Energy Direct Debit £685 a month!

Krakkkers

As said above you are 4 x normal electricity usage and 3 times gas usage.
Heating on in May wont help, but that electricity usage is amazing, do you have any high energy items?
Aquarium, pool, hot tub, are you using any form of electrical heater.

Gerry1

Do you have a gas boiler that heats up the Megaflo?

EssexHebridean

Krakkkers said:

EssexHebridean said:

That's seriously high electricity use - so the first thing will probably be to establish what is using so much. As a guideline, a "typical user" is expected to use in the region of 12,000 kWh Gas & 2900 kWh electric per year - yours are pretty much the other way around, and as gas is a substantial amount cheaper per unit than electricity this is why you're finding your costs so high I suspect. the flip side of the high electricity of course is the comparatively low gas use - how is your home heated? Think about all the forms of heating you use, not just what you think of as your "main" form of heating. 

Its not 2900 kwh its 2900 units so over 30000 kwh

For a single rate electric user the "typical" is 2900 kWh per year electric. Electricity meters record in kWh - it's gas ones that read in ft3/m3 8 and so have to be multiplied to convert. 

You have highlighted for me though that the Op's gas use is far higher than I was thinking of - I think I was so thrown by that electricity reading I forgot about the conversion for the gas! 



Insulation is a good point - that could make a lot of difference to how fast the heat is leaving the house - but still probably doesn't explain the high electric use. 

We had a thread with broadly similar usage figures a while ago if I recall correctly - can anyone remember the thread title or has a handy link to it? 

OP - to give you a clue why we are saying the electric is astonishingly high, I heat my home using electric - hot water too, and an electric shower. In fat the only thing we use gas for is cooking. I use around a third of the electric you do in a year! 

*edit to correct blatantly idiotic error! 

Mstty

Based on your readings and depending on the area you live in £625-£675 a month DD is not unreasonable.

Now you have to do an audit of everything you have running in the house.

Go room by room then garden, outbuilding, garage etc and list what you have on or what can be turned on.

£4k for electricity approx so start there

Heavy usage items electricity 

Desktop gaming machine
American fridge freezers
Pond pumps.
Tumble dryers (old) used regularly
Multiple people cooking at different times not together
Older Aircon units
Electric heaters

Gerry1

As Robin9 asked, how are the meter readings on the bill classified, e.g. Smart, Customer, Actual, Your Reading, Our Reading, Estimated?

EssexHebridean

Also - think about your lighting - do you have those recessed spotlights? If those haven't all been switched out to low energy they can be energy-guzzlers. 

victor2

Krakkkers said:

EssexHebridean said:

That's seriously high electricity use - so the first thing will probably be to establish what is using so much. As a guideline, a "typical user" is expected to use in the region of 12,000 kWh Gas & 2900 kWh electric per year - yours are pretty much the other way around, and as gas is a substantial amount cheaper per unit than electricity this is why you're finding your costs so high I suspect. the flip side of the high electricity of course is the comparatively low gas use - how is your home heated? Think about all the forms of heating you use, not just what you think of as your "main" form of heating. 

Its not 2900 kwh its 2900 units so over 30000 kwh

It is kWh as quoted for a "typical" user. This is what Ofgem say:

The OP does have very high usage though.

Frazerjclark

Robin9 said:

When built -   a 1960's will be badly insulated compared with a 2023 ?

1900's old house with a Cellar too

Frazerjclark

Krakkkers said:

As said above you are 4 x normal electricity usage and 3 times gas usage.
Heating on in May wont help, but that electricity usage is amazing, do you have any high energy items?
Aquarium, pool, hot tub, are you using any form of electrical heater.

No aquarium pool hot tub or any other electric heaters

Robin9

As the gas was changed in 2021 that would suggest it is Smart -  however check that the records  are correct. Check the serial number against the bill and also that the letters m3 are on the bill.

If you don't already read those meters every month, keep your own records and check against those bills.