Power saving Drive

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Forums › Finance and wealth management › Power saving Drive

Jimmy22

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#98889 8-Mar-2012 11:01

in reply to a question from Timmay ...

"Wow, 30W on standby for a washing machine's crazy. My TVs use a bit less than that, but the F&P washing machine and drier use almost nothing. My flatmates room uses enough power that it costs $120/year when the tv, cable box, etc are turned off, and he doesn't want to turn it off at the wall as a cable box takes 5 minutes to start up once it's turned on. What's a smart power off outlet, got a link? I have to switch mine off manually, but if you can get on as a multibox I could definitely use a couple. What an ENVIR? I've concentrated on heat to start with. Good insulation, adding a heat pump, removing downlights which basically destroy the effectiveness of insulation, making sure the house is as airtight as possible around doors and windows, HRV type system to get free heat during the day, exhaust fans in bathroom and kitchen, ducted drier, CF lights. I'd love to replace my year old 55" LCD TV with a 65" LED, but my girlfriend thinks 55" is already excessive, and it won't save any power really. "

envir = http://www.currentcost.com/product-envir.html   this type of product is the best tool to find the power suckers... just searching individual outlets doesnt work as well, there is always something. I got the bridge which sends the readings to the net every 10 secs and i can get a super clear picture of how the house is performing.

handy power outlet mates =    http://wattsclever.com/category/easy-off-power-boards

i also use the foot switch

and this one ...    http://www.energy-monitor.com.au/easy-off-infra-red-standby-power-switch/

my washing machine is a front loader whirlpool (30w standby) , but my dryer uses 10w as well so i have the loads on a 3 hour "on" cycle with a cheap rotary timer and usually remember to get back to it with in 21 hours to kill the mains.

I firmly believe that power saving should be made as easy as possible and the gadgets should be working for you. Your enjoyment should not be compromised , but just altering a few bad habbits instead yeilds a great result combined with the above gadgets.

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#592216 8-Mar-2012 11:06

We posted a review (with some good comments) on the CurrenctCost.

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Jimmy22

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#592217 8-Mar-2012 11:09

forgot to mention my PVR is on a timer to cut it between 130 am and 630 am , the MTV3700 however is an amazing unit for standby and running watts , the best PVR i have seen for low power performance. Yes i read the review and got my ENVIR based on that , still very happy..

stevenz

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#592299 8-Mar-2012 13:25

Geez, I didn't realise a washer/dryer could use so much power when they're not going, guess I'll be making sure they're off at the wall then!

Pretty sure my dryer is "dumb" enough that unless it's going there's no power drain, but I may have to scrounge one of those power-socket monitors to check!

@KnightNZ

timmmay

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#592300 8-Mar-2012 13:25

Thanks Jimmy, they're interesting. One thing that occurs to me with the auto power board is the main piece of equipment stays on, so it keeps drawing power. Maybe making a low usage piece of equipment the main, and programming the smart remote to turn it on first would work.

The IR one looks interesting too. My TV has its own power socket as it's mounted on the wall with the wires in the wall, so it'd need the IR one.

Where can you get these things in NZ?

Jimmy22

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#592336 8-Mar-2012 13:53

electus / jaycar is the place for the power board and the auto off scocket which i prefer

i use a low standby / energy star type appliance to switch the board

current prefered method is to use the auto off scocket to switch a multi board

ps. Microwave was found a while back pulling 30w odd on clock only too .. most are ok though.

rule of thumb switch it off if you arent using it..

timmmay

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#592343 8-Mar-2012 14:16

The auto off socket would work well, if you had something with very low standby power requirements triggering the other stuff. If the TV was on the main socket taking 20W that's still wasting power.

Right now I just turn things off at the wall, but that's not practical for everything. I'll test the microwave to see how it is too, I never thought of that.

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gzt

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#592660 9-Mar-2012 09:30

There was a discussion here a while back about accurate measurement of standby on a particular TV, and further back on a particular microwave. A cheap end meter was found to be wildly inaccurate for standby readings (reading high) for some devices, probably due to waveshape. I would be cautious about making purchase or replacement decisions influenced by those readings.

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Jimmy22

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#592665 9-Mar-2012 09:40

i have been using the envir to measure those readings and although i do not think it is 100% accurate it is definately consistent and matches the readings of my in line meter with in 1% so i am pretty happy with my own results currently, i will remember your words of caution though. It wasnt my microwave thankfully ;)

timmmay

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#592680 9-Mar-2012 10:23

gzt: There was a discussion here a while back about accurate measurement of standby on a particular TV, and further back on a particular microwave. A cheap end meter was found to be wildly inaccurate for standby readings (reading high) for some devices, probably due to waveshape. I would be cautious about making purchase or replacement decisions influenced by those readings.

I have a cheap meter I got from the warehouse for $20, I guess I'd better be careful how much faith I put in it.

gzt

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#592694 9-Mar-2012 10:52

When in doubt, consider putting in a known simple load like a 100W incandescent light bulb at the same time.

For example, if your previously measured 70W TV, plus a 100W incandescent bulb adds to a lot less than 170W, you will know something is going on. It is not something that is going to give accurate results, or work in all situations, but it adds a bit more information.

[Edit: Also consider trying a small motor load like a fridge or smaller, for the same purpose]

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timmmay

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#592701 9-Mar-2012 11:02

Good tip gzt :)

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Jimmy22

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#592703 9-Mar-2012 11:09

... GZT my ENVIR shows pretty much spot on the bulbs rated watts so most of my readings should be reliable above, it helped me get the clamp sitting in the right spot on my inital setup. I like the google based web page you have linked to all your posts, perhaps the addition of the power meter i use and auto off devices would be a worthy update there for those interested punters out there ?

gzt

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#592715 9-Mar-2012 11:39

Jimmy22: ... GZT my ENVIR shows pretty much spot on the bulbs rated watts so most of my readings should be reliable above, it helped me get the clamp sitting in the right spot on my inital setup.

Measurement devices are not challenged at all by simple resistive loads like incandescent light bulbs and heaters.

Measuring power accurately for devices which consume power in complex patterns in the space of a second is far more difficult for simple devices. That is what my comments were about, and suggested a possible method to increase accuracy by adding balancing loads.

Jimmy22: I like the google based web page you have linked to all your posts, perhaps the addition of the power meter i use

Ok, thanks!

Which appliance power meter do you use?

and auto off devices would be a worthy update there for those interested punters out there ?

To make the resource useful for most people I list only devices available in NZ. That particular auto-off device is not yet available here, but I do have many others listed in that category.

Always happy to add things anytime.

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Jimmy22

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#592724 9-Mar-2012 11:58

gzt:
Jimmy22: ... GZT my ENVIR shows pretty much spot on the bulbs rated watts so most of my readings should be reliable above, it helped me get the clamp sitting in the right spot on my inital setup.

Measurement devices are not challenged at all by simple resistive loads like incandescent light bulbs and heaters.

Oh i see , i understand what you mean now, sorry you had to spell it out but thats how i learn sometimes :)



Measuring power accurately for devices which consume power in complex patterns in the space of a second is far more difficult for simple devices. That is what my comments were about, and suggested a possible method to increase accuracy by adding balancing loads.

Jimmy22: I like the google based web page you have linked to all your posts, perhaps the addition of the power meter i use

Ok, thanks!

Which appliance power meter do you use?

**** I Use the ENVIR from currentcost.com   which is handled out of Wellington

and auto off devices would be a worthy update there for those interested punters out there ?

To make the resource useful for most people I list only devices available in NZ. That particular auto-off device is not yet available here, but I do have many others listed in that category.

**** THOSE units are availiable in NZ now , Electus.com.au have a warehouse in auckland and you could get them via Jaycar .. code is MS6146    it is probably my fav of all no hassle power savers currently. :)http://www.jaycar.co.nz/productResults.asp?keywords=ms6146&keyform=KEYWORD&SUBMIT.x=0&SUBMIT.y=0

Always happy to add things anytime.

KEEP up the good work... !

timmmay

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#592747 9-Mar-2012 12:40

Which is the best device if I want to keep a TC cable box on all the time (because of the boot up time) and have it switch off a TV, DVD player, etc? This is for my flatmates room, which uses about $120 of power a year in standby.

My two TVs (office and lounge) are switched off at the wall, but getting access is quite difficult. They're also both plugged in directly to the wall on their own power outlet, and there's not really room to put much else back there. I could probably run the cable down a duct for one of them, not sure it'd fit though.

The other electrics are run off another power point. Right now I switch it off at the wall, but it's a nuisance. I guess a foot switch would be best, and reasonably discrete, especially if I can get the TV cord down the duct.

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