@JoeSoap
I just try and save energy anyway. Where I live, the pattern of peak and off-peak usage is completely different from most places. Smart meters don't work here so we can't participate in DFS type schemes, but I do know (from experience) exactly when peak energy usage periods are in my local area.
Peak usage happens between 7pm and 7am thanks to a rather large food factory just down the road. They use megawatts of energy for several of their processes on the night shift as they can't do certain things during the day. There are also three 'peaks' at 4pm, 4am and 11am because that's when several large dairy farms run their milking parlours.
The days of most folks working 9 to 5, with shops and offices using power between those hours, then everyone getting home around 6 or so to put the telly on and make dinner are rather a thing of the past, I think. Flexible working, working from home and the gig economy have significantly changed energy usage patterns and so the old notion of 'cheap rate' between midnight and 7am is surely very much out of date now?
Plus, when Economy 7 first became a thing, along with complex electric heating systems, we had the luxury of tens of megawatts of 'always on' baseline power from the fleet of Magnox nuclear reactors. Those days are long gone and, thanks to solar, the UK now generates nearly as much extra electricity from solar by day than nuclear used to have 'spare' at night.
Yes, the UK Power Networks statistics still show higher usage by day compared to at night, but that is balanced by the ability to increase or decrease the generation from NOL sources such as CGCT generation. But the balance is shifting and the differential between daytime and night-time isn't what it was 20 years or more ago. Back then, apart from the fridge or freezer, everything was switched off when we went to bed. Including TV. Now with 'always on' electronics (routers, TVs, AV equipment) plus umpteen channels providing 24h continuous content and peoples working patterns being completely different, the difference between domestic peak and off-peak usage is a lot smaller than it once was. So domestic customers shifting usage by an hour or two a few times over the winter won't actually make a vast difference to the availability of electricity supply or generation.
In 2005, domestic energy usage in the UK was around 126 terrawatt-hours per annum. For 2022 it was around 96 TWh. That's a reduction of 13%. Industrial and other uses accounted for 224TWh in 2005 and 178 TWh in 2022, or a reduction of 10.5%. So if the energy sector are adamant that we all try and save or shift our energy usage, surely they should be focussed on targeting non-domestic energy users rather than trying to appeal to the general public (or offer bribes) to shift a couple of kWh here and there?
I just try and save energy anyway. Where I live, the pattern of peak and off-peak usage is completely different from most places. Smart meters don't work here so we can't participate in DFS type schemes, but I do know (from experience) exactly when peak energy usage periods are in my local area.
Peak usage happens between 7pm and 7am thanks to a rather large food factory just down the road. They use megawatts of energy for several of their processes on the night shift as they can't do certain things during the day. There are also three 'peaks' at 4pm, 4am and 11am because that's when several large dairy farms run their milking parlours.
The days of most folks working 9 to 5, with shops and offices using power between those hours, then everyone getting home around 6 or so to put the telly on and make dinner are rather a thing of the past, I think. Flexible working, working from home and the gig economy have significantly changed energy usage patterns and so the old notion of 'cheap rate' between midnight and 7am is surely very much out of date now?
Plus, when Economy 7 first became a thing, along with complex electric heating systems, we had the luxury of tens of megawatts of 'always on' baseline power from the fleet of Magnox nuclear reactors. Those days are long gone and, thanks to solar, the UK now generates nearly as much extra electricity from solar by day than nuclear used to have 'spare' at night.
Yes, the UK Power Networks statistics still show higher usage by day compared to at night, but that is balanced by the ability to increase or decrease the generation from NOL sources such as CGCT generation. But the balance is shifting and the differential between daytime and night-time isn't what it was 20 years or more ago. Back then, apart from the fridge or freezer, everything was switched off when we went to bed. Including TV. Now with 'always on' electronics (routers, TVs, AV equipment) plus umpteen channels providing 24h continuous content and peoples working patterns being completely different, the difference between domestic peak and off-peak usage is a lot smaller than it once was. So domestic customers shifting usage by an hour or two a few times over the winter won't actually make a vast difference to the availability of electricity supply or generation.
In 2005, domestic energy usage in the UK was around 126 terrawatt-hours per annum. For 2022 it was around 96 TWh. That's a reduction of 13%. Industrial and other uses accounted for 224TWh in 2005 and 178 TWh in 2022, or a reduction of 10.5%. So if the energy sector are adamant that we all try and save or shift our energy usage, surely they should be focussed on targeting non-domestic energy users rather than trying to appeal to the general public (or offer bribes) to shift a couple of kWh here and there?
Last edited by retrotecchie; 26-11-23 at 15:22.
Don't shoot me, I'm only the piano player. I DON'T work for or on behalf of EON.Next, but am willing to try and help if I can. Not on mains gas, mobile network or mains drainage. House heated almost entirely by baby dragons.
