Very high electric bill

azad

Hi
I really need an advice about a 2 bed flat bill. I bought a 2 bed rooms , 8 years old modern flat, around 2 years ago.Previous tenant was complaining about the bill and accusing the flatmate to use a lot the wash machine,They moved out , we read the meter and the new tenant moved in. 3 months later,I wanted to pay the bill therefore went to read the meter and was shocked. I decided to request a smart meter and find out the reason.Unfortunately the meter in in basement and does not communicate, Then I have to ask tenant to go and read and so far we could not find the reason .The bill is around £ 150 to £200 per month.The setting is not on boost. But I think the boiler is not on timer .It is on always.The central heating is now on 10 degrees and it means no radiator on.Once I went down and checked it for half an hour it looks it s the boiler that is using the electricity. Who can I ask to look for the problem?boiler engineer?
The boiler is slim jim and was broken and we repaired it in Oct, but still the bill is the same.
Need your help.
Thanks for reading my post

McKneff

Do you have the hot water thingy on all the time.

If so, just turn it on when hot water is needed.
It is so expensive if its turning itself on and off all day and night.

chris-j

The issue unlikely to be Washing Machine and boiler is most likely suspect.
The Slim Jim ranges from 6KW to 14KW so at £150 per month would suggest if it is a 6KW model it is running for almost 7 hours per day or around 3hrs if 14KW. Assuming running at full power, in reality not likely to run at full power so does suggest it is always on and always using energy.
With the central heating, is it the boiler that is set at 10 degrees or radiators - if radiators check if the boiler still running as it may still try heating water if nothing is telling it 10 degrees reached. Additionally if flat has a shower is there a shower flow sensor as otherwise you could have the shower and boiler heating water costing 4 - 8 times as much depending on boiler setting although this alone would not explain size of bills.

Another alternative could be that the wiring for the flats is wrong and you are paying for other flats as well - worth checking with the neighbours to see if they can tell you roughly what their average monthly electricity bill is (be aware though that if some have gas heating then not a direct comparison as heating is biggest expense).

Finally, less likely but if flat has incandescent lightbulbs (the old 40/60/100/150 Watts) and tenants tend to leave them on, these will ramp up costs but again not to the levels of bills you quote.

azad

Hi
Thanks for your reply.
I lived in old Victorian converted flats where I did not know where the boilers were(I guess gas boiler) and there were not any central systems and programmers. My bills for 2 beds flat were ok(£50-£80). Do you mean for Slim jim I have to turn off the boiler at night and set a timer?Do you think new boiler or gas boiler will fix the problem?The bill for last year was around £2500.Unfortunately the smart meter does not communicate then I can not see the usage.Does an electrician can check the usage and wiring? many thanks

chris-j

Download boiler manual to understand how it should work if you dont have one. I would guess worth getting someone in to have a look as this seems very excessive.

welshmoneylover

azad wrote: »

Hi
Thanks for your reply.
I lived in old Victorian converted flats where I did not know where the boilers were(I guess gas boiler) and there were not any central systems and programmers. My bills for 2 beds flat were ok(£50-£80). Do you mean for Slim jim I have to turn off the boiler at night and set a timer?Do you think new boiler or gas boiler will fix the problem?The bill for last year was around £2500.Unfortunately the smart meter does not communicate then I can not see the usage.Does an electrician can check the usage and wiring? many thanks

Chances are the immersion heater has been left on for 24/7 which will lead to a very high bill.

Turn it off for periods during the day and you will see your bills fall.