Bought my own place £2500 capped electric and gas

GingerTim

Gerry1 said:

Oh dear, the confusion epidemic is spreading far and wide.  I'm turning into a Power Policeman...

But we had a whole official thread clearing all this up 😉

ArbitraryRandom

Gerry1 said:

Oh dear, the confusion epidemic is spreading far and wide.  I'm turning into a Power Policeman...

ArbitraryRandom said:

Mine is 50Wh if I can't be bothered to turn things off standby, 30Wh if I do (just the fridge/freezer and router), as high as 90Wh if both laptops and both phones are on charge/plugged in at the same time. 

Should be 'Mine is 50W if I can't be bothered to turn things off standby, 30W if I do (just the fridge/freezer and router), as high as 90W if both laptops and both phones are on charge/plugged in at the same time.'

If we're being pedantic, "My smart meter's 30 min usage shows on average in the region of 50wh if I can't be bothered to turn things off..." would be closer to how I intended my post to be read. 

EssexHebridean

@Firedreamer our electricity consumption in our previous home was around 4,500 kWh annually - that was using electricity for everything apart from cooking though - so heating, hot water etc as well as the more usual stuff. We’ve been in this house since the beginning of September and use is running at 371kWh since then - I’m expecting a rise throughout the colder months though as the office where MrEH works from home three days a week relies on electricity to heat it. I’m not expecting us to be anywhere near 2,700 unless things go very awry though!  

matelodave

The only way to save is to fit a prepay meter to control the heating, lighting and power supply to the room or rooms that the lodger will use, but that will require some rewiring so there could be a hefty upfront cost to sort it out.

You wont have a lot of control over power use in shared spaces like the kitchen, bathroom, lounge etc. nor over the use of hot water from the shared hot water supply unless the lodger has an en-suite bathroom which again could require adapting the plumbing if you want to make their environment self contained.

You really do have to think this through because unless you do some serious alterations you'll have little to no control on what the lodger is using whether it be heating, power or even water, especially in their room(s) or whilst you aren't around.

You also have to take into account that they may not treat your place, furniture or possessions in the way that you'd hope not forgetting that having a lodger will also affect your household insurance as you'll have to declare that you've got a lodger to avoid impacting or invalidating any insurance claim.

ArbitraryRandom

Let's be fair now - there's no reason to think all lodgers take the mick; it can be no different than living with someone. 

The important things are to vet properly, think about the contract, and make sure that whoever you pick is compatible (if you need to be up and out for work in the morning or need quiet during the day to work from home, think about when the lodger is going to be around making noise). 

I'd again recommend heading over to the housing board and talking to people who have had lodgers about how they found it, any hints they have and if they can share their lodging agreements. 

[Deleted User]

Hi,

I've been reading this forum for years and never seen a reply from 'average user', who uses average user usage quoted in average user forecasts.

Anybody close to 'average user'?

masonic

frugalmacdugal said:

Hi,

I've been reading this forum for years and never seen a reply from 'average user', who uses average user usage quoted in average user forecasts.

Anybody close to 'average user'?

I have had average usage for electricity (although that's as an elec only household), but I've been paying considerably less than average prices. I am aiming to move closer to the low usage figure going forward.

Gerry1

ArbitraryRandom said:

Gerry1 said:

Oh dear, the confusion epidemic is spreading far and wide.  I'm turning into a Power Policeman...

ArbitraryRandom said:

Mine is 50Wh if I can't be bothered to turn things off standby, 30Wh if I do (just the fridge/freezer and router), as high as 90Wh if both laptops and both phones are on charge/plugged in at the same time. 

Should be 'Mine is 50W if I can't be bothered to turn things off standby, 30W if I do (just the fridge/freezer and router), as high as 90W if both laptops and both phones are on charge/plugged in at the same time.'

If we're being pedantic, "My smart meter's 30 min usage shows on average in the region of 50wh if I can't be bothered to turn things off..." would be closer to how I intended my post to be read. 

Presumably if in 30 minutes you use 50Wh then in 1 hour you'll use 100Wh, so your base load is 100Wh per hour or 100W?

QrizB

Gerry1 said:

Oh dear, the confusion epidemic is spreading far and wide.  I'm turning into a Power Policeman...

Im' glad that you've found your niche in life

frugalmacdugal said:

Anybody close to 'average user'?

Before we had solar, we were pretty close to the average. 3000-3500kWh/yr, IIRC, and the earliest TDCVs I've seen has 3100 as the average.

FreeBear

matelodave said: You wont have a lot of control over power use in shared spaces like the kitchen, bathroom, lounge etc. nor over the use of hot water from the shared hot water supply unless the lodger has an en-suite bathroom which again could require adapting the plumbing if you want to make their environment self contained.

And if you go too far in making the accommodation self contained, they become a tenant with all the legal obligations & rights that go with it. Oh, and it may well incur a change in council tax banding for both yourself and the (now) tenant.