187% increase in gas usage

macman

DAKOTA45 wrote: »

Ha… it's not there… I have been with E.on since before they were E.on… I have never switched… ever!

Perhaps it's time I did!!

Which is why you are on the most expensive Eon tariff, Standard variable.

System

DAKOTA45 wrote: »

Hmmm… I have been trawling through my old papers and have found a bill stating that I used 10,592 kWh of electricity between Jan 2013-Jan 2014…

Now I need to find out why…

Just taken a meter reading at 9:30am 14148

This doesn't make any sense. If your meter is now reading 14148 today and you used 10,592 in the year up to Jan 14 then the maximum that you have used in the past 12 months is 14148 - 10592 or 3556kWhs. Is the 10,592 based on ACTUAL meter readings?

I suggest that you ring E.oN and ask them for the date on which your meter was last read with the meter reading on that date. It is then a simple sum to work out how much you have used.

System

Ok. Then in the period January 2014 to today (14 months), you have used 11069kWhs of electricity. This is high but the usage for the past 12 months is similar to that 12 months before that.

I have just looked at the cheapest fixed electricity - and using 10,000kWhs per year - you could save £350 per year by switching to a fixed tariff.

I know that we all love our pets but heating a room with no insulation is a bit like trying to heat the garden. Couldn't you buy one of the heated beds that the dog kennels use?

While you think about it - get someone to help you with a comparison site and SWITCH today. E.oN is currently not the cheapest.

zeupater

Hengus wrote: »

Ok. Then in the period January 2014 to today (14 months), you have used 11069kWhs of electricity. This is high but the usage for the past 12 months is similar to that 12 months before that.

I have just looked at the cheapest fixed electricity - and using 10,000kWhs per year - you could save £350 per year by switching to a fixed tariff.

I know that we all love our pets but heating a room with no insulation is a bit like trying to heat the garden. Couldn't you buy one of the heated beds that the dog kennels use?

While you think about it - get someone to help you with a comparison site and SWITCH today. E.oN is currently not the cheapest.

Hi

Before we start looking at switching, we still have a fundamental question .... why is the DD close to £2k/year for a pretty steady (although high) usage of ~10,000kWh/year ?

At the figures provided (SC - 26.019p/day & 13.913p/kWh) the annual cost (before any special discounts) should be around £1500 ((0.26019x365)+(0.13913x10000)), or £124/month, which suggests that anything higher would be the result of the supplier's DD system suffering from 'yoyoing' (overpayment/correction/underpayment/correction/..) ....

Let's assume that the heater on lowest setting used overnight in the winter months draws ~1kW, that's around 1000kWh per year (8x4x30), which leaves DAKOTA45 still consuming almost 3x (9000/3300) more electricity than an average dual fuel property ... this is why looking at usage over a short time period becomes important. At 9:30 this morning the meter read 14148 so we'll soon be able to see if the high usage is intermittent or continuous ....

HTH
Z

macman

See above post. I've put your consumption through the Eon site and based on 11,069kWh on Standard variable tariff, you would be spending (at current prices, not last years), £1,623.97pa. That should result in a DD of £135.33 per month. So about £406 per quarter.
So I don't understand where you are getting £500/£550 per quarter from? Apart from anything else, if the dog heater is the main cause of your massive usage, then your billing should drop dramatically between about April and September, or whenever you switch this heating off.
I suggest you post the actual amounts billed in each quarter if anyone is to make sense of this.
How many months per year do you run this heater and what is it's rating (marked on the rating plate on the back or base)?
PS: I've just realised that you are on quarterly billing, not monthly DD. That is costing you another £35 per year with Eon. So simply switching to the cheapest fixed tariff, using paperless billing and monthly DD could save you around £400 pa. Hardly insubstantial.
Apart from anything else, surely monthly DD would be better for you, because it will even out the billing across the year so you don't get hit with £550 at the end of a winter quarter?
Finally, do you have any arrears on the account (i.e an amount owed other than the latest bill)?

zeupater

Hi macman

Agree, there's something odd here, however, before looking at new tariffs or suppliers it's imperative that the root cause for the high usage is identified, especially so as it's claimed that there is little use of electrical items/appliances. If Dakota45 changed supplier and the current supplier was in some way responsible for an error, the process of claiming overpayment refund is further complicated. For the sake of a only few days difference, it's probably a much cleaner approach to attempt to trace down the offending usage.

HTH
Z

System

This explains everything:

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/wales/consumer_w/consumer_energy_supply_e/consumer_energy_bills_e/consumer_understanding_your_energy_bill_e/how_to_read_your_electricity_meter.htm

gazapc

So that's 15 kWh in 24 hours, not a unsurprising amount considering the electric dog heaters. Still doesn't make sense how it gets to nearly 2k a year tho.

Keep up the daily or bidaily readings and note down anything you do which is a big electricity user (anything with heating)

System

What type of TV do you have? An old plasma TV can consume 300 watts/hr or 7.2kWhs in any 24 hour period if left on constantly. Might I suggest that an energy monitor might be a useful tool. Our local library has them available for loan. You might be surprised how much electricity items actually consume.

zeupater

DAKOTA45 wrote: »

It wasn't cold enough last night for the heater, so I left it off…

But tv is on 24/7 due to it's noise cancelling effect… I have tinnitus and can't sleep without background noise, unfortunately.

I boiled the kettle about 5 times in that period.

And there is a fridge and the computer is plugged in… that's all….

Hi

Not really scientific, but if that usage (15kWh/day) is typical the annual consumption would be around 5500kWh (15x365), which is around half of the billed annual usage, which in turn should come to far less than £2k/year ... but still relatively high ....

Hengus makes a valid point about some TVs consuming a considerable amount of electricity .... if it's just background noise that you need would a radio or HiFi suffice, or does the TV have the ability to run audio without picture (some do). As for the computer, if it's a desktop/monitor & peripherals and is powered 24x7x365 it could also be using a considerable amount of energy, likely in the range of 1500kWh to 2000kWh per year.

As for the kettle being used 5 times, unless you're filling the kettle just to make a mug of coffee, it's unlikely to make much difference overall ... boiling half a litre a time (around 1/3 full kettle) 5 times per day should consume around 100kWh/year (1.16*0.0005*90*5*365) ... the fridge, if working correctly, should also consume around 100kWh/year ... if the compressor's running constantly without cutting out it could be on it's way out and consuming considerably more ....

Another thought (or two) ... how long have you had the loft insulation installed ?? ... if recently was it fitted 'for free' as part of the green deal scheme ?, in which case it (or any other green deal improvement) could be being paid for as a separate charge within your electricity bill ... additionally, having dogs and outbuildings in a rural area, do you have a number of halogen (/security) lights which are used a lot ? ...

Keep taking the readings, it'll help sort things out ...

HTH
Z