9 replies to this topic

[westhuller]

I have just ordered a smartpower electricity monitor from my provider Npower. As I understand they help you keep track of your energy consumption and how much it costs.
Has anyone got one and have they benifited in lowering there bills from using it?

[Tiny Tim]

I have just ordered a smartpower electricity monitor from my provider Npower. As I understand they help you keep track of your energy consumption and how much it costs.
Has anyone got one and have they benifited in lowering there bills from using it?

I got one from EON a while ago, it died after a few weeks but while it was working it was quite interesting to see power usage going up and down.

[Haloman]

They tend to tell you what you already know.

Green = we've got nothing much on, a couple of bulbs and the TV.

Amber = something in the kitchen is on - yes I know we've got the oven on, cooking the dinner.

Red = quite a few things in the kitchen are on - yes, I know I can hear the dishwasher and the washing machine.

Thing is, there's not really much you can do about it when it is showing red because the appliances are working. Other than not using them, which you already know. Though I suppose it might alert you if you've left an electric hob or an immersion heater on by accident. Neither of which really applies.

So in some repects, it's just another power burning appliance which common sense makes redundant.

[westhuller]

You are right, I suppose I will running upstairs and turning off everything the kids leave on standby. I just hope my hi fi amp isn't the worst culprit.

[WearyRhino]

Energy Monitor?!? That's me in our house!! "Turn that bloody light off!"

[Steve May]

They tend to tell you what you already know.

Green = we've got nothing much on, a couple of bulbs and the TV.

Amber = something in the kitchen is on - yes I know we've got the oven on, cooking the dinner.

Red = quite a few things in the kitchen are on - yes, I know I can hear the dishwasher and the washing machine.

Thing is, there's not really much you can do about it when it is showing red because the appliances are working. Other than not using them, which you already know. Though I suppose it might alert you if you've left an electric hob or an immersion heater on by accident. Neither of which really applies.

So in some repects, it's just another power burning appliance which common sense makes redundant.

Common sense does make it redundant, but common sense has a habit of lying dormant when you get lazy.

We found ours helpful as a way of motivating us to finally get round to putting in low energy light bulbs instead of the spot lights we inherited when we bought the house and that's taken out a couple of hundred watts just by itself.

It also make you think twice about putting on the tumble drier and that sort of stuff.

With a new baby in the house we spend a lot more on energy now than we did before so it's difficult to have a comparison, but I think it's helped.

[Millman]

Common sense does make it redundant, but common sense has a habit of lying dormant when you get lazy.

We found ours helpful as a way of motivating us to finally get round to putting in low energy light bulbs instead of the spot lights we inherited when we bought the house and that's taken out a couple of hundred watts just by itself.

It also make you think twice about putting on the tumble drier and that sort of stuff.

With a new baby in the house we spend a lot more on energy now than we did before so it's difficult to have a comparison, but I think it's helped.

You're a moron May. A lazy moron.

[Bob8]

You're a moron May. A lazy moron.

That's not fair! He is not lazy

[Steve May]

That's not fair! He is not lazy

Oh yes I am.

Easily my biggest character flaw is laziness. Even bigger than me being a ****.

[Haloman]

I have a problem with low energy light bulbs, in that they're a bit ######.

They are wonderful, for having in a lamp which is on when sat in front of the tv and really it's only there to stop you from falling over the furniture when you want to get another beer or a glass of wine. This is how I use my low energy ones and they get the most use when the house is occupied.

Yes, I know the more modern ones are better, but I've now got enough new ones in my cupboard, distributed free from various places, that I doubt if I can ever use them all in my lifetime, given their advertised 4 years or more lifespan. I'm certainly not going down the road of throwing them away to buy the latest model, as that is the path to environmental madness just like the scrappage scheme was.

When I actually want to see what I'm doing, when cooking or preparing food, writing, reading, sorting paperwork, repairing something or stripping something down, I actually want enough light directed directly on the subject that I can see what I'm doing. Which is why I have halogen spots in my kitchen, above my desk and in the bathroom. I even have them on dimmers, so I can drop them down to use less power, when I don’t need it. I know there are like for like LED replacements, but they seem a pretty poor replacement option at present. Just not good enough yet, with a horrible harsh blue tinged light which just doesn’t seem to illuminate things properly.

So, yes, I like to use low energy bulbs, in their place they make perfect economic and environmental sense. But I also want the option not to use them too and it pisses me off to have that choice taken away. There are times and places and I wish legislators would treat us like grown up’s enough to make the correct choice for the situation. Why is that too much to ask?