Family Challenge
Cut your Energy bills by 20 percent
Observations Diary
Note: The facts and figures used in this observation diary are adopted from the Energy Saving Trust.
Big Switch Off Family Challenge – Observations Diary
It’s extremely easy to waste energy without even knowing about it. Making small
changes to your daily life can dramatically lower the amount of energy you use and
save you money.
Monetary savings
The average household in the UK spends around
£1,300 per year on energy, which is sharply rising
with the rocketing energy prices. At the same time
around £8.5 billion of energy is wasted in the UK
every year, which equates to £140 for every
person in the UK.
Energy efficiency and conservation are easiest
steps everyone can take to save energy and
money. The average household could save £340 a
year by being more energy efficient. There is a
huge potential to save energy by householders
taking actions, an estimate suggests that
householders in Leicestershire wastes over £13
million by leaving appliances on standby.
Environmental savings
Saving energy also reduces Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions - one of the main
greenhouse gases contributing to climate change. Almost half of our carbon dioxide
emissions come from the energy we use at home, and in our transport choices. Every
household in the UK creates around six tonnes of carbon dioxide every yea, twice as
much CO2 as the average car emits in a year. Every one of us can change the way
we use energy and its impact on the environment and save 1.5 tonnes of CO2 a year
by being more energy efficient.
The step-by-step guidance provided in this family Challenge – Observation Diary
along with the use of energy monitor will help you to save 20% of your energy use.
Step 1 – Setting the scene
Step 2 – Finding the energy use of your
appliances
Step 3 – Make some home improvements
Step 4 – Generate your own energy
Step 5 – Realising the benefits
Step 1 – Setting the scene
This observation diary is for you to record any observations you find while using the
energy monitors during the challenge. These observations will help you to save
money by turning off electrical devices that are wasting energy. Whether it’s switching
off at the plug rather than leaving on standby or simply turning off a light, the energy
monitor shows you the cash impact of changing your behaviour. This will also help
you to lower your energy consumption and could save hundreds of pounds for the
average home.
A) Being more sensible
There are lots of ways to save money on energy bills, enabling you to both cut costs
and reduce your carbon footprint.
 The cheapest way to pay your energy bills is by monthly Direct Debit. Many
energy companies offer discounts to customers who agree to pay this way.
Speak to your energy company to see if they provide such discounts.
 Take regular readings and update your energy provider. If your gas and
electricity meters aren't read regularly, bills based on estimated readings mean
you could end up paying for much more gas or electricity than you actually
use. Reading your meter regularly and updating your energy supplier also
enables you to keep track of what you're using and cut back if necessary.
 Another way to cut down on your costs is with paperless billing. Again, many
suppliers offer discounts if you agree to this. Instead of receiving bills in the
post, you'll get emails from your energy supplier and can manage your account
and submit meter readings online.
 Energy suppliers are all competing with each other, so switching suppliers
can be a great way to cut your energy bills. According to gas and electricity
regulator Ofgem, customers who switch both gas and electricity suppliers
could save more than £100 a year - but do your research before you change
your supplier. There are many comparison sites that offer you best deals at a
time.
B) Setting the benchmark
You should note down readings of your electricity meter before starting this exercise
as a benchmark figure. Depending upon your energy tariff, some meters only have a
single reading, whereas others may have primary and secondary unit readings.
Take a meter reading before starting this exercise. Please carry on as normal for the
first week and do not make any changes in your daily routine.
Record below your electricity meter reading at the beginning of the observation period
(you must ensure that you record a full weeks electricity use: for example, if you take
the first reading on Monday at 9am, you should take your final reading at the same
time the following Monday):
Primary Units –
Secondary Units –
C) Energy Monitor Installation Guide
You can try installing energy monitor now, just to see if you encounter any problems.
You are advised to watch the installation video, which makes the installation process
very easy, by visiting http://www.theowl.com/index.php?page=installation. If you do
not have internet access please follow the steps described here.
WARNING: Extreme care must be taken when working with electrical equipment as touching exposed
electrical wires or components may result in electrocution causing death. If in any doubt consult a
qualified electrical installer.
1. You should have following items in the box.
a. Remote Monitor
b. Sender Box
c. Sensor
d. User manual
2. Locate electricity meter and identify live supply cable
a. Look at the cables entering the meter at the bottom. You will need at least
150mm (6”) of cable visible to fit the sensor around the wire (where the cables
inside walls or enclosures and are not accessible, consult a qualified electrical
installer for advice).
b. Before touching any cables, visually inspect the insulation (plastic Covering) for
any signs of damage or deterioration such as cracks in the outer covering,
visible copper cores, burnt or blackened covering. If damage is seen consult a
qualified electrical installer for advice.
c. If there is any water present in the fuse box, cause by rain or leakage, do not
install the sensor until everything is absolutely dry.
d. You should see four cables entering the bottom of the meter (Note - If you
have an off-peak supply there may be more cables seen here, Please contact
for help with installation).
e. Clip the sensor around the live outgoing supply cable ( as shown in the above
figure the live cable should be the one leaving meter on the farthest right hand
side position) which goes in to your Consumer Unit or Fuse Box.
3. Unscrew backing plate on the sender box and install batteries.
4. Plug sensor cable jack plug into any one of the sockets located at the bottom of
sender box.
5. Install the batteries in the Remote Monitor. (Note – The Remote Monitor may not
connect with Sender Box if the batteries are not installed into the Sender Box
before the Remote Monitor).
6. Push the CHECK button on the Sender Box for more than 2 seconds to force the
sender box to send wireless signals to the Remote Monitor to help connect to the
Sender Box.
7. Push SEARCH button on the back of the Remote Monitor and the Remote Monitor
and Sender Box should connect and lock. When they have connected you should
see a usage reading on the screen of the Remote Monitor.
8. Customise the Remote Monitor
a. These steps are not mandatory as you can also work with factory default
settings for the UK. Regardless of currency and electricity cost (pence/unit) you
can compare consumption of different appliances using the default settings.
b. If you wish to customise Voltage, electricity cost and green house gas emission
settings, please refer the instruction on page 5 & 6 of the User Manual.
c. To set up the actual electricity cost (pence/unit), charges for different tariffs and
usage level alarm, please follow step 7A and 7B of the Quick Start Guide.
9. You can also set a limit on your consumption and the Remote Monitor will remind
you when you exceed that, please refer instruction on page 15 of the User Manual.
10.
If any difficulties in installation refer to the “What to do if?” in the User Manual
on page 7.
Step 2 – Finding the energy use of your appliances
You are advised to start using energy monitor now.
Reality bites
In Table – 1 you should record your consumption of electricity for different times of
the day, which will reflect various occupancy levels and need for the energy according
to the time of the day. Without making any changes in your normal day to day
lifestyle, please register typical readings of the energy monitor for all time slots during
the day.
You may be surprised looking at sudden surge in the use of electricity when many
appliances are in use at a time – some time reality bites.
The reading for night consumption will provide ‘base level’ electricity consumption,
which is the continuous amount of energy you are using over night and also perhaps
during the daytime when the building may be unoccupied. Previous observations
have shown that by reducing your `base level’ consumption by 1p per hour, you can
save over £85 each year.
Get Interactive
Please visit http://www.theowl.com/index.php?page=get-interactive to see electricity
usage of various appliances in a standard house. While rowing on the picture, click
the appliances when `hand’ images comes up and it will show you per hour cost of
running that appliance. This will give you an understanding of cost share of electrical
appliances in a standard home.
The actual consumption of appliances in your home would differ based on size,
model, company, etc. Therefore, it would be useful to create a log of actual
consumption of electrical appliances.
Getting Obsessed
Learning from people who have used the energy monitors, people do get obsessed! It
will be helpful to your performance in the Challenge to monitor usage of individual
appliances to find out what power hungry appliances you have and minimise their
use. For each electrical appliance in the building use Table – 2 to record electrical
consumption figure shown on the energy monitor (pence/hour) – while appliance is
not in use, on standby and in use. This will make you fidgety – keep looking at the
energy monitor every time you switch on/off any appliance in the house. Over days
keep checking different electrical appliances you have and record their consumption
in the Table -2.
The observations in Table – 1 & 2 will help you to understand standby cost of
appliances. Your observations will also help you to understand where you have to
concentrate your efforts to achieve maximum savings in energy bills.
Day -1
Table – 1 Daily Home Energy Use Observed in the Energy Monitors
Day & Time
Provide your reading in pence per
For any high readings – Do
hour from the energy monitor.
you know what caused the
Typical reading for Reading at night increase in the electricity
use?
the time period
(when most
appliances are
turned off)
7am – 9am
9am – 3pm
3pm – 7pm
7pm – 11pm
Day - 2
7am – 9am
9am – 3pm
3pm – 7pm
7pm – 11pm
Day - 3
7am – 9am
9am – 3pm
3pm – 7pm
7pm – 11pm
Day - 4
7am – 9am
9am – 3pm
3pm – 7pm
7pm – 11pm
Day - 5
7am – 9am
9am – 3pm
3pm – 7pm
7pm – 11pm
Day - 6
7am – 9am
9am – 3pm
3pm – 7pm
7pm – 11pm
Day - 7
7am – 9am
9am – 3pm
3pm – 7pm
7pm – 11pm
Table – 2 Performance of your electrical appliances
Home
Energy monitor readings (pence/hour) while
Cost for use
Appliances
appliance is
of the
appliance
Not in use
On standby
In use
pence/hour
(a)
(b)
(C)
(c-a)
general
Single light
bulb
Group of bulbs
operated by
single switch
Security light
Garden lights
Kitchen
Kettle
Microwave
Toaster
Electric Owen
Electric Hob
Gas Owen
Gas Hob
Fridge
Fridge-freezer
Coffee maker
Bread maker
Rice maker
Steamer
Dishwasher
Living room
Desktop
Laptop
Printer
Computer
speakers
TV
Set-top box
VCR
DVD Player
DVD Recorder
Modem
Video games
Phone
Bedroom
Radio
Clock radio
Music System
Mobile charger
TV
Bathroom & utility room
Power shower
Shaver
Gas boiler
Vacuum
cleaner
Iron
Dish Washer
Washing
Machine
Tumble Dryer
Any Others
1
2
3
4
5
At the end of the week
Having monitored your electricity usage over this period, you may have noticed times
at which the most and the least electricity is being used. Can you please give the
highest and lowest reading you saw?
Highest reading –
Pence / hour
Lowest reading –
Pence / hour
Note: Over time keeping an eye on the energy monitor reading will also help you to
find out interesting discoveries you may make about your energy use. Were there any
particular observations you thought were interesting or surprising? Please let us know
interesting or surprising observations by sending them to
donna.worship@leics.gov.uk
Please list any interesting or surprising observations here:
Start saving energy and rise to the Family Challenge
Making small changes in our habits or behaviour in the use of various electrical
appliances can make a big difference in monetary savings and reduce our carbon
footprint.
At this point you should be aiming to get those figures down. Make a habit of
switching off lights when rooms are not in use. Don’t leave items on standby and be
aware of hidden energy use – for example some extension leads use power even if
nothing is plugged in.
If you have really started making a difference by switching off appliances on standby
your `base level’ reading over night (when most appliances are turned off) in the
Table-1 will reduce over time.
By following steps 1 & 2 will help you to understand where about energy is being
wasted in your building. This will enable you to bring the necessary changes in daily
habits and behaviour to save your 20 percent cut in energy bills. Following facts &
figures will also provide guidance to bring some necessary changes in your daily life:
Some facts & figures
1. Mobile phone chargers plugged in but not hooked up to a phone eats up energy. The amount
of electricity wasted annually in this way across the UK could be used to power 16,000 homes
for a year.
2. A PlayStation 3 left in ideal mode uses the equivalent of three 60-watt bulbs; it will add £164 a
year on to your electricity bill.
3. A 65” home-cinema plasma TV adds £60 to your annual electricity bill compared with 28” to
32” model.
4. Listening to the radio through a digital TV uses between 10 and 20 times more energy than
turning in through a normal digital set.
5. Digital radios consume roughly four times as much power as analogue radio sets. Leaving
digital radios on standby increases people’s energy consumption by 300 percent compared to
analogue for someone who listen to a digital radio for three hours a day.
6. Do not leave any appliances on standby.
7. Only boil as much water as you need.
8. Turn down thermostat by 1OC and put on a jumper if needed.
9. Keep furniture away from radiators
10. When cooking choose the right pan size for the food and the cooker, cut food into smaller
pieces and put lids on pans as the food will then cook a lot quicker.
11. If you are defrosting food, or just warming things up, then microwave ovens are ideal as they
use much less electricity than conventional ovens.
12. Regularly defrost your freezer and try to keep it packed full, even if this is with scrunched up
paper to avoid wasting energy.
13. Check the seal on your fridge/freezer to ensure no warm air is getting in - the seals should be
tight enough to hold a piece of paper securely when closed.
14. Try to have full loads when using the washing machine and use the lower 30°C wash. With
today's washing powders this temperature is more than adequate to clean clothes and will
save you up to three quarters of the cost of the hottest cycle
15. Avoid using tumble driers and radiators to dry your clothes; on nice sunny days clothes can be
dried outside.
Remember to switch off from the wall socket rather than leaving any appliance on
stand by!
Recording the Difference
After a week or two of practising energy efficiency you should be ready to record
your improved weekly energy use. Now repeat the process used for recording
your baseline week. Take a meter reading at a set time on a set day and then
repeat a full week later. Hopefully you should see a cut in energy use, the family
who makes the biggest saving is the winner!
Just a quick wrap up for this time –
1. Remember to take a reading at the beginning and end of your baseline
week. This could be a single reading or primary and secondary reading
depending upon your energy tariff.
2. During the baseline week, record daily readings from the energy monitor
in the Table-1.
3. Over the period carry on logging energy consumption of individual
appliances (pence/hour) from the energy monitor in Table-2.
4. Remember to take a meter reading at the beginning and end of a week
towards the end of the challenge when you have put in place the
changes to drive down your energy use. This will enable you to see the
difference you have made over the period in your weekly consumption.
5. Please send us
a. Meter readings for your baseline week and improved week by 2nd
November to find out if you are the winner!
b. A copy of Table-1 that provides electricity consumption pattern for
the first week.
c. Highest and lowest reading on energy monitor (pence/hour) for the
first week to keep track of your journey.
d. Any observations or interesting discoveries you have made, this will
help to develop your case study.
What’s next
After following step 1 & 2, we believe that you must have started using energy more
efficiently. To make a further difference, in the next stage we will provide you
guidance on step 3 – Make some home improvement such as insulating your home,
buying energy efficient products, etc. We’ll be sending you further information on
saving energy in the beginning of January.
For further support contact:
Donna Worship
Rachel Sweetland
0116 305 7242
0116 305 7332
donna.worship@leics.gov.uk Rachel.sweetland@leics.gov.uk
Room 500
County Hall
Leicestershire County Council
Glenfield
LE3 8TE
Best of luck and happy switching off….
Thank you very much for taking part in the Big switch Off Competition.