Electricity cost - is this normal?!

[Collectors]

I thought the meters logged power used, not voltage or current .... although it should be within a certain voltage range I imagine.

 

Nick

 

Must admit I am not sure how the Lecky board meters calculate this. But if a lot of items are running close to things like cable sizing, then these will also become a resistance in them selves & up the wattage, which would show on the meter. I would assume this will also apply to appliances plugged in when in use.

Hopefully one of the sparks will see this & correct me to how a meter works.

[Roger Gunkel]

Hi, if you voltage is dropping to around the 200volt mark, I would be careful about damaging certain appliance. (Motors are not a lover of this). The other problem with this sort of volt drop is that it will increase the amperage being drawn & presumably increase the cost of your bill being that is is worked out on the amperage being used. IE: the lower the voltage the higher the cost through a bad supply. ????

 

Just a thought.

 

 

Chris.

 

I think we have been lucky so far and our Hotpoint fridge freezer seems to be remakably tolerant to voltage variations. Our lowest ever recorded voltage from our meter was 165 volts one evening in the winter. We have a permanent energy meter connected to read our volts/amps/Kwph etc.

 

One of our neighbours has gone through 2 microwave ovens in 6 months so they must be particularly sensitive to voltage extremes.

 

Roger

[Robbo]

One of our neighbours has gone through 2 microwave ovens in 6 months so they must be particularly sensitive to voltage extremes.

 

Good argument for getting a isolation transformer.

 

Robbo...

[smileypete]

I pay £1.50 for 4.8 units of electricity and our bill for very light usage can top £60/month in winter. The main culprit is the fridge.

Is there enough ventilation round the back of the fridge?

 

A good way to check is get a themometer with a sensor on a lead, push the sensor across the top of the fridge with a long ruler so it falls down the back a bit.

 

Maplins/Ebay are a good place to get them, for about £5-6

 

cheers,

Pete.