High electric cost in 1 bed flat

festers

My wife and myself live in a one bedroom flat that is all electric. We use a prepayment meter and I just got our yearly use statement. Here are the figures-10165 kwh used and £1485. It is a very small flat and to me this amount is insane. What is the normal amount used in a flat this size in England?? We live in Essex.

victor2

festers wrote: »

My wife and myself live in a one bedroom flat that is all electric. We use a prepayment meter and I just got our yearly use statement. Here are the figures-10165 kwh used and £1485. It is a very small flat and to me this amount is insane. What is the normal amount used in a flat this size in England?? We live in Essex.

It does seem a little high. But if you have your heating on for a lot of the time and at quite a high setting, that could contribute towards it. Electric showers use an awful lot too. Two of you taking lengthy showers every day (at peak daytime rate probably as well) could also add up.
Look at your bills and see what your typical daily use in the summer has been. Compare that to now, with your heating on. You can also read your meter on a daily basis for a while and vary your lifestyle a bit to see what changes have the most effect.

Edit:
Above comment (about the shower) assumes your are on Economy 7 and have storage heating, but that may not be the case of course.

Nada666

I would say 8 to 12,000 for a two-bedroom place would be typical. So 10,000 is not crazy - the more important question is did this keep you warm? If you were warm and cosy all last winter and weren't thinking about usage then fair enough. If you were shivering and trying to cut back but still ended up with that usage then there are problems to investigate.

You could save almost 20% from the cost of that usage simply by changing to a credit meter on a cheaper tariff.

festers

victor2 wrote: »

It does seem a little high. But if you have your heating on for a lot of the time and at quite a high setting, that could contribute towards it. Electric showers use an awful lot too. Two of you taking lengthy showers every day (at peak daytime rate probably as well) could also add up.
Look at your bills and see what your typical daily use in the summer has been. Compare that to now, with your heating on. You can also read your meter on a daily basis for a while and vary your lifestyle a bit to see what changes have the most effect.

Edit:
Above comment (about the shower) assumes your are on Economy 7 and have storage heating, but that may not be the case of course.

We use one halogen heater on 1 bulb only and a oil filled radiator on the 1200w setting, We are on standard tariff and aren't using economy 7.

Yorkie1

Have you double checked your meter serial number against the meter serial number on the bill?

Is the bill fully based on actual readings, or are there any estimated readings at the start / end?

molerat

Yorkie1 wrote: »

Have you double checked your meter serial number against the meter serial number on the bill?

Is the bill fully based on actual readings, or are there any estimated readings at the start / end?

(As flat is mentioned) Is the meter being billed actually yours ?

sniggings

festers wrote: »

We use one halogen heater on 1 bulb only and a oil filled radiator on the 1200w setting, We are on standard tariff and aren't using economy 7.

but how long is the 1200w on for? and what else uses electric in your flat, some people think it's only heating that eats the electric, other things can use more.

your heater if on for 8 hours a day will probably still not heat a one bedroom flat as 1200w is not that pwerfull but will still cost nearly £1,50 for those 8 hours, times that by a week, add in your halogen, and you're up to £10 a week even before anything else is used, washers use loads, tumble dryers even more, dehumidifier can use a lot, how do you heat your hot water, plasma TVs use a fair bit, showers use loads, cookers as well the list goes no...

as said, make a reading every 24 hours and see what your usage is, then you can start cutting down on different stuff to see what makes the biggest savings, you get a much better idea where your money is going.

But just to say your usage is not that bad, it's within the average for the UK, don't think just because it's a one bed place it's going to be loads cheaper, heating a bigger place can not cost that much more than heating a smaller place, adding another 2 bedrooms will not make that much difference to your bill.

[Deleted User]

10165kWh is very high for a one bed flat.

sniggings

jack_pott wrote: »

10165kWh is very high for a one bed flat.

how can you say that when it's within the average, and you have all but no idea of what the OP uses.

Pchavda

festers wrote: »

My wife and myself live in a one bedroom flat that is all electric. We use a prepayment meter and I just got our yearly use statement. Here are the figures-10165 kwh used and £1485. It is a very small flat and to me this amount is insane. What is the normal amount used in a flat this size in England?? We live in Essex.

I am in the exact same position as you. I lived in a one bedroom flat for 10 months and acquired a accumulated bill of about £2000 (and i was hardly ever in). who is your provider? N Power by any chance?

Nada666

Pchavda wrote: »

I am in the exact same position as you. I lived in a one bedroom flat for 10 months and acquired a accumulated bill of about £2000 (and i was hardly ever in). who is your provider? N Power by any chance?

The supplier is not the issue in either case.