Box-not-very-Clever-at-all

For some dumb reason I've been renting the same TV & video for quite a while. Like over 10 years. I wanted to return it to the company & cancel the rental agreement. So I phoned them up, canceled the agreement and arranged collection.

A few days later they ring me up and ask if I'd like to buy the kit for a nominal amount. I say no, I've no need for it. They offer me the video for free. Again I say no, just come and pick it up as arranged.

A week after that I receive a letter from them telling me they've closed the account & that I can keep the kit for free.

Now, I don't want the kit. I don't need it. That's why I asked them to pick it up. So I phone them up again. It takes ages to explain to the "customer services" rep on the end of the phone that I don't want the TV. "Oh," she says, "well, can't you give it to someone?" Well, I've already checked & no-one I know needs one. So I say no, come and pick it up like we arranged. "Well," she says, "we've already closed the account so we won't be collecting it. We could open the account again and re-arrange collection, but I don't know when that will be." In other words, they've cancelled a pre-arranged pickup without consulting their customer and in order for me to get the stuff removed by them they'll have to re-open the account, re-arrange the collection for a few months hence and charge me for renting the kit in the meantime.

And then when collection time's coming near I'd bet they'd tell me I can keep it for free again.

I just can't be bothered with that.

A quick search shows that I'm not the only one whose had fun with these guys. Based upon some of the search results, I think I'll hold onto the kit until after the next payment would be due to come off, just in case they "lose" the records saying I can keep the kit & they try to charge me with selling on their kit... After that it'll be a trip to the local recycle/re-use plant.

Timely Results

Thanks to Frank at work, I was able to save myself the cost of buying a power meter that I'd use once or twice then stick in a cupboard to gather dust for eternity. Just as well I didn't invest in one (at least the one I was looking at, which is what I borrowed) as it's not really accurate enough to get real data about the power consumption of the electronic timers I'm trying to check...

According to the power meter, a TS-EE8 7-day electronic timer requires ~0.01 amps, ~1 watt. However, as these are the lowest values the power meter can record, I guess these figures are probably +/- 50%.

There are two appliances that I want to use these timers with. Both look like they consume fairly low power themselves. The manuals for both give power consumption at ~30 watts. I guess this is the peak consumption, as measuring them with the power meter gives normal consumption of 5 watts and 9 watts.

If the consumption was ~30 watts, and if I assume that the timer actually consumes 1.5 watts, then I'd need to ensure the timer turned the appliances off for more than 1 hour 12 minutes per day to save energy. Not long really. With the normal power consumption figures these times go up... More than 4 hours per day and for the 5 watt appliance and more than 7 hours 12 minutes per day for the 9 watt one.

I can do both of these quite easily, but it's just not going to give quite the saving I was hoping for.

Ah well. I guess I'll just have to go rip out the central heating and replace it with something more efficient instead. Say a geothermal heating system. Now that would save some energy.

Trying to save the planet...

Ah, the initial burst of enthusiasm... second post within hours!

Anyway...

I'm not quite at the tree-hugging stage yet but, like most people I'm sure, I'm becoming more aware of how much energy I use and how much I could save. I've been replacing bulbs with more energy efficient ones as and when I can find equivalents. I found a great selection here, but I'm still struggling to find some bulbs, like striplight and MR16 halogen replacements that have equivalent wattages to those currently in the flat. I'm switching off appliances like the oven & microwave at the wall when they're not in use - I really don't need 5 digital clocks in every room! And I'm already noticing the difference in the electricity bill - so it's worth it for anyone, even if you're not worried about the planet.

My latest idea was to install timer switches for some of the appliances that have regular usage patterns. Like the broadband router - we don't need it on when we're asleep, and we don't need it if we're at work. So I paid a visit to that temple of gross consumerism, Argos, to invest in some timer switches. Problem is, the type of timer switches I want (electronic, 7-day schedule) don't specify anywhere what the power consumption is for the unit when it's in normal operation. There's no use in plugging an appliance into it in order to save energy if the timer itself consumes more watts than the appliance itself!

I guess I'm going to have to invest in one of these to find out.

So, manufacturers, please let us know what the power consumption of your devices are. And everyone else... before I go get a power meter, any idea how much power a TS-EE8 7-day electronic timer consumes?

Obligatory First Post

I've been putting off starting a blog for ages, mainly because I know fine well that I'll never get time (or remember) to put new posts up, thus joining the mass of people who claim to be bloggers just because they put up that one post 5 years ago. Still, here I am.

I'm hoping to post on technical stuff I've found out at work that others might find interesting or useful, some stuff on being a dad and other random ramblings.