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Old 01-31-15, 02:21 AM   #4
SDMCF
Apprentice EcoRenovator
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Finland
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Our electricity price also varies (though not in a fixed manner like yours) and I have been working on various ways to take advantage of that. Maybe some of these ideas would also work for you.
I always start the dishwasher just before I go to bed rather than during more expensive times. Same for clothes washing.
Previously we didn't use a setback period on the GSHP with which we use to heat the house, but now I have it set to run at a lower temperature during generally expensive times. This is not ideal with a heat pump, and the setback period can need occasional adjustment as the season changes, but it does save.
Put your freezer on a timer so it only runs a few minutes per hour during peak times. Run it at a lower temperature during cheap times and at a higher temperature (but still cold enough) off peak. With the combination of these two it will run rarely, if at all, during peak times.
When I remember I move some ice blocks from the freezer to the fridge at the start of expensive periods, and move them back again at the start of cheap periods. Typically this means breakfast time and bed time. This reduces the electricity used by the fridge during peak times.
I work from home, and I use my laptop on its battery as much as possible during peak times, and plug it in during off-peak periods.
Charge things like mobile phones only at night.
Some dishes like stews can be cooked off-peak and just heated through if you need to eat during peak times. Avoid running the oven during peak times as much as possible.
Oh, with your heat pump that heats your water, be sure that it doesn't operate its resistive heating when the timer starts it up and it finds the water is a lot cooler than the target temperature. If the heat pump were working 24/7 this is less of an issue, but when it has a setback period it can be a problem when it comes back on line.
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