High electricity usage?

Cardew

You are not using that amount of electricity - a PC uses very little, even if working, let alone hibernating - so something is wrong.

You still haven't said what type of meter - digital or dial.

Norman_Castle

Hi,freezers and fridges use more electricity in hot weather.Do they need defrosting?.Vacuum cleaners also use a lot.Has anyone recently become a vacaholic?
Changing your light bulbs would save you a lot more money.As they are now either free or very cheap their is no reason not to.

electricity_2

The meter is a dial meter and looks to me to be pretty old too (so I do wonder whether it has not just gone past its sell-by date?).

I checked again this morning and the usage is only 1kw more from yesterday at 75802 (halfway between the two and three).

I think I will keep on checking for the whole of this week and if I have another day with a sudden surge of 70+ kilowatts, I am going to try to insist that British Gas comes around and checks the meter.

I would like to change to E-on but am reluctant to move from BG until the meter issue is sorted out (my WebSaver tariff runs out on the 1st June) - so I am unsure whether to continue with British Gas and sign up to WebSaver 7!

It sounds a bit suspicious of me but I think it will be harder to get BG to come out and replace the meter or refund me any cash (if it proves to have been running faultily) if I am not still with them... perhaps that is not the case?

I suppose I might default onto the BG standard tariff for the next week or so - and then make the decision as to which provider I would like to use, once I have a clearer idea of what is going on with the usage here! Because I presume (perhaps wrongly) that I will be able to swap quite easily from a standard tariff, whereas with one of the deals like WebSaver 7, I might be "tied-in" with a penalty clause if I want to leave early.

I will have to read the small print today I guess or tomorrow!

Thank you all for your help. I am glad to know that 18 - 24 kw is not average for a small three bed flat (which has hot water and heating by gas) because the British Gas energy consumer adviser told me that it was! (You can't trust anyone these days!!!!! One apparently needs to double check everything, very sad state of affairs.) But am very glad to have had all this info here - thanks!

electricity_2

Norman_Castle wrote: »

Hi,freezers and fridges use more electricity in hot weather.Do they need defrosting?.Vacuum cleaners also use a lot.Has anyone recently become a vacaholic?
Changing your light bulbs would save you a lot more money.As they are now either free or very cheap their is no reason not to.

I don't think the fridge or freezer need defrosting but I will admit to possibly being a bit of a vacaholic .... does hoovering every other day count as a vacaholic?? (I am a neat freak - dusting, cleaning, polishing, washing floors etc. etc. etc. but the entire flat is only 800sq feet or so of which less than half needs to be hoovered - the rest is tiled or wooden floor which I wash and polish. I am a bit fanatical about that but not yet OCD, I don't think! - I just can't think if everything is messy and unclean).

We should probably change the light bulbs - I haven't as yet because I used to find the energy saving light bulbs light a little green and depressing and I liked the warm glow from incandescents, so I avoided the energy-savers. However, I have heard they are really quite good now, so next time I am buying light bulbs I will try for those energy saving ones. We have a sort of chandelier-thing in the main room which takes those 'narrow/candle-flame shaped' light bulbs. It takes five lightbulbs!

The other light bulbs around the house are standard ones.

electricity_2

Cardew wrote: »

You are not using that amount of electricity - a PC uses very little, even if working, let alone hibernating - so something is wrong.

You still haven't said what type of meter - digital or dial.

I was just thinking that perhaps it was possible that I transposed the last two figures and instead of reading it 19 ... read it 91 instead and I just wrote it down wrong but then that means our electricity usage IS only 5 or 6 units or so a day (which is what I would expect) rather than the 40 units a day we are currently averaging. However, if you add an occasional huge slip of 60 or 70 units to our normal usage of 5/6 units a day it would probably average out at about 40 or so per day for the month...

I wonder whether it is possible for a meter to suddenly slip or spin and that is why we are having these huge bills .... anyway, am going to keep an eye and if I see another huge jump for no good reason, am going to insist that BG comes out and fixes/replaces the meter!

Anyway, as of this morning it reads 75806 (halfway between 6&7).