Vloggers Experience of Metering

According to age concern the recommended setting for a bedroom is between 16 -18c so I guess having the van set to 18c overnight is about right.

We have the house set to 19c during the day when we are active and 21c in the evenings up to 21.30, we don't have heating on overnight anywhere in the house. 

In the van the heating is on higher more like 21c during the day (if we are in the van) then in the evenings we turn it up to 23c. Overnight in the van its set at 17c. We prefer to be comfortable and not have to site around dressed up like a snowman or have to use throws just to keep warm.

As to metered electric we have used metered sites abroad but not in the UK. I think its all about what price you will be paying per kwh and knowing just how much you do use.

I know in the warm weather with solar generation we can manage on 4kw per day. At home just for electric lights and appliances we average around 6kwh per day in the winter months when solar generation is very limited.

During the sunnier months with 10 panels our electric use is around 2 or 3 kwh per day. We tend to use the power hungry appliances like washing machine and dishwasher when the sun is out so that makes a big saving and of course electric light use is very minimal during the summer months. 

Tammygirl said:- According to age concern the recommended setting for a bedroom is between 16 -18c so I guess having the van set to 18c overnight is about right.

TG

That is quite interesting information and perhaps puts into perspective those that have heating on overnight in their vans. If you think that a house, especially a well insulated one,  will loose temperature a lot slower rate than a caravan or motorhome you can understand why people keep the heating on, when they are away in the van. At what temperature you have the heating is, obviously, a personal choice. No point going away at this time of year and being uncomfortable?

David

PD. In the preparation scenario you describe I would have done much the same as you but only over a around a 24 hour period. We have an Alde system with a engine heat exchanger.

LLM,I would have normally done the same but it was bitterly cold and the interior of the van, furnishings and bedding all needed to be warmed up and I needed time in the van to make everything ready.

peedee

Agree DK, not only that a house is more thermally sound but the heating I think is more accurate. 

In the caravans we've had the thermostat's have never been that accurate neither has either of the 2 MHs we owned.

The PVC that we now have isn't as well insulated (yet) as the Bailey MH we owned. On top of that I've noticed that when we set the the heating to say 22c because we are feeling it chilly, it rarely comes on and I have to turn it to 24c to get some heat. I have an independent thermometer in the van so always check one against the other. Of course it could be the thermometer that is wrong but I don't think it is. I believe we can adjust the control to Offset the difference but have not done so yet. I do know that the system is more effective on 2kw or gas.

There is no pleasure going away in winter in the van and being cold, just plain silly.

We do not heat the house overnight, never have, so in the van we step the Alde down to 13/14 degrees overnight, Spring and Autumn, with it coming on at 18degrees in the morning as, perversely, the biggest radiator in the van is the one alongside the bed!

First person up, usually me, turns it up  to 20.   If out all day it goes back down to 18, but never off completely.

We would be uncomfortable in the house with 16-18 overnight.

Yes I don't think I would like to sleep in the house with the heating at 16 - 18c but in the van we have it set to 17c and that seems about right (I think the actual temp would be about 15c).

It usually doesn't come on until about 5 am so I think we do alright + as I mentioned above the PVC isn't as well insulated (yet) as the caravan and previous MH was. 

In the house all are radiators have individual thermostats and timers. Our bedroom is set at 16C overnight. In fact it rarely comes on except in coldest weather, so obviously the normal temp is above that. If we are away when it is chilly we set the heater at 16C in the van. It is more like 15C when you wake up and we then immediately turn the thermostat up. If there was no heating I would be far too cold.

"There is no pleasure going away in winter in the van and being cold, just plain silly."

agree not for us, in our dotage, we like the comfort of home too much and with much shorter days you are limited as to what you can do and lots of areas have hunkered down for the winter so not a lot going on.

we used to many years ago when we lived in Scotland and we were foot loose and fancy free, on one occasion on the club site at Braemar, we could not open the door as the snow had weighted down the porch awning and was blocking the door, and on several occasions we had to leave the caravan in the farm yard at the bottom of the lane as the lane was full of snow or just too icey

Rufs, if we had a reason for going out in winter then we would and have done so in the past. 

These days though we use the winter months to organise any work that needs doing around the home and garden, sort out admin  visit friends etc.

In the winter it doesn't get light here until after 9am unless its a bright freezing cold day. So we take advantage of that and stay in bed much longer than we would in the summer months when its sunrise at something silly o'clock.

I quite like going round the shops in winter where as in summer I avoid them as I prefer to be outdoors.

Gone are the days I got up at 6am to throw myself down a mountain skiing or to muck out my horse and then go for a hack. The times I had to slide off the side of her as I couldn't feel my feet. Great memories but not for me nowadays.

David,  I watched the video with interest,  we have used a CL with metered electric regularly over the last 5/6 year's.  Cost of  electricity was under £1 a day (without heating) when we first went, last visit it worked out at £2.87 per day (without heating)  using the heating during spring and Autumn it has been more like £5-£6 per day, not sure of exact amount as I didn't note how much we'd used at the time, we also don't leave the heating on overnight. Not that surprised at the vlogger's winter usage.