High electric usage/bill

Rebecca1980

Hi all,
I hope someone can help me figure this out.
Our electric Bill's have always been high and we put it down to having electric heating, we have the new Fischer heaters.
But I've always thought that we were using a crazy amount none the less. My husband thinks I'm going mad.
We have a 4 bed as part of an old granary and an extension with flat roof, so not an energy efficient house in the least.
Anyway, we are using over 22500 kWh per year!! I thought it was alot the previous year at 16000.
I have spoken to the electric company and they checked that they had the correct meter number which they do.
Our bill shot up in December 2018 for no apprent reason. I have been taking meter readings everyday and we are using 34 approx units at night and 39 in the day unless we use the cooker and then it shoots up to 45ish.
I decided to have a look at the meter and there is a tag on it saying that it was checked when installed in 2013 (we didnt live here then) but the number on there isnt the same as on the meter. Also, the total reading is far less than the sum of day and night. Meter readings now are r1 56966 r4 60274 t 17241.
Please tell me I'm not going crazy and this doesnt add up? Maybe the t isnt for total but if not what is this reading?
We do also have an electric car that charges over night but we didnt get that until april 19 and the consumption went up in December 18.
Amy advice greatly received 😀

Gerry1

Rebecca1980 wrote: »

we have the new Fischer heaters.

Big, BIG mistake I'm afraid.

You're using full price electricity and that's about the most expensive form of heating you can possibly have. If only you'd read the thread...

If it's impossible to get mains gas, consider LPG.

[Deleted User]

Hi,


so you have a two rate meter and using more during the day than at night, that's not good, look at your bills, you'll see that day unit price is dearer than night unit price.


You might save a wee bit by changing to a single rate meter.

matelodave

When did you have your Fischer heaters installed, if that coincide with your dramatic increase in energy consumption and costs then that really should be a clue.
Did you previously have storage heaters which would have been using off peak energy, unfortunately Fischer Heaters are not storage heaters and will therefore be using very expensive peak rate electricity when they are on.

Give us some details of your tariff and what sort of meters have you got - some tariffs, especially E10 or restricted metering are horrendously expensive during peak times. Even E7 doesn't suit Fischer heaters.

TBH nothing suits Fischer heaters, probably the only heating that's more expensive to run is wet electric central heating using a flow boiler. (at least you can turn Fischer heaters off and on in individual rooms)

Gerry1

Rebecca1980 wrote: »

Meter readings now are r1 56966 r4 60274 t 17241.
Please tell me I'm not going crazy and this doesnt add up? Maybe the t isnt for total but if not what is this reading?

The total is 117241; the meter has 'gone round the clock'.

[Deleted User] wrote:

You might save a wee bit by changing to a single rate meter.

Yes, that's a good idea, but a meter change probably isn't necessary: many suppliers will offer a single rate with an E7 meter. Just tell the comparison websites that you don't have an E7 meter, and then check with your preferred supplier.

reeac

We have a 22year old 3 brm bungalow and don't skimp on heating. Our oil consumption (heating plus hot water) is around 1800 litres p.a. Which equates to a heat input to the house of 14,500 kWh plus an electrical consumption of about 3,800 kWh p.a. i.e. total of 18,300 kWh p.a. for a retired couple who are mostly at home. This energy consumption isn't particularly out of line with your figures given that your lifestyles may differ. The mystery remains, I agree, is what caused the sudden increase in December.