Electric bill nearly £200 a month?!

Chrystalr

Hi, I currently live with my partner in a small 1 bedroom flat. We both work full time so are barely in the flat apart from evenings. I am with EDF and they started charging me an average of £120 a month which I thought was far too steep considering we have energy saving radiators (although we very very rarely use the heating) we never leave lights on, make sure everything is turned off etc. I did a meter reading expecting to be refunded some only to be told we are actually using way over that and now have an outstanding balance of around £200 from July-November even after all our payments had been taken off meaning we are being charged nearly £200 a month in electric.

I don’t understand how this is possible, i use the washing machine daily/every other day but that’s about it and some of the time it’s only on a short wash.

What could this be and how is this possible? As my parents barely spend £50 a month on electric and they have 5 people at the property with someone always in and always using electric.

Any help would be much appreciated, thank you!

PasturesNew

Things for starters:
1] Take DAILY readings
2] Double check you're reading the correct meter; check if it's on an "Eco" tariff where the charges alter overnight - these "Eco" meters have TWO readings per meter.
3] Double check the meter number against the one on your bill.

You might also go back through old bills and jot down the meter readings over time, so you can see the lot on a single list/sheet, noting where it says "E" for estimate.

You need to firstly establish that you are reading the correct meter, the correct way (one reading or two) and how much you are actually using per day.

Something is clearly wrong....

You either have a faulty meter -or- you have a leak -or- you are being billed for the wrong meter.

Raxiel

When you say you have 'energy saving radiators' what exactly do you mean?

Electric heating is expensive, and all electric options use the same amount of electricity to produce the same amount of heat (heat pumps excepted).

If you have night storage heaters and economy 7 (the two rate meter PasturesNew mentions), they heat up using cheaper electricity between midnight and seven, and can be opened up to release the heat when it's needed during the day.

If you have electric heaters that work 'on demand' then despite marketing claims by manufacturers, they all cost the same to run, and will use daytime electricity so you definitely don't want economy seven.

After electric space heating, electric water heating is the next big cost. If you have an electric shower try to limit how long you spend in there. If it's a hot water tank and an immersion - and if you have E7 make sure you heat it overnight when it's cheaper.

For the washing machine (which would be a lot less than heating and hot water) you could try turning the temperature down to 30 or even 15 if it's an option. Most modern detergents work at that temperature and you can always add a laundry disinfectant to the conditioner if you're still concerned about hygiene.

Also, when comparing to your parents, do they have Gas heating?

giraffe69

Before considering economy measures I'd go with PasturesNew's points.

Best to check it is the right meter you are being billed for,
what plan you are on
knowing how much you use each day.
Do you give meter readings regularly (say once per month)?
Its easy to do this online and improves the accuracy of billing and help minimise unpleasant surprises.

Robin9

Chrystair - I assume you rang Edf when you moved in and gave them the meter readings? If you did nothing else you would have put on their standard (ie most expensive) tariff.

Could you tell us what your meter readings were when you moved in and what they are ACTUALLY today please (and how long you've been there)

Cardew

As suggested above, I suspect 'energy saving radiators' are the main cause of high consumption.

Some of these 'energy saving radiators' are marketed with claims that are carefully worded to mislead potential customers.

It cannot be stressed enough that, for the same running cost, you get exactly the same heat output from a £10 heater(of any type) from Argos as ANY heater costing upwards of £1,000.

matelodave

As others have said, check that the meter you are reading and getting bills for is yours and not someone elses.


Take daily readings for a couple of weeks to get an idea of how much you are using each day so you can see how any energy saving measures are affecting your consumption. If you dont measure it you cant assess what's using it all.

You should also send readings in to your supplier every month to make sure that your bills are accurate - do not accept estimated bills, get them corrected. What sort of tariff are you on?

I have to ask why you are using the washing machine every day - they cost the same to run when half full as when full so you'd be better off saving your washing until you've got enough to fill it. Tumble dryers and dishwashers are the same, only use them with full loads

Electric showers and hot water boilers can also cost lots to run, especially if you are not on an economy 7 tariff. Long leisurely baths and showers can use vast amounts of hot water as can washing and rinsing stuff under a running hot tap.

Take shallower baths, shorter showers and fewer of them. How is your hot water heated, have you got a timer on the heater.

You need to loook at your heaters - see if there are any labels or makers names on them and let us know what they are. As Cardew says, there's actually no such thing as an energy saving radiator however much they cost.