Sky high bills

thriftylass

aestheticdebris wrote: »

Ok thank you for breaking it down, I really appreciate it. I am not usually ditzy but certain things just turn my brain to mush haha.

Well gaswise it is the stove...which perhaps doesn't get used every day. The boiler I assume is gas which does the water/heating. Obviously we've not had the heating on but perhaps we're able to do something about the water.

Can I just switch my boiler off at the wall? I think I need to jump on hubby when he gets in to investigate the gas side.

Thank you so much guys, you're absolutely brill!

Do you have a timer device for your heating/hot water (I don't mean the dial in the hall or wherever where you set the temperature). We do and switch the heating off completely (make sure that's not running on standby or sth now.). We cook on a gas stove everyday so it's not that. Also there should be a dial on the boiler itself where you can reduce the temperature the hot water is heated to. If you don't use neither heating nor hot water that much and hubby can't find the dials to adjust things I would maybe get a friend round or an engineer to have a look because over 1000kWH/month doesn't make sense. You could always switch the boiler of for a few days (just as a test although maybe not ideal with a baby) and compare the reading to the same number of days with it on.

Hope you find a solution soon and let us know how you get on

aestheticdebris

thriftylass wrote: »

You could always switch the boiler of for a few days (just as a test although maybe not ideal with a baby) and compare the reading to the same number of days with it on.
Hope you find a solution soon

Thank you thriftylass. Fab idea, now is the best time to sort it, can't wait much longer as the heating button will beckon with these cooler nights

victor2

aestheticdebris wrote: »

Our bill doesn't show what 12 month usage is. Just compares daily usage. I shall download some older ones and see what I can find.

We've never had economy 7 in the time I've been here. We just have the one meter but you have to click the button to get a secondary reading.

I took them today and they are follows:

Electricity 1744 & 8821
Gas 1315

So they take the usage up a bit more.

I shall definitely be looking into the gas further. Perhaps our boiler needs servicing?

Based on those readings, your electricity usage from 3/4/13 to today was 2,890 kWh and gas was 3,318 kWh.
So your gas is not as high as the estimate (but still a bit high for what you have), but your electricity is much higher, and the reason for your debit balance increasing. In fact, I would question if the figures you gave for electricity are correct?
Shouldn't be 6821 rather than 8821 for the second reading should it?

On the gas side, do you have a hot water tank or is it a combi boiler? If you have a water tank, maybe it is on for longer than it needs to be, or maybe the baby is having lots of baths?
Maybe you had the heating on well into May, so that will have affected the usage over the period covered a bit.

DragonQ

The gas usage is definitely the problem. Even with cooking and hot water for 3 adults, we were using 5 kWh per day in the summer (so 150 kWh per month, 10% of your usage). Make sure the heating is completely off on the boiler.

Is it a combi boiler? If not, make sure the hot water is only set to come on when necessary - try 30 minutes every morning and see if that amount of hot water is enough for the day. If not, do it twice per day. Also check the temperature on both the boiler and hot water tank.

Do you have a power shower? That could be the cause of high electricity usage too.

StuC75

piece together annual kwh usage.

check meter reference numbers match - specifically whether metric \ imperial type and if billed wrongly as a result (often a few posts here where that has happened)..

aestheticdebris

I think it is a combi boiler. We don't have to turn it on for hot water at all?

I don't think it is a power shower. It all comes out of the wall. There isn't a unit attached like some I've seen.

This is quite confusing, I think I've gone along too long not concerning myself with how much we are paying and now my salary has dropped I am wondering just how much money we are wasting /-:

aestheticdebris

StuC75 wrote: »

piece together annual kwh usage.

check meter reference numbers match - specifically whether metric \ imperial type and if billed wrongly as a result (often a few posts here where that has happened)..

Brilliant idea, thank you. Although Eon have been out a few times to check the readings. I'd hope they would get it right?

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi aestheticdebris

Already some great advice on here. Thought I'd just add a couple of things.

Give us a call if you're struggling to find your annual usage. We'll be happy to tell you.

As thriftylass says, pop these figures on to a comparison site. This will list all your options, both with us and with the other suppliers.

Although your meter is Economy 7, you're actually on an Unrestricted tariff. Assuming the readings 01577 and 01744 are from the night register, this looks ok.

Our Economy 7 tariffs charge a premium day rate and a lower off peak night rate. Therefore, depending on the region and tariff, you need to use approx between 40 and 50 per cent of your usage during the off peak period to benefit. If my assumption above is correct, your night usage is so low as to warrant the Unrestricted tariff you're already on.

Have a chat to our Energy Efficiency team. Tell them about your property, appliances and heating arrangements. They specialise in helping people reduce their energy usage and will be glad to help.

Ask for a copy of a booklet called '100 ways to save money by saving energy.' It's free and contains lots of good advice to help you save.

Check out our website, too. Particularly, the 'Interactive House' and 'Energy Menu.' More good tips here.

Hope this is useful. Give me a shout if I can help further as happy to do so.

Malc

thriftylass

aestheticdebris wrote: »

I think it is a combi boiler. We don't have to turn it on for hot water at all?

We've got a combi boiler too. You can have the hot water on all the time (i.e. the water runs hot instantly,as the hot water tank is fully heated all day- ours calls it hot water advance, which is what we can time to twice a day) or you have the hot water "off" and it takes 5 min to run hot from a tap as it's heated there and then rather than being in a hot water tank. Although your system might be different, as not all now have a hot water tank anymore.