Bills twice that of average

lawriejw

Hi, i live in a 4 bed semi in Kent and i have just been told my annual usage for gas is 38952kwh pa and my electricity is 10640kwh. This is more than twice what it "should be". We are an average family of 4, we dont have a pond so no pumps, i dont run the street lamps and dont heat the neighbourhood. The house is double glazed and fairly well insulated for a 1930's house, so any ideas would be mch appreciated.

NittyGritty

my annual usage for the whole year is only 12500kwh all elec on eco 7, 3 bedroom,
maybe query the bill? others will be along to give advice I,m sure

thriftylass

Do you take monthly meter readings to see how it fluctuates, is it mostly from the winter, i.e. heating? Check your monthly statements. Is it estimated bills? Do you have the hot water on all the time or only a few hours with a timer, same for the heating, what temp is it set too? I think we need more detail about how you use appliances (oven on often?, how often does the WM run, tumble dryer?) Just a few ideas...

lawriejw

NittyGritty wrote: »

my annual usage for the whole year is only 12500kwh all elec on eco 7, 3 bedroom,
maybe query the bill? others will be along to give advice I,m sure

Thanks Nitty. I did query the bill while on the phone and they had no suggestions. No suprise there really.

lawriejw

thriftylass wrote: »

Do you take monthly meter readings to see how it fluctuates, is it mostly from the winter, i.e. heating? Check your monthly statements. Is it estimated bills? Do you have the hot water on all the time or only a few hours with a timer, same for the heating, what temp is it set too? I think we need more detail about how you use appliances (oven on often?, how often does the WM run, tumble dryer?) Just a few ideas...

Hi. It does fluctuate between seasons as you would expect, but the figures they gave me are from meter readings. The gas does heat the hot water. We have a gas hob and electric oven which are used, i would say, no more than any average 4 person family, usually only one main meal cooked in the evening and the odd lunch heated up during the day. Washing machine used "average", we have no "dirty workers". Tnmle dryer used only when it gets cold, rest of the time it is dryed on airers or the washing line. Not sure how to check the water temperature setting. Would that be on the hot water tank?

thriftylass

lawriejw wrote: »

The gas does heat the hot water.

Would that be on the hot water tank?

Is the hot water on all day, is someone at home all day? Sorry meant the temperature the heating thermostat is set too. Is that on all day?

But even all this doesn't explain that really high bill fully. We are three in a three bed and use less than half of that. See what the energy company says. But also check your monthly bills in future as you could have noticed this high "usage" earlier. Sorry not having a dig, just a tip. What company are you with? Could you get a smart meter, they apparently tell you wirelessly what item uses the most.

Meadows

lawriejw wrote: »

Hi, i live in a 4 bed semi in Kent and i have just been told my annual usage for gas is 38952kwh pa and my electricity is 10640kwh. This is more than twice what it "should be".

How many of your electricals are on standby rather than off? This could up your cost, not to mention older appliances that are less energy efficient.

lawriejw

No, the heating and hot water come on 3 times a day. morning for 4 hours, lunch time for 2, then evening for 4-5hrs depending on the season. Thermostat never goes above 20, usually around 19. I dont turn the heating off during warmer months but we switch the thermostate right down so it doesnt come on.
Being totally honest, we seem to have always had high bills since we moved in, so never thought to compare them, just assumed they were correct. This is the first time someone has actaully said "wow, your bills are high".

lawriejw

Meadows wrote: »

How many of your electricals are on standby rather than off? This could up your cost, not to mention older appliances that are less energy efficient.

The appliances are fairly new except the boiler And yes, we have 3 sky boxes that are always turned to standby. The TV's are usually all turned off, as are the boy computers/ laptops.

HappyMJ

lawriejw wrote: »

No, the heating and hot water come on 3 times a day. morning for 4 hours, lunch time for 2, then evening for 4-5hrs depending on the season. Thermostat never goes above 20, usually around 19. I dont turn the heating off during warmer months but we switch the thermostate right down so it doesnt come on.
Being totally honest, we seem to have always had high bills since we moved in, so never thought to compare them, just assumed they were correct. This is the first time someone has actaully said "wow, your bills are high".

It may not be high though...it all depends.. How big is your house? You say a 4 bedroom semi but are all the bedrooms large double bedrooms? How many living areas?

To work out the high electricity usage you need to do an audit of everything electrical. Fridges, freezers, washing machines, dryers, kettles, toasters, electric heaters, televisions, sky boxes...everything. You should try taking weekly meter readings and see what you are using on a weekly basis and if you still can't find what is the energy hog then daily and then go down to hourly. An energy monitor (although not very accurate) might help give you a visual display of your current usage without having to go to the meter too often. You'll soon learn your base usage with everything off (mine is 100W-which is the energy monitor itself, the laptop charging, printer, router, phone chargers, the oven clock and the central heating boiler) and what it increases to when things are turned on.

macman

1930's house, so no cavity wall insulation?
Loft insulated to the maximum?
Draughtproofing?