Help to warm house and understand

[Deleted User]

RuBy said:

Deleted_User said:

RuBy said:

This was last week’s breakdown 

Great, these are the numbers you should be looking for, the kWh one at the bottom.  The equivalent "live" number (if you want to see how turning different things on and off changes it) is kW.  Using 1kW for 1 hour means you have used in total 1kWh.

So it looks like from those that you are using about 10kWh of electricity and about 14kWh of gas each day.  That's not a lot of gas, but quite a lot of electricity.

Is your heating done by gas central heating, or by electric radiators?  I would guess gas.  If this is true, then it isn't your heating that's costing you the money.

It’s a combi boiler, and 2 fridges as 1 is a small one containing injections.
2 loads of washing a day, that can’t be avoided.
The only other thing is the cctv but with being on my own we need that security wise as we are quite remote.

So if you look at that kWh number (the one for today) before and after doing a load of washing, it will tell you about how much each load uses (or you could look it up in the manual but it's normally better to measure yourself).  If you do that a few times, you will get a good idea how much each load uses and, because you know how much each kWh costs, you will know how much each load costs.

If you do that for all your 'essential' things, then you will be able to work out how much other stuff is going on that you might be able to cut back on.

Or, you can look at what the kW number is when you're not doing anything - this will tell you how much you your house is using all the time (so things on standby, things like the CCTV that you don't ever turn off etc,)  If that number is very high, you might have something turned on that you forgot about.

RuBy

Long story short I have a heart condition and am awaiting Pip, hence the injections. I had worked ft till a heart attack a few years ago.

I have a heated airer and also a heat pump dryer though use that sparingly.

I’m in the North East.

RuBy

No child maintenance as he is paying the remainder of the small mortgage in lieu.

Alnat1

Is your shower run off the boiler or is it electric? Do you have TRVs on the radiators so you can adjust the temperatures in each room?

chris_n

Just to put a figure on it my daughter's 8 camera with DVR / NVR (can't remember which) uses just under 1kWh per day.

molerat

Something you really need to get a grip on is your  actual annual usage in kWh.  Your IHD only gives a rough guide to how much gas you are using as it uses a constant figure in its calculations for something that varies from day to day.  You need to find actual meter readings from your bills and set them out in a list and see the difference at 12 months apart.  You can then figure out your annual cost and where your monthly DD should really be.

I don't know if you are a spreadsheet person but by using one you can really start to build up a picture.  I can see meter readings back to 2002 and monthly kWh usage chart back to 2009.

macman

If the house is heated and hot watered by gas, then the electricity usage will be fairly constant all year round-it's the gas usage that soars in winter. That's why you really need the annual kWh figure from your billing/statement to see what is going on.
It's heating and hot water that will account for 80% of your usage, plus big ticket devices like tumble driers and cookers. Don't stress about fridges or CCTV. 
What temp do you have the CH 'stat set at? A 1C reduction can take 10% off your heating bill.

RelievedSheff

A new build home should not be cold. You are really not heating it enough.

An hour a day just won't be enough to warm the house through properly. A cold house takes much more heating as you have to warm the fabric of the house through first.

Don't rely on the kwh used for that one hour the heating kicks in. It won't use that much once the house is warm and the boiler is just ticking over.

From your figures it is your electricity use that is high not your gas.

If you both have health conditions you do need to be sure to stay warm. Try putting the heating on for longer to let the house warm through.

We put ours on for an hour in the morning and a few hours in the evening and our 3 year old home stays lovely and warm. 

Spoonie_Turtle

Just to check, do either/both of you claim a disability benefit (DLA/PIP)?  If so, and you had a claim/claims in by 25th May you should have had a £150 cost of living payment.  I know it's not much in the grand scheme of things but it would help a bit.

otb666

Also dont forget to ask providers about social tariffs available on water broadband gas and electric for those on benefits