British Gas Price Rise Hike – Switch Now and Claim Cashback

18. October 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: Energy, House · Tags: , , ,

I guess you’ve all heard the news about British Gas rising their prices up by 9%.  I have been with British Gas for a few years now and swallowed the recent rises, but after the last rise in May and the next rise announced only 5 months later it is time to switch away.  I used the site EnergyLinx to switch to EDF Blue +Price Promise, fixed until March 2015.  Comparing to the current British Gas prices for dual fuel (both electricity and gas) it based on my usage for 2012, it calculates a saving of £140.  Not bad for a few minutes of clicking and entering new direct debit details.  To compound this I used the cash back site www.topcashback.co.uk to claim an extra £33 back for switching.  I have used topcashback.co.uk for numerous purchases in the past with great success to claim a reasonable sum back.  So what are you waiting for – switch and claim cahsback at the same time!

Anything helps to offset the cost of running home servers :/

Green Puzzle Cavity Wall Insulation

02. October 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Energy, House · Tags: ,

Today we had our cavity wall insulation done by Green Puzzle Energy Solutions Limited.  My wife made initial contact with them following discovery we were entitled to a free government grant, and shortly afterwards an inspector came round to check suitability of the property.  We were eligible, and arranged a suitable date one of us would be in (which took some time due to our work commitments), which was today.  The work was scheduled to start from 8-9AM and we were told it would take a few hours.  Sure enough at 8.30AM, 2 workers arrived – Rob and Steve.  Both were friendly and completed the work in good time.  They used wool to fill the cavity, which feels like a dense cotton wool, and is sticky enough that when you drill holes in the wall it won’t all fall out! More »

Power Consumption

02. February 2011 · Write a comment · Categories: Energy, House · Tags: ,

Electricity Bill: British Gas Click Energy 5

First 122 Units @ 22.086p

Following Units @ 10.151p

My “server” (HP DC 7100 – 2 x Sata HDD):

Average Power Consumption: ~80W (~60W when idle, 90W both disks spinning, 80W normal)

Run Time 1764:34 Hours = 73.52 Days

Consumption: 139KWh

Daily Consumption = 139 / 73.52 = 1.89KWh

Monthly Consumption (30 days) = 73.52 / 30 = 2.450666, so 139 / 2.450666 = 56.72KWh

Therefore the cost at 10.151p / unit for a month = £5.76

Cisco PIX 501

Average Power Consumption: 12.6W (very stable)

Current Draw: 0.5A

Consumption = 0.25KWH/24 hours

Monthly (30 days) = 0.25 * 30 = 7.5KWH

Therefore cost at 10.151p = 7.5*10.151 = £0.76

3COM OfficeConnect Wireless Router

Average Power Consumption: 15W (very stable)

Current Draw: 0.7A

Consumption = 0.39KWH/24 hours

Monthly (30 days) = 0.39 * 30 = 11.7KWH

Therefore cost at 10.151p = 7.5*10.151 = £1.19

New Server – SheevaPlug Multi + eSATA Disk

Average Power Consumption: ?

Current Draw: ~22W

Consumption = 0.475KWH/24 hours

Monthly (30 days) = 0.475 * 30 =14.3 KWH

Therefore cost at 10.151p = 14.3*10.151 = £1.45

PS3 Playstation

Standby current draw: 10.1W

Consumption = 0.47KWH/24H

Monthly (30 days) = 0.47 * 30 =14.11 KWH

Therefore cost at 10.151p =14.1 * 10.151 = £1.43

Media PC (HP/Compaq Evo Something)

Standby current draw: 22W

Consumption = 0.24KWH/11 hours = 0.52KWH/24H

Monthly (30 days) = 0.52 * 30 =15.71 KWH

Therefore cost at 10.151p = 15.71*10.151 = £1.59

 

Measuring Power Consumption of Electrical Devices

22. September 2008 · Write a comment · Categories: Energy, House · Tags: , ,

I’ve been quite interested in becoming more efficient in the use of energy.   Let me get this clear, I’m no tree hugger lentilist but am just interested in how I can save energy (and potentially money).  Not easy when you are surrounded by servers that need to be on 24/7 to provide various services but along with all the other electrical stuff you can find round our house I figured we must be wasteful somewhere.

Yesterday I ordered a PM230 power monitor form homeenergysaving.co.uk

(http://homeenergysaving.co.uk/brennenstuhl-pm230.html).  I’ll post up some results when I’ve had a play with what devices draw what.  Although they have a general list on their blog (http://www.homeenergysaving.co.uk/blog/2008-01-the-green-kitchen-the-year-of-the-fridge/) I’d like to see what various networking/computing devices and other electrical items pull.  Then look at a way of reducing them, somehow.