High Electricity Bills - please help

Gerry1

lucyt87 wrote: »

I have switched over to a cheaper supplier (16p per kW)

It may be cheaper but it's certainly not the cheapest ! For example, I've just switched to Neon Reef who charge 12.113p per kWh with a Standing Charge of 13.283p per day It's variable, they may have terrible customer service, it may be Bait and Switch but I'll see how it goes. Do a full search, not just those that the website can switch you do, and check Neon Reef.

lucyt87 wrote: »

I didn't even know what a kW was until recently

You're still confused. A kiloWatt is equivalent to a 1-bar electric fire. A kiloWatt hour (kWh) is equivalent to 1kW used for 1 hour. Your appliances are rated in W or kW (look at the labels) but your meter (and hence your bills) bills will use kWh.

lucyt87 wrote: »

our meter is still going up 25kW per day - which apparently adds up to £210 bill for the month (incl vat maybe?). Had electricians in, they can't explain it. So i can only deduce it's mostly the electric heaters since the meter jumps up fastest when we use them.

You don't need to call electricians in, at least at this stage: it's easy to check it yourself. As previously explained, when it's dark and cold switch absolutely everything off at the wall switches for an hour or two (and don't forget hidden things like the immersion heater). Read the meter and make sure that the reading is exactly the same at the end. Then switch on a 2kW heater for 2 hours and check that the reading is not more than 4kWh higher.

If it's an old property that's been sub divided it's quite possible that some circuits (or even hot water pipes !) now serve parts which you don't occupy. A little simple detective work could save you a lot of money if the basic infrastructure isn't correct.

lucyt87 wrote: »

So i can only deduce it's mostly the electric heaters since the meter jumps up fastest when we use them.

Yes, that's probably true (don't forget the immersion heater) but if you look at the labels or plates on the appliances you'll see what the kW ratings are, you don't have to guess. Make sure the hot water tank is well insulated.

RelievedSheff

Also make sure the immersion heater is not on 24/7.

It doesn't need to be.