How much is your average monthly electric bill?

schoolrunmum

Tixy wrote: »

That does look high SRM,
At that price per month have you ever conisdered getting an elec meter to track down what is using the most elec? In fact npower were giving away free meters I think - might be worth seeing if they still do (assuming you are not about to switch). Even if they don't it might be worth buying one of the cheap ones for around £20, if the savings might make it worthwhile. In fact I think some libraries have meters you can borrow to see what is using a lot of power?
How is your water heated? is it by elec imersion heater? have you checked that isn't on all day by accident?

Thanks Tixy...we don't use the immersion-hot water heated by Calor boiler....elec has been astronomical since we moved here 21 years ago-never been able to find out why.....it's not us as our elec bills were normal in our old house....this one is a barn conversion on an old farm property and I've a sneaking suspicion we are subsidising the farm buildings..we certainly are on the water front...

dreamdreamer

That wouldn't surprise me! We were with npower in our last place and I wrote to them 12 times ti tell them we weren't being charged for electricity. After 3 years we discovered they were charging our neighbours at number 1 (we were 1a) who for reasons unclear to me were paying it! Not only did npower not tell them that, they also KEPT charging them for the six months afterwards, until we moved out. They had to take it seriously high up in the end.

elaine12022

Just a small point to bear in mind - electricity prices vary depending on which region you live in..(I live in the old Manweb area so apparently that means I'm paying more than others in different parts of the country )

bluebag

The highest appliances for electricity are those you forget about really, fridge, freezer all on 24/7, electric showers, dishwashers, microwaves, toasters, kettles, tumble dryers. Hairdryers can be surprisingly high wattage as can irons.

I have two teenage girls, my electric bill is staggering! Straighteners, computers, mobiles, PC's, TV's, hot showers long enough to provide water for the whole of Africa, electric blankets, Oh man you name it! I just hide my head in the sand.:eek:

thrifty_fifty

Wow just reading through this thread has really made me think we are paying too much. Southern Electric, the gas is £60 DD and £40 DD monthly for gas, for 2 adults in a teeny two bed cottage. They never seem to believe our meter readings, and I'm sure we're paying far too much. Still, the dishwasher has started to leak, so maybe that's a sign that I should stop using it. We still then only use it maybe twice a week, and put it on at night-handwashing most of the time. Washing machine and tumble dryer if needed goes on at night too. 1 tv and a computer and laptop on for a couple of hours a day. Worth some investigation I think.

Doingmybest2bgoodhurrah

Hi

Just been reading through this thread & thought I'd chip in.

We (2 adults, one intermittent step son & one hound) live in a 3 bed semi built in 1990. There's no gas in the area, so we're all electric. We don't have a dish washer & I'm obsessive about only putting the water heating on when we really have to. I only ever put the washing machine on for a full load (or use the half load setting), if I have just a few bits to do I often do them by hand. We don't have a tumble dryer because I know I'd get too used to it & rack up a huge bill! I do use the cooker a lot as most of our food is home cooked but I do try to make the best use of the oven by seldom putting it on for just one thing. The slow cooker is used a lot in the winter which seems to help with the bill.

We use between £16 to £18 per week. Try as I might I don't seem to be able to get it any lower. I'm thinking about getting a bread maker - does anybody know if they are very costly to run please?

DMB x

Tixy

thrifty_fifty wrote: »

Wow just reading through this thread has really made me think we are paying too much. Southern Electric, the gas is £60 DD and £40 DD monthly for gas, for 2 adults in a teeny two bed cottage.

Worth bearing in mind that much of this thread is nearly 4years old, so don't compare your current cost with that of someone from that many years ago, as gas & elec prices have rocketed since then.
That said if you are comparing to the last few posts that might give you more of an indication.

c53204

I live in a 2 bedroom flat - all electric. I have no outstanding balance and pay by direct debit. Major downside is we have storage heaters.

Even so in less than 9 months. Monthly DD has gone up £121, £149 and last month up to £169. And now it's due to go up again in August.

The heating is turned off from May-Oct and we hardly use the main cooker. We have had several engineers check our appliances (from Scottish Power) as well as independent electricians - nothing wrong.

Every bulb is energy saving and we have solar panels on wall outside to charge mobile phone/laptops.

uSwitch here we come!

YORKSHIRELASS

It seems to vary so much from one person to the next. We have a draughty old house, need new windows and doors but cant afford them. I am at home all day too but try to switch things off. Doesnt help that we have older kids so 2 computers, 3 Xboxes, 3 tellies, etc.

Our electric is £84 a month. We have no gas but oil heating which is a scarily expensive. I am putting £70 a month away for oil next winter but it probably wont be enough. I have started using the electric immersion heater in summer to heat water, it just goes on for half an hour a day. I believe this is cheaper than running the oil boiler at current prices.

vik1491

I have recently switched over to british gas online saver 4 and have just received my first bill a few days back. I live in a 4 bed house with 4 occupants. Gas came in at £36.7 and elec at £43.80 for the month. It looks like my fam and i are using too much elec. Any tips? We have that energy smart electricity monitor but its poo!!! It has to be on charge all the time - using elec itself!!! If the battery dies it loses all past readings!!! I heard british gas will be rolling out new smart meters http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14738449 but they havent contacted me about this yet. Im looking into led lighting at the moment and with a longer life span and lower energy consumpion they seem appealing. However they are pricey