BecomingJulie
Bluelight Crew
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2010
- Messages
- 4,323
So, I put some money on my electricity key, and this time I remembered actually to put the key in the meter to transfer the money to it instead of hanging it straight up on the hook like a dizzy tart who deserves to have the power go off on her, and I was scrolling through all the different display modes, as you do, and I noticed the price I am paying per kilowatt-hour is 13.76p. Now, the total energy in about 40 or 50 alkaline "D" size flashlight batteries is about a kilowatt-hour. (Duracell claim a rating of18Ah at 1.5V, which works out at 18 * 1.5 = 27Wh., for a D cell; Panasonic claim 15 Ah at 1.5V, giving 22.5Wh per cell -- for around half the price.) A pound in the meter buys 7.26744186 kWh.
Meaning, electricity from the mains works out at the equivalent of about 300 "D" size batteries for a pound.
NiMH rechargeable batteries only have about 1/4 of the capacity of equivalent-sized alkaline disposable ones, so 1200 full charge cycles is equivalent to 300 alkaline batteries. Even assuming a combined efficiency of just 33% for the charging and discharging processes together (which is a pessimistic estimate), that's 400 full charges from £1 worth of mains electricity, equivalent to 100 alkaline cells. That's one penny each. One. Penny. Each.
You think your energy companies are ripping you off for electricity, but it's still small change compared to what the battery companies are charging.
Meaning, electricity from the mains works out at the equivalent of about 300 "D" size batteries for a pound.
NiMH rechargeable batteries only have about 1/4 of the capacity of equivalent-sized alkaline disposable ones, so 1200 full charge cycles is equivalent to 300 alkaline batteries. Even assuming a combined efficiency of just 33% for the charging and discharging processes together (which is a pessimistic estimate), that's 400 full charges from £1 worth of mains electricity, equivalent to 100 alkaline cells. That's one penny each. One. Penny. Each.
You think your energy companies are ripping you off for electricity, but it's still small change compared to what the battery companies are charging.