British gas bill - want to see if we're on the right track :)

englishrose19

Hi everyone,

We have just received our first quarterly British gas bill, it is only for electricity.

It was for £142.

It's a small one bedroom flat, we are very good at turning off things when not using them etc and only have one of our storage heaters on.

My mum said this is v. good and we can afford to use our washer dryer over night, as opposed to air drying, which can cause mold.

Thanks all!

jd87

Yeah £47 per month in an all electric flat in autumn/winter is good. Is this using actual meter readings though? If the readings are estimated then the bill is meaningless.

englishrose19

jd87 wrote: »

Yeah £47 per month in an all electric flat in autumn/winter is good. Is this using actual meter readings though? If the readings are estimated then the bill is meaningless.

Yep it's actual meter readings (last one submitted 2 weeks ago). I am going to submit another today to ensure it's up to date as they've obviously estimated for the last two weeks.

Thanks!

Wywth

If this is your first quarterly bill, it will presumably include usage for the some/all of August, when you wouldn't have been using much in the way of lighting or any in the way of space heating.

I wouldn't be too carefree with how you plan to use your electricity just yet.

Of course you should take appropriate action to help prevent mould forming in your property, and if this can be done by taking advantage of the low rate overnight electricity, then that is better than paying about 3x more for the energy during the day.

I presume you have a condensing dryer, or one that is externally vented, else you will still be retaining the moisture inside the property.
Ensuring good ventilation and adequate space heating should keep mould at bay ... and always better to dry clothes naturally outside (weather permitting) than in a drier (better for your wallet, for the planet, perhaps for your flat and I find for the clothes )

englishrose19

Wywth wrote: »

If this is your first quarterly bill, it will presumably include usage for the some/all of August, when you wouldn't have been using much in the way of lighting or any in the way of space heating.

I wouldn't be too carefree with how you plan to use your electricity just yet.

So using a tumble drier is care free??

englishrose19

Wywth wrote: »

If this is your first quarterly bill, it will presumably include usage for the some/all of August, when you wouldn't have been using much in the way of lighting or any in the way of space heating.

I wouldn't be too carefree with how you plan to use your electricity just yet.

Of course you should take appropriate action to help prevent mould forming in your property, and if this can be done by taking advantage of the low rate overnight electricity, then that is better than paying about 3x more for the energy during the day.

I presume you have a condensing dryer, or one that is externally vented, else you will still be retaining the moisture inside the property.
Ensuring good ventilation and adequate space heating should keep mould at bay ... and always better to dry clothes naturally outside (weather permitting) than in a drier (better for your wallet, for the planet, perhaps for your flat and I find for the clothes )

Hi,

Obviously if drying outside was an option then I would always take it but it's not, as I said I lived in a flat.

We do keep the flat well ventilated (opening key windows for at least 20 minutes, even when it's raining!) and when I mentioned using the tumble drier I meant overnight, we set it off when we go to bed so it using the low night prices.

I cannot really think of anything else to do to keep the costs down - when I lived in my shared student house there was four of us and we used far more electricity than my partner and I do now. He's at work 8-6.30 so doesn't use much and I only really use the TV and computer (student). At night the literal only thing that is on is the fridge.

Wywth

englishrose19 wrote: »

So using a tumble drier is care free??

That would depend on how you use it

But they do consume quite a lot of energy.

englishrose19

Wywth wrote: »

That would depend on how you use it

But they do consume quite a lot of energy.

Yes but I don't have a choice

Wywth

englishrose19 wrote: »

Yes but I don't have a choice

Yes you do

englishrose19

Wywth wrote: »

Yes you do

No I don't, how to do you suggest drying sopping wet towels then?