Extortionate electric bill

milliemonster

We moved into our house in March and have just switched suppliers from British gas and have had a final bill for electric for £270, this is on top of the £85 I have already paid them and this is electric used up to 15th August, so essentially £350 for electric used for 4 months. (I read the meter when we moved in)

Now, the meter readings are all correct and I know energy prices have rocketed but we have made significant changes over the summer as to how we use electric and I am gobsmacked as to why it isn't making any difference to our bills.

We don't use the dryer anymore (I bought an airer instead), we have a 3 bed terrace house, all electric items are switched off at the plug now, nothing is left on standby, we have the washer on most days (2 kids) but I wash at 30 degrees now, all lightbulbs are low energy, we don't leave lights on in rooms unnecessarily, so why oh why are our bills so high?, what else can I do to reduce them?, the TV is only on when the kids are home from school for a couple of hours. I have my laptop on all day though (work from home) but this has always been the case.

what else can I do to try to reduce these bills?

Magentasue

Um, could hot water heating be responsible?

milliemonster

no we have oil central heating that heats the hot water

Magentasue

How many units have you used? We (family of six, probably using more than you for TV/games consoles/3 laptops/washing machine at 30deg, dishwasher etc) have been using 13-14 on an average day. As low as 8, as high as 16. Cook by gas.

cliff06

Hi,

Have you tried watching the read out from the electricity meter and seeing how quickly it moves / increases depending on what you are doing? If it's still going up when everything is off - then someone is probably stealing your electricity! Or maybe if you do a lot of vacuuming that could be behind it!

basmic

Invest in a cheap energy monitor that you plug in, from eBay. Spend an hour or so seeing the consumption of each appliance/extension, and you should narrow it down.

The only thing I can think of that gobbles up a lot of electric, are heaters - ie: cookers, kettles, ovens.