Is £120 too much per month?

tallulah20

Hi there -

I lurke around a few of these forums and take lots of good info from them. One thing I have noticed is that our gas and electric seem really high! we pay £120 a month to scottish power and every now and then have £25 credit here and there.

I live in a 3 bed semi with my husband and little boy and think I am careful with energy. Turning lights off, not leaving stuff on standby, extra layer on before turning heating on, quick showers etc etc!

Is this too much per month and if so I wonder where we are using lots

p.s - only central heating and water is gas (but shower is electric) and don't have tumble dryer.

thanks

staffie1

It does sound a bit steep! Have you tried the price comparison sites? (details within Utilities/Phones section of MSE)

Magentasue

We are a family of six but in a similar sized house to you, and we've made big cutbacks. We're paying £75 a month for gas and £45 for electricity. This time last year, it was £135 and climbing.

For our £120 a month, we get 24,000kwh gas and 4900kwh electricity.

tallulah20

Magentasue wrote: »

We are a family of six but in a similar sized house to you, and we've made big cutbacks. We're paying £75 a month for gas and £45 for electricity. This time last year, it was £135 and climbing.

For our £120 a month, we get 24,000kwh gas and 4900kwh electricity.

well done! may sound silly but how did you make your cutbacks.

I am useless at KWH and what uses what - may have a google at what can use alot of electric. i use a slow cooker alot and bread maker too?

thanks

staffie1

tallulah20 wrote: »

well done! may sound silly but how did you make your cutbacks.

I am useless at KWH and what uses what - may have a google at what can use alot of electric. i use a slow cooker alot and bread maker too?

thanks

You can look at your last 12 mths bills and add up how much energy you've used in KWH. Use the comparison sites to see if you can get a cheaper deal. Energy is expensive, but you might save a few quid.
IMO slow cooker and bread maker use relatively little power.
Things like washing m/c, tumble dryer, oven, immersion heater, shower are the big consumers. Do you use any of these things alot? What kind of heating have you got?

tallulah20

Thanks - use the washing machine once a week - prob do 3 quick washes (55mins) we have a combi boiler but shower goes on twice a day and run a bath a day for my son. No tumble dryer.

Will have a look through my bills.

Thanks again for advice

Magentasue

tallulah20 wrote: »

well done! may sound silly but how did you make your cutbacks.

Well, for gas, we saved because we moved house and installed a brand new combi boiler. However, we made even bigger savings by using the central heating less. We used to have a timer programmer and often the heating came on when we were out because we'd forgotten to switch it 'off' and left it on 'auto'. The kids were always putting it on (and leaving it on) instead of putting on an extra layer. So, we've stopped 'wasting' the heating but still use more than most because we like the house warm in winter. Never had electric shower, but had shower run off mains before but only have bath (until next month!) so more water now.

Electricity, we made big savings - we now average 13kwh (meter units) a day instead of 18-25kwh.

- Washing machine and dishwasher used every day but usually on cheapest (lowest temp) programmes
- Tumble dryer used to be a couple of hours a day in the winter. Now a couple of hours a week using an airer to get stuff nearly dry and then finishing off on radiators or a blast in dryer.
- No halogen spotlights (well a few with low energy bulbs) and low energy bulbs in lamps everywhere
- Nothing on standby
- We cook by gas now - another consequence of house move as had to buy a cooker and was a bit more energy conscious this time
- There are six of us so we have a tall fridge and a tall freezer. We used to have a small fridge too but have got rid of that.

Fire_Fox

tallulah20 wrote: »

Hi there -

I lurke around a few of these forums and take lots of good info from them. One thing I have noticed is that our gas and electric seem really high! we pay £120 a month to scottish power and every now and then have £25 credit here and there.

I live in a 3 bed semi with my husband and little boy and think I am careful with energy. Turning lights off, not leaving stuff on standby, extra layer on before turning heating on, quick showers etc etc!

Is this too much per month and if so I wonder where we are using lots

p.s - only central heating and water is gas (but shower is electric) and don't have tumble dryer.

thanks

Is it your gas or electricity usage that is high? Are your water bills also higher than average? How well insulated is the property? What temperature are the hot water and room thermostats set to? How many hours a day are these on? How deep is your little boys daily bath? How powerful is the electric shower/ have you tried putting the plug in to see what it uses in a quick shower? When you say an extra layer, do you mean t-shirt plus light sweater or do you mean a second jumper? Do you heat the bedrooms or have an electric underblanket?