Electric usage has quadrupled, what to do?

brianposter

FWIW we are in another country but currently have a lawsuit going against the electricity supplier on the basis that the smart meter was just plain wrong for a period of 4 months.

We know this because the smart metering seems to be somewhat more advanced than in the UK and one can get hourly readings from the suppliers website; the hourly readings appear to show the correct electricity consumption. I suspect that the problem was something to do with software updates to the meter, but it could be something else entirely.

In such circumstances it would seem that you need a reasonably accurate idea of usage for a full year before it is practicable to argue about a previous year.

S0litaire

If it keeps being an issue you might think of picking up one of those "clamp" energy monitors like this (others are available for cheaper!!) :

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Efergy-3-0-Wireless-Management-Compatible/dp/B0074HN5HW

So you have an independent reading of your usage direct from the cable into your house and match that against the the readings your meter provides. It might be more useful if the meter is inaccurate than just taking weekly meter readings.

House_Martin

Kayleighb1 wrote: »

Took my reading earlier and was 17 for 30 hours so 13.6 a day, but that is a weekend day.

Am going to take weekly readings for awhile but all seems ok in terms of use. I think pp are right that there has been more than one faulty reading and I am now dealing with probably 2 years worth of use.

For my own ref today!!!8217;s reading was 11357

Don`t trust any readings from meter readers. We read for EDF, BG and Scot Power at Morrisons Data Services.The training on the Secure Liberty meters is nothing more than email ! lots of meter readers will be getting these meter reads incorrect especially if the meter is positioned in an awkward spot viewed at an angle.They really are the worlds worst meter by a country mile and mistakes are highly likely. I would nt be surprised if some readers ( we have plenty of badly trained agency staff ) are inputting the KVarh readings in instead of Kwh or even missing the hard to see decimal point on the 8 digits displayed on screen one. First 7 digits only are used and that is two more than any domestic electric meter needs..
I keep berating Eon for choosing these meters now because they are cheap to buy. They will regret it.

matelodave

S0litaire wrote: »

If it keeps being an issue you might think of picking up one of those "clamp" energy monitors like this (others are available for cheaper!!) :

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Efergy-3-0-Wireless-Management-Compatible/dp/B0074HN5HW

So you have an independent reading of your usage direct from the cable into your house and match that against the the readings your meter provides. It might be more useful if the meter is inaccurate than just taking weekly meter readings.

These will give you a very rough idea but you cannot use them to check you meter unless it's way out. A lot depends on what you are running - motor driven stuff like a washing machine or fridge/freezer is more inaccurate than say an electric kettle or heater.
They cannot measure your actual supply voltage which can vary during the day and will affect your consumption. They can't directly measure your power but infer it from the magnetic field around your incoming power cable.

I've got a couple (one for heating and one for the rest of the house) and I reckon that they are sort of within about 10% but they are useful in checking what's on and when - some libraries will lend you one for a couple of weeks.

lisa110rry

Kayleighb1 wrote: »

so 6000KWH is the norm for a 3-bed property over a 9 month period? if so maybe i just need to suck this up. just a shock at how much it has changed.

No, this is not "the norm" for a house as you describe it. I live in a large, high-ceilinged, 1930s three bedroom detached house with only my husband. We have pretty much all the electrical appliances - fridge, freezer, washer, drier, telly, lights, router, laptops, Sonos, all that rigmarole, and we regularly use 3500 kw annually. On the other hand, due to my husband's heart condition, we use 18,000kwhs of gas per annum with a band new boiler and Hive, down from 25,000kwhs before boiler replacement.

I reckon something is wrong.

Smodlet

It has just dawned on me it is the first of the month so, rather than sitting here reading all these posts, I had better go and read some meters!

Kayleighb1

11444 just now

87 for the week
12.4 per day

Again, building works going on one of those days. Pretty happy with that usage. Think it!!!8217;s safe to say something has gone wrong with past reading.

I have emailed my complaint to edf plus a follow up email. Both have been ignored. Will be phoning tomorrow.

BooJewels

That sounds rather better and well in line with the other test numbers you've done recently. I calculate, on my own tariff, that would give rise to an annual bill of around £650 - but possibly less as you're likely to use less in summer.

It's less than I use, but I work at home and like to have heating and lighting on and whilst I'm not stupidly wasteful, I don't skimp either.

Smodlet

Kayleighb1 wrote: »

11444 just now

87 for the week
12.4 per day

Again, building works going on one of those days. Pretty happy with that usage. Think it!!!8217;s safe to say something has gone wrong with past reading.

I have emailed my complaint to edf plus a follow up email. Both have been ignored. Will be phoning tomorrow.

Please don't take this as patronising, Kayleighb1, because it is sincere; I am proud of you. You have taken control. Please do not quit until you get somewhere with the compensation. Energy companies rely on customers getting fed up and giving up; persistence really does pay off. Yay, Kayleighb! :T

BooJewels

Smodlet wrote: »

I am proud of you. You have taken control.

I'll second that. It does actually feel good to be in control and on top of such matters and it very quickly becomes a satisfying habit rather than a chore - and much more comfortable to live with than suddenly finding things getting away from you. The time invested is minimal compared to the peace of mind it buys you.

Inspired by this thread and other similar ones, I too took my own control a stage further and significantly expanded my recording spreadsheet to include more information from bills and formula to work out my spend at any time, from a meter reading and number of days.

I also personally like it when someone starts a thread like this and embraces the information and help they're given and actually does something with it. Well done from me too!