer)

[lindyloot]

Hi all, we recieved a very high electric bill for the last quarter. I have contacted the Electric board and have read the meter every day for over a week as requested. We have a hot tub which we had filled up heated and ran over the new year up untill this bill arrived. This we switched of and only used items as normal. The reading was back to the average all the other quarters had been. This morning Rich went to plug in the MH to make sure all was topped up and he noticed the meter was flashing very fast. He know tells me in the period that the high bill relates to he had the MH plugged in for three weeks. This has got him thinking. :thumb: We were blaming the hot tub as it has been a very cold winter but since we've had it our electric bills have not been very different to before we had it. He has come to the conclusion that charging the MH is the culpritt I have taken a meter reading and Rich has now plugged in the MH and we will take another reading same time tomorrow to see if this is so. Has anyone had this problem?
Lin

 

[Terry]

Hi Lin unless you had heating on in the van I suspect the only thing on would be a battery charger costing very little to run Better blame the hot tub which WILL cost a small fortune to run
terry

 

[alf]

Home electric hookup.

Hi Lin
have you left your water heater turned on ?? easy done by accident I have done this myself.
Other than that the electricity used would be very small

Regards Alf

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[purdo4]

Home Electric Hook-up

Hi Lin, we use our electric hook up and have not found any high surge in our bills.My
friend bought herself a hot tub and her electric bills went up to £700 a quarter,she used it in the winter and suddenly it is no longer used,i can understand why.They eat money.

Forget the Hot Tub, unless you have a problem with your meter,monitor it, and if so get it checked out with your supplier.

Cheers,
Mo

 

[pappajohn]

this was taken from a website called poolboy.co.uk

A high-energy efficiency tub like the Beachcomber and those using full (not part) foam insulation will typically cost, in a domestic family situation, about £15 - £18 per month in electricity.

note the bit about insulation.......

without it you could be paying a fortune for leccy.......
invite your mates and share a bath instead

 

[lindyloot]

Hi pappajohn, yes we have an insulated tub ( when we switch it off it takes over 3 days to go cold)and we had worked it out when we first had it that it would cost us about £20 a quarter to run, which it has since 2004. Last year we emptied it in the autum and refilled it 3 days before new years eve, so it had to heat up from cold and keep it at temp 37 degrees from then .Then we recieve a bill for £525 , 100% more than normal. We switched it off when this bill came in and have monitored the leccy for a week, average consumption per day 22 kw. When Rich plugged th MH in today the flashing light on the meter was blinking very fast, same as when the tub was on. :Wacko:
Lin

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[pappajohn]

the only things in the van that would use a lot are the waterheater, actual room heater or aircon.

if its aircon you will hear it.
the other two you wont.

your bill wasnt estimated was it ?

we just got an estimated one for £532........£145 over-estimated....but thats Npower for you:Angry:

one other point.....

you drained and refilled .....it will take a long time to get the water to 37deg form cold and the cold air will make it take even longer.
the heater will be running ALL the time until it get there then it will only come on when the temp falls slightly.
if you have a ,say, 3kw heater running constantly for ,say, 3 days it will cost around £32. the heater will run longer in winter to keep 37deg so will cost more.

 

[scotjimland]

Hi Lin

Are you allowing for the high cost of leccy these days .. average about 15p per kw .. ?

Another idea is to fit an Owl wireless power monitor, then you can see exactly what each appliance uses including the van .. at around £35 a good investment,

We fitted one in the RV for different reasons but now on metered leccy it makes us very aware just how much everything costs to run..

 

[pappajohn]

Hi Lin

Are you allowing for the high cost of leccy these days .. average about 15p per kw .. ?

Another idea is to fit an Owl wireless power monitor, then you can see exactly what each appliance uses including the van .. at around £35 a good investment,

We fitted one in the RV for different reasons but now on metered leccy it makes us very aware just how much everything costs to run..

i agree with Jim.......scariest bit of technology iv ever bought.

you dont realise how much you do use until you get one.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[wasp]

When I park my MH up on the drive it is permanetly plugged in it charges the battery and keeps fridge cold it doesn`t cost much in the way of electric but in winter I leave the heater on to keep it nicely aired that whacks up the bill by about £50 for the quarter I think its worth it cos then if I go anywhere in the van its already warmed up Its your choice really

 

[lindyloot]

Hi ScotlandJim, When we had the bill in I went back over the last year and worked out the costings.We are on Economy 7 and with Southern Electric. We have had 2 price rises in that time, working out about 50% rise which would on our usual bills would have added £125 . This bill was 100% or £250 more.
We have taken a reading today, before plugging in the MH and will read again tomorrow.
the tub at prersent is off we will do the same to that when we turn it back on

Jan - March o8 price day 10.55 night 4.24
March - June 08 price day went up on 1 April 12.49 night 5.10
June - Sept 08 went up on 25 Aug day 15.21 night 6.57
Sept -Dec 08 day 15.21 night 6,57
Winter bill last year 202 .38, this year 527.56, we always read meter when bill arrives and send it in so we have a clear account.
Lin

 

[lindyloot]

Does plugging in at home use a lot of leccy? update

Took reading today 24 hrs after plugging in MH 23 units, which is arounfd our average. Have come to the conclusion it is a combination of the hot tub and the exceptionally cold weather for that quarter. Will do another reading when we heat up the tub.
Lin

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[The Wallace]

Lin, can you fill your hot tub from your domestic hot water supply? (even if it means a temp lash up hose arrangement)
This will almost certainly be cheaper than bringing cold water up to temp using the Hot Tub heater - especially if you are already heating water in a gas boiler. I am not sure the heaters in hot tubs are very efficient.
It is a few years since I was involved in swimming pool design but the company I did contract work for always tried to first fill tubs with ready heated water.
Regards.

 

[Braunston]

Hi,

Is the fridge on in your motorhome, only some of the evaporation type units can consume a substantial amount more electricity than the normal domestic compressor type units that you have in your home.

I'm not sure this by itself would make the sorts of differences you are reporting but if there is nothing in the fridge then there is no real reason to leave it running until just before you are ready to use it.

hope that helps

Braunston

On the subject of Hot Tubs, do you get much use out of it as i have been looking at getting one, but i am concerned that it will not get much use.

 

[lindyloot]

The Wallace, thanks for info, Hadn't thought about doing that.

Braunston, no appliances are on in the MH. The first year we had it we were init all the time. Over the last 18 months we have had building work going on and our back garden has had to act as storage , hardly used.
Lin

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[The Wallace]

Over the last 18 months we have had building work going on

Do your builders have a comfy 'howf' such as a shed you let them use?
Check if there is a 3 bar fire on in there 24/7 (I don't know why I use that terrible abbreviation!!)

Our van is on hook up all the time with fridge, 800watt heater, battery charger and the gas boiler all running. (This avoids condensation or frost damage and means the van is 10 mins away from just going away or being used as a spare bedroom.)

So far in 3 years we haven't noticed any larger than normal (compared to before van ) bills other than that caused by the greed of the power companies shareholders.

 

[Terry]

Hi The Wallace,you either very rich or have money to burn :thumb:
terry

 

[dazzer]

Our hot tub costs us around £15-20 per WEEK to heat.

Needless to say its now unplugged and empty which is the way it stays for 11 months of the year (just fill it up and use it over Chrimbo). Biggest waste of money ever oh:

Anyone want to buy a hottub???

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Stephen & Jeannie]

Our hot tub costs us around £15-20 per WEEK to heat.

Needless to say its now unplugged and empty which is the way it stays for 11 months of the year (just fill it up and use it over Chrimbo). Biggest waste of money ever oh:

Anyone want to buy a hottub???

How much does it cost to fuel up your 5.4 litre supercharged V8 baby per week ????

 

[madbluemad]

Hi
Get yourselves to the nearest council swimming pool for your hot tub and plug in to the nearest lamp post for your leccy.

Jim
:thumb: