iHD Red Everytime I Switch Anything On

Your Kettle and Toaster are fairly high energy consumers (being new doesn’t reduce power usage much). But they should only be using power for the short time that they’re on. 
You should be able to see your usage through a typical day and that might give a clue as to what is consuming power and when

Hi ​@bonniejean 

One of our volunteers has already left some good points here, my IHD does the same when I switch my kettle on, but quickly returns back to green when it finishes boiling - as BPLightlog mentioned, they should only be using power while in use, but your usage should drop back down when they finish.

Do you know if you’re being billed to daily or monthly meter readings? More frequent readings would mean we can bill you accurately, do you know how often readings are being sent to us? If you’ve not checked those on your account, it will be worth checking to see if we’re getting meter readings and whether the bills have been based on meter readings.

We’ve got a couple of topics on the Forum which may be helpful here:

Hope this helps.

Hi yes it does go straight back down I’m just shocked at how much electricity I’m going through before I’ve even got up my IHD is showing £2.60 usage by 6am!!! Even reducing my underfloor heating from constant usage to 2hrs a day has made little difference to the usage. My meter gives half hourly readings 

That might sound high for so early in the day but don’t forget that it will include the standing charge for the day. 
If you can see your half hourly usage, you might be able to figure out what’s using most power but heating and hot water often take quite a bit during winter as they re-heat for the day ahead

Oh of course I hadn’t thought of the standing order charge. I need to work out how to see my half hour usage to try and work out what is using the energy 

Try here ​@bonniejean 

That’s helpful and I’m baffled now. It’s mostly 13.30-17.30 when I’m not in my flat then a spike at 18.00 for an hour which makes sense as my heating is on then 

If you share a screenshot of an example day’s half hourly usage we’d be happy to give an opinion !! 

thanks here’s  yesterday 

Something definitely switches on around 4am and then there are other increases around 7:30 and as you say from 13:30 for a few hours. 
If you're sure these are actual readings rather than estimates (they can still be estimated if the system isn’t receiving full readings), then the next thing to check is if the meter number on your bill (labelled MPAN) matches your actual meter. https://www.ovoenergy.com/guides/energy-guides/what-is-an-mpan-number

The timing of the extra usage looks like some heating or hot water (immersion heater?) 

Do you have an off peak tariff like economy 7 (or economy 10)? 
Some of the timings seem to correspond to those off peak time slots

Hi no not on an off peak tarrif or economy 7. The 7.30 I could guess is when I’m up as I leave for work about then. And yeah not in until about 6-7pm for a when heating comes on when you see a spike watch occasional tv but 1hr max if that a day under 5hrs a week. In bed by 11pm until 6.30am.

I’ll check mpan number when I get in

Heating and hot water will use the most energy. What are you using for these ? Do you have an electric shower ? The underfloor heating is probably a big user, depending how big the area being heated. What time of day do you have it on ?

Cooking and the kettle, coffee machine and toaster use a lot of electricity but  for a short time. Fridge freezer will run on and off all 24 hours. TV is comparatively little.

I think BP meant to ask you to compare the Meter Serial Number (MSN) on your bill with the one on your meter. The MPAN isn’t shown on the meter.

The meter is given a serial number on manufacture. The supply to the property has an MPAN, whose ID won’t normally change. It’s allocated by the DNO. The supplier (here, OVO) is responsible for matching MSNs to MPANs and making sure the right ones are recorded in the national database. It’s sadly not unusual for a meter in a block of flats to be linked to the wrong flat.

A smart meter has an MSN starting with the two-digit year of manufacture, so that’s the one to look for on the meter.

I agree that the usage data you shared look suspiciously like those I’d expect to see on a multi-rate system, with power coming on to a switched heating circuit at 04:00 (about 3 kW), and again at 13:30. It would help a lot to see a clear photo of the meter and the backboard it’s mounted on, and also of the consumer unit (fuse box), clear enough to be able to read the labels on the breakers. Your plan page would show what sort of tariff you’re on, if you’d like to share that as well.

Hi 

yes the serial number match here’s the photos I hope and of my plan . Only thing of note is the water one trips if I have more than 5-10min shower 

Ok, I can now see the cabling into and out of your meter. 

It goes via connector blocks into the white ‘box’ but I can’t see what that is .. any idea?

Or is that the consumer unit (shown in the second photo)?

​@BPLightlog I thought that was the CU with its lid closed.

Can I ask what heats your water? If there’s an immersion heater, I wonder if its timing is right for your tariff. 
 

There’s definitely a higher usage early morning and then again early afternoon. These are normally associated with heating and a tariff such as Economy 10 where there is an off peak rate early morning and afternoon. 
Your other ‘high’ points are what might be expected for breakfast and evening. 
You mention controlling the underfloor heating to a 2 hr slot .. is there a separate control for that?

Ok, I can now see the cabling into and out of your meter. 

It goes via connector blocks into the white ‘box’ but I can’t see what that is .. any idea?

Or is that the consumer unit (shown in the second photo)?

Yes that’s the CU with the lid closed 

The underfloor heating has its own thermostat and shows energy use attached for the week . No immersion heater 

How is your water heated ? 

I have no clue you know. I can’t see a boiler or heater anywhere. I rent it. 

Is there a hot water cylinder anywhere?  Sounds like an electric shower? Can you post a photo of it ?!

Ok found the hot water heater 

So that looks like it heats the water on demand, ie when you turn on any hot tap. There’s no storage tank involved. So it won’t be using electricity when you’re not at home. 
Are there timers for your three sets of under floor heating ? Maybe all controlled on the same display in your photo ⬆️ but individually selectable? 

I have the other 2 sets of underfloor heating in the bedrooms now totally switched off at the plug control to it to see if that helped but it didn’t. It’s only the main one that’s on now that covers the open plan kitchen/ living room and the bathroom