Energy consumption

Over the years… we have been able to profit from gluts of fruit… meat fairs etc etc… and (in those days) having to feed a number of folk (as reasonably and deliciously as possible) the freezers were in great demand.

Now, for just us 2 and the occasional influx of friends… we can get by with less… I am determined…

Edit: we only bought a freezer as and when the need arose and, thankfully, managed to get excellent deals at Darty … every time… yippee.

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I’m inclined to agree that intermittent heating is inefficient and it takes a huge “boost” to get the house warm - sometimes only for a couple of days. It’s a bit like only ever using the car to go to the shops a mile away - fuel consumption per mile is going to be enormous.

However, compared with Wozza’s figures 3MWh/year no longer seems so bad.

Don’t underestimate energy consumption from woodburners - dry oak is nearly 2000kWh per m3

Hi Paul,
with the above figures if I was all electric my energy bill would be astronomical.
2 bottles of gas per/tr @ +/- 30-35€ wood 400€ / stere + 1000 -1400L @ +/- 90ctsL
Have you considered installing a domotec which you can pilot from your computer / smartphone? drain off the water when you leave un plug or turn off everything except the rads & then turn on the rads a couple of days before you arrive.

Remote control of the heating is on the “to-do” list - but it will mean leaving the Internet connection running as well as an Ethernet switch and something like an R-pi to do the actual control, so not cost-free energy wise (not that I’m suggesting that would use as much but low level stuff on 24/7 adds up).

I can drain off the runs to the taps but it is not practical to drain the buffer tank & rads (and, anyway, they’d need to be “ready to go” for remote turn on to be possible) - so that still leaves water in pipes ready to become a problem. Fortunately this is Brittany so really cold winters are not that common.

Yes, cost-wise electricity for heating is not that great.

BUT - with pressure to use less fossil fuel watch gas cease to be an option over the next 20 years.

I use the mobile app “EDF et moi” which is dead easy. Do you have it?

If you have, click on the panel ‘Actualiser ma Consommation’.

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Will give it a try, thanks.

I’ve just checked our figures. Our stone house, 300m2+ with oil and wood heating, uses 3,100KWh a year for everything else with standard electrical equipment. The gîte, which is 140m2, and all electric uses around 6,000KWh and is rented an average of 24 weeks a year - but we do live in a cold area and under a cliff, so get no sun until 11.00am in winter so heating is a big thing.

Re sending meter readings - last time I was out when the meter reader called, he texted me and asked me to send him the reading, I send it by text as soon as I got home, and job done, the bill came with the correct reading on it. I have no idea how official this method is, but it worked a treat with minimum fuss all round!!!

Re the expense of heating up a “stone cold” house - if the thermostat is set to keep it at 11°, which I think Paul said it was? then I wouldn’t call that a stone cold house exactkt. My frost protection is supposed to come on at 3°, though I think it’s a bit approximate because some rads get triggered long before others.

Does Paul have any figures to say what proportion of his annual bill is taken up by heating the property through January and February?

We sent the meter reading and the reader still called.
Next door is a second home and the meter reader, we presume, went through their outbuildings and they thought they has had a prowler!

Not to hand, the first year that I left it running I did check on our return - it was quite a lot but I forget the exact amount (probably the mental trauma :slight_smile: ).

I’ll try to remember to look this year when we return, hopefully Feb half term.

Mind you as the air temp today was 14°C I wondered whether it was going to be necessary. However just because it has been a mild winter so far does not rule out a cold snap so I left it on as usual.

This graph from my friend’s app shows just how much an effect the electric heating has on his electricity consumption. During the summer they still have the hot water heating on 24/7 and cook using electricity. It’s possible that heating the empty house is costing you more than your total visits and might go some way to explaining why your electricity costs are higher than expected.

To be honest I think it is more like “likely” than merely “possible” which is why I keep it to the couple of coldest months and why remote access is on the list of desirables.

Sadly however, although the controller has an interface for a PC it is a propitiatory optical link which the manufacturer no longer supplies so I am going to have to build one from scratch - I scraped together just enough info to do this a couple of years ago but, as with a lot of stuff haven’t had the time.

I strongly recommend reading ALL meters regularly.
I use an APP (there are dozens)
Most apps will allow you to create any number of different “meters”
I have three for our Home (Electricity, Water & Gas) which I read weekly and two for our holiday home (Electricity & Water) which I read weekly while there plus arrival and departures.
It is not a chore to read meters and it keeps consumption front of mind.

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Beyond making sure the house is not significantly over consuming I’m not too bothered.

Not that I wish to be profligate, if there is a clear, avoidable, waste of energy I would look into averting it - but as with Stella’s freezers one has to be wary of false economy or ROI terms that stretch to decades.

My freezers are all full… I am determined to eat my way through everything therein… :hugs: I can’t switch-off a freezer until it is empty… :zipper_mouth_face:

Happy munching :slight_smile:

Sometimes, or perhaps many times with these old houses the outside temperature can be higher than the inside temperature during the Day, especially if your working or been away.
It’s good to aire the house , I’ve seen many people with damp behind cupboards who never open a window.

Wondered whether any members use EDF’s Tempo tariff, and if so their views?

I bet you were glad of those full freezers once lock down hit :laughing: :laughing:

We did look but the figures didn’t add up. We have changed supplier to Mint Energie, have saved about €15 / month and it is green electricity!

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there is a lot of frozen fruit from last year’s glut… and not a great deal of anything you could really get your teeth into… a little meat… which I am guarding…

but, yes, it’s been a boon.
Edit 163 days so far … those filled freezers have done us proud…