Thunderchild said:
ahem i know unfortunately my gran thinks that her stuff is indestructable. every time something goes wrong or breacks down it someones fault and i'm being pissed off by being told continuosly that my computer and my sister having a cheap running light on is the fault of the elctric bill !
I have a fridge that was bought in the early seventies and is still running strong in the shed, keeping the drinks cool. Some of these fridges seem to be indestructible :wink:, this one is all battered and worn but it still runs.
Tell your gran to turn everything electrical off and then check the meter in the power box ( I'm assuming you have such in your house) if its still running.
If it is it could be standby circuits in TV's, video,microwave clock, etc.etc.
The power used for this feature, even though it is quite low, can add up to the bill's total, especially when there is a number of these gadgets.
Then you could go for more efficient appliances, as has been pointed out above, however these do cost money to buy and it might be some time (years) until the expense is recovered by the better efficiency. A simple and easy way to save power is to replace light bulbs in living area's with the very efficient low wattage fluoro replacement bulbs. As they take a minute or two to reach full light output it would save little to fit them in rooms that are only temporarily occupied (bathroom).
Perhaps quietly sitting down with your gran and rationally explaining how the various appliances consume power, which ones could be used more enconomically, which ones run automatically (fridges, freezers, hot water, central heating), which ones consume negligible power (calculate the cost running your cheap light for a month) and so on.
It's not always easy for elderly people to understand all that newfangled equipment and how it runs but they *do* understand the effect of the power bill and the cash remaining in the wallet after it has been paid :wink: