Shocking

" I don't think it's the wife - most of her toys rely on batteries..."

We had the misfortune to receive a massive electricity bill this month. The biggest quarterly bill I’ve ever had in my life. It’s up 40% on the previous quarter (Oct-Jan). Don’t get me wrong, we can afford to pay it, but I want to know where all that juice has gone.

My first thought was the teenage son. With so much tech in his bedroom, he’s got to be pulling the juice big time. All that gear’s got to suck harder than a Dyson. I don’t think it’s the wife - most of her toys rely on batteries.

So, not content with having to find the cash for the bill, I’ve also splashed out and ordered an energy monitor. This unit will track every bit of power we use.

But then it dawned on me. My brewery. My big shiny brewery with its two immersion heater elements. Is it me that’s doing the damage? I did brew five times during the quarter in question...

With the new monitor, we can set weekly targets to try and curb our usage. It was briefly mentioned that if we exceeded the target then there would be no more tech/tv that week. But what if I brew that week and blow the quota? More worryingly, what if the quota is exceeded before I’ve brewed?

Perhaps the energy monitor is going to cause more grief than the bill...