What i conclude...

i conclude that all those things i did on the 23rd of June, saved electricity. on an average day we use around 19 wh, but yesterday we only used up 11.44 wh, showing that they did help to save electricity!
another conclusion is that the kettle uses up the most electricity at 2.769, and the phone charger used the least at 0.016.

How i saved some eletricity...

i went around the house and tried to find some ways to reduced electricity:

• i switched all the computers off until we needed them.
• i also switched them off for the night whereas usually we leave them running.
• i turned all our light bulbs to energy saving ones.
• i went around unplugging charges that weren't being used
• i turned the washing machine onto delicate, meaning that it runs for less.
• i switched off the radiator, kettle, toaster and microwave unless we wanted to use them.
• i turned off the printer too and turned it back on when it was needed.
• i switched the CD player off rather than leaving it on standby.
• i made sure nobody accidentally left the TV on, or paused it then forgotten.

What is Ecotricity...?

Ecotricity is a comapny that try to change the way electricity is made. it was founded in 1996 by Dale Vince and they have built hundreds of wind turbines across the country and invested £25 million in 2007 on wind energy. they take the money their customers spend on electricity and use it to fund wind energy. they try and help people to understand about saving the planet, the ozone layer, and renewable energy. they are already working with some of the biggest industrial companies and hope that more people will switch to Ecotricity. they are people who care about green power.

My first observations...

A glance at my USB connect graphs took me to the conclusion that on weekend days we use more electricity than on week days. yesterday out highest peak was around 2 pm where the graph rose to 1.884 kwh. . Our lowest was around 5 am where we used 0.43 kwh. in total we used 19.86 kwh, but on the week days our highest peak was 7pm, 2.086, whereas our lowest was at 6am - 0.436.

Usage around the house...

How much electricity some household objects use.......

toaster- 1.53
kettle-2.769
kitchen lights-0.29
computor-0.145
printer-0.032
chandelier-0.161
TV-0.096
energy saving light-0.048
CD player-0.033
phone charger-0.016
microwave-1.159
oven-2.142
DS charger-0.032
washing machine-2.576
dishwasher-2.592
radiator- 1.851
eletric piano- 0.32

Co2 emissions by fuel...

It is estimated that 529 MtCO2 were emitted in 2007 just from fossil fuels. CO2 emissions from fossil fuels, including for generating electricity, dropped by 7.5% between 1990 to 2007

UK power generation...

2 thirds of the electricity we use comes from fossil fuels. so its no wonder that soon they will run out. but no matter how much we stress this to the world not many people do anything about it. between 2006-2007 we only decreased using coal and oil by 2%!! even though the use of nuclear energy dropped. But how much electricity is generated by all the other renewable sources...?

Is it measuring correctly...?

Before starting the experiment I had to check that the monitor was working properly. So I looked at the numbers on the main power supply dial and then I looked at them again the next day. I took them both away from each other and that number was roughly the number on the monitor. This showed me that the monitor was working properly and that I was all set to start my experiments.

It's working...

The Owl electricity monitor is showing how much electricity we are using right this second. So at that moment we were using 0.902 KW/h. The number underneath shows how much electricity we have used since the moment I’ve switched the machine on so we used 71.757 KW/h. While on the left it shows the time and the temperature.

installing the equipment 2...

The USB connect was simple to set up. I had to plug it into a computer that was left running day and night so that the results were accurate. All I had to do was plug the cable it into the computer, enter the little disk and install the programme. This programme converts all the data into charts and graphs and it will be very useful because it will store everything for me as I do my tests.

installing the equipment 1...

It took me a long time to set up the electrical monitor but eventually I succeeded. i had to unscrew the backs and place batteries inside before switching them on. I plugged part of it into the main power supply, making sure i didnt electrocute myself, i attached it to the big red wire. The other half i placed on the kitchen table were it would show me all the readings. I also found out that not only did it show me how many Watts per hour we were using but also how much money too!!

the equipment arrives...

Today my equipment arrived for the experiment. I am going to use an electricity monitor I ordered from The OWL website. http://www.theowl.com/. This will measure the amounts of Watts each object uses. With it I also ordered a USB connect, which you plug into the computer and connects to the monitor. This USB connect will store all my results into my laptop and turn them into graphs and bar charts. It will be really helpful for my analysis.

the worst power stations...

DRAX power station pumped out 23 million tonnes of polluting carbon dioxide last year, giving it the worst record in the UK. according to research 10 out of Europes 30 worst power stations are in britain!!
But Drax pumps out twice as much as the average powerstation. the problem is worsening year by year as more power production is being based on coal. This is more than what is being produced by 103 un-industrial nations. from many typical stories like this i have cloncluded that fossil fuel power station are polluting the planet the most.

where does power come from...?

our electricity doesnt always just come from fossil fuels. different sources of electricity include:
· Nuclear
· Gas
· Hydroelectric
· Geothermal
· Thermal
· Coal
· Solar
· Wind
· Biomass
· Tidal
· Wave

all these envirnmentaly friendly sources are called green power. they are substite ways instead of fossil fuels because soon fossil fuels will run out. these are better for the environment and help save the planet. many electricity companies are starting to change to some of these and many big industial ones too.

first stage of research...

the first step in this experiment is basic research. on my firstresearchi found out that Amps measure the electric current, Watts measures the power, and volts measure the positivity. i will be measuring my electricity usage in Watts per hour.

What i'm doing...

This blog is all about my science experiment for the Latymer Science Fair. i am investigating how to save electricity in the home. i am going to measure how much electricity we are using at home and investigate ways of reducing that usage and how to save C02 emissions by doing that.