Help - electricity usage has shot up! Could it be an electricians mistake??

aarchk

For some reason our electricity usage has shot up since the summer. We are not doing anything differently, the only difference is that we had a new kitchen installed and the electrics were upgraded. To do this we had to replace the consumer unit which was outdated. Do you think this may have affected our usage???

We are in a 3 bed semi and currently on Southerns 'Flexiheat' tariff and our meter has three readings so I assume that we are Economy 11. We are fully electric (no gas) and have 3 night storage heaters, the remaining heaters ( x 4) are convector heaters on timers of which only 2 are switched on for hour morning and evening when really cold. We have a wood burning stove so we don't switch our heating on till late (mid December last year).

I notice our stored heat energy rate is only used when the storage heaters are switched on in the winter. The rest of the time we only use the weekday and other times rate. I don't run dishwashers or washing machines during the day and even only rarely in the evening, maybe each twice a week. We also don't have fancy gadgets like Xbox etc, just a tv in the evenings and a laptop. We have an old style hot water tank with immersion in.

I have just calculated our usage since 6th December when we had our last meter reading generated bill and its currently over £500 just for two months! Our winter bills are usually about £350 tops and the 9% increase would make it nearer £400 but at this rate it going to be about £6-700. As a young married couple in low paid jobs we really don't have that spare cash. Also frustratingly all the switch comparisons don't allow for economy 11 searches.

Anyway I was just hoping that someone with some knowledge out there can help me make sense of it. Do I need to speak to the electrician??

Really sorry for lengthy post...

colsaldo

I've just started a thread about something similar, my British Gas electricity bills have been really high over the last year and a half (around £3,700 in 18 months, £200 odd in one week!) We had this problem a few years ago, British Gas eventually installed a check meter which revealed that the meter was running too fast and supplied a refund and a new meter. It seems that their actions have not solved the problem, leaving me thinking that the meter is not the issue. Could it be the way the meter is connected to the mains supply? Or could someone be siphoning off electricity from my system? I have also heard that some meters don't function correctly when measuring usage from storage heaters on economy 7, does that ring any bells?

I have had the council out before to check the system but I don't really trust their diligence in problem solving, and I'm concerned that British Gas will take their Check meter readings, notice a discrepancy, change the meter again and I'll still have the same problem!

On surfing t'internet, i notice that there's lots of people who have problems with big bills, common denominators being storage heaters/all electric heating and 'economy (insert number here)' rates. I really worry about those who are also on prepayment meters since they either foot up the bills or go without.

Maybe Martin could do something...

Atidi

I would suggest both of you try a OWL type meter that gives you a continuous display of your consumption so you can see what you are using at any given time, and also an accrued total that you compare with your meter.

Note they are not as accurate as your meter, but should give a reasonably good indication

Edit: Actually, I'm not sure if this would work for the OP who may have two meters, but should help colsaldo.

aarchk

Thanks for your help Atidi - I only have one meter, its a digital one, I think installed in the last 5 years, we have lived here for 2.5 years.

I have been taking regular meter readings day and night with various bits switched on but I just can't see where the extra is coming from. My only (slightly mad) idea is that the stored energy usage is also duplicating on the other times energy.

chanz4

Forget the monitors, they tell you the same as yourself reading the meters. With the ops query, take a read the same time each day and see what the advance is, do this for a week.

It maybe wired differently up, also if you have had halogen small lights they eat power.

chanz4

colsaldo wrote: »

I've just started a thread about something similar, my British Gas electricity bills have been really high over the last year and a half (around £3,700 in 18 months, £200 odd in one week!) We had this problem a few years ago, British Gas eventually installed a check meter which revealed that the meter was running too fast and supplied a refund and a new meter. It seems that their actions have not solved the problem, leaving me thinking that the meter is not the issue. Could it be the way the meter is connected to the mains supply? Or could someone be siphoning off electricity from my system? I have also heard that some meters don't function correctly when measuring usage from storage heaters on economy 7, does that ring any bells?

I have had the council out before to check the system but I don't really trust their diligence in problem solving, and I'm concerned that British Gas will take their Check meter readings, notice a discrepancy, change the meter again and I'll still have the same problem!

On surfing t'internet, i notice that there's lots of people who have problems with big bills, common denominators being storage heaters/all electric heating and 'economy (insert number here)' rates. I really worry about those who are also on prepayment meters since they either foot up the bills or go without.

Maybe Martin could do something...

If its a second meter todo this, it would suggest your wirring is a miss or a faulty storage heater. Inregards to e7, if you have a single rate meter your charged at a higher rate, rather than e7 which is a 2 rate and after 9pm / 12pm record on the low rate

Wywth

chanz4 wrote: »

Forget the monitors, they tell you the same as yourself reading the meters.

I'm sorry, but I disagree. Unless your meter is in your living room (and viewable from your kitchen and bedroom and bathroom) then you will not be able to see the continuous use you can with a monitor that is eaily transportable to wherever you are.
Most meters don't acually tell you how much is being used at any given time either - they just record total consumption. You may get an idea from the speed the wheel is rotating or the frequency of flashing, but it's not a numerical readout and some meters have neither a wheel nor flashing light.

Also if the meter is faulty (or even in the unlikely event it was recording two registries at once for the same consumption) then a monitor may pick this up Dependant on the accuracy.

But I too am not sure if such a monitor is compatible with an E10/E11 supply ... but it certainly is ok for an E7 supply.

colsaldo

To aarchk

I found out that my storage heaters were replaced and an upgrade was done on the electrics before we moved in, and we've always had to fight regarding out large bills. I used an energy monitor similar to the ones mentioned above which indicated that my usage was much lower than the meter was saying, then contacted the company who installed a check meter to monitor my usage (independently of my installed meter, to determine if the installed meter was measuring correctly). It also showed that my usage was less than half of what the main meter was recording. around a month later I received over £1000 refund and had my account back to zero and a new shiny meter. 18 months later and I'm in the same boat.

To sum up, following the process above may highlight a problem and start the slow wheels turning in your favour. But it may not be a permanent one. I still feel that the wiring/connections/type of meter is the problem.

aarchk

Thanks for the input everyone - Its nice to know am not the only one who has had this. Will take a look at monitors tonight and see if I can pinpoint the problem!

chanz4

take the reads, it will show you the usage. if a meter is faulty their will be zero pattern

retepetsir

You say a new kitchen was installed. What electrical items were changed? Cooker? Lighting? Heating?

You need to find the root cause of the problem.