electricity bills for 1 bed flat?

ziotree

hi guys

just moved into a one bed flat in manchester and wondered how much i should be looking to pay for my electricity bills.

everything in the flat is electric such as cooker, heating (economy 7 storage heater), boiler, washing machine/dryer etc however the water rates are free.

ill be using a tv, laptop, ps3 and maybe wireless router for internet

its my first time having to be responsible for my own electric bills and im scared of running up a huge bill....before i just had to pay for utilities upfront and that was that.

also any tips would be greatly appreciated on how to save money.

thanks zio

bare in mind the flat will be empty saturdays and sundays and all electric apliances will be off apart from the fridge

dannymccann

If youve got a flat thats up off the ground floor you may find you dont even need to use your storage heaters, flats are great in this respect. I know someone who lives in a massive new build tower block in Manchester and he only ever uses his heating on the bitterly cold days, he just 'recycles' every one elses :rotfl:

If you think you can be frugal, £50 a month would probably cover the entire years use (swinging into credit and back down to £0 over 12 months) - if not or you feel the cold I would suggest budgeting closer to £100.

Make sure you get an opening meter read - this is very important for disputes later on

ziotree

thanks for the reply

i live on the second floor and yes it doesnt seem to get very cold. there are carpets too which helps instead of wood flooring which at my mums house makes it even colder in winter

just to clear it up you think ill be paying 50 a month for electric or 50-100 a year?

sorry for being stupid

Cardew

I think you should budget for at least £100 a month - £1200 a year.

With Economy 7 you pay more for the 17 hours 'daytime electricity.

Premier_2

ziotree wrote: »

hi guys

just moved into a one bed flat in manchester and wondered how much i should be looking to pay for my electricity bills.

everything in the flat is electric such as cooker, heating (economy 7 storage heater), boiler, washing machine/dryer etc however the water rates are free.

ill be using a tv, laptop, ps3 and maybe wireless router for internet

its my first time having to be responsible for my own electric bills and im scared of running up a huge bill....before i just had to pay for utilities upfront and that was that.

also any tips would be greatly appreciated on how to save money.

thanks zio

bare in mind the flat will be empty saturdays and sundays and all electric apliances will be off apart from the fridge

Take regular meter readings so that you are aware of your ongoing consumption.

Consider using imeasure.org.uk to keep track of current usage and hence cost.

ziotree

Cardew wrote: »

I think you should budget for at least £100 a month - £1200 a year.

With Economy 7 you pay more for the 17 hours 'daytime electricity.

thanks mate.

wow 100 a month is pretty steep.

do u think i would save more if i went to a normal electricity rate.

thanks

Cardew

ziotree wrote: »

thanks mate.

wow 100 a month is pretty steep.

do u think i would save more if i went to a normal electricity rate.

thanks

Not if you have storage heaters!

Presumably you are renting?

It is important that you learn how to operate storage heaters - particularly if you are away at weekends. For instance you won't want them switching on Friday and Sat nights and thus heating your flat when you are not there.

Andy_WSM

Cardew wrote: »

For instance you won't want them switching on Friday and Sat nights and thus heating your flat when you are not there.

Then conversely you want them heating up the night PRIOR to your return back to the flat. Difficult without much more complex controls than they would normally be fitted with.

Storage Heaters don't always fit the modern lifestyle, so you might want to look at using electric panel heaters when you are in - and compare the cost to running the storage heaters through the night. Obviously you would have to look at switching to a non-eco 7 tariff otherwise you pay over the odds for peak electric.

Example: It may be cheaper to heat the bedroom for an hour in the morning & an hour in the evening, than to recharge a storage heater through the night and keep the bedroom warm all day.

ziotree

Andy_WSM wrote: »

Then conversely you want them heating up the night PRIOR to your return back to the flat. Difficult without much more complex controls than they would normally be fitted with.

Storage Heaters don't always fit the modern lifestyle, so you might want to look at using electric panel heaters when you are in - and compare the cost to running the storage heaters through the night. Obviously you would have to look at switching to a non-eco 7 tariff otherwise you pay over the odds for peak electric.

Example: It may be cheaper to heat the bedroom for an hour in the morning & an hour in the evening, than to recharge a storage heater through the night and keep the bedroom warm all day.

as ill be using most of my electric during the mornings and evenings would you recommend me switching to a normal tariff?

i really wouldnt be using any electric during the economy 7 times

PasturesNew

I'd say budget for £80-100/month, but once you've had that first big bill you'll start running round turning everything off, until it comes down to about £50.

Andy_WSM

ziotree wrote: »

as ill be using most of my electric during the mornings and evenings would you recommend me switching to a normal tariff?

i really wouldnt be using any electric during the economy 7 times

Then you should come off the eco 7 tariff as you pay a premium for your day / evening units whilst getting a discount on your night units (midnight to 7am or whatever the meter is set at). If you are not going to use a substantial amount of power during the night then the tariff will likely cost you more.