Your thoughts on electricity bill?

lizzie201296

Hi
I'll keep this brief as I just want to get an idea of where my energy usage sits in comparison to others. To me it seems high, but depending on where I look online it could be horrendously above average or about right. So before I start tearing my hair out doing checks and calling out a man... I'd be super grateful if I could get your thoughts!
Details:
2 bed house, 2 occupants
All electric (no gas)
Tariff: Bulb Vari-Fair, 14.56p/kWh day; 7.10p/kWh night
May 17 to June 17 average use: 13kwh/day (£1.66/day)
Electricity personal projection: £798
We only have the heaters on November - March, so this period doesn't include any heating costs.
We don't use that many electrical gadgets - no playstations or anything, just 1 tv.
Washing machine used avg. 4 times a week, tumble dryer twice a week
No dishwasher.
Immersion heater: here when we moved in so unsure of age. Comes on overnight between 1am and 7am (question - there is no timer or anything, just two wires going into the wall with a switch for 'night' (always on) and 'boost' (never on). Should I get this looked at?)
Fridge (small) and oven are both probably 5 years old (at a guess).
Light bulbs mostly all energy efficient.

Any other questions let me know - but in short, does 13kwh.day (£1.66/day) seem a lot (my bill is £61.59/month and will go up soon because of the high usage)?


Thank you!

Robin9

lizzie201296 wrote: »

..................... - but in short, does 13kwh.day (£1.66/day) seem a lot (my bill is £61.59/month and will go up soon because of the high usage)?


Thank you!

You are getting your lighting, heating, cooking, your TV, etc for less than £2 a day - sounds a bargain to me.

Make sure you keep on top of your meter readings and read them every month, understand your bills.

couriervanman

Do a comparison with accurate kWh and see what comes up cheaper

lizzie201296

couriervanman wrote: »

Do a comparison with accurate kWh and see what comes up cheaper

Sorry being dense, do you mean comparison with other provides?

Dee72

lizzie201296 wrote: »

Hi
I'll keep this brief as I just want to get an idea of where my energy usage sits in comparison to others. To me it seems high, but depending on where I look online it could be horrendously above average or about right. So before I start tearing my hair out doing checks and calling out a man... I'd be super grateful if I could get your thoughts!
Details:
2 bed house, 2 occupants
All electric (no gas)
Tariff: Bulb Vari-Fair, 14.56p/kWh day; 7.10p/kWh night
May 17 to June 17 average use: 13kwh/day (£1.66/day)
Electricity personal projection: £798
We only have the heaters on November - March, so this period doesn't include any heating costs.
We don't use that many electrical gadgets - no playstations or anything, just 1 tv.
Washing machine used avg. 4 times a week, tumble dryer twice a week
No dishwasher.
Immersion heater: here when we moved in so unsure of age. Comes on overnight between 1am and 7am (question - there is no timer or anything, just two wires going into the wall with a switch for 'night' (always on) and 'boost' (never on). Should I get this looked at?)
Fridge (small) and oven are both probably 5 years old (at a guess).
Light bulbs mostly all energy efficient.

Any other questions let me know - but in short, does 13kwh.day (£1.66/day) seem a lot (my bill is £61.59/month and will go up soon because of the high usage)?

Thank you!

Yes, that does seem a lot, especially when you factor in the 20p+ per day standing charge. :eek:

Dee72

lizzie201296 wrote: »

Sorry being dense, do you mean comparison with other provides?

As your supplier only has the one tariff (well, they have a single rate tariff as well, but that is not available to you with your meter), then it must do

lizzie201296

Robin9 wrote: »

You are getting your lighting, heating, cooking, your TV, etc for less than £2 a day - sounds a bargain to me.

Make sure you keep on top of your meter readings and read them every month, understand your bills.

Dee72 wrote: »

Yes, that does seem a lot, especially when you factor in the 22p+ per day standing charge. :eek:

Argh, this is exactly my problem, everyone has a different idea on what 'a lot' is! It feels a lot to me, especially as we haven't even got the heating on. Thinking it is probably the dreaded immersion heater (will an old-ish fridge/oven be contributing that much?)... does anyone have experience of getting immersion heaters replaced/checked? Is it likely to cost me a fortune...

Dee72

lizzie201296 wrote: »

Argh, this is exactly my problem, everyone has a different idea on what 'a lot' is! It feels a lot to me, especially as we haven't even got the heating on. Thinking it is probably the dreaded immersion heater (will an old-ish fridge/oven be contributing that much?)... does anyone have experience of getting immersion heaters replaced/checked? Is it likely to cost me a fortune...

No, switching to a cheaper supplier is free of charge, and the new supplier you apply to will handle the entire switch for you

It'll be exactly the the same electricity coming through the same wires and meter. The only difference for you is who you pay, the lower cost, and so the more of your hard earned cash you retain. :money:

lizzie201296

Dee72 wrote: »

No, switching to a cheaper supplier is free of charge, and the new supplier you apply to will handle the entire switch for you

It'll be exactly the the same electricity coming through the same wires and meter. The only difference for you is who you pay, the lower cost, and so the more of your hard earned cash you retain. :money:

Will my usage not be the same though with a new supplier? I understand that the cost per unit may be less but my worry is that I am physically using more energy than I should be given my house/occupancy/activity. This is where I think the water heater may be coming in..?

Talldave

(You've asked about comparison to other people with similar lifestyles but everyone seems to be talking comparison sites and suppliers! I'll try to answer some of what you asked!)

If the fridge only comes on occasionally, then it's ok. It's when it spends more time on than off you need to worry.

Avoid using the tumble drier, that's very energy hungry.

Presumably the water immersion heater is wired to a separate night rate output from the meter (so it can only ever run on cheaper electricity)? If not, you need to be sure that the timer is in sync with your E7 cheap rate period. E.g. my cheap 7 hours starts at 01.30 BST/ 00:30 GMT.

Ideally the water should be heated at 6am, just before you need it, but I suspect you cannot change that. Is it too hot? Is there a temperature adjustment?

lizzie201296

Talldave wrote: »

(You've asked about comparison to other people with similar lifestyles but everyone seems to be talking comparison sites and suppliers! I'll try to answer some of what you asked!)

If the fridge only comes on occasionally, then it's ok. It's when it spends more time on than off you need to worry.

Avoid using the tumble drier, that's very energy hungry.

Presumably the water immersion heater is wired to a separate night rate output from the meter (so it can only ever run on cheaper electricity)? If not, you need to be sure that the timer is in sync with your E7 cheap rate period. E.g. my cheap 7 hours starts at 01.30 BST/ 00:30 GMT.

Ideally the water should be heated at 6am, just before you need it, but I suspect you cannot change that. Is it too hot? Is there a temperature adjustment?

Thank you!
Fridge: How do I work out if it's coming on and off too much? It sometimes makes a sort of whirring noise, would that be it?

Tumbledryer: We don't have a garden so drying things is really hard, but I do only use it for bedding/towels, and if possible run it at night when it's cheaper.

Water heater: Yes, it's a big tank covered in sort of cardboard-y insulation. Two wires come out of it into two swtiches on the wall. One of the switches says something like 'night immersion', which is switched on all the time. The other switch says 'day boost', which we never use. From what I can see, the two wires go into the tank (one at the top, one at the bottom) trough this sort of valve cap things. I can't see any way of changing either the times it comes on or the temperature it heats to. When I get home I will try adding a photo!

Just thinking, my meter is a smart meter installed in January by my then provider, EDF. Is there a chance they wired it incorrectly or something?