Energy use

[timfulford]

Did you know that even when your TM has gone to sleep(standby mode screen gone blank) it is still using electricity?  It certainly does. This might be obvious to some but not others. It is good practice to unplug after use any way but also this will save you money.
The question I have is why hasn't Vorverk put an on off control? In this day and age where we should be saving energy and the continuous comments from sales that the TM saves money from the food budget...............

[BeezeeBee]

Good one, Tim. Energy prices are getting quite ridiculous in Western Australia.

I consider how long a recipe takes before going ahead. If it takes a long time, and unless I can cook multiple dishes, I'd prefer my gas stovetop.

[jo_nz]

Good tip - I've certainly been noticing the usual winter increase in the power bill, so any tips help!

If you turn it off with the power button does that solve it?
I've noticed if it has put itself to sleep I can wake it up by pressing any button, but if I have manually turned off, I have to turn it on with the power button before use.

[judydawn]

Helene has an article on her blog about the energy saving qualities of the Thermomix which is interesting to read.

[Cuilidh]

You definitely have to unplug the TMX to stop it using energy totally - to test this out, just turn it off at the wall and listen closely and you will still hear the sound of it ticking over, then unplug it and all sounds will cease.

[timfulford]

Ok to answer the questions and provide some more facts....

• to stop any energy being used at all you have to turn the TM off at the wall outlet or unplug
  the sleep button on the TM does not turn the machine off only wakes it from sleep or changes the state from weighing to time

by experiment with an energy meter in normal ready to cook/work mode the TM is drawing 5 watts of electricity
in sleep mode it is drawing about 3 watts of electricity which means in 33.3 hours of standby mode it has consumed 1k of electricity.

[cookie1]

This is rather frightening reading when you think about it. I always turn mine off at the wall but don't unplug it.

[timfulford]

if you turn off at the wall it is not using any power.

[charlieboy]

I keep forgetting to turn my off - thanks for the reminder.  Noticed a big jump in my last energy bill but I think my new dehydrator might be the culprit.

[jo_nz]

My wall socket doesn't have a switch, so I can't even switch it off at the wall.  Will have to unplug.

Marina, I will definitely have a listen!  (not meaning to say I don't believe you or anything, but just that it's really interesting, so going to have a play).  I might even see if DH has some kind of power meter that I can borrow (he's a sparky, and also a fellow gadget-lover so my chances are fairly good).

I do wonder if having the tmx has actually increased my power bill marginally because I bake so much more from scratch - some completely in the tmx, but also plenty mixed in the tmx and then baked in the oven.  However, my food bill has decreased a lot, so I'm sure I'm still onto a winner. 

[timfulford]

best way to keep an eye on how much electricity you are using is to buy a smart meter which attaches to your input supply and lets you see how much is actually being used even when you think everything is off.
EG leaving TV on standby is not much different than when it is actually on and you are watching it, leaving lights on etc.
I have just done a huge refurb on our kitchen, changed all the lights to LED bulbs, now have more light but the total use if they are all on is less than 40w, previously there were two tubes plus under unit lights etc.
I dont think actual cooking in the TM would push your bill up, we take ours camping and often have a limited supply rating of 6 amps which we have run the fridge, kettle and TM plus anything we have on charge.