Green Building Forum - Appliance Timing?

Appliance Timing?

Victorianeco — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 10:57:10 +0000

Both my dishwasher and my washing machine have timers, what is the best time to use them?

If we all did it at night wouldn't this then mean issues overnight for the grid perhaps?

We have a standard tariff, so cost is constant for us regardless time of the day. We also don't have a smart meter (should we???)

Appliance Timing?

Jeff B — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 11:32:50 +0000

I would be wary of running any appliance during the night from a safety point of view. It depends what you mean "at night" - would the wash cycle be complete before you go to bed?

Appliance Timing?

philedge — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 11:53:23 +0000

So long as its not a whirlpool appliance, personally I think it would be for the greater good if you ran appliances in the early hours of the morning when theres often a surplus of power. If your concerned about the very remote chance of something going wrong, check your smoke alarms!

Appliance Timing?

Peter_in_Hungary — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 11:57:29 +0000

Posted By: philedgeIf your concerned about the very remote chance of something going wrong, check your smoke alarms!

Smoke alarms were never very good at detecting floods

Appliance Timing?

djh — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 13:59:34 +0000

We run our washing machine in the early morning so it finishes as we get up and can put the clothes out to dry. If we use the dishwasher we start it last thing at night as we go to bed.

I don't think there's any chance that everybody running appliances overnight would overtax the grid. Neither do I worry about things going wrong. They never have. (and yes, I know some very small percentage of people have problems, but a lot more people have car crashes every day and I still go out of the house.)

Appliance Timing?

DamonHD — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 21:34:21 +0000

Risks from running sensible-brand appliances overnight appear to be negligble compared to (say) road travel which we do without thinking:

http://www.earth.org.uk/note-on-Zanussi-ZWD14581W-freestanding-washer-dryer-REVIEW.html#Safety

Run at times when demand is low to help flatten the grid demand curve so typically 1-4am, or when your local microgeneration can cover the load directly if you have any:

http://www.earth.org.uk/_gridCarbonIntensityGB.html

Everyone in the UK could buy an electric car and charge it overnight without hurting the grid: 1 or 2kWh here and there for a washload will be positively helpful balancing it.

Rgds

Damon

Appliance Timing?

Jeff B — Wed, 29 Jan 2020 12:01:35 +0000

I accept all the arguments presented above but I personally would not run any appliances overnight. We don't use our dishwasher much anyway as there's only the two of us and the washing machine we run on sunny days (I've almost forgotten what they look like this winter!) when we are generating PV electricity.

Appliance Timing?

DamonHD — Wed, 29 Jan 2020 15:05:31 +0000

I don't imagine that you turn your fridge/freezer off overnight...

Rgds

Damon

Appliance Timing?

Mike1 — Wed, 29 Jan 2020 15:33:57 +0000

Posted By: VictorianecoWe also don't have a smart meter (should we???)

Maybe. There are several power suppliers offering cheaper deals for smart meter users, though not the cheapest on the market.

Appliance Timing?

Jeff B — Wed, 29 Jan 2020 16:38:19 +0000

Posted By: DamonHDI don't imagine that you turn your fridge/freezer off overnight...

Rgds

Damon

As soon as I clicked send, I anticipated someone saying exactly that!!

As far as I know fridges/freezers don't tend to leak or give rise to many concerns!

Appliance Timing?

djh — Wed, 29 Jan 2020 16:44:09 +0000

Posted By: Jeff BAs far as I know fridges/freezers don't tend to leak or give rise to many concerns!

That'll be why Which is running a campaign to ban plastic-backed fridges then, because of the cases where they have started fires.

Appliance Timing?

Jeff B — Wed, 29 Jan 2020 18:56:41 +0000

Posted By: djh
Posted By: Jeff BAs far as I know fridges/freezers don't tend to leak or give rise to many concerns!

That'll be why Which is running a campaign to ban plastic-backed fridges then, because of the cases where they have started fires." title="">

That was why I was very careful not to get such a fridge when we changed ours last! I assume all new fridges/freezers don't have the plastic backing any more?

Appliance Timing?

LF — Thu, 30 Jan 2020 15:12:27 +0000

We sometimes put washing machine on last thing at night, it is in garage attached to house.

After Grenfell, I did a fair bit of reading about do's and don'ts on appliances. They should not be left unattended when on according to local fire brigade advice.

We turn dishwasher off after it finishes now.

Washer now has a fire extinguisher with temperature bulb (like sprinklers) that would automatically open in case of a fire. It is in garage attached to house. I think it was about Â£15 or Â£20.

I check and clean our small freezer for crud around the compressor and electrical connections - twice per year.
It has plastic backing and not well protected. Making sure there is no fuel to aid the thing to set the plastic on fire and making sure no sign of heat on electrical connections/wires. It was mucky at first but now all clear.

The main fridge freezer compressor and switches have metal box around them (lie a heat shield) The Americans will not accept anything else on these type of appliance.