Can this be right? Annual Electric Usage 10,597kWh

Mody123

Hi all, 

I'm trying to get my head around our electricity and gas usage in our new place (been here almost 2 years). As soon as we moved, our bills jumped exponentially. Our usage habits haven't changed from the old house. Only noticeable difference for us is the old place had a combi boiler and the new place has a tank. 

My electricity usage is 10597kWh. Everyone tells me this is very high. We're a family of 5 - 2 adults, 3 children (8-13yrs). We use the washing machine once a day, dishwasher once, and have all the other regular appliances (same as we had before). 

Has anyone ever experienced this or can anyone advise on any 'hidden' usages of electricity that I ought to look for. Or am I just not realising this is normal?

Many thanks!

zxzxzx

What was your electric use before moving? Does the tank have an immersion? If so how often is it on?

Mark_d

Tank vs combi boiler should not make a difference to your electricity bill - unless you have an electric immersion heater on your tank.    Do you use any form of electric heating?

My electric usage is 4500kWh per year.  That's two adults in a 2 bedroom flat with gas for central heating/hotwater/shower.

Has there been a change in lighting when you moved house?  We use LED lighting throughout our flat as apparently it's the most efficient.

EssexHebridean

Does the house you are currently living in have electric showers rathe than showers run off the boiler?

And that tank - does it by any chance have a switch on the wall somewhere, which might indicate that it has an electric heating element in it?  

Any underfloor heating anywhere?

Robin9

I assume the consumption is based on actual reading

Do some detective work -  read those meters every day, note the weather, who's at home.  Go from room to room - in the shed, garage, attic - and look for the high usage equipment the freezers, cookers, temp fan heaters, the electric showers, lots of lights.

We've houses on the forum with multiple fish tanks, blocked pond pumps 

Mody123

We do use electric heating (oil radiators) but only between November/December and about March/April. 

There is a plug socket and wire running off the tank but its unplugged.

I have three other switches in the airing cupboard, conveniently labelled by the previous owner: 
1. Electric shower 
2. Towel rail (in bathroom)
3. Pump for central heating

All of these are on. I don't know what #3 is for though?

We also have an old pin timer switch for the towel rail and a central heating/hot water programmer that can be used to set the schedule. 

BarelySentientAI

Mody123 said:

We do use electric heating (oil radiators) but only between November/December and about March/April. 

Six months of direct electric heating could add up to quite a lot of usage.

tim_p

What was your opening reading and what is it today?
That usage is a long, long way from “typical”

Mody123

The usage even in the summer months is really high. I thought it was the heater but that alone can't account for it since we also used it in our old place.

Netexporter

An immersion heater, running continuously, will consume about 10,000kWh in a year. That is not likely to happen as the water would boil. However, if the thermostat is faulty/set too high, then water heating could account for a substantial portion of your annual usage.

Have you checked what the tank thermostat is set to? Have you measured the water temperature?

Robin9

Mody123 said:

We do use electric heating (oil radiators) but only between November/December and about March/April. 

Why ?   If you have (say) 4 of these and they are 1Kw   used 5 hours a day - that's 2500 of your annual usage.


 Use the gas !