£100 in electricity a month since Covid?

jbkmum

Partner moved in February, I worked from home since February as well. Just did my meter readings and since April I've used £339 in electricity.
His PC gets left on quite a lot as the cats have a habit of turning it on.
He brought lots of Sonos speakers with him. 
Washing machine used more. 
Surely this can't amount to an extra £100? He used £40 a month living alone...
Child was watching TV all day for a good two months, is now back at school.
I mean if its realistic considering being at home for a significant period then okay I'll accept it!! Argh

Robin9

Was the April reading an ACTUAL one ?

jbkmum

5th April was a smart reading, and then I've done an actual reading. I last submitted my own reading for electricity in February which was 3182 on the 21st Feb and I also submitted one on the 30th November at 2224
I can only see the smart gas meter readings not electricity ones which is worrying

jbkmum

Oh 6th July MR is 5244

Gerry1

jbkmum said:

I last submitted my own reading for electricity in February which was 3182 on the 21st Feb and I also submitted one on the 30th November at 2224
I can only see the smart gas meter readings not electricity ones which is worrying.

So your last bill shows an estimated electricity reading? If so, just read the electricity meter on the wall each month and send it to your supplier.

Talldave

So your recent consumption is averaging 460 kWh a month, that would be £58 with my supplier Symbio. Where does your £100 come from?  What on earth is your unit rate?  You need to switch to a cheaper supplier.

It looks like your consumption was previously averaging 350 kWh a month, so it has gone up.  Buy an energy monitor then you can see just how much is being used when PC, TV, etc are all on.  Switch computers off at the mains switch when not in use.

EDIT: You mention smart reading?  So you have a smart meter? Does the In Home Display work?  That is an energy monitor! It will give you a real time readout of consumption.  Put it on Watts, not £ which is meaningless.  As I write this, the dishwasher is whirring away and I'm sat at a PC with two monitors running - house is using around 150W.  Sadly my £8 clip-on monitor is not as accurate as a smart meter, but you get a good idea.

Robin9

You say you can't see the gas on the IHD - are you actually getting a gas bill ?

jbkmum

@talldave - I put the figures into a calculator including the standing charge etc and thats what it gave me - waiting for a bill to be generated.
I've just switched suppliers as Eon is apparently cheaper than Bulb....we shall see
And yes getting a bill
Its my bad, I assumed that I didn't have to do anything once I had a smart meter but apparently it can't have been working!
I'll have to see what I get sent by Eon, but as the electricity meter is in a kitchen cupboard at the top I don't know if I'd be able to put a clip on it for a monitor

[Deleted User]

It is surprising what some devices actually cost to run if you have them on for longer while being in lockdown for sometime. My music studio consists of the usual stuff; speakers, mixers, keyboards, disco lighting. When everything is powered up p, my IHD registers around 110w. As soon as I plug in my laptop, that’s another 60w and my little usb powered hub pulls 75w. I only use these for a short time at once but it’s the little things that push the electric bill up. A little usb hub uses nearly as much as 7 other bits of kit. Going to bed at night now takes 15mins longer as I check if anything is on that shouldn’t be in the house. If I can save a few watts here and there I am happy. 

RobM99

Anything that produces heat will guzzle power. Dishwasher, tumbly, heating for example.

Talldave

jbkmum said:

@talldave - I put the figures into a calculator including the standing charge etc and thats what it gave me - waiting for a bill to be generated.
I've just switched suppliers as Eon is apparently cheaper than Bulb....we shall see
And yes getting a bill
Its my bad, I assumed that I didn't have to do anything once I had a smart meter but apparently it can't have been working!
I'll have to see what I get sent by Eon, but as the electricity meter is in a kitchen cupboard at the top I don't know if I'd be able to put a clip on it for a monitor

Have you not got an IHD (display unit) to go with the smart meters?  That is a monitor itself and is accurate (well as accurate as the meter!!).