Extremley High Electric Bill in Student House.

DannyWhoWorks

Hi, I live in a student house and we have just had our latest electric bill. There are six people in the house. The Bill is from 10th December - 08th March. In total, this bill was: £796.54. This seems to be very high! (We do not have gas at the property, but still?).

I do know that a few people in the house use stand alone electric heaters like they are going out of fashion! and I think this has contributed to most of this.

I know for certain that I have contributed to very little to this, but the rest of the house just seems to leave lights on, heaters on, all day and all night.

Is there anything that can be done?

thanks.

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

Keep warm by setting fire to your housemates.

















Just kidding!

Sparx

DannyWhoWorks wrote: »

I do know that a few people in the house use stand alone electric heaters like they are going out of fashion! and I think this has contributed to most of this.

I know for certain that I have contributed to very little to this, but the rest of the house just seems to leave lights on, heaters on, all day and all night.

Is there anything that can be done?

I'm sure you have just answered your own question?

A few electric heaters, lights/heaters on constantly, etc..

DannyWhoWorks

I know but I cant control the whole house . I go around turning lights off, even ovens but in there own rooms, they have full control just thank god we are coming out of winter now!

Nada666

Unfortunately in this situation you have to go with the flow and take advantage of higher comforts. In for a penny in for an extra tenner. It is preferable to have central heating so that everyone benefits from the excess but since that is not there then you will just have to use a fire yourself.

Discuss the situation with flatmates but if they decide to keep their comforts then make sure you experience the comfort too.

Yes, this is expensive - but in a sense it is still less than you would pay living by yourself. Remember this is a winter quarter so three or more times what you will pay other months.

Nada666

(Your most important consideration is to make sure everyone pays their share of the bill. So long as they all do that readily that is a greater imperative than the useage. You should also consider arranging monthly readings, estimates and payments - particularly at this coming time of year lest students start to drift away for summer before next quarter's bill is paid.)

Fire_Fox

Is that an actual or an estimate bill, did someone read the meter? Lights and gadgets make little difference, it is heating, hot water/ showers, laundry at higher temps and tumble dryers that are energy guzzlers. Electricity is massively more expensive than gas for hot water and heating.

What do you mean what can be done after the fact? Read the meter every month, submit readings to the supplier, let your housemates know what is being spent, use a price comparison site so you are on the cheapest tariff with the cheapest supplier, have everyone pay the bill payer monthly, don't wait for quarterly when it's a huge amount to squeeze out of people, live with different people or in a gas heated house.

macman

A 2 bar electric fire (2000W) will cost about £5.76 per day if left on continuously. Multiply that across 6 rooms and it's £35 per day. Do the maths.
You housemates are paying the bills too, so encourage them to regulate their own usage.
What is your actual billed kWh usage for that period? Are you on the cheapest tariff?

Ecodave

Do you all have storage heaters? If you do, does everyone use them, do they know how to work them? I know they are simple (the heaters not the students, .) but it is worth ensuring that your fellow tenants know how to operate any heating system.

m2_225288

DannyWhoWorks wrote: »

Hi, I live in a student house and we have just had our latest electric bill. There are six people in the house. The Bill is from 10th December - 08th March. In total, this bill was: £796.54. This seems to be very high! (We do not have gas at the property, but still?).

I do know that a few people in the house use stand alone electric heaters like they are going out of fashion! and I think this has contributed to most of this.

I know for certain that I have contributed to very little to this, but the rest of the house just seems to leave lights on, heaters on, all day and all night.

Is there anything that can be done?

thanks.

I would:

1. Check what tariff you are on
2. Check if you have a best possible electricity deal
3. Do monthly/daily readings to see how much you use
4. And talk to your flat mates about it the results
5. I lived in property paying for two other flats electricity in the house,
ask everyone one day when all out to switch everything off to see if this is not the case as well

You may find this helpful:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/19374136/Eletricity_Calculator.xls
I have used that to choose cheapest suppliers as well as to monitor
el. usage

Cardew

In my son's student house the preferred method of regulating temperature was to leave the heaters on 24/7 at full blast and open windows if it got too warm.