Putting a Perspective on Water and Heating Use.

nickpe

Good Afternoon All - hope you are enjoying your weekend.

Ive been doing alot of looking at our bills and attempting to cut back in all areas of our household spend, i made a post earlier this week and got some really useful tips.

One thing in particular im currently looking at is our outgoing utility bills.

I appreciate there are many variables involved with this question, but i'd like to know can anyone help and try put some perspective/costing to how much the following on average will cost please when it comes to general household use.

Water Cost -
# Using the Electric Shower for ten minutes in a morning before work = ??
# Flushing the toilet = ??
# Spending 15 minutes watering the plants in the garden = ??
# Filling a normal size bath = ??

Heating/Gas Costs -
# Heating up a 3 bed detached house for 1 hour in morning (with cavity wall and loft insulation) =??
# Heating up the water on a 3 bed detached house for 1 hour in the morning = ??

We are with Yorkshire Water and SSE for our Gas.

Any general rule of thumb would help i understand there are many variables.

modsandmockers

nickpe wrote: »

I appreciate there are many variables involved with this question, but i'd like to know can anyone help and try put some perspective/costing to how much the following on average will cost please when it comes to general household use. Any general rule of thumb would help i understand there are many variables.

Nick - there will doubtless be a statistically correct answer to your question but rules of thumb and (especially) average figures are. almost by definition, not applicable to any individual situation. Your best option is to continue doing what you are doing already - be aware of the fact that water and energy costs money, and that neither should be used indiscriminately.

victor2

Do some tests by reading your water/gas meters before and after each "activity". A bath usually requires more water than a shower, but your biggest cost with an electric shower will most likely be the electricity it uses. Read your electricity meter before and after a shower a few times (while nothing else major is running) to get an idea. Compare it to the difference in readings over a similar period without the shower running. However, you can get a quick idea by finding out what your shower is rated at (typically 8 or 9 KW) and working out how many kWh a 10 minute shower will use (9KW x 10/60 = 1.5kWh) and multiply that by the rate you pay for electricity.
Gas central heating is tougher to work out, as it depends amongst other things on the temperature of the house (and therefore the temperature outside) when the heating is switched on. Do you want the house to be warm for an hour, or the heating only to be on for an hour - which IMO is unlikely to warm a cold house up much? Similarly with hot water - are you talking about heating up a hot water tank and not having water available through a combi boiler? If so, similar conditions to those above will affect it, plus the level of tank insulation and how much hot water you use in a day.
For water, gas and electricity, you'll get a better idea by taking regular readings to get an idea of your typical usage in an October week for example. Electricity usage tends to be fairly level throughout the year, particularly if you've got energy saving bulbs. Gas usage will obviously peak in the winter and be lowest in the summer months. Water may be the other way round, if you water your garden a lot in the summer...

Cardew

There are loads of websites that give average water consumption for various household activities.


However water meters can read down to 1 litre. So with 1,000 litres in 1 cubic metre it is not difficult to get an accurate measure of your individual toilet use, bath, shower, hosepipe use. etc. Don't forget also to measure your washing machine and dishwasher consumption.


The Yorkshire Water website gives the price if a cubic metre of water and sewerage.


Ditto, your gas and electricity meters measure small amounts of consumption. Nobody here can give the figure of how long it takes to warm your house. Just read meter before heating starts and after it finishes. However measuring on a mild mid-October morning will not be the same as a cold January morning.

nickpe

Hi Guys -
Thanks for the advice over today its been useful.

Ok to try and put things into perspective i took a reading tonight at 6:30pm and then took a reading at 7:30pm -
ive had the heating on for 1 hour and i must admit the house now feels warm and providing we keep doors closed i dont think i will need to put the heating back on tonight. (i appreciate once December/January arrives 1 hours heating may not be sufficient enough but i can cross that bridge when it comes).

6:30pm reading =04976.15
7:30pm reading = 04977.28

We are with SSE as our provider.

Can anyone please tell me approximatly how much it has cost us for 1 hours heating of the property/gas use tonight ???

victor2

If you have an imperial meter then it's about 36kWh. If you have a metric meter then nearer 11kWh. 36kWh is a lot to use in 1 hour, so I'd say it's more likely to be 11, but check if your meter has ft3 (imperial) or m3 (metric) on it. Then multiply the kWh by the rate you pay for gas and there's your cost for the hour, excluding the daily standing charge of course.

modsandmockers

nickpe wrote: »

Hi Guys -
Thanks for the advice over today its been useful.

Ok to try and put things into perspective i took a reading tonight at 6:30pm and then took a reading at 7:30pm -
ive had the heating on for 1 hour and i must admit the house now feels warm and providing we keep doors closed i dont think i will need to put the heating back on tonight. (i appreciate once December/January arrives 1 hours heating may not be sufficient enough but i can cross that bridge when it comes).

6:30pm reading =04976.15
7:30pm reading = 04977.28

We are with SSE as our provider.

Can anyone please tell me approximatly how much it has cost us for 1 hours heating of the property/gas use tonight ???

Nick - the price per kWh will be given on the tariff information label for whichever tariff you are on. It will also be given on your most recent quarterly bill (assuming that you have not switched to a different tariff in the meantime). The tariff information label should be available on SSE's website. Prices on the TIL usually include VAT, but the prices on the quarterly bills don't add VAT until the end. There is also the daily standing charge to consider, which makes it slightly more difficult to arrive at a precise cost for a single hour's use.

ps - here is a link which might help you to convert your gas meter readings into kWh's - http://www.energylinx.co.uk/gas_meter_conversion.html

nickpe

Hello there -

I have checked my meter and its states m3 so im guessing mine is a metric meter reader?

I honestly believe this is why gas companies are so ruthless in ripping the average joe customer off because its so difficult to try and understand the basic calculations as to how much they are charging you for use.

I have logged into my online account and i cant seem to find the rate that im on.
It states im with the SSE on the Standard Tariff
It says standard energy 3238.33 kWh at 4.0p

Are these the figures needed to make the calculation for my hours use?

victor2 wrote: »

If you have an imperial meter then it's about 36kWh. If you have a metric meter then nearer 11kWh. 36kWh is a lot to use in 1 hour, so I'd say it's more likely to be 11, but check if your meter has ft3 (imperial) or m3 (metric) on it. Then multiply the kWh by the rate you pay for gas and there's your cost for the hour, excluding the daily standing charge of course.

modsandmockers

nickpe wrote: »

Hello there -

I have checked my meter and its states m3 so im guessing mine is a metric meter reader?

I honestly believe this is why gas companies are so ruthless in ripping the average joe customer off because its so difficult to try and understand the basic calculations as to how much they are charging you for use.

I have logged into my online account and i cant seem to find the rate that im on.
It states im with the SSE on the Standard Tariff
It says standard energy 3238.33 kWh at 4.0p

Are these the figures needed to make the calculation for my hours use?

Nick - if you are on a standard tariff, then you are almost certainly paying more than you need. Have a look at the other tariffs which SSE are currently offering - they will probably offer a fixed price for a fixed period of time, and the tariff prices should be easy to find. They might also come with an exit fee if you decide to switch before the expiry date, so it's also worth looking at a comparison site in case you can get an even better deal from another supplier.

But, at best, you can only get estimates because it is impossible to predict your coming year's energy consumption. If you can find out a recent full year's consumption expressed in kWh's then you have a better chance of getting a realistic estimate of future consumption (and therefore costs). The 3238 figure sounds like an energy supplier's annual estimate or projection, and there is no way of knowing how accurate it might or might not be.

nickpe

Hi modsandmockers -
Yes im with SSE and im on the Standard Tariff.

I have just checked my last quarter bill and it does states there is no exit fee on the tariff so im guessing i could go onto any tariff (i wouldnt have a clue which one would be better than the one im on).

I have checked the bill and it states my estimated annual usage is 20,990.28 kWH
This will no doubt be based on my last years useage with them - however over the summer we had cavity wall insulation installed so im hoping my useage will actuall come down by a quite abit.

Any tips on which tariff i should move onto please??? - preferably i would like to stay with SSE as i dont fancy switching all my direct debits etc to a new supplier.


Your estimated
annual usage
20,990.28kWh

modsandmockers wrote: »

Nick - if you are on a standard tariff, then you are almost certainly paying more than you need. Have a look at the other tariffs which SSE are currently offering - they will probably offer a fixed price for a fixed period of time, and the tariff prices should be easy to find. They might also come with an exit fee if you decide to switch before the expiry date, so it's also worth looking at a comparison site in case you can get an even better deal from another supplier.

But, at best, you can only get estimates because it is impossible to predict your coming year's energy consumption. If you can find out a recent full year's consumption expressed in kWh's then you have a better chance of getting a realistic estimate. The 3238 figure sounds like an energy supplier's annual estimate or projection, and there is no way of knowing how accurate it might or might not be.

victor2

You will have your annual usage in kWh for both gas and electricity on your latest statement. Put these into a comparison site such as uSwitch and see what it recommends. Take no notice of the "savings" it say you can make, although as you are already on a standard tariff, they might be fairly realistic.
Anyway, you can find where SSE fall in the list of recommendations and what their best tariff currently is, should you want to remain with SSE. Then phone them up and ask if they can switch you onto the better tariff. Fixed rate tariffs are good in that you know what you'll be paying per kWh for the duration of the tariff, but do consider any exit fee connected with it.
It's not difficult to switch supplier, you just provide the new supplier with your details - they will determine a monthly DD, set it up with your bank once you've given them the details and contact the losing supplier on your behalf. Don't be sucked into an attractive DD with a new supplier though - if it's not realistic, you'll find they increase it after a month or so and/or you'll end up in debt to them.

With your existing gas usage, just multiply the difference between readings taken by 11 to get a close approximation to kWh, then multiply that by 4p, add 5% VAT and that's your cost, plus your daily standing charge...