How much will my energy bills cost?

Fishfood86

Gerry1 said:

Try to find somewhere with gas central heating.  If it's all electric, try to get High Heat Retention Night Storage Heaters on Economy 7.  Make sure YOU read the meters (and the water meter) the day you take possession, never let anyone else do it on your behalf.

If it has panel heaters, convectors, oil filled radiators or any other day rate electric heating, run a mile because it will bankrupt you.

Register with the existing supplier and then you can switch to any supplier you like.  Pay by DD, send monthly meter readings, keep records.

Make sure you're on the Electoral Register.

You don't need a TV Licence if you only watch catch-up: don't watch or record any channel live and don't use the BBC iPlayer.  You don't have to contact or respond to TV Licensing or let them into your property (unless they have a valid search warrant).

Sorry, can I ask why you suggest being on the Electoral Register? I don't really follow politics and have therefore never voted, so I'm not sure what the relation is to my energy bills. Thanks!

Gerry1

Make sure you claim your 25% Council Tax discount.

macman

How are you intending to finance your own flat while on UC though? Many LL's will want proof of income, and you appear to have no guarantor.  Can you afford 5 weeks deposit and a month's rent in advance, which will be the minimum?
if you go self-employed, you will not be able to produce any accounts to demonstrate your trading profits until at least a year of trading.
Lastly, your credit history may be rather thin if you have always lived at home and paid no utility bills, so passing any credit check may be another issue.
I'm sure your parents will be happy to share their experience of utility bills with you, but basically you are looking at electricity, gas, water, telcoms (landline, broadband and mobile), council tax, and contents insurance. 
PC and TV usage is not really relevant: what accounts for 80% of your energy usage will be heating and hot water.

Gerry1

Fishfood86 said:

Gerry1 said:

Try to find somewhere with gas central heating.  If it's all electric, try to get High Heat Retention Night Storage Heaters on Economy 7.  Make sure YOU read the meters (and the water meter) the day you take possession, never let anyone else do it on your behalf.

If it has panel heaters, convectors, oil filled radiators or any other day rate electric heating, run a mile because it will bankrupt you.

Register with the existing supplier and then you can switch to any supplier you like.  Pay by DD, send monthly meter readings, keep records.

Make sure you're on the Electoral Register.

You don't need a TV Licence if you only watch catch-up: don't watch or record any channel live and don't use the BBC iPlayer.  You don't have to contact or respond to TV Licensing or let them into your property (unless they have a valid search warrant).

Sorry, can I ask why you suggest being on the Electoral Register? I don't really follow politics and have therefore never voted, so I'm not sure what the relation is to my energy bills. Thanks!

It's sbout proof of address and identity, not politics.  Anyone who is not on the Electoral Register will be treated with suspicion, especially when it comes to credit rating, banking / credit cards, rentals etc.  Not registering will make life unnecessarily difficult.

You might even find that a switch of energy company is rejected because you'd probably fail the credit check.

Fishfood86

macman said:

How are you intending to finance your own flat while on UC though? Many LL's will want proof of income, and you appear to have no guarantor.  Can you afford 5 weeks deposit and a month's rent in advance, which will be the minimum?
if you go self-employed, you will not be able to produce any accounts to demonstrate your trading profits until at least a year of trading.
Lastly, your credit history may be rather thin if you have always lived at home and paid no utility bills, so passing any credit check may be another issue.
I'm sure your parents will be happy to share their experience of utility bills with you, but basically you are looking at electricity, gas, water, telcoms (landline, broadband and mobile), council tax, and contents insurance. 
PC and TV usage is not really relevant: what accounts for 80% of your energy usage will be heating and hot water.

I've been planning, researching and thinking it over for months now, so am aware of how difficult it will be (and has frankly already proven to be), but the job centre assure me it's not impossible, as they've apparently seen people in my position move into new homes etc. Browsing over many different sites and forums has also shown that to be the case.

I actually came close to being accepted for a flat not too long ago with a retired homeowner as my guarantor, but unfortunately that fell through at the last second. I've also just been given the go-ahead for another viewing next month, so fingers crossed!

Thankfully, living at home has meant I've been able to save up for a deposit and at least a couple months rent. As for my parents, we're honestly not on the best terms right now, hence me wanting to move out.

I have good estimates for the cost of everything but energy bills, which is why I only mentioned that in my initial post. I appreciate your concern though. Like you say, it's certainly not going to be easy!

Fishfood86

Gerry1 said:

Fishfood86 said:

Gerry1 said:

Try to find somewhere with gas central heating.  If it's all electric, try to get High Heat Retention Night Storage Heaters on Economy 7.  Make sure YOU read the meters (and the water meter) the day you take possession, never let anyone else do it on your behalf.

If it has panel heaters, convectors, oil filled radiators or any other day rate electric heating, run a mile because it will bankrupt you.

Register with the existing supplier and then you can switch to any supplier you like.  Pay by DD, send monthly meter readings, keep records.

Make sure you're on the Electoral Register.

You don't need a TV Licence if you only watch catch-up: don't watch or record any channel live and don't use the BBC iPlayer.  You don't have to contact or respond to TV Licensing or let them into your property (unless they have a valid search warrant).

Sorry, can I ask why you suggest being on the Electoral Register? I don't really follow politics and have therefore never voted, so I'm not sure what the relation is to my energy bills. Thanks!

It's sbout proof of address and identity, not politics.  Anyone who is not on the Electoral Register will be treated with suspicion, especially when it comes to credit rating, banking / credit cards, rentals etc.  Not registering will make life unnecessarily difficult.

You might even find that a switch of energy company is rejected because you'd probably fail the credit check.

Oh OK. That makes a lot of sense when you put it like that and I'm actually surprised no one else has ever brought it up with me before. I'll definitely look into it, so thanks!

scobie

Well I’m going to do what the OP has asked for and suggest a range. Based on what he or she has suggested of their lifestyle I would say they should budget around £150 a month for utilities.  It could be more or less but that depends on power for heating - my sense is that it would be electric. In which case £150-£200 a month. It sounds high for a small place but if he or she is using tvs and gaming devices for much of the day I can’t see it being much less. 

Alnat1

Might be worth buying a heated throw for use in winter. Keeps you toasty whenever you're sitting still and you can turn the room thermostat down a degree or 2.

Fishfood86

Heating appears to be the biggest money-sucker then. Thankfully I prefer to stay a little chilly anyway, and just wrap up if I do ever get too cold. The current flat I'm looking at is also on the middle floor, so hopefully the flats above and below might add a little warmth to my own during the colder days lol. A heated throw is a good shout though!

Thank you all again for the helpful responses

austin_grey

Great advice in this thread.

I work from home in a modern 2-bed flat, single occupancy, electricity only. As far as I can tell, I was charged about £750 in electricity in the last year, although my fixed tariff is significantly cheaper than the current market rate. It's about 22p per kWh, so I guess I must have used about 3400 kWh last year? When the fix ends, I anticipate paying about £100 a month.

Energy-saving tips for colder times: electric blanket for your bed, heated throw for the couch and/or home office chair, a few regular throws and blankets to layer on top if needed, plus house slippers and a warm jumper. If you don't have an in-home display that reads your electricity meter, get the Bright app to monitor your usage. Check your electricity account regularly to ensure accurate meter readings are being taken - relying on estimated readings can build up massive debts.