If the pandemic has been good for one thing, it's time in bed.
"People are taking a chance to get some extra sleep," says Daniel McNamara, a data scientist at energy supplier Bulb. "It's cool."
The insight comes from an unexpected source: smart meters.
These devices measure electricity usage and send the information straight to energy suppliers.
Many moves in the Great Game are not something to jump up and down about, but they are another click of the ratchet. This one won't be reversed because they never are. Power cut off remotely when the wind drops? Click.
7 comments:
I switch energy suppliers on a regular basis , all ask do you want a smart meter installed, I have resisted all, but wonder how long it will be before a government diktat decrees all must have to save the planet, a small thing to ask as it looks as though we wont be able to afford gas heating anyway and our diets will be without meat and cheese, well done Boris you really haven't got a clue.
Smart people will not wish to have 'smart' meters installed.
Why would you choose to relinquish control of your home's energy supplies to a faceless and uncaring supplier?
Have a look at Gridwatch (https://gridwatch.co.uk): peak UK demand is at approx 17:30 on working days and it's concerning that there is so little spare capacity that Inter-connectors with France, Belgium, The Netherlands & Eire are relied upon to meet peak demand. Then on a windless and dull day, all that expensive 'green' crap lies idle, compounding the shortfall. So if there's no wind & no solar, when combined with very cold weather, it's necessary to switch off some circuits to avoid systemic failure. 'Smart' meters leave one vulnerable to interruption - that's dinner ruined!
With more electric vehicles, the problem will worsen, as successive governments have failed to plan ahead to cover their green rhetoric.
Do smart meters actually work? Before I got bored with mine and put it away in that drawer where things go that you might need but probably won't, I found out the following through careful scientific monitoring of energy use in our home:
1) Lights cost virtually nothing to keep on. I really enjoyed yelling at my children to switch the bloody things off, but I found you have to put on two or three extra to even add a penny per hour to your usage.
2) Kettles, though! Crikey! I now get shouty if anyone overfills one.
3) The electric cooker is really expensive at full blast, but quite cheap at the lower levels. Slow cooking is probably cost-effective.
4) The toaster is a bit naughty, but nothing can be done about it except to turn the dial down a bit and have paler toast.
5) Heating things up is far more expensive than moving things about. Extractor fans, washing machines, blenders, food processors - all fine. We had builders working in the yard and they asked "Could you plug this in for us?" I said yes before realising it was the cement mixer, with a massive cable thicker than my finger. I scurried off to watch the pennies piss away, but it made virtually no difference.
6) Remember those hacks when people said that you had to unplug phone chargers because they still used electricity even when no phone is attached? Clearly nonsense, as there is no circuit. But having four separate phones actually being charged makes no appreciable difference.
I do like McNamara's comment "It's cool". I'm glad he takes a liberal stance regarding the nation's sleeping habits. I think there might be others, though, who are less able to leave us alone.
We changed supplier in October last year, from Bulb - who had told us that we couldn't have one on Economy 7. And they were going to up their rates too!
I knew damn well that our ancient timing clock was defunct, but nobody there took any notice, so we joined EDF when the year ended.
So far, we're saving around 15% on last year's usage, and we're all electric, with storage heaters, no gas (except a portable gas ring which we rather like), and our bill has gone down, from £173.00pm to £129.00 pm! And that's after a very cold January!
At just under 5p a unit during the night, it's easy to see savings, and being an utter - nutter even - 'nerd', (as you know Mr H), with the new online account, I have a spreadsheet the size of a small African state, to prove my point...
If they switch us off, we'll keep the open fire going, use the gas rings, go to bed as the man says, and think of England...
Wiggia - yes, any kudos Boris has gleaned from Brexit and the vaccination programme could fade very quickly as the real price of his ten point plan becomes more obvious.
Ed - and all being pushed by people who can afford domestic battery back up or even domestic generators while the rest shiver.
Sam - I once used a plug in gadget to measure our electricity consumption and the kettle surprised me too. Ever since we've bought kettles where it is easy to boil just enough for two cups of tea. The trouble is as you say, there are those who are not able to leave us alone.
Scrobs - £129.00 pm for storage radiators sounds pretty good to me, although we have absolutely no experience of them.
Smart meters communicate by using mobile phone network - I think.
Try wrapping it/them in aluminium foil if the spying bothers you.
Or if you just want to be a bit of a rebel.
Doonhamer - we don't have one yet, but that's a good idea if power cuts seem likely and these things can indeed switch off your power. Wrap the thing in foil and it can't receive a signal to turn it off.
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