Is there any point?

shysal

I heard a different figure, it was £16 per year in total for all household equipment on standby.
I unplugged my TV and digital recorder the other night, next day realizing that of course it didn't record the few daytime and late night series that I enjoy. I do turn off the TV at the set when not watching.

This sounds a more accurate figure to me.
to turn certain things off every night is a headache indeed.

I was getting really worked up about the huge rise in bills until I started noting just how much we were using per day. Yesterday we had one bath (shallow), one shower, I cooked one meal and one light snack, had about 8 cups of tea (family visiting), washed all the dishes by hand, ran 4 loads of laundry on cold, cut the front hedge and the back grass. All that cost a total of £1.25 including standing charges. We are on the cap as our deal finished just before the war started.
Our costs will approximately double next month so say £2.50 per day plus heating over winter.
For us that is fortunately affordable and we will be careful about the heating over the winter. Usually all the rooms are heated but we will reduce that and the temperature.
What I want to convey is that it may not be quite as expensive as most people are fearing so try not to worry too much.

Caleo

I don't know the difference between stand by and off.
Also, why pull plugs out? Is it not as effective to switch off at the wall point?

Standby is when you have some power going into the appliance - a light to show that the TV is ready to be turned on with the remote, or a clock on the microwave, for example. Off is when the switch on the wall is off, and yes, I can't see the point of unplugging as well (although we do unplug most things except the fridge and freezer if we are on holiday).

3 I already turn off all lights when not needed (I have a low power, plug-in night light on the landing)

Good idea. We've got one to use if the DGC stay but it's a good idea to use it all the time as I stubbed my toe really badly a while ago going to the loo in the middle of the night.

I don't know the difference between stand by and off.
Also, why pull plugs out? Is it not as effective to switch off at the wall point?

I know where I'd like to shove Johnson's £20 kettle

Some of the people it will hit hardest are those who have disabilities which mean they cannot not use the washing machine or tumble dryer because of their needs. These people are the kinds of people who will already be most likely to be living in poverty already. People with physical disabilities who find their dishwasher a godsend as it means not having to use up their own energy to wash up. We may as able bodied people be able to make choices for ourselves but lots of other people do not have choice. Even if you use specialist bedding to prtoect having to wash every day you either a) have to pay for disposable mats/products or b) are faced with washing and drying the protection anyway. This is just one example but it is a daily battle for some people to keep on top of washing (I know as, as a carer I have been there) Then add in the fact people who are unwell/disabled generally need to be warm and fed properly too in order to stay well. I was reading an interesting article (though very sad one) which suggests we will see illnesses we haven't seen in a long time because of food and fuel poverty combined. I have googled but can't remember where I read it but lots of articles came up none the less, like this one

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/sep/01/generation-britain-long-term-illness-cold-poor-winter-cost-of-living-crisis

Hmm ... thanks for that Callistemon. I looked at the companion page energysavingtrust.org.uk/hub/quick-tips-to-save-energy/

1 I already turn off my PC and lights. The jury's out on whether turning off standby would save much.
2 All my windows and doors are draught-proofed.
3 I already turn off all lights when not needed (I have a low power, plug-in night light on the landing).
4 I only ever use my washing machine when it's full and use a low temperature setting.
5 I never use the tumble dryer.
6 I only ever spend a few minutes in the shower.
7 I usually have a bath once a week - and if it's only costing me £12 a year, I'll carry on.
8 In summer, I hardly ever cook anything (except eggs) because I eat salads (mainly home grown). In winter, I use the microwave and slow cooker. I can't remember the last time I used the oven. I make coffee in the morning and keep two more cups in a thermos flask and do the same in the afternoon for green tea. If I'm thirsty, I drink water.
9 I wait until my dishwasher is full before turning it on (usually twice a week).
10 I have adequate roof insulation, but I have a strange heating system and have never found a "jacket" to fit my hot water tank. The advantage is that I don't need extra heating upstairs in winter, so the radiators are always switched off - they all have thermostatic valves anyway.

Apart from buying one of Johnson's £20 kettles , I really don't think I can save an additional and significant amount on energy.

Top energy consuming appliances.

energysavingtrust.org.uk/top-five-energy-consuming-home-appliances/

Apparently fridges and freezers use quite a lot of electricity as they are in use all the time.
Washing machines, tumble dryers and dishwashers are top but cold appliances are a close second. That is an average as some people may not use the wet appliances as often of course.

If we need to change an appliance it's worth buying one with the highest efficiency rating.

energysavingtrust.org.uk/advice/home-appliances/#:~:text=Appliances%20are%20tested%20for%20how,%2B%2B%2B%20being%20the%20most%20efficient.

Elegran

We complain about paying a standing charge to energy companies before we even use any power, so why do we hesitate about preventing an appliance from costing us even when it is not being used?

If that £40 a year is correct, that would be £40 less on our total annual bill. If we spent that £40 on remote controls for sockets in inconvenient places ( £31.29 for 5) , it would help us the next year to switch things off with fewer contortions, as well as saving again in the future.

I do turn off my PC when not in use and lights when not needed, but not anything else.

Maybe I should get one of those gadgets to test my appliances, but I'm still not convinced it's worth the faff.

My electricity usage bill is currently just over £10 a week (I guess that will almost double in October. That's dwarfed by standing charge, VAT and my winter gas bill. If I could save 50% of my electricity usage bill, I think it would be worth it.

I think I'll buy some of those remote-control plugs.

I turn off almost everything, but not the microwave as I can't be bothered with the faff of resetting the blinking display just for heating a cup of coffee. I turn off the oven. The washing machine and dishwasher are plugged in behind the appliances but the plugs are wired to another plug above the work surface where it can be accessed. Tumble dryer is in the cellar and is only switched on for occasional use when the washing can't dry either outside in in the conservatory. PC is turned off when not in use.

Wheniwasyourage

Don't think anything will be using power, even if the plug is in the wall, if the switch at the machine and the one at the plug are off, can it,*Callistemon21*? Or am I missing your point (highly likely - brain not in gear today).

If the switch on the plug is on then yes, I believe so.

How many of us turn everything off completely at the socket every time we finish using it even if we don't leave it on standby?

We complain about paying a standing charge to energy companies before we even use any power, so why do we hesitate about preventing an appliance from costing us even when it is not being used?

If that £40 a year is correct, that would be £40 less on our total annual bill. If we spent that £40 on remote controls for sockets in inconvenient places ( £31.29 for 5) , it would help us the next year to switch things off with fewer contortions, as well as saving again in the future.

Don't think anything will be using power, even if the plug is in the wall, if the switch at the machine and the one at the plug are off, can it,*Callistemon21*? Or am I missing your point (highly likely - brain not in gear today).

But it will double the cost of the power it does use. I thought that was the subject of the thread

Me too.

Is it worth leaving them on.
And the fact that electricity can be consumed even if they are just plugged in and not left on standby.

Yes of course it will cost more on standby as the rate goes up!
That’s so obvious it is pointless to even mention it.

My example showed that it costs me 2p a day at my current rate to keep my microwave oven on standby, £7.30 a year.

I hope this information helps kircubbin.

I suppose fridges and freezers probably use the most power but
I wouldn’t want to risk our health switching them off. We had a long power cut , several days, last year and I had to throw everything out. They gave me $200 compensation which was better than a smack in the mouth but didn’t cover it.

I don't know where the stray input came from.

Or something

NotAGran55

Elegran

NotAGran55 Your 27p a Kwh looks like being 52p in the very near future. Prices are set to rise again soon and the price cap to 52p, and that won't last.

Yes I know that!
But what has that got to do do with the point of this thread?

Even if my rate rate rises to a million pounds a kWh ? it won’t change the consumption of any appliance on standby or otherwise.

It will cost more to have appliances on standby, that's the point.

Perhaps a lot of people don't realise just how much it costs to have an appliance on standby.
I didn't. It's obvious that it does if it has a clock like the microwave or oven input something which isn't obiously using electricity like a toaster?

Is it worth turning off the microwave or oven only to have the clock flashing annoyingly every time they're turned on again?
Is it worth turning off the TV and attached boxes each time, risking falling behind it, getting tangled in wires and risk breaking a limb?

We have to make a risk assessment and decide if the amount saved is worth it.

NotAGran55

Elegran

NotAGran55 Your 27p a Kwh looks like being 52p in the very near future. Prices are set to rise again soon and the price cap to 52p, and that won't last.

Yes I know that!
But what has that got to do do with the point of this thread?

Even if my rate rate rises to a million pounds a kWh ? it won’t change the consumption of any appliance on standby or otherwise.

But it will double the cost of the power it does use. I thought that was the subject of the thread.

Martin Lewis on "Energy-saving tips 'n' tricks (and how we've answered 'em)"
www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/energy-saving-myths/

About putting things on standby, he says -
"But there's some debate about how effective this is – the Energy Saving Trust still says you can save about £40 a year by turning off your appliances at the plug, while British Gas says it could be £110 a year, but we reckon this figure is a bit overblown. It's EU law that TVs and other devices made since 2013 can't use more than 0.5 watts in standby mode. To show the scale of it, a TV watched four hours a day and left on standby the rest of the time would cost £1.03 a year.

While the report focused mainly on TVs, it is said that most modern devices consume much less power while on standby than they used to. So while you may not save as much as the Energy Saving Trust says, it can still be worth doing – all devices will still use a small amount of power, and this can add up."
I switch things right off when I can, as it is possible for something to go wrong and overheat, causing a fire. Plus, now we have left the EU, their safety rules may not keep out devices made since 2013 which use more than 0.5 watts in standby mode.

I also noticed someone talking about encouraging us to do things at off peak times to help the energy system. I wonder why they don't do that now. As long as it wasn't too late - I live in a flat and wouldn't want to disturb the neighbours - I would be happy to fit round it now.

Elegran

NotAGran55

NotAGran55

I’ve plugged my microwave oven into my gadget and will report back tomorrow with the standby cost.

The results are in :
12 hours on standby @ 27p per kWh cost 1p overnight last night.
0.0059 kWh.
£7.30 per year.

As the plug is behind it and it involves lifting the oven out of it’s housing to get to it I won’t be bothering to unplug it.

DaisyAnne About twenty years ago we had remote control things that were plugged into an existing socket, then the appliance plugged into them. No replacing existing sockets. They were brilliant - you could switch things on and off at the plug without reaching into awkward spaces behind the furniture, or bending right down to skirting board level. They got a great deal of use for years. Then we lost the controller.

That's what these are Elegran. I will remember to give the controller a home. Then the only problem will be to remember to put it there