Thanks for your input Benny - I think it is an interesting topic that probably bears more scrutiny...however the small 'retail' UPS's sold for computer systems are just good enough for keeping things going for a short while so that you can shut down computers properly, (and possibly running a few other low wattage devices for an hour or 2 as Rockabye reports).
Just a bit more on fridge power usage......I did a bit of measurement of my fridge which as I said earlier is an old beast (Samsung). It has used 2.4kWh in the past 24 hours. This is a bit on the low side I think as:
1) I was away from the house for most of that 24Hrs
2) Its late autumn and so the ambient temps are lower.
I guess in summer with frequent door opening/closing you could probably double that usage.
Looking at the kWh usage though I don't think your calculation of an average per hour is reasonable because:
1) Daytime ambient temperatures are higher than night time temperatures
2) The fridge door remains shut at night (unless you are nocturnal
)
Therefore, I think the KWh usage will be skewed towardsthe daytime hours. (I'll do some more readings and post in a week or 2).
Another idea, and this is not new, (but I've not seen it implemented on a domestic fridge yet), is to set the fridge thermostat to its lowest setting during the night and then back to 'normal' during the day. This will effectively super cool the fridge and its contents using off peak electricity. I might be able to do some rough experiments with this also as my fridge has push buttons on the front to alter the temperature. Unfortunately there is no temperature readout/indicator so, as yet I do not know what the available temperature range is (I suspect only a few degrees).
Posted Sunday 18 May 2014 @ 6:44:59 am from IP
#