Bovine Electricity in Syria

Just saw a news headline - Teachers plan joint strike - God help Syria!

Had a herd of about 50 cows stampeding through our lane yesterday - cow shit and broken fences everywhere. Neighbour of ours works for the NFU Mutual  said it would probably all land on his desk on Monday (the insurance claims, not the cow shit).

I've been wondering why my electricity usage seems to spike once a week - thought it was when we fired up the oven once a week for the Sunday roast for the entire kampong, but it wasn't spiking on Sundays.

(Click to enlarge)

I finally twigged that once a week the immersion kicks in on our 500 litre water tank and heats it from the normal 45 degrees to over 60 degrees to kill off any bugs. That's a substantial drain.

We seem to be doing well on the feed-in, but it's a long way to go before we get a idea of what the winter will bring. We're hoping for an overall yearly electricity bill in the region of £300 or less, which is a substantial reduction on the estimated £1,300 we would be paying without all the green devices (solar PV, solar thermal, air-source heat pump, under-floor heating). 

That said, a £1k annual saving on an initial outlay of £40k means we're a log way from payback (well beyond my lifespan). Mind you, I shouldn't really include the under-floor heating in that figure (it's just a radiator), which would reduce the out-lay to some £15k and payback before I kick the bucket. Adds value to the house too, but again that's ephemeral, as I have no intention of ever selling.

The problem is that I've become OCD with reading and analysing various metres on a daily basis. Excuse me - I just have to read the metres...