Energy use....applainces on standby.

Discussion in 'General Chat' started by Heavymental, Jun 24, 2005.

  1. Heavymental

    technobear Ursine Audiophile

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    Last time I looked, a solar electricity installation on the roof would cost £20,000. The solar panels degrade over time and have to be replaced after 20 years, at presumably something approaching another £20,000. So that's £1,000 per year for electricity. I spend about £240 a year on electricity.

    Solar water heating makes more sense as, with minimal maintenance, it should last a lot longer than 20 years. In any case it's a lot cheaper to replace or repair.

    I like the idea of personal wind turbines but these don't give enough power to get you off grid. Also to go off grid you would need an expensive battery system for when the wind isn't blowing. (That applies to solar electric too).
     
    technobear, Jun 26, 2005
    #21
  2. Heavymental

    wolfgang

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    If you open the door to look around to decide on which veg to cook with the pork chops for lunch before closing it back the energy required to boost the temperature back down shoots up to a huge 126W for the next hour. However, it settles back to the idle 12W since. I think what I might do next is defrost the freezer compartment. Then I would have conclusive proof to show the wife whether this is really worth the exercise next time.

    Latest update.
    The thingy say in the last 24 hours the fridge has used 1.76 kWh.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 27, 2005
    wolfgang, Jun 26, 2005
    #22
  3. Heavymental

    lhatkins Dazed and Confused

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    Thanks for that Chris, I wondered how much solar electric would be, really £20k that's a joke.

    Why this the progress of this type of technology so dam slow? Well I probably know the answer to that, but I didn't want to be cynical.

    Solar doesn't seem to have made any real gains in the last 15 years, surely we must have found better conductors, materials etc, or is no one researching it?

    We get plenty of wind in this country, not something we're short on, so a wind turbine would be cool, again if it was economical to do.

    But I guess the utility suppliers don't want us to be self sufficient, they'd prefer us to buy there "dirty" power.

     
    lhatkins, Jun 27, 2005
    #23
  4. Heavymental

    Tenson Moderator

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    Well according to the person I was talking too a personal turbine would not be enough to get us self sufficient, but nearly... we can close 8 outs of 10 power stations. I suppose they would be expensive but the money saved on buying in coal and gas could surely go to people in grants to get their turbines. This is the sort of thing I think politicians should do to get elected! Then why not replace those remaining 2 out of 10 stations with tidal powered ones.
     
    Tenson, Jun 27, 2005
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  5. Heavymental

    thwackless

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    Was that with the oven turned on or off?
     
    thwackless, Jun 28, 2005
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  6. Heavymental

    wolfgang

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    Nothing to do with the oven. Here is the data.

    After 4 days measurement or 97 hours. Total energy used was 7.17kWh that would suggest average of 1.79kWh per day.

    Seems the wattage in use was 11-130W averaging 75W an hour.

    The next appliance to be subjected to this scutiny will be the microwave oven.
     
    wolfgang, Jun 30, 2005
    #26
  7. Heavymental

    thwackless

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    Alright then, what was the ambient temp?

    And what has happened to 'Project Defrost'?


    You see I fear you may be getting ahead of yourself now.
     
    thwackless, Jul 1, 2005
    #27
  8. Heavymental

    domfjbrown live & breathe psy-trance

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    Good work Tones :)

    I admittedly have my amps and CDPs on all the time, but my AV stuff (including telly) is switched off properly when not in use; my VHS machine has a double power down - once means the display is on (8w) double "off" = no display with around 4 watts draw.

    I reckon the clock radio consumes more than that...
     
    domfjbrown, Jul 2, 2005
    #28
  9. Heavymental

    wolfgang

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    Due to great interest in this project here is a progress report.

    Project Defrost Report
    This project attempt to provide an objective measurement to see if the thick layers of ice in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator is worth the effort it would be required to remove then on the frequent basis as demanded by SWMBO.

    The energy consumption of the fridge-freezer was carefully recorded with a Maplin device as described above over 4 day period to even out day to day variation. Then freezer contain need to be pack away and stored safely while the unit was turned off to allow the ice to melt and drain. On this occasion I removed all traces of residual ice in order to provide the most beneficial effect.

    Food returned and powered up again. The first 24 hours energy used was recorded separately in case the unit required more energy to re-cold to the steady state

    Result
    Pre defrosting
    In 97 hours period energy used was 7.17 kWh or 74 W/hour

    After defrosting
    First 25 hours was recorded as 1.9 kWh or 79 W/h
    The next 88.45 hours was 7.14 kWh or 80.7 W/h.

    As you can see clearly there is not beneficial reduction in energy consumption. In fact there appear to be an increased in energy consumption after defrosting. Since food contains were not altered significantly after some thought this could to be due to the fact that the summer weather has changed over the period of the experiment. The background kitchen day time temperature was noted be have risen from 23˚ to 26˚ C pre and post defrosting. Even if there might be a beneficial improvement that was masked this effect was clearly offset by the greater influence of the background kitchen temperature.
     
    wolfgang, Jul 12, 2005
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  10. Heavymental

    rsand I can't feel my toes

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    Wind turbines are very noisey, they are very tall and a bit ugly I wouldnt want one in my garden spoiling the view and keeping me awake with noise.
     
    rsand, Jul 12, 2005
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  11. Heavymental

    domfjbrown live & breathe psy-trance

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    Wind turbines only work when there's wind. How much energy do they put back compared to the energy used in building and installing them???

    Tidal and geothermal appear to be the most renewable potential energy sources I reckon - but both seem to be in their infancy...
     
    domfjbrown, Jul 13, 2005
    #31
  12. Heavymental

    Graham C

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    Graham C, Jul 13, 2005
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  13. Heavymental

    lhatkins Dazed and Confused

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    There is plenty of wind in this country, something we're not short of. Would it not be better if each household generated their own eletricity when they needed it. From what I know about the National Grid, is you can't store engery (as its AC) and so there is some wasteage?
     
    lhatkins, Jul 13, 2005
    #33
  14. Heavymental

    thwackless

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    I believe this is one of the ways hydro-power installations are used. They pump water up to reservoirs at times of excess supply, it helps smooth demand particularly from nuclear power stations.
     
    thwackless, Jul 13, 2005
    #34
  15. Heavymental

    thwackless

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    A masterful piece of work which casts a new light on the shady world of defrosting the fridge!* My shame at doubting your haste as regards the 'Microwave Proposal' leaves me chastened.

    *I have been told that defrosting takes pressure off the motor therefore extending it's life.
     
    thwackless, Jul 13, 2005
    #35
  16. Heavymental

    wolfgang

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    Thanks for you kind comment. Your claim of some indication that defrosting takes pressure off the freezer motor therefore extending its life is very interesting. However, is there any reference that is supported with measurable data to back up this assertion? If none then could you help by suggesting how this could be easily measured? Hmm.....now that has been suggested how could my mind rest until we have an idea how these could be done since surely there must be a way.
     
    wolfgang, Jul 14, 2005
    #36
  17. Heavymental

    Cloth-Ears

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    I leave ALL my appliances on ALL the time as a giant finger up to the fragile Earth. The TV is always on at maximum volume, the cooker boils water pointlessly, the hoover is on in the cupboard and the tumble drier dries nothing most of the day. Its a way of life.
     
    Cloth-Ears, Jul 14, 2005
    #37
  18. Heavymental

    johnhunt recidivist

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    my dishwasher's on 24/7 cleaning snails from the garden
     
    johnhunt, Jul 14, 2005
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  19. Heavymental

    technobear Ursine Audiophile

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    Now we know why you sleep in a basket. You're spending so much money on electricity that you can't afford a bed :lol:
     
    technobear, Jul 14, 2005
    #39
  20. Heavymental

    lhatkins Dazed and Confused

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    anther thing i was thinking about <going to have a lot of time for that now> is why does the uk have such a high voltage 240v, would it not be better to run everything on 12v and just make appliences more efficient to run on that supply? Than surely it would be easier to run off solar and hydro?
     
    lhatkins, Jul 16, 2005
    #40
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