Thanks.
Possibly til Thursday.
The Norwegian meteo is showing freezing temps dawn and dusk tomorrow and Wednesday morning but then gradually getting slightly warmer Thursday / Friday (mind you, that’s just round us, Lot et Garonne)
1 Like
Looks like you’re right @SuePJ , with another red tmrw. Just noticed the phone app also shows historical classification of days plus what days remain for each colour
1 Like
EDF used to be legally obliged to inform Tempo users in advance in writing of there being 5 Red Days in a row. I think they avoid this by having 1 White Day mixed in with 4 Red Days.
Without looking it up, I feel they were more Feb-Mar last year.
Something to do with the lower grid capacity this year, maybe?
1 Like
After my first red day yesterday, I looked back at the main consumers that I used during the day and saw that in fact it was quite a limited list - wifi router, phone/ipad charger, laptop charger and led lighting. So seeing the relatively small loads I was using, it got me thinking back to last Summer’s camping, as last year I was looking at one of the portable power stations to make sure I didn’t run out of power while away, mainly for the phone, ipad and gps + maybe a light.
So as a result, I just purchased one of these:
It’s not a massive battery, but the beauty of it seems to be that it also has a solar controller and inverter and has ‘pass through’ capability, so you can still use it while it’s charging. So, yes this will be great for camping trips, but now I’m on the Tempo tarif, I can also use on red days and perhaps white days during peak periods. My thinking is that, as it has a 200W solar input, and we’re blessed with alot of sun in 34, with a solar panel it would be sufficient to run all the regular lower power items that I’d typically be using during the peak periods. Has anyone else had any experience of these types of powerbank?
2 Likes
Looks like a nice little unit and you got a good deal.
1 Like
I’m sure it’ll be great for trips, but I’ll be very interested to see how it performs in the house. Now just need to wait what seems like ages until 4 Feb for delivery 
feeling like a child at Xmas 
1 Like
I think the concept sounds really convenient for camping etc, and am quite envious. I just wonder, setting the camping use to one side, if the payback/break-even period for use in Tempo red days is economically viable?
For example, we spend about 3€ on average on red days, per the last few weeks. Intentionally low/light use. The cost of the battery + solar panel is about 750€ per the link. On the basis of 22 red days a year that would imply you’d have to experience about 11 years (!) of red days to make this pay back. Obviously I accept that the financial aspects aren’t the principal reason for buying it, I assume?! I also accept that everyone’s electric usage differs etc…
I guess being able to justify it for camping means using it on red days is just a bonus.
Seems Microsoft did get the Red Day SMS
We’ve not uncoupled our solar batteries since the black out last week. Will be interesting to see what our €4,50 ish looks like now we are running all the lights off that. Like you we have been having lots of sun.
1 Like
@George1 well what tipped the balance in the end was the tempo tarif as I was already considering it for travelling. Re the solar panel cost, I’ll be buying a ‘normal’ panel and not one from Bluetti as they’re panels are very pricey, relatvely. I can get a standard 300W panel for under 150€ now. So total will be approx 450€.
Out of interest I did a quick calc before I ordered the powerbank and I used the following:
2000hrs sun/year (we get approx 2500hrs/year apparently) x 200W (max input power for this small powerbank) x 75% (to account for inefficiencies) = 300kwhrs/year
This obviously assumes I can be permanently using the 200W during the sun hours, but imagine if everyone did this 
Using it for travelling will be very convenient, but seeing it as a bit of an experiment in the house to take advantage of owning it.
3 Likes
Of which I’ll be very interested in the outcome. 
My EDF app just updated with the first two red days and it shows it cost me 1.33€ on Monday and 1.37€ yesterday, which also includes the abonnement, so I’m amazed - down to 2kwhrs/day. But that is with the wood stove for heating and not using the electric hob or oven. So now wondering how much further I’ll get with the powerbank. I guess I can also get security cameras, alarm and the router on the powerbank. I think one of big impacts over the year will also be maxing out the use of blue day off peak with the washing and water heating, plus I have an infra red sauna which I’ll also be using off peak now, especially on the 8c blue days!
I think everyone will end up on some sort of tariff that discourages use at peak load times. It just makes sense, trying to expand energy capacity to cope with ever increasing demand without some form of demand management is madness. I’m in Dublin for a few weeks and I can see the same direction here.
Yes totally agree @John_Scully - pre signing up for Tempo I would consider myself relatively energy conscious, but after signing up it has really very much driven more consciousness and made me look far more carefully at what levels of energy various bits of kit consume, and when and how I use them - very revealing, and a very good excercise for me personally, on a journey to hopefully going far more solar. All those different ‘things’ I just did at anytime, I now actually consider before doing and certainly have a far far greater appreciation. All in all, a great excercise, and I’m sure with growing numbers of folks latching onto this it’ll have a positive impact.
3 Likes
I feel exactly the same way! Amazed your bill is so low though, ours is 3 times that! We still wash ect overnight though, no choice with boys sport 3x a week!
I got 2 x 100W panels for GBP80 ea for my camper. Battery unit €399 a.t.mo.
I went to a school which played rugby min 4 x p.w. 5 days if in the 1st 15 squad. When I got home in Dec and March my mum used to put my kit in a plastic bag, boots 'n all and throw it into the outhouse. Most of the mud dried and fell off … 
I bought a 2kW inverter for my van [2 x 100Ahr service batts] but it wouldn’t even run an induction hob at 200W. Never did get the refund 
Camping/Cooking on an induction hob is so superior to a gas installation ['elf n safety etc] that my next van must be able to run an induction hob to the point where cooking is possible. If you can, do have a go and let us know how it was.
This was on mains hook-up, of course. It does 200W/400W/600W/800W/1200W/1600W/2000W
Here’s an idea for you to cut down on your leeky bill even further, heat water on the wood burner & a bit of elbow grease, and job done. You can even reheat the water for hot water bottles to warm the bed.
1 Like
@captainendeavour I’m looking at this company as they seem to have a large selection of panels at good prices/watt.
@toryroo Have you looked at the wattage of the stuff you have plugged in and using - that may highlight where you may be able to reduce further. I got something similar to this to measure wattage of appliances: