Eco-Warriors R'us - Shutting down equipment

[localzuk]

Agreed. Turning off Switches, or your AD server is a bad idea. These devices can and will complain bitterly if you do this.

 

Also, on the router - if it is provided by your LEA/ISP (ie a managed internet connection like we have), turning it off most likely will upset them. Ours is monitored remotely, to ensure our connection is working. If it goes off, we get phonecalls.

 

Obviously, things like desktop PC's, photocopiers, projectors and the like should be off when not in use. They chew through power like no-body's business.

[Sirbendy]

our big red switches are just that..heavy duty cooker-esque ones with neons, next to the teacher PCs...

 

The heating in this place does cost a bomb..but we share the site with a leisure centre and ski-slope, so we apportion the bills accordingly.

 

New place has ground-source heating loops and underfloor heating throughout, which should be minimal cost to run, as well as keeping the place to a fairly uniform temperature. REALLY looking forward to that.

 

I'm hoping that the BMS will allow me to take data from it and graph it, so we can have a live display of wind turbine output, power usage, building temperature, ground source heat levels, mains/rainwater usage etc, and bolt it up with the display from our weather station, then put it to the display systems in the foyer and our IT office.

 

I think it'd make interesting reading and possibly some interest for..say..science.

[dirtydog]

I thought a normal ceiling tile of lighting (4 fluoros) used about the same power as a PC (roughly 60W). Am I close? That would put their consumption lower than the computers in a suite but on a par. Do any schools switch lights off with motion sensors? I've seen them in corridors, but I would think that a classroom with no movement for 5 minutes means a classroom with no kids in it!

 

our new block has them in every room and corridoor and they work well, makes sense to me.

[mossj]

Another recommendation for the plug-in monitors here - both at work and home. I just had a quarterly power bill for £43..heh. And that was us being lazy, at that.

 

my quartley electric comes to £190+ and has been known to hit £360, I didn't beleave it was possible to get it down that much,,, *borrows energy meter from school*

[powdarrmonkey]

my quartley electric comes to £190+ and has been known to hit £360, I didn't beleave it was possible to get it down that much,,, *borrows energy meter from school*

 

That's a lot... even in the winter, on economy 7 pre-paid tariff I still only reach about £80 a quarter

[Sirbendy]

ooh, yes.

 

Standby = naughty. Everything in each room on multiways, one point of "off", "off" happens when finished.

 

All lights are 9/12watt CFLs (3 wall mounted uplighters in living room), again off when not used.

 

Nothing major really..just a combo of using my energy meter and common sense. I wired each room up to multiways (e.g: living room had lights/simulated load, TV, Digibox, Wii, DVD player, and kettle linked up) then plugged into the meter at source and used as normal for an hour (including boiling a kettle once), took readings, then broke it down to each device, and planned accordingly.

 

Can't say I feel I'm missing out...I have lights, TV, freeview, Dualcore PC, missus has her duallie laptop, we both have a netbook too..we just use £5 a week power. Nice.

 

It was all kicked off by my last 1 bed flat, when the bill came to £350 and I told NPower they were having a laugh, and they could come and kiss my meter for the money. I bought the meter, did the simulations, calculated the costs for each appliance, applied it retrospectively and went back with the figures...they came out and replaced my meter.

 

Never doing that again. I now take the meter to shops if I'm going to buy electricals and insist on seeing whatever I'm looking ats "real world" usage.

 

Take my washer..it's a new Indesit WIB111. Nice. However, even "off" on the front it uses 8 watts, about the same as a CFL. Off at the mains for him. Same with my microwave in "non use" ...hence I cancelled it and went with a "non digital" unit that uses precisely nothing unless I'm literally cooking with it.

 

Even my router is on a £1 timer switch so it's off when we don't need it/aren't there...