Energy Costs are too high please help

oadby.owl

Hi,

I have rented a new property 3 Bed Semi; When I tried to set up the electricity account with EDF energy, twice they told me to recheck the reading as they thought it is too high.

This time they have set up the direct debit of £100/month for electricity, this I am thinking way over my estimates. They have asked me to check the readings everyday for next seven days and then report back so that they can check and decide what shall be the accurate DD.

the first day reading was 100 units incremented on the meter.

The electricity meter is a dials type with dials for 10000, 1000 etc. I am having trouble interpreting it. (I guess)

We are a family of 4 (2 adults + 2 children) and we do not high hi energy consuming appliances like storage heater or tumble dryer.
Most of the equipments are energy efficient. (BOSCH make; specifically chosen based on their energy ratings)

The only electricity consuming device(s) which I think could be above average are the light bulbs which are deemer type and they are too many in lounge and dining area.


questions:

1. Can you please provide information on reading the dial type energy meter?
2. Do you think that the electricity consumption is way too high?
3. Will switching supplier make things better?
4. Should I be looking at Energy Monitors in order to track down the consumtion?
5. EDF energy do not change the meters to digital; do you know anyone who will do it for free if I join them?
6. Can KwH meters read faster than expected do you think it needs inspection by the engineer?

Many thanks in advance

OO

macman

How do you heat the house and provide your hot water-electricity or some other means? 100 kWh a day (say £10) is very high unless you have electric heating. Immersion heater being left on 24/7?

savemoney

100 units is very high if you dont have electric for heating. I use for 15-16 kWh for electric per day (no heating or immersion heater to make hot water)


http://www.electricity-guide.org.uk/meters.html

To read meters

You need to work out your usage annual but obviously if you moved recently you cant so a rough figure will have to do, it will be higher at mo due to winter, sorry cant tell you what a rough figure is. I can give you my usage annually

For 4 adults (includes 2 teenagers) 3 bedroom semi, 3 tv's on most evening, and 3 computers, pvrs. 2 freezers, dishwasher an tumble (on rarely) and energy saving bulbs 2010 figures


Electric 5243 kWh
Gas 19285 kWh

You could try the many comparison web sites

Pont

http://www.edfenergy.com/products-services/for-your-home/my-account/how-to-read-your-electricity-meter.shtml

Re: Dial meter - you're not including the 'red' digits are you?

If not , it seems something is wrong as macman (above) suggests. If it's the immersion get it on a timer pronto! If not, take daily readings at a set time and try to establish where the high energy use is coming from.

KimYeovil

Is there a gas supply? Are heating, water and cooking gas? If yes, £100 is very high. If not, £100 is, I'm afraid, a little low.

You have to suss out your meter. Swallow your embarassment and ask a neighbour what they think. Otherwise, well, the dials count from low to high but the direction of each dial alternates. So if the pointers are not over any numbers the reading should be clear. If the pointer is at a number then look at the next lower dial. Think of an hour hand and a minute hand on a watch. If the minute hand points at 11 and the hour hand points 'at' 2 then it is five to two - the time is 1:55 - whereas if the minute hands point to 1 and the hour hand points 'at' 2 then it is five past two - 2:05. Similarly, if the ambiguous meter dial points at 4 and the next smaller dial points at 8 or 9 then it will be 3 somehing or other. If the next smaller dial points at 1 or 2 it will be 4 something or other. If the next smaller dial is not pointing somewhere between 8 and 2 then the ambiguous dial should not be ambiguous.

Hmm. Somehow I suspect that may not have helped much. Never mind.

oadby.owl

Thank you all who have replied so far for your prompt advice!

No I do not have electric heating, I have GCH.

No I am not including red dial in the reading (1/10th)

What is your advice about the other question? changing to digital meter, energy monitor etc.

Regards

OO

savemoney

Energy monitor doesn't really help much the meter is the main focus on how you get a true reading

Sounds like you are using way to much then 100 units per day compared with mine of 16 per day (no immersion heater) and I am not a low user either

Might be wise to turn everything off and see whats make you use that much 100 units is way too much, maybe get a plugin meter to see how much power a item uses, costs around £8 or some libraries now hire them out now

chris1973

Buy a few cheap table lamps, and fit them with low energy bulbs. 11W - 13W type should be fine in places like the lounge where low light during TV watching is the norm. Use 20W in the dining room for eating etc.

Do any of your kids have Xboxes / Playstations etc. These can also swallow anything from 100 to 200 Watts of power, which mounts up if used for long periods like weekends and all day during school holidays. Show them a football or a bike and kick 'em out from dawn to dusk (assuming they are old enough).

What type of Tv do you have and how long is it on. Plasma's use a lot of power, some of the larger models using 400 - 500W which is effectively almost half of a one bar electric fire. Choose an LCD one if you can.

These examples may not seem a lot, nor total anywhere near to 100 KWH per day but added together and totalled over an average bill, its amazing what percentage they can account for.

Any outdoor floodlights being triggered by the wind, animals etc?

Are your fridge and freezers switching on/off correctly?. A failed thermostat or door seal can result in the motor running constantly 24/7

Look out for any mystery wall thermostats. There should be one thermostat for the central heating, but any other thermostats in bathroom etc should be suspect. Sometimes underfloor heating can be added to bathrooms and conservatories etc to add background warmth, and just as often they can be badly laid by DIY-ers and so any warmth isn't really noticable, but left on, even at a low level can burn many units of power.

Any loft lights etc, left on by the previous occupier?

Pincher

Go to the consumer unit (fuse box). Switch off
all the circuit breakers. See if the meter is still moving. And then have only one breaker on at a time.
This might help narrow the problem area.

oadby.owl

Hi thank you all for your tips & tricks. (Special thanks to Kim & savemoney. )

as advised by EDF, I am taking the reading everyday and todays reading was bit comforting (9.8 units consumed in a day)

it looks like the dial meter was confusing part.



In case if things don't work as I am now expecting, I shall write back on the thread.

Many thanks again & GN

NeverInDebt

Aldi are still selling plugin monitors at mo well they are in my local store

9-10 units a day isn't too bad always monitor and log your readings its so much easier oif they then have a sudden increase and also if you move provider you have a accurate comparison