Before we tune up with my annual round-up of simple and unexpected electricity-saving tricks, I wanted to take a moment to look at the ultimate worry for many customers — disconnection from the supply. Some 256,000 residential electricity customers were in arrears in the three months up to June according to Ireland’s independent energy regulator, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU). That’s one in eight households in Ireland in spring/summer, a worrying trend that must provide intense anxiety for families approaching the darker months. Happily, we will all receive an energy credit totalling €450 over the course of the winter, regardless of the situation or supplier. This will knock your standing charge on the head.
When it comes to saving electricity, the best electricity is the power you don’t use. I know that sounds harsh. Small hits of split kWhs and forgotten periods when something is unnecessarily on or set to standby sneakily tickle up many bills. In these unfathomable market conditions for energy, lack of attention can mount up to an extra three-figure overspending over the year.
You cannot control the kWh prices of a variable price deal, but you have a lot of control behind your own front door. One example? Consider boiling the kettle once and then decanting your second or third cup of hot water into a flask to use later in the morning. That’s two boils of a 2kW device eliminated with a tiny change of habit.
Don’t rely on eliminating standby mode for perceptible savings. Yes, in the past, the vampire setting as it was known, did suck a surprising amount of power through TVs and other electronics. These days, the actual power draw is likely to be a 3W to 5W per hour trace, in the order of €1-€12 per year.
What does that device use in terms of kWh power? For real-time data where you don’t have a smart meter, invest in an energy monitoring device. Simply plug it into a powered mains socket and then plug any 13A-rated appliance through it. Energenie ENER007 Power Meter Socket, €23.95. Interesting fact? Uswitch research has revealed that the average energy spend per household for a dog in the UK is the equivalent of €42 a year through leaving the TV on (42% of those asked), the radio on, lighting, heating, and operating fans when humans are out. Considering the natural needs of a dog, this is unhinged in my view. Episodes of Big Rich Texas and a cool breeze are no substitute for company.
Time-of-use tariffs riding on the back of a smart day/night meter (despite all the coaxing from suppliers) are not for everyone. Life happens. If you know that no matter how much you plead and threaten, your latch-key teenage darlings will come home from GAA heroics in the grip of the peak tariff (5pm-7pm) and will undoubtedly roar up a 9kW electric shower for 15-20 minutes per kid? You’re probably better off with a reasonably priced, flat-rate 24-hour tariff product.
When it comes to electrical heating for both space and water, timers and thermostats are your friends. Every bit of kit in your house has a set of PDF instructions available to download online. It’s a perpetual and wonderful sourcebook to fight your power bleed. The electric radiator, the kilowatt munching dryer you bought six years back — everything.
Timers can be a bog standard, cheap, plug-through timer for a 2kW convention-heater, or a state-of-the-art thermostatic/timer smart control for your oven, lights, central heating system or a single appliance. Timed and thermostatic settings are always worth paying for in space heaters.
Laundry woes are often cited when it comes to high power bills, but there’s a huge opportunity for improvement. First of all, don’t dry clothes on the radiators, indoor racks, or lines or using a modern, fan-operated drying tent, unless you are in a well-ventilated area not prone to dampness or condensation.
Silently accumulating, black mould could make you and your family seriously ill.