Covid Energy Support

Grumpy_chap

Many people have made saving simply by retail being closed - no impulse buys
And, of course, no annual holiday for those that typically enjoy one.
No capital outlay for things such as a new car as the old car sat unused and will last another year.
These are much larger potential savings than increases in home energy.  I accept not everyone has these larger savings, and it is not easy to "bag" a saving from something that may not have fallen this year in any case.

[Deleted User]

My friend has worked from home since March. She does everything to help reduce costs down. Wearing jumpers, turning down the thermostat a little bit more, etc. She’s also saved £100 a month on travel. So she’s saved in the long run. 

unholyangel

Grumpy_chap said:

annabanana82 said:

My Electric bill based on actuals has been £13 a month extra, we now have 5 at home all day rather than 1. We have oil central heating which we haven't altered our usage, and we layer up with clothing and a blanket if it's too cold.
We did have additional Christmas lights up which would have been included in our last bill and inclusive of the extra £13.

What are people doing to significantly increase their energy bills? 

Heating is the big area where energy for WFH is higher.  As you say, the electricity does not include this for space heating in your home.
Lighting could be an area where costs mount up - do you have LED bulbs?
How is your hot water heated?
How many times is the kettle boiled?  What about extra use of the electric oven?  These are both big loads and eat energy.
Washing machine, dishwasher, tumble dryer?  All items that have a large heating component in operation.  Can you use lower temperature loads?  Always full loads?
Running laptops etc. is unlikely to be the contribution that really makes a difference.

Another possibility is I think many people have been logging their energy use this year far more than may have been the case in the past.  Is the £13 per month extra comparing actual meter-read for, say December 2020 versus December 2019?  Or is it comparing December 2020 meter reads against a past average, that may have contained error?

There's was only 1 of us WFH due to covid and at that time (no kids at home from school closures) our fuel (electricity and gas) costs increased about £4-5pw maximum. That's for a 4 bedroom with gas central heating & cooking appliances. Work appliances are laptop and 2 monitors. It also covers the increase in energy prices from this time last year.

But we're not like some family/friends where it's like walking into the Bahamas. Nor do we have the heating on continuously. Warm enough to sit in a t-shirt, but not so warm you're sweating in the t-shirt, like some homes.

I think some people perhaps aren't giving accurate figures. They're looking at total usage/cost rather than apportioning for what is actually incurred for work purposes. Either that they're using electric storage heaters which are expensive to run I believe. My cousin had one about 10 years ago and it was extortionate at like £50pw. 

But if that were me, I'd be buying one of the heaters which cost mere pennies to run - rather than funding the storage heater. 

Marvel1

In the evenings, I just wear a hoodie or soemthing, and while on sofa a duvet.

P.s. I still have to travel to work, don't have the luxury of WFH.