My smart meter was installed yesterday at 7.40 this morning my electric usage was 42p & gas usage was 28p. Even taking into account fridge/freezer, broadband, TV’s on standby overnight 42p electric seems high. The gas at 28p is a bigger mystery as no gas was used overnight (heating is off at the moment). Does some of the cost include a daily standing charge? Can anyone shed any light on this please?
Best answer by Tim_OVO
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+1
I have an average that’s actually really low. It literally never costs more than £1 a day in electricity for me to run my flat. :)
And this is with an overpowered gaming laptop and way too much Ubiquiti UniFi kit!
As I went to bed last night 12 midnight, I turned everything off except my small under bench fridge and freezer , my smart metre read £42.36 when I got up at 630am it reads £43.37 that’s one pound and a penny that seems an awful lot for 6 hours I don’t use that throughout the day , what’s going on EDF
+2
Hi
Most of the overnight cost is likely to be down to the standing charge. Did you confirm what your standing charges were for your tariff and also the amount of kWh usage being shown for the overnight period? If you can post these here then we should be able to work out what's going on. I assume your smart meter is set to send 30 minute readings? If it's not then it would be worth changing the setting as it gives a much better insight.
What’s your standing charge
Yes I’m with EDF gas and Electric today as I’m writing this I noticed my readings last night at 12.15am was £42.36 when I woke this morning 530am it read £43.37 that’s £1.01 I know we pay a standard charge but a pound and a penny in 5 hours seems quite a lot I only have my under bench fridge and freezer on and nothing else apart from my wi- fi
Hey
Welcome to the OVO Online community,
What’s your standing charge
Due to the Energy Crisis prices have increased substantially, you may find that your standing charge has increase to over 50p. If you have an online account or any recent statements you should be able to check your unit rates and standing charges.
Hope this helps.
+2
+1
Fridges and freezers are on 24/7 and use quite a lot of energy., particularly the older models. Even if i’m Away 5kWh per day is standard, and ply 8 kWh per day when we’re here.
+2
Fridges and freezers are on 24/7 and use quite a lot of energy., particularly the older models. Even if i’m Away 5kWh per day is standard, and ply 8 kWh per day when we’re here.
Here is ours just for comparison when we are away
3 Sep 2022 1.21 kWh
4 Sep 2022 1.20 kWh
5 Sep 2022 1.26 kWh
6 Sep 2022 1.23 kWh
7 Sep 2022 1.16 kWh
8 Sep 2022 1.16 kWh
9 Sep 2022 1.19 kWh
In built fridge freezer. Plus a few appliances that hopefully draw very minimal electricity, like two in built ovens etc. Never bothered turning those off, but i might do as a test next time we are away. Just means resetting two clocks. I could also see if unplugging the washing machine makes any difference (although i think that is off as it has a mechanical dial) and the dishwasher. Not going to be big savings for me obviously.
Other things we have that may draw a little power when off and we are away are two power showers and anything to do with the gas boiler and associated controls.
I suspect
Be curious to know what other peoples daily electricity is when they are away?
+2
What’s your standing charge
Yes I’m with EDF gas and Electric today as I’m writing this I noticed my readings last night at 12.15am was £42.36 when I woke this morning 530am it read £43.37 that’s £1.01 I know we pay a standard charge but a pound and a penny in 5 hours seems quite a lot I only have my under bench fridge and freezer on and nothing else apart from my wi- fi
I suggest for the next morning you post the kWh figures as well as the £ figures, both from the In Home Display, so we can compare the cost vs kWh.
OK?
+1
Yeah, my usage does go down a bit when I’m not around. All my tech has a “Deep Sleep” mode of some kind so that it drops power usage right down if it’s not doing anything for a certain amount of time. :)
Hi
I have similar problem. 4 weeks ago, a smart meter was installed, unfortunately I did not get IHD. What I noticed is that every night 3kw been added (from midnight to 7am when I usually wake up). There is nothing on during the night apart from fridge/freezer and few other appliances on stand by mode.
It was mentioned that people can see 80p charge from very early in morning (probably standing charge), but in my case I wake up with 3kw already added to my account every morning.
Since the smart meter was installed my consumption went up (at least 50kw).
I have solar panels and use washing machine, tumble dryer, dishwasher etc during the day so definitely I don.t use the energy which the smart meter shows.
+2
Hi
I have similar problem. 4 weeks ago, a smart meter was installed, unfortunately I did not get IHD. What I noticed is that every night 3kw been added (from midnight to 7am when I usually wake up). There is nothing on during the night apart from fridge/freezer and few other appliances on stand by mode.
It was mentioned that people can see 80p charge from very early in morning (probably standing charge), but in my case I wake up with 3kw already added to my account every morning.
Since the smart meter was installed my consumption went up (at least 50kw).
I have solar panels and use washing machine, tumble dryer, dishwasher etc during the day so definitely I don.t use the energy which the smart meter shows.
Hi
Can you show your 30 minute usage graph for a typical day where this has happened? It may help us narrow down whether this usage is a spike or increased baseload at certain times.
Hey
Sorry for the issues you’ve had.
A fridge and other appliances on standby using 3 kWhs overnight sounds about right. You say your usage has gone up 50 kWhs since you had the smart meter installed... what are you comparing these figures to?
If you are comparing it to last months usage on the Online Account, could it be because August was a sunnier month with longer days? Were your bills before estimated?
I’d advise checking your meter readings and seeing if we are getting half hourly readings, then cross checking your usage graphs. This may give an indication as to when you are using the most energy. We have a great guide you might find helpful:
If your usage continues to appear high, it may be that you have a faulty appliance which is using more energy than it should, or your meter may be faulty. We have a useful article about this topic here:
Hope this helps.
I am comparing with the previous month (before smart meter). There is no change in my usage. Unfortunately, I can’t see the usage (every 30min) as my smart meter doesn’t work as a smart. I have to send readings every month (the bill is not estimate).
That is the only data which I can see when I logged in to my account.
Hey
Sorry for the issues you’re having.
If your new smart meter isn’t working and sending us readings, and your previous meter was traditional. Then it is likely that the figures you are comparing are both estimated.
It can also take up to 6 weeks for everything to be up and running smoothly. Do you remember if you chose for readings to be sent half hourly, daily or monthly?
The best thing to do is get your smart meter up and running. We have a great guide here you might find helpful:
Have you completed a smart meter health check? This will help us diagnose the communication issues:
Hope this helps.
Three different mornings all before anything happens as just woken up……
Updated on 01/12/22 by Tim_OVO:
It’s worth factoring in your daily standing charges when checking the costs showing on your smart meter In Home Display (IHD) in the morning. These charges are usually added to your daily energy costs around midnight each day and will vary depending on the rates on your current plan.
The best place to check the standing charges which apply to your current plan is the ‘Plan’ page of your online account or OVO app (download for Android or iOS):
You can also view your smart meter usage data here too, by heading to the ‘Usage’ pages. Check out the guide below for more help with this:
Still worried that your overnight usage seems high with the standing charges excluded? Bear in mind some appliances (like fridge/freezers and TVs on standby) use electricity overnight. Visit the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) to get free and impartial advice on the energy usage of your appliances.
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Just heard from OVO that incredibly since 1st October they knew of a problem as the home displays had the decimal point in the wrong place……. Incompetence!
Why does my IHD show gas usage when everything is off. Yesterday it showed £0.65/hr when everything was off. This continued for more than half an hour. The previous night the history showed gas being used between 3 and 7am but again nothing is switched on. There are no leaks as verified by the gas safe certificate issued last month. OVO tell me they are getting all the readings and everything is okay but I dispute this if the display is telling me a different story. I have completed the smart meter email questionnaire but it can take 47 working days for an answer. Not good enough. Its bad enough paying these rising energy costs but to steal additional funds as well has to be criminal.
+1
Hi
OVO only uses the meter readings sent to them by the gas meter for billing purposes. Usage data and anything shown on your IHD are not factored into your bills at all.
It’s also worth noting that the IHD can only refresh gas usage roughly once every 30 minutes, as the gas meter only pings a heartbeat every 30 minutes.
Could you show us some photos please?
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Those will most likely be snapshots from those periods.
It’s very, very possible something fired up during the night and was recorded doing so. Let me ask
+2
I don’t have any gas appliances now except the hob, however previously when I switched off the pilot light on our old warm air heating unit I saved a significant amount of gas. It wouldn’t have shown as a single peak of use like that though. How is your hot water heated ? There was an incidence the other day of a system reheating a hot water reservoir in a fancy tap, though again that was throughout the day.
Are these usage figures being passed on to the account or could it be just on the IHD (in home display!)?
+2
Hi
Like
1. Could you post your usage for a day when you think there is an issue?
https://account.ovoenergy.com/usage?datePeriod=daily&unit=kwh
This is mine for example copy and pasted from the ovo website.
| Time period | Usage |
|---|---|
| 12:00am | 0 kWh |
| 12:30am | 0 kWh |
| 1:00am | 0 kWh |
| 1:30am | 0 kWh |
| 2:00am | 0 kWh |
| 2:30am | 0 kWh |
| 3:00am | 0 kWh |
| 3:30am | 0 kWh |
| 4:00am | 0 kWh |
| 4:30am | 0 kWh |
| 5:00am | 5.53 kWh |
| 5:30am | 0.45 kWh |
| 6:00am | 0 kWh |
| 6:30am | 0 kWh |
| 7:00am | 0 kWh |
| 7:30am | 0 kWh |
| 8:00am | 0 kWh |
| 8:30am | 0 kWh |
| 9:00am | 0 kWh |
| 9:30am | 0 kWh |
| 10:00am | 0 kWh |
| 10:30am | 0 kWh |
| 11:00am | 0 kWh |
| 11:30am | 0 kWh |
| Time period | Usage |
|---|---|
| 12:00pm | 0 kWh |
| 12:30pm | 0 kWh |
| 1:00pm | 0 kWh |
| 1:30pm | 0 kWh |
| 2:00pm | 0 kWh |
| 2:30pm | 0 kWh |
| 3:00pm | 0 kWh |
| 3:30pm | 0 kWh |
| 4:00pm | 0 kWh |
| 4:30pm | 0 kWh |
| 5:00pm | 0 kWh |
| 5:30pm | 0 kWh |
| 6:00pm | 0 kWh |
| 6:30pm | 0 kWh |
| 7:00pm | 0 kWh |
| 7:30pm | 0 kWh |
| 8:00pm | 0 kWh |
| 8:30pm | 0 kWh |
| 9:00pm | 0 kWh |
| 9:30pm | 0 kWh |
| 10:00pm | 0 kWh |
| 10:30pm | 0 kWh |
| 11:00pm | 0 kWh |
| 11:30pm | 0 kWh |
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