Electric bill help!!

MATH

 We can't  live with the immersion heater on only during E7 time as the water is still cold in the morning and it takes about 4 hours to heat up again after switching peak time back on.

Four hours seems a long time to heat a hot water cylinder but even so turning on at midnight (when econ 7 starts) you should have loads of hot water by morning.

If you don't already have one I would fit a timer to the immersion (cost about £16, if you diy - not difficult) to make the most of cheap rate hot water. Use timers for all heavy drain appliances such as washers, dryers, dishwashers etc.

I would also consider having your cylinder and immersion rod checked out to make sure they are working properly. Our immersion takes 1 1/2 hrs to heat fully and lasts a family of five all day without needing re-heating.

Mentalminis_2

i apologise for my disapearance and it seems a lot of people are in the same boat as i am, i have not made any headway with my company and am only sliding further and further into debt with them, they tell me i use £60 worth of electricty per month and i am only paying £40 of that, you do the math..lol

my emmersion heater element broke sometime ago now and i have since had to swap it for a new element, oh the joy to work on that was..... who ever plumbed my tank in needs shooting but thats a diffrent story.

I don't have a timer switch on my emmersion and i am unsure of what temperature the water gets to in the tank, however i only now have it switched on twice a week, once for a bath and again for a washing load and bath combo.... all othertimes it's switched off, i am currently running on E7.... i have switched off my main fuse boxes and know that the meter is not faulty in the regards that it doesn't read anything when the fuse boxes are tripped out, the timer clock still runs for the E7 system but i guess thats the norm. i hardly have any lights on in the house if i can help it, and have 1 small electric heater that is switched onto low in the bathroom all the time, other than that the only things that are running constantly are the fridge and frezzer, everything else i now switch off at the plug, however it is not making a bit of diffrence.

any further help???

Woby_Tide

have you checked if the meter slows down much when you turn off the 'small' electric heater, even small ones can consume 2kw or so which woudl add up over a month, does it have a power rating on a label stuck to it anywhere?

Mentalminis_2

i'm afraid that the heater is so old that it doesn't have any labels on it anymore, it's a pretty beaten up old thing now, ideally i would like to turn to gas central heating throughout but i can't afford to do that at the time being so, it's just a case of putting on more layers and sticking to one room as much as possible to conserve heat....god thats sad.

i will switch it off and see what happens, i only switch it on during the worst of the winter months because theres nothing worse than getting out of a hot bath into a frezzing room

Woby_Tide

it was just to get a rough idea of how much it used that was all, if it is old then it could well be quite inefficient, appreciate you don't want to get cold, just intrigued to see how much your meter went up with it on for an hour compared to it being off

Mentalminis_2

i shall double check that one for you..... just for intrests sake and all..... the only other thing would be to run everything on the night time rate of the E7....only problem is i am not sure what time this comes into effect each evening etc.

i am sure they told me but i forget these things easily unfortunatly

sunflower_2

some leccy suppliers offer free energy efficiency advice - may be worthwhile seeing if your supplier does this?

they will be able to give you an idea of how many units each appliance uses

IMO if elec is the only energy you use - £40 a month isnt 2 bad

my energy bills are £70 a month n i have a 2bed house with gas combi heating/water & a seperate elec oil-filled heater in kitchen

i find that in the winter when i use the elec heater (which is newish and meant to be energy efficient) - my elec bill shoots up by approx £5 a week

Mentalminis_2

thanks for that sunflower.

i only have the one actual heater, the majority of my power goes on the emmersion i think and i use gas for cooking and another little fire...that only costs me £6.60 a month and i'm in credit with that account....wish it were all that easy...lol

Fran

Hi mm,

I am not sure what you mean by "another account" for a heater. You have gas cooking, one electric heater in the bathroom and one in another room - is that right?

Perhaps you would be entitled to a Government Heating grant?

Are you on a disability benefit - this could entitle you to help?

Leaving an electric fire on all the time is going to be expensive. As someone has suggested, can you turn the bathroom one off in particular until just before you use the bathroom?

Have you made an arrangement with your supplier to pay off the debt? Why aren't you able to pay the amount that they ask per month - could there be benefits you are entitled to that you aren't getting?

You could visit or ring your local CAB for advice.

Mentalminis_2

Hi Fran

Sorry what i meant by the other account was the gas bill, i have only 1 electric heater that is in the bathroom, the only other heating i have is in the dining/lounge room and that is a gas item.

I am not sure if i am entitled to any benifits or not, i am in full time employment at present and am fit and healthy, i do recive my single tax allowence on my council tax but as far as i am aware that is all i am entitled to