Can anyone help me figure out what is using power throughout the whole day?

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Can anyone help me figure out what is using power throughout the whole day?

chickenwing

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#302964 6-Jan-2023 21:53

Hi everyone! I've been on holiday away from home for a few days, just checked the Contact app for power usage and notice something is using power throughout the day, roughly 3-4 hours apart. Can anyone help me figure out what's using power when no one's home? Is it the hot water cylinder? Thanks!

CokemonZ

1051 posts

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#3018051 6-Jan-2023 21:56

Fridge, freezer, hot water - yep that'll do it.

If you are going away for more than 3 days turn off hot water.

chickenwing

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#3018083 7-Jan-2023 08:40

Thanks for the quick reply!

neb

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#3018271 7-Jan-2023 17:06

Not quite sure what the graph is showing, assuming it's kW consumed spread out over an hour, my guess would be HWC running for 10-15 minutes and drawing 1.5-2kW. A fridge would be a few hundred watts and on and off regularly.

Also assuming it is a HWC that's running an awful lot, ours cycles about once every 12 hours or less, not every three. Consider putting cylinder wrap around it or, if it's ancient, getting a newer one.

rscole86

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#3018283 7-Jan-2023 17:32

As an example, my very old inefficient fridge/freezer uses 0.2kWh per hour, peaking at 350w.

Nate001

640 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3018299 7-Jan-2023 18:01

Just about guarantee it’s your HWC as ours does the same when we’re away with a similar frequency. My guess at 7/8am the cylinder was on as the hour rolled over.

gzt

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#3018300 7-Jan-2023 18:02

neb: Also assuming it is a HWC that's running an awful lot, ours cycles about once every 12 hours or less, not every three. Consider putting cylinder wrap around it or, if it's ancient, getting a newer one.

hwc failing thermostat or failing valve have a similar effect. In any case, that's a nice regular signal. Turning off hwc for a day out will tell you.

Edit: your signal is not excessive for a day imo it does not add up to much.

Jase2985

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#3018386 7-Jan-2023 20:50

neb: Not quite sure what the graph is showing, assuming it's kW consumed spread out over an hour, my guess would be HWC running for 10-15 minutes and drawing 1.5-2kW. A fridge would be a few hundred watts and on and off regularly. Also assuming it is a HWC that's running an awful lot, ours cycles about once every 12 hours or less, not every three. Consider putting cylinder wrap around it or, if it's ancient, getting a newer one.

my 8 year old 180L cylinder is about every 4-8 hours, and heats at 3kw for 7-8 minutes.

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chickenwing

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3018391 7-Jan-2023 21:08

Thanks everyone, I'll turn it off one day to test it out!

aucklander

477 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3020765 13-Jan-2023 09:59

just thinking out loud... if you have a water tank and a pump on automatic control and a very tiny leak in the system (say an outside tap out of sight or a joint) then the pump might need to start fairly regularly to compensate for the pressure loss in the system? But I agree, the HWC appears to be the most probable cause.

If you are into statistical data, could get an hourmeter ($10 on TradeMe) and connect that to the HWC heating element and then you can easily see for how long the element run over a set period of time - say over a week when you are home and over a week when you are away? However, this will not provide any info about WHEN the consumption occurred... Just a note that this involves wiring on mains voltage, so take care.

hsvhel

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#3020767 13-Jan-2023 10:04

Looks a bit like mine, we are currently monitoring for a filing thermostat as it is a 5YO insulated cylinder that, without use during the day should stay stable for longer.

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frankv

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#3021290 14-Jan-2023 13:46

A thousand LEDs on a 500 devices.

timmmay

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#3021785 16-Jan-2023 09:33

While we were on holiday we used 5kwh per day. We had turned off the hot water cylinder, heat pumps, and some appliances. The load was generally was fairly evenly spread across the day, with higher usage 6am - midday and 7pm to 10pm. I figure it's fridge / freezer, positive pressure ventilation system which runs about 4-6 hours a day, bit of usage from router / fiber / raspberry pi 4, and standby current from things like microwaves.