So what is your vampire load?

[solar pete]

In my experience looking at utility data, a typical home of around 2000 Sqft (say 3 to 4 bedrooms and 2 bath plus garage) usually has a baseload of 500 watts. Now, I would expect people on this forum to be less because they're exceptionally energy efficient.

If your utility doesn't provide hourly smart meter data there is a simple method to get a rough snapshot of your house energy usage. All you need is a stopwatch and a calculator.

Go to your meter and find the spinning disk. Assuming most people have digital meters now, the digital disk might be in multiple locations. It might be a long row of dashes at the bottom of the screen. Or it might be a very small set of three dots in the left or right corner. The dots should appear left to right and then may disappear completely only to cycle around. If generating they should go right to left.

1) Take your stop watch and measure the seconds it takes for the dial to go completely around.

2) find the KH rating of your meter. It could be 7.2, 10, 12, 14.4, whatever. Different meters have different KH ratings. There should be a label that says KH and a number.

3) Use the following equation.
(3600 * KH)/(Time in seconds per revolution) = Watts

3600 is the number of seconds in an hour. KH is the conversion from seconds to watts. Time is the seconds you measured for one revolution.

Example, KH=7.2, T=40 s

(3600 * 7.2)/40 = 648 Watts

The method I listed above won't be as accurate as putting an amp probe at the breaker and doing the p=vi calculation but it will be very close. It's a quick and simple way to determine how much energy is drawn by a house at any moment. The only thing you need to watch out for is that something kicks on, like an AC, fridge, pump, or water heater, and throws off your stop watch.

Try that. Then you can start turning things on and off to see how much they actually draw in watts when running.

You can also use that to compare what your inverter says your generating and what you're actually putting on the grid.

Howdy AA

Wow never heard of that before, cool, thanks for sharing.

[skipro3]

I went from 550wh down to 250wh on average by replacing my garage fridge with an energy star version, going all-LED lighting, turning off 2 ceiling fans that were on 24/7 and running around turning stuff off that I used to not worry about until bedtime. Then I got a 'free' hot tub and made it all back up! Well, at least I saved enough residual load to offset the hot tub.

To check loads, I measure when I'm on vacation using my Rainforest and PVOutpt website.

[paul65k]

Well..........I have the following:

• 18 CF Refrigerator with Ice Maker (Vintage 1991)
• 20 CF Refrigerator (Vintage 1992)
• 15 CF Upright Deep Freeze (2009)
• 50 Bottle Freestanding Wine Cooler (2013)
• DISH DVR
• Router/DSL Modem
• Wireless Extender
• 3 Smart Plugs

These together with a couple of those rechargeable flashlight/nightlight thingies in case of a power outage run a total of .48Kw per hour or 11.52 Kwh's per day, or ~348Kwh's a month in the summer and .23 Kwh's in the winter or ~167 monthly so I estimate that my annual vampire usage is ~2908 per year of the ~7300 that I will likely generate this year or 40% of my total production. I obviously have a lot if "Stuff" running and I'm wondering how much I could cut this down if I replaced the 2 older refers with one newer energy star unit......Anyone have any ideas???

[bcroe]

Well..........I have the following:

• 18 CF Refrigerator with Ice Maker (Vintage 1991)
• 20 CF Refrigerator (Vintage 1992)
• 15 CF Upright Deep Freeze (2009)
• 50 Bottle Freestanding Wine Cooler (2013)
• DISH DVR
• Router/DSL Modem
• Wireless Extender
• 3 Smart Plugs

These together with a couple of those rechargeable flashlight/nightlight thingies in case of a power outage run a total of .48Kw per hour or 11.52 Kwh's per day, or ~348Kwh's a month in the summer and .23 Kwh's in the winter or ~167 monthly so I estimate that my annual vampire usage is ~2908 per year of the ~7300 that I will likely generate this year or 40% of my total production. I obviously have a lot if "Stuff" running and I'm wondering how much I could cut this down if I replaced the 2 older refers with one newer energy star unit......Anyone have any ideas???

Put a Kill-A-Watt on each one and determine the KWH per day. Perhaps the top 4 are much
of it, do you really need them all? I had a fine 20 year old fridge freezer that used 2.4 KWH
per day. The energy star fridge-freezer I replaced it with used 1 KWH per day. Bruce Roe

[pamalot]

My Smappee is telling me I've got an "Always on" of 55 watts. Looking back at last month it's telling me my home "Always on" was 45kWh. I went on an eco-mission when I first got the Smappee about 6 months back and tracked down most things that were vampire loads in my home. I either put a smart plug on them so Smappee can automatically switch them off or simply learn to unplug them. From memory I got it down from about 400 Watts of "Always on" down to what it is now. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the 55 watts that it's still sitting at was sustainable as I haven't looked at the "Always on" for a few months. I think this is more to do with the fact that I simply let the Smappee Comfort Plugs (their name for smart-plugs) automatically switch stuff off rather than me changing my ways, which I suspect wouldn't have lasted.

The remainder is made up mainly from things that I can't do without being off e.g Wifi router and various small loads like Oven clock (2 watts). I would really struggle to get it any less than what I have it.

Some things I didn't realize before I started looking at all this in detail. I found my entertainment system and sub-woofer was using 90watts of power in standby mode. Also, my fridge used zero energy for long periods of time then 140 watts for a small amount of time then back to zero. I now realize I was a complete novice in all this but initially I thought my fridge was part of my Vampire Loads, I just though a fridge is always using power. Now I know it's only using power when the compressor kicks in. I know most of you guys will already know this but I thought I would say it, just in case there's anyone else like me out there that's a complete novice.

[bcroe]

My Smappee is telling me I've got an "Always on" of 55 watts. Looking back at last month it's telling me my home "Always on" was 45kWh. I went on an eco-mission when I first got the Smappee about 6 months back and tracked down most things that were vampire loads in my home. I either put a smart plug on them so Smappee can automatically switch them off or simply learn to unplug them. From memory I got it down from about 400 Watts of "Always on" down to what it is now. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the 55 watts that it's still sitting at was sustainable as I haven't looked at the "Always on" for a few months. I think this is more to do with the fact that I simply let the Smappee Comfort Plugs (their name for smart-plugs) automatically switch stuff off rather than me changing my ways, which I suspect wouldn't have lasted.

The remainder is made up mainly from things that I can't do without being off e.g Wifi router and various small loads like Oven clock (2 watts). I would really struggle to get it any less than what I have it.

That is a pretty good demo of what can be done. And of the value of your Smappee system. I
haven't figured out the oven clock yet either. Can't disconnect it, because its tied into operation of
the oven. Guess I should see exactly where the power is going, and if can be reduced. Bruce Roe

[azdave]

...I just though a fridge is always using power. Now I know it's only using power when the compressor kicks in.

A refrigerator also uses power to periodically warm a heating element in order to defrost the refrigeration coils. This may happen every 8,10, 12 hours depanding on the unit. If you have an automatic ice maker there is also a heating element in that assembly that comes on to help release the ice cubes just before they get sent to the collection bin.

[inetdog]

A refrigerator also uses power to periodically warm a heating element in order to defrost the refrigeration coils. This may happen every 8,10, 12 hours depanding on the unit. If you have an automatic ice maker there is also a heating element in that assembly that comes on to help release the ice cubes just before they get sent to the collection bin.

And a lot of modern refrigerators have optional heaters around the door gaskets to prevent condensation in humid environments.
If you do not have a condensation problem you can disable those heaters and save a significant amount of power.
IIRC, the Energy Star measurements, etc. are made with the door heaters off and with the ice maker (if there is one) turned off.
There was a fairly large fuss about how LG was making its measurements for some of their models with the ice compartment as well as the ice maker mounted in the refrigerator door. If you turned off the ice maker you also turned off the refrigeration to the bin in the door and all the ice would melt. Did not seem fair, and the authorities agreed.

[w00dy]

I am seeing that our vampire load seems to be about .45 kW - I think that is pretty high for our home. We have a new 3500 sq/ft home with mostly new everything.

I am wondering if some of my vampire load could be lowered. I have some smart power strips I am going to add to our entertainment system, and I am going to see what my garage refrigerator and wine fridge are running watt wise...those seem to be the only areas where we could significantly reduce consumption.

Some of our items that tend to use power no matter what...

Room Occupancy Sensors
Smoke/CO alarms
Internet Gateway
Various DC Wall Adapter Plugs (some are CA compatible and should shut down with no load)
Computer - on 24hrs - but CPU & Monitor are in sleep mode most of the time
Garage Door Monitor
WiFi Wireless Modem
Ethernet Switch
Ooma Box
Various Power Strips
Pool Automation Panel
Security Lights/Motion Detectors Light Sensors
Irrigation Control Panel
Hydronic Radiant Heat Zone Controllers and Sensors (pumps are not running in summer)

Appliances: Microwave, Wall Oven, Toaster, Fridge, Freezer, Wine Fridge, Garage Fridge

[skipro3]

I am seeing that our vampire load seems to be about .45 kW - I think that is pretty high for our home. We have a new 3500 sq/ft home with mostly new everything.

I am wondering if some of my vampire load could be lowered. I have some smart power strips I am going to add to our entertainment system, and I am going to see what my garage refrigerator and wine fridge are running watt wise...those seem to be the only areas where we could significantly reduce consumption.

Some of our items that tend to use power no matter what...

Room Occupancy Sensors
Smoke/CO alarms
Internet Gateway
Various DC Wall Adapter Plugs (some are CA compatible and should shut down with no load)
Computer - on 24hrs - but CPU & Monitor are in sleep mode most of the time
Garage Door Monitor
WiFi Wireless Modem
Ethernet Switch
Ooma Box
Various Power Strips
Pool Automation Panel
Security Lights/Motion Detectors Light Sensors
Irrigation Control Panel
Hydronic Radiant Heat Zone Controllers and Sensors (pumps are not running in summer)

Appliances: Microwave, Wall Oven, Toaster, Fridge, Freezer, Wine Fridge, Garage Fridge

I bought a clamp-on amp meter, opened my panel cover and measured each breaker circuit. I found, (or not) a 200 watt 'load' in my garage. I unplugged everything in the garage, but there's still a 200watt load that cycles on and off. Drives me NUTS! I imagine the electrician wired in something else to that circuit breaker that is not garage related.

However, you can at least isolate down to the room with a clamp-on amp meter. Some regular volt/amp meters can option a clamp on lead set so you might save a few bucks going that route.

Just a suggestion.

Some other loads I have that you might not have thought of in your home;
alarm clocks in the bedroom, Roomba vacuum, hand-held battery vac I keep in the laundry room for quick messes, a small ozone generator for the bathroom.

[w00dy]

I bought a clamp-on amp meter, opened my panel cover and measured each breaker circuit. I found, (or not) a 200 watt 'load' in my garage. I unplugged everything in the garage, but there's still a 200watt load that cycles on and off. Drives me NUTS! I imagine the electrician wired in something else to that circuit breaker that is not garage related.

However, you can at least isolate down to the room with a clamp-on amp meter. Some regular volt/amp meters can option a clamp on lead set so you might save a few bucks going that route.

Just a suggestion.

Some other loads I have that you might not have thought of in your home;
alarm clocks in the bedroom, Roomba vacuum, hand-held battery vac I keep in the laundry room for quick messes, a small ozone generator for the bathroom.

I do have a clamp-on amp meter I could use.

You reminded me of a couple of air cleaners/zappers we use in two bedrooms and our internet clock radio that are also always on. It all adds up!

[bcroe]

Anything warm to the touch is suspect. My CO det was very bad, replaced it with a
battery powered version. I found my electric toothbrush charger is terribly inefficient.
Bruce Roe

[SolarFamilyGuy]

God damn! Why did I start reading this thread? Now I am going to dig out my kill-A-Watt Meter and spend the next few hours recording my vampire electronics.

[SolarFamilyGuy]

Ok, my final off/idle watt usage is 109.7watts for everything minus the furnace fan and heated kitchen tiles. But I have the kitchen floor heat on a smart programable thermostat that is set to shut off at 10pm. Here is my list of vampire electronics


Home theater 48 watts idle
Smart water meter 1 watt
Commercial espresso machine off 1 watt
Microwave 3.2 watts
Garage door 4.6 watts
Garage freezer 0 watts
Kitchen fridge 0 watts
iMac/printer 3.4 watts
Wife's work computer 7.5 watts
Router/switch/time capsule 25 watts leave running 24/7
2 shavers/electronic tooth brush 4 watts
Wife's hair products 1 watt
Alarm clock 2 watts
C-pap machine running all night 8 watts
Washer/dryer off 1 watt
Kitchen range 0 watts

[bcroe]

Ok, my final off/idle watt usage is 109.7watts for everything minus the furnace fan and heated kitchen tiles. But I have the kitchen floor heat on a smart programable thermostat that is set to shut off at 10pm. Here is my list of vampire electronics
Home theater 48 watts idle
Smart water meter 1 watt
Commercial espresso machine off 1 watt
Microwave 3.2 watts
Garage door 4.6 watts
Garage freezer 0 watts
Kitchen fridge 0 watts
iMac/printer 3.4 watts
Wife's work computer 7.5 watts
Router/switch/time capsule 25 watts leave running 24/7
2 shavers/electronic tooth brush 4 watts
Wife's hair products 1 watt
Alarm clock 2 watts
C-pap machine running all night 8 watts
Washer/dryer off 1 watt
Kitchen range 0 watts

Your numbers look a lot like mine, but the list is a lot shorter. Don't you have a smoke det, CO det,
door bell, motion detector light, answering machine, wireless phone, alarm system, GFI outlets,
furnace, battery maintainers, DVD player, TV, cable amplifier, central vacuum, door bell? I have
several of almost all the above. Bruce Roe