Is EHU metering a good investment?
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Two Caravan park electric staff from Lincolnshire were at FM last week carrying out some repairs and maintenance of equipment,and asked if we were needing our supply for 20 to 30mins as it would be off , and as we were on one of their latest installed bollards which requires the user to reset the trip before use I asked if a meters could be installed on them to which they replied yes with minor modifications ,the conversation then turned to all bollards,and they said no ,many would need replacing and the supply to them all would need to be made more secure to enable meter installation,
so not as easy or simple it seems as some would hope
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Agreed....it is a sledgehammer....most either want EHU or they don't.
I also agree but it would be a real about turn for the Club to change its mind and have a price depending whether you hook up or not. THey have consistently refused to do this over the years since 2003 when there were many protests over the introduction of an inclusive price.
I remain in favour of metering even though I would use EHU but in probablity, even in winter, just to keep the battery charged.
peedee
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It depends on how we describe dynamic. That depends on the aims, objectives and principles behind any innovation. So, for the greens amongst us any dynamic action would be pend on less waste and more efficient end use. Now I’m not sure all members, particularly those grab what you can folk would see any dynamic aim or objective in limiting their use. Many of us would mind! How CaMC ensure non electric, moderate electric users and excessive users pay their way I’m not sure but it’s worth looking into in my opinion.
Many moons ago I remember a suggestion that an adapter smart plug/meter could be hired on arrival which was returned, read in reception and charges made. Did that have mileage?3 -
I agree ,one only has to see what some put in the bins at club sites as managers will tell you it is not often that members even separate their recycling from other rubbish when on site even when there are notices above each bin it all goes in the nearest bin
As one member next to us with a very upmarket outfit advised when the electricians were on site at FM he said "if the club go down the route of metering my electricity usage I would not come to club sites"
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I was talking generally around different organisations and staffing, rather than just CAMC, sorry it wasn’t that clear.
Our last time out on a Club Site, which was newly refurbished Clumber, there were four staff on duty there. Very visible as well all around the Site, different times of the day, doing this that and the other. Smaller Sites, such as Marazion, Bromyard, Exeter Racecourse, usually two staff.
I’ve no doubts theft of all different kinds goes on, I know two non fixed shower heads disappeared on consecutive days at Yellowcraig, and toilet rolls are best locked into dispensers. But something like theft from a bollard would be a bit more visible, and there are some expert amateur detectives on Club Sites, willing to help out! 🤣1 -
There are actually more site staff employed now than before the working time directive forced this clubs directors to have to employ more staff on sites to enable the hours even now to be covered ie 0800-2000 seven days a week plus an on call requiment and if any members complained it was the wardens who were normally in the wrong
I can remember a site warden at Top Lodge as it was then being suspended for hitting. a member and it was only because another member found out and complained to the club that it was properly investigated and the member who complained was found to be in the wrong
Before the WTD site staffs contracts I am reliably informed were worded "as many hours as are needed to run your site " which at times would even mean accepting arrivals onto site at much later than the 2000hrs as now
The problems now are society as a whole it seems is going more towards "I have paid for this service so am going to get everything and more I can out of it"
And that is not just my take on it , most of those employed fronting todays public are of the same idea
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We haven’t taken a van abroad for a few years so things may well have changed. I do remember being asked what ampage we wanted, and that threw us of course because we were used to just plugging in! I remember meters in Germany and worrying what our bill would be. Again in a time when we didn’t really concern ourselves with electricity consumption and price per unit. The bill was never very high of course, largely battery charging and hot water. In later vans we had a microwave.
At the time I remember us wondering if continental vans had less electrical items than uk vans, and a generally lower consumption. I wonder why many European sites use either different ampage or metering etc but uk sites have until recently just stuck with 16amp and no meters.
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We too have been on sites in France where each pitch was metered. One fairly large memorable site was as far back as 2008, and the meters didn't look new even then.
As regards people 'stealing' electricity by saying they didn't want a hook-up but then plugging in anyway, this would be quite easy to prevent. Put a locking cap on the EHU bollard. I guess that most pitch users will probably want electricity so the cost of a few locks for those that don't want the facility and the time taken for the warden to go to the pitch and put the lock on would be quite minimal in comparison with a meter.
On the other end of the scale, we have recently booked a CL that has just installed meters on their five pitches. They have just had to renew their electricity contract at eye watering figures per kW hence their decision to meter the supply. Rather strangely, they have a price for a basic pitch and no power used and then a second price for pitch using electric. Within this price is an allowance for 15kW per day power usage. Over or above the 15kW the users get an extra bill or a refund. Why it can't just be a cost for the basic pitch with a meter reading when arriving and another when departing and then charged accordingly I don't know. One thing that I'm fairly certain of is that we will never use 15kW per day so we should get a big refund. At home, using washing machines, tumble dryers, electric ovens etc etc we barely use 8 kW per day and a lot less mid summer. The owners may well re-consider this approach. Apparently they got the usage per day by Googling the question about usage. Somebody, somewhere, has got it very wrong I think.
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"I wonder why many European sites use either different ampage or metering etc but uk sites have until recently just stuck with 16amp and no meters."
Almost exclusively, continental and for the home market have gas only hobs and Truma come is with no electric heating, this being an option of around £500.
I know a guy who buys his vans overseas and never has the option. His view is that £500 would buy him a lifetime's use of refillable gas which works far better anyway than electric.
he also doesn't have to pay for metered electric.
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My only experience of metering whilst camping has been in Europe, mainly in Germany. I didn't find it particularly convenient as often you were waiting around on the day of departure to be released from the hook up box and then a trip to reception, although the latter would have to be made as you nearly always pay on leaving a site. I would also add that we have paid between 50 and 80 euro cents per unit which given it was several years ago that is extremely expensive compared to what we would have paid in the UK where we have a law (as previously mentioned) that prevent campsites charging more than they pay for electricity.
Whether the Club move to metering will, I expect, depend on what the view of electricity prices will be in the medium to longer term. With more nuclear coming on stream, albeit in years to come, more offshore wind (and perhaps onshore?) plus solar generated energy the UK will eventually be nearly self sufficient with a much reduced need for electricity to be produced by fossil fuels. That self sufficiency should mean much cheaper electricity as we can control our own costs rather than being subject to world markets. How long that takes to become fact will influence whether it is worth the Club going full out for metering.
Perhaps that nagging doubt about electricity prices and how far away cheaper electricity is will force the Club to take action, sooner rather than later? If the Club do decide to proceed with metering I hope they think about the method carefully. Ideally for me it would be a system that could operate independently of site reception. So that means either a prepaid card which can be topped up at a machine on the outside of reception or a Smart App on my phone. It will be interesting to see what the Club decide. As to installation. The Club seems to regularly upgrade several sites a years and these sites are usually closed during the upgrade. Wouldn't that be the ideal opportunity to start installing meters on these sites rather than disrupt sites which are open?
David
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we will never use 15kW per day so we should get a big refund. At home, using washing machines, tumble dryers, electric ovens etc etc we barely use 8 kW per day
Seems a bit of confusion creeping in here. A "kW" ( a kilo-watt, 1000 watts ) is a measure of consumption at an instant in time. Keep it up for an hour and one has a kWH ( a kilo-watt for an hour ), keep it going for a day and one has 24 kWH. Or if one had 24 kW for an hour one would also have 24 kWH.
So 15kWH in a day is quite feasable as perhaps 15 kW for just one hour, or perhaps instead 0.625kW for 24 hours.
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So I just omitted to write the h after kW. Yes it does make a difference I grant you. The question is what in a caravan is on for 24 hours per day that is using a minimum of 1 kWh constantly? Certainly our water heater isn't on continuously, far from it. At worst, 6 kW per day using the 2kW setting (which we rarely do). The only possible constant is the fridge which is 125W so 3 kW per day.
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He certainly is😉
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We are also with Octopus and they do provide and abundance of information. I was surprised we used more electricity in August than we have currently in November! We do have Smart Meters so I assume that allows them to break-down usage quite minutely?
I may have posted this elsewhere but it might be useful to add here as well. A CL owner recently posted on Facebook about their experience of changing to metering. They obviously have a bit of a hybrid system as they include 10 KwH usage in the daily price of the CL which I feel is quite generous? The Owner has been monitoring it since its introduction and (I think) was surprised to find nobody going over the 10 KwH limit. Some were considerably below that figure, others closer. If that turns out to be the general experience over a long period then perhaps there was no advantage in putting meters in? Now it could be that those using the CL were perhaps a bit more careful in their energy use because it was a CL? Translating to Club sites it would suggest that usage would be on average between £3 and £6 a day which could be the possible reduction one should expect in site fees if meters were installed?
David
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Small businesses have seen astronomical rises for energy. I have a hairdresser chum, and he was telling me his bill had quadrupled over a month, but with the same average of customers. Needless to say, he negotiated a new business package very quickly. So it probably has quite a bearing on prices on a CL.
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Apologies haven't read all the posts but the club says it will trial metering on a small scale on a site (or sites?) Don't know exactly what this means but it's in the replies to AGM questions about energy use.
Cofton Park in Devon are using it on a section of their large site, see their web site for details.
We've found it works well on CLs, meters can be basic or advanced. Depends on circumstances.
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OHs hairdressers just up the road when we went was almost at the stage of closing up shop as she says many of her clients are pensioners and at the moment. her electricity contract is manageable but it is up for renewal in Feb next year ,and what she has been told it will almost double ,as she says it is going to be impossible to keep prices at present levels which could mean at least a 25per cent increase in her prices ,which many pensioners would not be able to pay
Her lease is with the LA which is also up for renewal next June her premises are not well insulated,that the LA are not willing to help with the cost to double glaze the windows which the cheapest estimate for the work is £25,000 she has had in the last five years had an insulated ceiling installed but cannot do the windows without help from the landlord
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