Why does my house use so much electricity?

ghostmark2005

I don't even know where to begin here -

I moved into my new house on the 1st Oct 2010. The house is a 3 bedroom 16th centrury house - very old - all electric. We have 3 storage heaters, one in bedroom, one living room and one in the kitchen.

There are two thermostat radiators in the smaller bedrooms, one in a hallway and an old copper timer water boiler.

We have an electric oven, brand new eco washing machine, fridge/freezer and small tumble dryer. We also have an electric shower which I switch off at the plug after every use - we only use it once a day for around 7 minutes.

We are averaging 100-110 a month at the moment on electric bills.

When we first moved in the boiler was on twice a day, all radiators would be on and storage heaters on a low setting.

I watched the meter every day and found it used around 5.00 a day!

After some tweaking I have had to switch the boiler off - we have a tiny amount of hot water every day, enough for a sink full. The storage heaters are on but house is freezing, and I've had to switch the thermostat ones off. I'll say it again its FREEZING.

I let this run for around 10 days and found my electric bill still at around 4.50 a day.

:mad:I can't afford to live like this. 4.50 a day, no heating, no hot water and on top of that I have a disabled partner and child who are both greatly affected by the cold and are in incredible pain at the moment. I just don't know what to do I can't even afford to bathe our child she has to go to my mother's to use their bath!:mad:

Is there something wrong here? I've been on at Eon for a while but they seem to think it's all correct.

(We used to live in a top floor modern flat that would cost us around 40.00-60.00 a month without heating because it was always warm - we had to move to a cheaper ground floor property for my partner and child - I also work full time as a Police Constable earning 27,000 a year!)

Thanks

bengalknights

That sounds about right as electric heating costs alot depending on the KW used by each heater, the average price for running one heater 2 hours a day is about 60p if its 2KW.

It might be better if you can get gas installed as it would cost less in the long run during colds spells, in the summer though you wont see such a large bill.

NeverInDebt

Does the £100-£110 per month included any debt?

what do you mean use 5.00 a day what is 5.00 a day, 5 units or 5Kwh? Neither is high.

I assume this is electric heating too

jaylu

First thing you can do is check out this site's utility section, there is a lot of information there about the rising costs of energy and the current price hikes in the industry at the moment and advises people to consider switching supplier. It also has a great link (can't post it here sorry, new members aren't allowed to post links!) to the energysavinghelpline website which is an excellent site comparing the costs of energy providers in your area (you can compare Eon) and it will arrange the switch in supplier for you if you choose to leave Eon. Changeover will take about a month and you may get cashback.

Also if your bills are not managed online are not paying by monthly direct debit, consider doing this as it is cheaper than paper bills.

Obviously it seems there is more to your situation than just your supplier (and they may be the cheapest in your area) such as is the place adequately insulated.. but it is not a bad place to start

Ada3050

You cant really compare a modern flat with a 16 century house for running costs.

I have storage heating and am spending around £7-8 per day during this cold spell.

Do you have open fires? I can only suggest you try and keep one or two rooms warm and wear lots of layers.

NeverInDebt

It might be better to get a multi stove 16th century house will be a nightmare to keep warm, normally when you buy a house you get sent utility bills from seller

jaylu

Perhaps as an emergency measure in this weather you could just pick one or two rooms and heat them adequately, turn all other heaters off. Get someone over to check the boilers (do they have covers?) and check the insulation. I've heard insulation is a problem in old properties - is your roof taken care of? When you bought your house you should have as a matter of modern routine been given something showing the energy efficiency level of your property.

jaylu

Do you have double glazing?

kazwookie

Are you sure your are only metered for your building and not neighbours or yard buildings?

Have you turned everything off and watched to make sure the meters is not still running?

If it is still going some else is running off your meter and you need to find what it is.

Are there any local gov grants to help you insulate your farm house?

andyrpsmith

I am in a similar situation to you.

[FONT=&quot]This is what I decided to do last year to save £1200 per year. The house is listed, 350 years old and electric only, no cavity walls and then single glazed. 4 Bedrooms and 26ft x 15ft lounge.

1). Move away from storage heating (disable meter) and Southern electric E10 tariff which was 12.1p normal and 8.93p off peak to OVO fixed at 8.61p for everything.

2) Use good quality oil filled heater with thermostat and timer (use energy meter to ensure heater set up to provide minimum running costs based on settings for each room with heating elements and thermostat. Meter shows that it is slightly cheaper to run heater at 2.5KW setting than 1KW or 1.5KW - this will depend on size of room and heat loss via windows & walls).

3) The thermostat and timer are essential to ensure low as possible running costs. Each room to set to come on and off to meet the needs of who is home.

We have also just installed secondary glazing which of course has greatly improved noise and heat retention of each room.

My annual usage is about 25000KWH so even a small change in tariff is important.
[/FONT] This is my experience. Southern Elec E10 tariff = Peak 12.10p Off peak = 8.64p
2008/09 Heating (storage heaters) 13382KWH = £1183
2008/09 All other electric 15271 = £1847
Total for year £3030

Change to OVO fixed tariff for everything 8.61p

2009/10 23232 KWH total for year £2000.28p

Saving £1030

Assume normal electric same each year at 15271 then:

Storage heating used 13,382 units (Five heaters)
Oil filled heaters used 7961 units (Five oil and two convection)

I am very happy with the oil filled radiators as I can have the heating on when I need it and it is better controlled than storage heaters. I made a measurement last night when -6 outside and the oil radiator was costing 11p per hour to run.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi ghostmark

I'm really sorry to hear of the difficulties you're going through.

What type of meter do you have? All electric properties with storage heaters usually have Economy 7 meters. This allows the heaters to be charged up during the cheaper night time period. The heat is then released into the room throughout the day.

However, some all electric properties have specialised meters like Heatwise, Economy 10, Economy 18 etc. These allow heaters to be charged up at different times during the day at cheaper off peak rates.

Again, the heat is then released gradually into the room throughout the day. These set ups also give longer hours on the off peak rates for water/storage heating needs.

Check the type of metering set up you have and that you're using it effectively.

As others have said, make sure you're on the best tariff for your circumstances.

If you have one of the more specialised meters, the range of tariffs will be limited. However, Economy 7 meters are usually open to a much greater number of products including better discounts for managing your account online and paying with a Monthly Direct Debit.

I would follow Jaylu's advice and pop your details on to a comparison site. This will list out all your options, both with us and the other suppliers.

Just a quick heads up here. If you do have a specialised metering set up, your arrangement will not be listed on the comparison sites and you will need to do a manual check.

I agree with ada, it's really difficult to compare a modern flat with a 16th century house. Only speculating here, but your house may well benefit from a number of energy saving ideas, some either free or relatively inexpensive. We may be able to help with this.

Although you've already spoken to us, I would suggest having a chat with our Energy Efficiency team. They specialise in helping people reduce their usage and will be happy to talk to you.

Ask for a copy of a booklet called '100 ways to save money by saving energy.' It's free and contains lots of useful tips on how you might cut back.

Check out our website, particularly the Interactive House. More good tips here.

Also, as your partner is disabled, make sure you're on our Priority Services Register. Depending on the nature of your particular circumstances, you may be eligible for help with things like cavity wall and loft insulation. Talk to our Caring Energy team about this.

I hope this is of some use ghostmark and you are able to ease your situation a little. Give me a shout if you need any more info as will be happy to help.

Malc