Depressing results from Comparison sites today!

TraditionRules

Got notice that my current Npower duel fuel tariff (Sign Online 23) is coming to an end. So with my account in credit slightly I've headed over to the comparison sites.

Everthing on on there seems to point to the fact I'll be paying £200 a more per year on the cheapest deal.
Are there really no good deals out there any more?

Yearly consumption is:
Gas: 31017kw
Electric: 9091kw (day) / 1168kw (night)
3 bed victorian terrace / 2 adults & 2 kids.

I can't post links apparently but have screenshots of from USwitch & Money Supermarket.

foreversummer

Hi

Are you sure your annual gas usage is 31017 kw? That seems awfully high. Twice as much as mine in a four bed detached for four people.

MillicentBystander

THREE times higher than mine in a 4 bed (extended) semi with 4 occupants (and invariably one person in attendance during the day). MAD consumption imo. I would imagine the real savings can be made in analysing why you are burning so much fuel. Your leccy consumption seems crazily high as well.

TraditionRules

Hi, thanks for the feedback above.

I always thought the consumption seemed high, but the figures / usage was calculated by NPower based on meter reading taken just this Monday.

What would you all suggest I do to investigate / resolve this? Get someone out to check over the supply / boiler etc?

Who would be the person to do this? NPower themselves or an independent plumber or similar? :huh:

FYI Boiler is 2 year old Baxi Duo-Tec Combi 40HE.

savemoney

Your usage does seem high side. 3 adults in 3 bedroom house not cavity walls and boiler is around 7 years old. . We do use a long burner a couple of nights a week and cant cut down much due to someone with disability/medical condition

Our usage
Gas Sept 2011 to Sept 2012 13991kWh £622
Electric Sept 2011 to Sept 2012 4707kWh £521

techno12

You could maybe look at nPower's "Energy Saver 2014".

I've just today switched from SignOnline 24 to this, and it's saving me 16% as it's not subject to the forthcoming price increases.

Both the gas and electricity per-unit charge are lower, and the gas standing charge is almost half what it is on SOL24.

Of course, you might be in a different area to me and the rates might be different, but I'm surprised you're not seeing this tariff near the top on the comparison sites.

Your consumption seems very high though. I'm in a 2-bed flat (just me) and I'm 2800 elec, 9500 gas. I'm really conscious about what I use (eg I have 3 Intellipanels to switch everything off standby and I haven't yet switched the gas CH on, though I'm getting close as it's a bit nippy now), plus I don't have kids ;-)

WestonDave

With that gas reading I'd double check whether its being correctly read - i.e. whether its a Cuft or M3 metre and whether this is then correctly calculated on the bill. Getting it wrong will lead to your bills being out by around a factor of 3 which yours instantly look! That said your electricity bill is also double mine for a 3 bed detached house even though we use an instant heat electric shower which I know uses a lot of electricity.

I also question whether if you have gas central heating and are therefore not using night storage heaters, whether staying on a split electric rate as you are is actually saving you money - yes it will be cheaper per unit for the night usage, but that is offset by higher daytime charges. Try putting it through a comparison site on electricity only, and compare it as day/night rates against single rates - doing your figures in my area suggests you'd save £150 a year by getting the Economy 7 meter either changed or billed on a single daytime tariff.

TraditionRules

Thanks to everyone above. :T

I think a phone call to Npower tomorrow is my first port of call to try to investigate.

Having compared my monthly fee with friends with similar sized houses & families this weekend it's absolutely beyond me how my bills are so high! :eek:

molerat

Don't bother phoning NPower they will invariably spout some rubbish to you. Do some investigating yourself. Dig out old bills and check past readings. Check your gas meter and look by the reading for m3 / cu m / 100s cu ft. Check your gas bill and check it corresponds with the writing on the meter. (divide the kWh on the bill by the units used. If the answer is around 11 then you are being billed metric, if 32 then you are being billed imperial).
To be honest your gas is not outside the realms of possibility (not good though) but your electric is incredible if you do not have electric heating. Also being on E7 seems to be costing you a lot extra as you only use 11% at night whereas it is normally only suitable for over 40% night use.

macman

TraditionRules wrote: »

Thanks to everyone above. :T

I think a phone call to Npower tomorrow is my first port of call to try to investigate.

Having compared my monthly fee with friends with similar sized houses & families this weekend it's absolutely beyond me how my bills are so high! :eek:

Your monthly DD amount is not relevant-what matters is your actual kWh usage. I'd be doing my own kWh calculations rather than rely on your supplier.
If you are not using around 30% of your electricity on E7 cheap rate, then it's likely that E7 is costing you more than a single rate tariff. 11% does not make sense with E7-why are you on it? You are paying a premium price for all those 9,091kWh (2 to 3 times the average total usage).
As for actual tariffs, you have missed the boat, as all the cheap fixes were pulled more than a month ago now.

spiro

Several good points about not being on an E7 elec tariff, but that aside you are using 3 times the national average for elec and you can't blame heating for this.
Some things that might help account for this:
1) Immersion heater - as you have GSH you should have any need to use one, are you?
2) Electric heaters - as you are in an old house do you use any?
3) Tumble drier - how often do you use one?
4) Lots of stuff left on standby instead of being switched off.

Personally I would read the elec meter every day (same time of day) for at least a week to determine if the usage is even or varies by day. Given you average has been 28 units per day for the last year reading the meter more frequently for the week may give you an even better indication of what is using it all. You need to bear in mind that that level of consumption equates to a 1kwh fire being on 24/7.