Small flat, huge bills!

gardner1 · 5 March 2018 at 12:08PM

OP........at the end of the day your bills are probably right

You live in Victorian house top floor
Single glazed windows
Badly insulated

Your gas & electric consumption figures are above the national average.......for a well insulated house........your living in a leaky cold money pit

Your energy tarrifs have increased significantly

My solution Move House or spend a fair of cash on double glazing,insulation and change energy supplier.......stop messing about checking how much electric your fridge is using or wondering if leaving lights on uses a lot (it doesn't)

gardner1 · 5 March 2018 at 12:29PM

GnERGY aren't cheap......change energy provider

vincent2017 · 18 March 2018 at 7:47PM

Thanks, Gardner. I get what you're saying. But it's my electricity bill which is very high (£80+ a month) while my gas bill is a more understandable £50+. I don't understand why the flat being poorly insulated would have such an effect on the electricity bill, when the radiators and shower are powered by gas central heating.

Still, I've played around with the settings of the Nest thermostat to stop it doing any "smart learning" which might make it turn on at times other than when I have strictly programmed it to be on. I've also lowered the target temperature to 18 celsius, down from 21. And I'm going to get thick curtains for the room it's in.

I'll change energy suppliers in May/June when I'm able to leave gNergy without penalty.
And I'll just have to continue to be mystified/befuddled by the apparent high electricity usage.

vincent2017 · 18 March 2018 at 7:55PM

vincent2017 wrote: »

Today it's 8302...

Today, 15 days later, the electricity meter reads 08643.

What the actual......!

Seeing as the TPLink Smart Plug shows the 20-year-old Sime Friendly E combi boiler has only used 3.17 kilowatts of electricity in the past 7 days, and I had imagined this to potentially be the oldest/most inefficient appliance in the property,I just don't understand how the property could possibly have used 341 kilowatts in the past 15 days.

That's £2.41 a day for electricity at 12.73 per kw in a two-bed flat, excluding standing charges.

grumpycrab · 18 March 2018 at 8:07PM

vincent2017 wrote: »

Also, the thought just struck me that since the meters are all next to each other, I can be nosey and see what the electricity usage is for the other flats over the next month.

Have you confirmed that when you turn a high usage device on that your meter spins faster? And that when you have nothing on your meter stops?

greenbee · 18 March 2018 at 8:13PM

I found using the Nest as a smart thermostat has cut my energy bills - I turn it up and down as I need it, and it learns (where there is a pattern to learn) what temperatures I tend to prefer when. It also uses geofencing to turn the heating down (eco temps are set at 13C) when we're away. You can use the app to see when it has been heating, and it'll tell you when the weather or your behaviour is making a difference to your energy consumption. As gas is primarily used by heating, then the insulation and draught-proofing should be a priority.

Is your hob gas or electric? If it's gas, boiling water on the hob may be more efficient, and if it's electric try to batch cook in the oven rather than constantly cooking on the hob. Use the microwave where possible as it uses less energy. When boiling the kettle only boil what you need and if you do anymore then put it in a thermos to use later.

Make sure you unplug chargers and power cables when not in use, or at least switch them off at the socket.

I work from home too, and it does mean that your energy consumption for both gas and electricity will be higher than average because you're there more than the average person.

vincent2017 · 18 March 2018 at 8:39PM

grumpycrab wrote: »

Have you confirmed that when you turn a high usage device on that your meter spins faster? And that when you have nothing on your meter stops?

Grumpcrab - No, I haven't done this elemental thing yet! I ought to, rather than just howling at the moon!

I will start by measuring the usage between midnight and 8am this coming week and see how much is being used when there aren't any appliances on.

I'll also check what happens next time I use the washing machine which is the next big culprit I'm eyeing up.

vincent2017 · 18 March 2018 at 8:43PM

greenbee wrote: »

I found using the Nest as a smart thermostat has cut my energy bills - I turn it up and down as I need it, and it learns (where there is a pattern to learn) what temperatures I tend to prefer when. It also uses geofencing to turn the heating down (eco temps are set at 13C) when we're away. You can use the app to see when it has been heating, and it'll tell you when the weather or your behaviour is making a difference to your energy consumption. As gas is primarily used by heating, then the insulation and draught-proofing should be a priority.

Is your hob gas or electric? If it's gas, boiling water on the hob may be more efficient, and if it's electric try to batch cook in the oven rather than constantly cooking on the hob. Use the microwave where possible as it uses less energy. When boiling the kettle only boil what you need and if you do anymore then put it in a thermos to use later.

Make sure you unplug chargers and power cables when not in use, or at least switch them off at the socket.

I work from home too, and it does mean that your energy consumption for both gas and electricity will be higher than average because you're there more than the average person.

Thanks for this!

It's a fairly new Smeg gas hob, with a couple of powerful burners (particularly the Wok one) and a couple of smaller ones. And a Smeg electric oven which is just used for pizzas

.

The kettle is used a lot, though just filled up for the amount needed.

Probably we do 5 or 6 washing machine washes a week though not full loads - I often have gym gear that needs doing.

As I'm renting I'm limited in how much I can do about insulation, but I can certainly get thick curtains to stop so much heat escaping through the single-glazed windows!

Norman_Castle · 18 March 2018 at 8:59PM

vincent2017 wrote: »

So far it's told me that the large fridgefreezer has a current power of 0.53w and uses a daily average of 0.49 kWh, though that's just based on the past 24 hours.

Your fridge is likely to use between 0.5w and 120+ watts depending on what the compressor is doing at any given time. Measuring for as long as possible is best with fridges. In my experience they are the most expensive single item.

Washing machine is likely to be 12-18p depending on incoming water temp and wash cycle.

vincent2017 · 18 March 2018 at 9:08PM

Thanks, Norman. I'll measure the fridge for a week and see what results I get.

Small flat, huge bills!

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