Average utility bills - 1 bed flat

Majestic12

I will be moving into my own place later this year. It a one bed flat in a small block of flats.

I'm trying to guess what my average costs will be living there. I already know what the rent, service charge and council tax will be. Maybe people could provide some intelligent guesses. More about me and my habits:

• Mon-Fri I work office hours, and try to go out on Saturdays
• Using washing machine once, at most twice a week
• Essentials every day (shower, wash etc..)
• I do not get cold very easily! So I dont think I will be that reliant on gas for heating the flat. If I am cold, I am very willing to put on extra layer of clothes
• Computer on most evenings, occasionally watch TV every few days.

I would think I am a low energy user and have had a look at Ebico etc...I also want to pay my bills monthly and avoid direct debit as much as possible. I will take readings once a month. I'm hoping I could budget for at most £35 a month on electric and gas? Does this sound about right?

There is a water meter but I have no idea about the cost per month, again some help would be very beneficial

Thanks,

macman

Impossible until you tell us how the property is heated and hot watered. Does it have gas CH and DHW? The point here is that all-electric properties on a single rate meter will cost about 300% more than ones with a gas boiler.
Subject to that, your estimate is way under. With gas, I'd budget £70pm. If all-electric with E7, then more-and more again if not E7.
Water prices vary by up to 50&% dependent on region-what water utility co are you with? Guesstimate £25pm?

2013yearofthehouse

Quite a few threads on this recently and the answer is it varies greatly depending on your personal habits and your flat (size, insulation, efficiency and type of heating method etc.)


For a very very rough guide - I paid £35 per month for all electric (for 3500kwh over the whole year) and I kept the place warm and worked from home a lot, but the flat's well insulated and I'd expect to pay £40 now with price increases.

My water was £15 per month, but price per cubic metre varies greatly by region (in other regions the same amount of water could cost as much as £25 per month). Average for 1 person is 55 cubic metres a year, so find out the price per cubic metre for your region to give you an idea (don't forget to add the fixed charges on top).

76rosie

If ur careful. 300 on gas. 300 on electric. 200 on water. Go for prepay. Easier to keep down.

datlex

I don't get why you would want to avoid direct debit for gas and electric- you get a reduction for paying by direct debit.


As for amounts, a lot can depend on what appliances you have how you use them etc. For example you say you use the washing machine once or twice a week- you don't say which program. Different programs mean the machine is working for different lengths of time and hence costs different amounts.
Again computers can use different amounts- a laptop for example uses less than a PC.
Daft things can use extra electricity like leaving TV on standby overnight or whilst you are out at work.
Lighting can also be a cost, changing from ordinary to energy light bulbs saves money. You can also save by using a lamp rather than main bulbs.
Keeping the doors to the room you are in can make it cosier (only exception is when you are using the cooker - keep door to kitchen open to let heat go through flat to an extent.
A realistic amount for both I would say is about £25 for each.
Regarding a water meter, if you go to the energy trust website there is a great video on saving money on a meter. I have a meter and currently pay £9.44 a month. You can save water in lots of ways- shorter showers, washing up bowl & washing up once a day, only using the water you need for drinks when you boil the kettle/using a flask and boiling a flask full.

olly300

76rosie wrote: »

If ur careful. 300 on gas. 300 on electric. 200 on water. Go for prepay. Easier to keep down.

Prepay tariffs are more expensive.

One factor ignored is how efficient your boiler is.

If you have an efficient modern gas boiler plus good insulation and are out working and socialising in the week you can have a lower bill than that.

I live in a larger flat than that and my bill for gas and electricity for the whole year was lower than £600. Yet when I lived in a rented flat with an inefficient boiler keeping the heating on less produced a massive bill.

BTW Ebico aren't that cheap any more. I was with them then changed to EDF and now to Ovo. In regards to not paying by DD the energy suppliers are very careful not to over charge.

lstar337

olly300 wrote: »

Prepay tariffs are more expensive.

Not entirely true.

Pre-Pays cost the same as the suppliers standard variable tariff.

True, in most cases the standard variable tariff is not the cheapest available, but that is not always the case.

I did a comparison on my usage last week and 3 of the top 5 were standard variable tariff's, including the cheapest.

footyguy

lstar337 wrote: »

Not entirely true.

Pre-Pays cost the same as the suppliers standard variable tariff.

True, in most cases the standard variable tariff is not the cheapest available, but that is not always the case.

I did a comparison on my usage last week and 3 of the top 5 were standard variable tariff's, including the cheapest.

Which supplier (other than those that only offer a standard variable tariff) does not have a cheaper option? :huh:

Majestic12

Thanks for the replies all. To clarify a few things:

The flat does have central heating and it is not an all-electric setup (thankfully). Insulation is good and the building itself is only 3 years old. I will find out more about the boiler but I think it should be in good condition and efficient.

I did some comparisons, assuming I will be a low cost energy user. Flow Energy, Sainsburys, First Utility and Ebico came out on top constantly in terms of lowest predicted cost. First Utility is out of the question due to their appalling service.

lstar337

footyguy wrote: »

Which supplier (other than those that only offer a standard variable tariff) does not have a cheaper option? :huh:

On my low usage, Npower's Standard Variable with no standing charge was top of the list, followed by some smaller companies with no standing charge.

There were a few short term fixes that may have saved over time, but the higher cost of the tariff didn't justify the risk of no or minimal price increase.

Not the point though, pre-pays are not more expensive, they are just (usually) limited to variable tariff's which a generally not the cheapest option available.

Mark_T27

The average utility bill for gas and electricity in the UK is £1,300. I'm guessing this is for a 3 bedroomed, one bathroomed house. So if you divide that by 2, I think you might come close. So budgeting £80 a month seems like a fair idea.