New house - bills

Romepen

I am moving into a my new house on my own at 56. I have been divorced after 26 years of marriage the completion is upon me but last night I couldn't sleep worrying about bills! The house is a  1990s build and is 4 bedroom detached, it doesn't need much work at all, I will need a new washing machine,  dryer, bed and should be good to go. But the house had a family of 6 , 2 adults and 2 children over 20 plus 2 grandchildren under 10. So my question is will my bills reflect usage or do energy companies have a standard rate for a 4 bedroom house regardless of how people are living in it? It also has a water meter  and I have found some websites stating this ideal for me because I am in my own but others saying I will be paying more. I am just confused and worried because surely energy companies and the water board are making a huge amount in bills on this household and now it will be just me, surely they will want to keep making that money? 

My other question us do I have to stay with the companies that are supplying energy or is it easy to change and how does one do that? 

I am really stressed out!  Any help will deeply appreciated.  

user1977

The bills will work in the same way as they currently do - surely you know (roughly) how they're calculated? Probably the wrong board anyway as this is an energy bills query rather than a house-buying etc one.

elsien

Utility bills are based on your usage. You may find companies over estimate to start with because they will be basing on the previous occupiers and usage but if you submit monthly meter readings that will help with more accurate billing. Don’t forget it’s normal to build up some credit in the summer to cover increased winter bills.
You do need to think about how well insulated the property is and how you will be using the different rooms, to keep costs down.

Yes you can change providers but I’d suggest waiting to get a clearer idea of your new usage before doing so. Did the previous owners ni give an idea of their costs? You have to stay with the current providers for 28 days.
You need to decide if you want a fixed rate tariff for security or a variable tariff then look at comparisons. 

Starting point here, but it’s more accurate if you’ve got a clearer idea of what your usage might be. Best not to go on suggested monthly direct debit figures. 

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/energy/

If you’re on a water meter you will be stuck with it unless it’s been in place for less than a year, but it will be cheaper for a single person, unless you are running a swimming pool!

Don’t forget your single person council tax discount. 

And wishing you happiness in your new home. 

SiliconChip

As you've moved into a 4 bedroom detatched house on your own you're surely not short of money so any concerns about bills ought to be minor ones. If the cost of bills is a worry then a smaller property would have been a much better idea in the first place.

EssexHebridean

I think the water meter stays if it is installed when the property changes hands regardless of how long it's been in - I'm sure that used to be the case anyway.

Hey OP - congratulations on your upcoming move, I can well imagine that after 26 years everything is feeling a bit daunting though, so well done for navigating things this far! Do you know if the property has smart meters fitted? If so then this should reflect your real use pretty fast which will be helpful. On the water side of things, if it IS metered then you will find that the bills are overestimated to start with but they will review after 6 months and then you will likely see a refund and a drop in future direct debits. In the longer term, you won't be paying more, and if you are moving from a non-metered property then you may still find the bills in your new home are lower for water anyway - ours were! (Our move was 2 bed flat on an assessed bill as impractical to fit a meter -v- 3 bed house with a garden, for context.)

Not energy/utility related, but if you are going to be in the property with only you or you + under 18's occupying (also over 18s in full time education, I think?) then you know about the Council Tax reduction for a single person, yes?

House_owner

The water meter should make your bills cheaper. There are two people in my household and we changed to a water meter and it was half the cost of the water rates.

Swipe

Just because you have 4 bedrooms don't feel obligated to heat them all to 18C

DullGreyGuy

Romepen said:

I am moving into a my new house on my own at 56. I have been divorced after 26 years of marriage the completion is upon me but last night I couldn't sleep worrying about bills! The house is a  1990s build and is 4 bedroom detached, it doesn't need much work at all, I will need a new washing machine,  dryer, bed and should be good to go. But the house had a family of 6 , 2 adults and 2 children over 20 plus 2 grandchildren under 10. So my question is will my bills reflect usage or do energy companies have a standard rate for a 4 bedroom house regardless of how people are living in it? It also has a water meter  and I have found some websites stating this ideal for me because I am in my own but others saying I will be paying more. I am just confused and worried because surely energy companies and the water board are making a huge amount in bills on this household and now it will be just me, surely they will want to keep making that money? 

My other question us do I have to stay with the companies that are supplying energy or is it easy to change and how does one do that? 

I am really stressed out!  Any help will deeply appreciated.  

Most utilities are made up of both fixed and usage based elements... gas, electric there is a daily charge which is the same for everyone on that tariff irrespective if its a 1 bed flat or a 54 bed mansion and then actual usage on top. If you give meet readings each time or have working smart meters then these bills will be accurate, if not they will be based on estimates which may start off high until they understand your usage pattern but over spend is just carried forward. 

Water can vary a little more depending on supplier but with Thames its the same if your metered, fixed universal fee and per unit charge. 

You can switch providers for gas and electric simply by instructing a new supplier to take over the supply, you'll need to select which tariff you want which may be fixed for a period or variable. You'll get a closing bill from the old supplier to clear the balance and then the new one takes over. 

When you move in you need to get reads from all the meters and let the suppliers know so they know what to bill the old resident and what to bill you.

MattMattMattUK

House_owner said:

The water meter should make your bills cheaper. There are two people in my household and we changed to a water meter and it was half the cost of the water rates.

Just to expand on this, water is billed by rates, based on the size of the property unless one has a meter, in which case it is billed on actual usage. Unless you have usually 2+ more people than bedrooms, or you use a very large amount of water, then a water meter will almost always be cheaper than rates. 

Energy is only charged on consumption. 

Romepen

Thank you for all the comments , really useful and I appreciate them all! I do agree that some people will think , he has purchased a 4 bedroom house , so should be able to afford it; but I have never done it before on my own, so it is daunting.  

Exodi

If you have a water meter installed, you can pay for usage (without a meter, or at your request, you would be rate assessed, which is as you fear, means paying for typical usage of four people based in a four bed house).

Energy is always based on usage so no, you won't be paying £1k a month in electricity and gas on your own!

Kind of agree with the others that it's a tad odd to buy such a large detached house to live in on your own and then sweat the (relatively) small stuff. In the South East where I'm from, a 4 bed detached house would set you back about half a million pounds.

If ongoing expenses are a real concern (presumably the purchase is being funded from the divorce settlement) then it might have been wiser to get a slightly smaller house and to have held some of the money back - sorry appreciate this is a bit captain hindsight now since you're near completion.