Huge EDF gas bill - trying to establish why

sfocata

It's always a bit of a mystery when you move to a new house... you never know how expensive the utilities will be until you've been through the first winter. So...

EDF gas bill, central heating and hot water only, 10 Nov 2009 to 11 Mar 2010... £760 WTFF?! :eek:

That's 17965kwh @3.861p, plus about 30 quid of standing charges and 5% VAT. That's more for 4 months of boiler use than I paid for a year of dual-fuel in our last house

So I'm trying to look at all the constants and variables to see if anyone can spot something amiss. If it turns out all the figures are legit, I'll just have to take it on the chin and pay up, maybe get the boiler checked again. I know EDF are pricey round here, and I've already switched to first:utility, so hopefully things will get cheaper.

1. Maths-wise, the bill seems to be correct. The bill and meter are both showing figures in cubic feet, the opening reading was my own when we moved in, and the closing reading was taken by a meter reader last week, and I checked it.

2. I'm aware this house will be more expensive than our old house, but is the huge difference sufficiently explained by the change in circumstances?

• Old house: 2 bedroom Victorian terrace, not fully double-glazed, old-style loft insulation, new Vaillant condensing combi (max 31kW), average dual-fuel direct debit ~£58 per month
  
• New house: 3 bedroom 1930s detached, 8-year-old double-glazing throughout, old-style loft insulation, 10-year-old combi boiler (max 23.3kW), average gas usage (hot water and central heating only) ~£190 per month!?

3. Our lifestyle hasn't changed. We use a lot of daytime heating, as I work from home, and the heating is off between midnight and 7am. However, we're not lovers of cosy houses, slobbing around in t-shirts all year round. If it's a colder winter, we'll put extra jumpers on.

So, even with the colder winter (which actually was pretty mild until December), the larger house and the bog-standard EDF tariff, does this seem weirdly high to you?

dogshome

Hi sfocata - This is all a bit vague as you haven't listed the meter readings, but the figures that have been given suggest you have been charged for an Imperial gas meter that recorded appx 568 units on this bill.
However, it's worth taking a peek at the meter to see if it says 'M3' on the front for a Metric meter, or 'Ft3' to denote an Imperial meter - If your says M3, get onto your supplier immediately

If the house is 'new' it should be up to standard on insulation, however if it's just new to you, it's well worth spending the money on improving all the insulation

sfocata

dogshome wrote: »

However, it's worth taking a peek at the meter to see if it says 'M3' on the front for a Metric meter, or 'Ft3' to denote an Imperial meter - If your says M3, get onto your supplier immediately

As I said in #1 in my original post, the readings and meter type are correct.

If the house is 'new' it should be up to standard on insulation, however if it's just new to you, it's well worth spending the money on improving all the insulation

Oh, absolutely... I'm aware that I can reduce bills from any supplier by a variety of means. But as I said in the original post, the primary difference between this house and my last one is the size and lack of adjoining houses. I'm curious as to whether people here think that the factors I listed are sufficient to explain a (guesstimate) 6x increase in monthly winter gas usage.

jd87

Sorry but £760 sounds perfectly reasonable. It was a cold winter and any 1930s detached is a cold house.

neas

has house got cavity wall insulation ?

You mention insulation in loft is poor... so to increase 'efficiency you could get cavity wall and loft insulation upped.. which would reduce bill by a significant percentage (coupel hundred quid i'd estimate or more). Especvially as house is detached.

Premier_2

sfocata wrote: »

...2. I'm aware this house will be more expensive than our old house, but is the huge difference sufficiently explained by the change in circumstances?

• Old house: 2 bedroom Victorian terrace, not fully double-glazed, old-style loft insulation, new Vaillant condensing combi (max 31kW), average dual-fuel direct debit ~£58 per month
  
• New house: 3 bedroom 1930s detached, 8-year-old double-glazing throughout, old-style loft insulation, 10-year-old combi boiler (max 23.3kW), average gas usage (hot water and central heating only) ~£190 per month!?

....

So, even with the colder winter (which actually was pretty mild until December), the larger house and the bog-standard EDF tariff, does this seem weirdly high to you?

You've taken the cost over the last 4 months only (and that being the coldest winter for many years) and extrapolated that cost over 12 months.

Hopefully you'll be using a lost less energy in the middle of August!

If that is the case and you pay £190pm, you'll build up loads of credit on your energy account.

As an example, I've probably used a lot more gas in the last 4 months than I hope to use in the next 8 months.

Cardew

By any measure to use 18,000kWh in 4 months is seriously heavy consumption in a 3 bed house; I suspect you are looking at an annual consumption of 35,000kWh.

That said you seem to be paying well over the odds for gas @ 3.861p + Vat plus daily charge. there are plenty of companies with much cheaper gas and hefty discounts for dual fuel, DD etc.

Fire_Fox

sfocata wrote: »

It's always a bit of a mystery when you move to a new house... you never know how expensive the utilities will be until you've been through the first winter. So...

EDF gas bill, central heating and hot water only, 10 Nov 2009 to 11 Mar 2010... £760 WTFF?! :eek:

• Old house: 2 bedroom Victorian terrace, not fully double-glazed, old-style loft insulation, new Vaillant condensing combi (max 31kW), average dual-fuel direct debit ~£58 per month
• New house: 3 bedroom 1930s detached, 8-year-old double-glazing throughout, old-style loft insulation, 10-year-old combi boiler (max 23.3kW), average gas usage (hot water and central heating only) ~£190 per month!?

3. Our lifestyle hasn't changed. We use a lot of daytime heating, as I work from home, and the heating is off between midnight and 7am. However, we're not lovers of cosy houses, slobbing around in t-shirts all year round. If it's a colder winter, we'll put extra jumpers on.

So, even with the colder winter (which actually was pretty mild until December), the larger house and the bog-standard EDF tariff, does this seem weirdly high to you?

I certainly wouldn't have moved into a larger house with rubbish insulation and not bothered to read the meter for the entirety of the coldest winter in years. You don't have to wait until the bill comes to work out what the house is going to cost, it's them too late to amend your habits - read the meters monthly. Are you sure your habits don't change from year to year? I certainly don't fire up my heating on the 1st of October and off on the 1st March year in year out, the number of days I use the heating depends entirely on the weather conditions.

ixwood

The old house was a terrace. There's a lot more external surface area in a detached house and you would have benefited from the neighbours heating stopping any heat escaping to the sides in the terrace.

And you had a more efficient condensing boiler in the last house.

And prices have gone up steadily over the last few years.

And we've just had the coldest winter for 30 years. Even if you have the heating set to a modest 18, that's still a lot higher than the outside temperatures have been, so a lot or energy will have been used.

And as pointed out, you're comparing the 4 months where maybe 70-80% of annual usage occurs.

Is the new house draughty? Have you got exposed floorboards? Is it in a windy exposed position?

Regardless, it sounds like you're using it somewhere, so improve, improve, improve. Find and seal draughts, improve the insulation, consider zoning to get more usable heat for your money, get big thick curtains for doors and windows etc.

sfocata

Fire_Fox wrote: »

I certainly wouldn't have moved into a larger house with rubbish insulation and not bothered to read the meter for the entirety of the coldest winter in years.

Reading the meter wouldn't have helped much as EDF didn't actually bother getting in touch until I switched to first:utility, so I had no idea what tariff we were on. In a really severe winter, would it have made any difference anyway? If it's bloody freezing, and you've already put the thickest jumper on, you turn the heating on, regardless of the cost.

I certainly don't fire up my heating on the 1st of October and off on the 1st March year in year out, the number of days I use the heating depends entirely on the weather conditions.

The way most people use it, then?

Premier_2

sfocata wrote: »

Reading the meter wouldn't have helped much as EDF didn't actually bother getting in touch until I switched to first:utility, so I had no idea what tariff we were on. In a really severe winter, would it have made any difference anyway? ...

Absolutely.

You should have contacted EDF with the meter reading on the day you moved in. Otherwise the supplier would have estimated your start reading meaning you could be paying a lot more than you should be liable for.

Also if you don't contact the supplier and arrange something different, the supplier will almost certainly put you on it's standard tariff; they usually have cheaper alternatives available and typically the more you use, the more opportunity to save.