Octopus Energy Hike in bills.

Robin9

Reading is 64556 (decimal)9

Made in 2014 so possibly 8000 KWh a year

theoretica

'Immersion heater' on the consumer unit - is it definitely off? I would be tempted to turn that circuit breaker off just to confirm.

QrizB

theoretica said:

'Immersion heater' on the consumer unit - is it definitely off? I would be tempted to turn that circuit breaker off just to confirm.

I was about to say the same, although an immersion heater shouldn't grind through 25kWh/day.

Just-asking_4

I have just been watching the flashes and it flashed 14 times in a minute. The immersion heater switch, it controls the temperature dial for the central heating, so if I switch that off, the heating goes off - so I am assuming the immersion heater switch allows the temperature dial the power to tell the boiler what temperature the radiators need to be? We have a combi boiler. There is no water tank in the cupboard etc, it was taken out last year when the new boiler was fitted. I have just taken a reading now and will do one every 24 hours for a week to see what is being used daily and if it is consistent.

victor2

14 flashes per minute is about 20kWh per day, which is still high, but if you are using 30kWh per day on average, something else, possibly controlled by a timer or thermostat is kicking in periodically. You definitely don't have an electric heating device somewhere?

If you switch the "immersion heater" switch off, does it slow down? Weird that the installer used the immersion switch breaker to power the thermostat, but maybe the wiring was handy and he needed a power supply.

You could try switching off the breakers one by one and seeing which one causes the flashes to slow down. Then at least you'll have an idea which circuit is providing the load and will be able to focus on devices on that circuit.

Good idea to take readoings daily for a week or so, it could reveal a pattern of usage.

Just-asking_4

Just resurrecting my slightly old thread. I was going to come back to it back in March but I couldn't process it all so just gave up. I did appreciate the help given though.

My brain doesn't work well with figures and no matter how hard I try I cannot get my head around my electricity issues, so I have checked readings for 7 days and I wonder if anyone can tell me how much energy I am using daily please.

M  067589.3
T   067606.2
W  067623.2
T   067639.7
F   067656.1
S   067671.8
S   067688.7

Currently with Octopus. Cost is 26.94p per KW 47.88p standing charge.

Also, whether this matters or not, I submitted the following readings to Octopus -

4th May 2022 065840
4th August 2022 067575

From October, 2 of my 3 Pond pumps will be switched off for the winter, so this usage will go down throughout winter. We have gas for 1 of our ovens, barely used, and heating (not used) and the shower, quick 5 minutes x2 per day.

The reason for my post is, when I look at switching to a fixed term Octopus tariff, they are offering a fixed tariff of £9519.57 based on the latest industry estimate. As mentioned before 2 bed house with 2 adults. It seems completely insane and I am really passed caring about it now, but I would like to understand if my usage is making this tariff reasonable. I cannot see how it could, but as I say I have no idea. I take medication which addles my brain a bit so I just usually switch off.

Just-asking_4

Balance Forecast below is based on my current prices.

Month	Energy charge	Payment
Aug 2022	-£230.59	£464.91
Sept 2022	-£245.85	£464.91
Oct 2022	-£318.86	£464.91
Nov 2022	-£377.85	£464.91
Dec 2022	-£442.50	£464.91
Jan 2023	-£450.86	£464.91
Feb 2023	-£404.05	£464.91
Mar 2023	-£387.14	£464.91
Apr 2023	-£322.89	£464.91
May 2023	-£277.31	£464.91
Jun 2023	-£231.11	£464.91
Jul 2023	-£228.53	£464.91

Balance Forecast below is based on Crystal ball mode. Turn on “Crystal ball mode” to also take into account the latest analyst predictions for the energy price cap for October, January, April and July, as well as our best guess for how the Government's energy rebate will work (most likely a reduction in your monthly payments by £66.67 between October and March).

Month	Energy charge	Payment	Rebate
Aug 2022	-£230.59	£464.91	£0.00
Sept 2022	-£245.85	£464.91	£0.00
Oct 2022	-£579.37	£398.24	£66.67
Nov 2022	-£686.55	£398.24	£66.67
Dec 2022	-£804.02	£398.24	£66.67
Jan 2023	-£975.66	£398.24	£66.67
Feb 2023	-£874.36	£398.24	£66.67
Mar 2023	-£837.77	£398.24	£66.67
Apr 2023	-£725.21	£464.91	£0.00
May 2023	-£622.84	£464.91	£0.00
Jun 2023	-£519.07	£464.91	£0.00
Jul 2023	-£441.75	£464.91	£0.00

sienew

I don't know what to suggest other than to get an electrician in to check what is going on. You can't possibly be using the amount of electricity that Octopus are saying you are unless you've got a cannabis farm in the attic or are mining cryptocurrency (which honestly, it isn't impossible that you neighbours have connected to your electric and done that). But otherwise, even if you have lights on, electronics, tv's in every room all day every day... you still shouldn't be using so much electricity.

You are potentially overpaying by thousands of pounds so its worth paying an electrician to come see what is drawing all that power.

Just-asking_4

Thanks Sienew. Had I been doing either of those things I'd quite happily pay the bill

I think I mentioned before that some years ago the council were fitting new kitchens in my street and an electrician did call in from next door to ask if he could 'check' my meter cupboard as he had to do something, but we thought nothing of it at the time. The issue there is I have had the entire cupboard area built in nicely so only the meter is really available to look at and not the surround. It was a very old guy next door at the time in his 80's so I assume he used very little electricity, and now its a family of 4 that have been there for a little over 3 years, I always wondered if we were also paying their bill but if I switch my meter off for an hour, the reading doesn't shift so it cannot be that can it? Octopus have offered to check the meter for a fee of £80 so I wonder if its worth doing that, or an independent electrician? Something isn't right, I just cannot fathom what it is.

The only out of the ordinary I have is the Pond, it is massive, I built it 10 years ago, and at this time of year it has 3 pumps running, I have to do that as I have very large koi and sturgeon, so the water has to be pristine, and very well oxygenated or they die. It is 21,000 litres and built up out of the ground so getting rid of it isn't possible as it would cost a lot to dismantle, remove, fill the area etc.

Robin9

THis hot weather may not be the best time to check the pumps consumption but I suspect this may be the root of your problem - we had a thread some while ago where the pump was blocked by a stone.

Can you switch the pumps off one at a time for a day ?