Why are my Electricity and Gas costs so high?

shortchanged_2

- I called my supplier who just said that because I live in an old building this would be the reason to why the usage is so high, I felt as though they were just trying to fob me off though

This is a load of carp. If you are not using electricity for heating then there is no real reason why living in an older house should use a great deal more electricity than a modern house.
It costs the same to run the same appliances in an old house as a modern house!

thearcher

molerat wrote: »

I would be tempted to flick the main switch off and see if the neighbours start screaming or the meter carries on counting up, are you sure the meter is yours and / or only connected to your property, if your building is a conversion mistakes (laziness) in the wiring and allocation of meters is often made.

Yeh, I already tried that.. electricity is definitely for my property only!

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi thearcher

As shortchanged says, your gas usage is on the average side for the type of property described.

I'd just make sure we're billing to actual meter readings and not estimates. If we've used estimates, let us have up to date readings and we'll re-bill accurately. This will give a much clearer picture.

Even though your gas usage doesn't look excessive, I'm sure there are ways to cut back. We can help with this.

Have a chat to our Energy Efficiency team. They specialise in helping customers reduce their usage and will be happy to help.

Check out our website, too. More information on there to help you save energy.

Hope this is useful thearcher.

Malc

thearcher

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc wrote: »

Hi thearcher

As shortchanged says, your gas usage is on the average side for the type of property described.

I'd just make sure we're billing to actual meter readings and not estimates. If we've used estimates, let us have up to date readings and we'll re-bill accurately. This will give a much clearer picture.

Even though your gas usage doesn't look excessive, I'm sure there are ways to cut back. We can help with this.

Have a chat to our Energy Efficiency team. They specialise in helping customers reduce their usage and will be happy to help.

Check out our website, too. More information on there to help you save energy.

Hope this is useful thearcher.

Malc

Hi Malc. Thank you for your input.

Yes - My Gas usage does seem to be average so not so bad, it is my electricity usage that seems to have an issue!

My suppliers are given up to date meter readings twice a month so I don't get any estimates. I use the mobile apps to submit my readings which makes it very easy!

I think my next step is getting an electrician in to look at my place then back to Scottish Hydro to see what they have to say.

Nada666

It really should be readily obvious why electricity is four times what is typical. You do seem to have an idea of what is being used - I certainly think it is worth gambling a callout charge either through an independent electrician or through your supplier to check what is happening.

matelodave

You could try checking the meter daily and then persuading everyone to take shorter showers. a 9kw shower costs about 2p a minute, so 4 x 5 mins x 2 = 40p whereas if you all stand in there singing for 10 mins a go then it's 80p a day (you could share and save even more). Don't let hot water run down the sink when washing or rinsing your hands or dishes. Use cold water where possible. Always fill the washing machine & dishwasher, half loads are nearly as costly as a full load, even if you do have a clever machine
Turn stuff off or unplug it when it's not in use - a plug in monitor will show you just how much stuff uses when it's on stand-by - check everything that gets plugged in. Even a laptop takes 20-60watts.
My LED tv is 150 watts, surround sound unit 40w, Skybox 20-30 watts, so 4-5 hours viewing is one kwh a day or 365kwh a year. Turn lights fans and stuff off when not in the room.
There are only two of us, we are all electric, heating & hot water included (we use a tumble dry throughout the winter) and still only managed to use 8000kw last year, so you are being a bit extravagant somewhere.

anotheruser

And you don't have to reply in red all the time.
We can see it's you by your username :P

cootuk

You could try one of the wireless energy meters so you can see if usage spikes or if it is constant. Might give you an idea whether it is background draw or something specific,