Is my electric usage too high?

Niksi06

I moved into a all electric refurbished 2 bed mid terrace cottage on 1st november, I got my first monthly electric bill of £247, I'm really concerned that there may be some issue with my electric meter as that seems very high. I have done some checks and I'm using an average of 50kwh a day!!! 
My whole house runs on electric which comprises of 4 ceramic radiators 3x 1000w and 1x500w, 2 towel rails water tank and emersion, oven and hob.
I have the rads on a programme to come on twice a day, the towel rails warm up once a day and the emersion heats the water for 3 hours at night I dont use the boost.
My tariff is a fixed 1 year at 22.28pkwh.
I moved from a 3 bed 2 bath semi which had duel gas and elec which was only costing me £135 per month for all fuel and I was in constant credit.
I have spoken to the electric conpany and they will be fitting a smart meter because my one is out of certification. Could my meter be faulty or am I just destined to have the excruciating bills every month??

DeeQS

50kw a day for an all electric during the winter seems right, if anything on the low side.

My 2 bed, 2 bath new build apartment is all electric, heating at 20c for 8 hours a day and we use 35kw a day.

GrubbyGirl_2

Niksi06 said:

I moved into a all electric refurbished 2 bed mid terrace cottage on 1st november, I got my first monthly electric bill of £247, I'm really concerned that there may be some issue with my electric meter as that seems very high. I have done some checks and I'm using an average of 50kwh a day!!! 
My whole house runs on electric which comprises of 4 ceramic radiators 3x 1000w and 1x500w, 2 towel rails water tank and emersion, oven and hob.
I have the rads on a programme to come on twice a day, the towel rails warm up once a day and the emersion heats the water for 3 hours at night I dont use the boost.
My tariff is a fixed 1 year at 22.28pkwh.
I moved from a 3 bed 2 bath semi which had duel gas and elec which was only costing me £135 per month for all fuel and I was in constant credit.
I have spoken to the electric conpany and they will be fitting a smart meter because my one is out of certification. Could my meter be faulty or am I just destined to have the excruciating bills every month??

Don't forget this is the most expensive time of the year so you will be paying more.  You may have been paying £135 per month in your last house but you were paying much more than you used in the summer months.  Personally I don't think £247 sounds too bad for a winter bill.  Your electricity company should work out your annual cost and provide a realistic monthly cost if you want to spread it over the year.   Also have you checked your insulation? Improving that will make a massive difference

GingerTim

50kwh a day seems entirely reasonable for an all-electric property - unfortunately on-demand electric heating is the most expensive form of heating.

QrizB

Something doesn't quite add up.

There's 30 days in November, so 50kWh a day would be 1500kWh for the month.

1500kWh at 22.28p/kWh would be £334. Plus another £18 for standing charges would make £352.

- How much electricity did you actually use for the period?

- Is your bill based on Actual readings, or on Estimated ones?

- Is £247 your bill, or is it just your payment on account?

Petriix

It's extremely unlikely that your meter is broken. There have been hundreds of threads on this forum where people make such a claim but only one or two where it actually turned out to be an issue with the meter.

Electric heating costs nearly 4 x the price of gas heating. Unless you have a heat pump (which extracts heat from the air) or storage heaters combined with a cheap overnight tariff, your costs for heating will be roughly quadruple the equivalent for gas.

If you own the house then seriously consider upgrading to a heat pump as soon as possible. For now I would be extremely conservative with when you run the radiators. 

Gerry1

If you rent there's not very much you can do except to make sure you're on a competitive tariff, haven't turned the thermostats up too high and aren't having long hot showers.

If you own the property and intend to stay a reasonable time, consider other forms of heating.  If it's impossible to get gas, consider oil, high heat retention night storage heaters such as Dimplex Quantum, or a heat pump.  Octopus seem to get good reviews for straightforward heat pump installations (which get a £7500 grant).

QrizB

Per their previous thread, I think the OP owns the house:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6553840/roof-issues-after-survey

It's a shame that whoever did the recent refurbishment chose cheap-to-install direct electric heaters rather than any of the options That would have brought lower running costs.

Robin9

The gas boiler ban applies to new builds from 2025 but does it apply to installing gas in an existing property like the OP?

QrizB

Robin9 said:

The gas boiler ban applies to new builds from 2025 but does it apply to installing gas in an existing property like the OP?

I can't easily find a current article, but the proposal was framed as a ban on new connections to the gas distribution network. If that's what was implemented, it will apply to existing properties as well as new builds.

GingerTim

QrizB said:

Robin9 said:

The gas boiler ban applies to new builds from 2025 but does it apply to installing gas in an existing property like the OP?

I can't easily find a current article, but the proposal was framed as a ban on new connections to the gas distribution network. If that's what was implemented, it will apply to existing properties as well as new builds.

Does that mean that someone who has their gas supply removed to, say, avoid standing charges will have devalued their property by doing so?