Average Electricity Costs Poll

alexjc_2

My mum and i live in Stratford Council Housing Association houses, we pay rent every month and our electricity is on a meter (pay as you go service with £5.00 emergency credit). This winter has been rediculous, i've worked out we're spending £70 a month on electricity and all we use is the oven, central heating when needed, t.v, microwave occasionally and small appliances. How can it be so expensive?

Is there any way of reducing these costs other than freezing in winter?

Frugaldom

I'm quite stunned by the amounts quoted on here and can't help wondering if something is wrong with my meter, even although it was replaced during previous rewiring and has been checked by Scottish Power. We're with Scottish Power on E7 tariff charged at 4.61/low and 10.69/high. House is all electric with night storage heaters - no gas in the area and rented house, so can't really change anything. Having read this thread through again, I began reading my meter. It appears that I am using 60+ units through the night and a further 20+ during the day and I do not have a warm house. The only heating is 3 standard sized storage night heaters and a small one in the bathroom. all are fitted directly to the supply, no plugs, and there's a timer set for evening use that heats the water. What can I do to help reduce this phenomenal amount? I do everything I can after the cheap rate kicks in, but it is still not helping when I see figures quoted like 3000kw per annum as an average household where am I going wrong with this?

Edited in - I'm also having to use ordinary convector type heaters to try to heat the place through the day and I know these eat electricity, but there must be something I can do to get the power useage down.

espresso

nykmedia wrote: »

I'm quite stunned by the amounts quoted on here and can't help wondering if something is wrong with my meter, even although it was replaced during previous rewiring and has been checked by Scottish Power. We're with Scottish Power on E7 tariff charged at 4.61/low and 10.69/high. House is all electric with night storage heaters - no gas in the area and rented house, so can't really change anything. Having read this thread through again, I began reading my meter. It appears that I am using 60+ units through the night and a further 20+ during the day and I do not have a warm house. The only heating is 3 standard sized storage night heaters and a small one in the bathroom. all are fitted directly to the supply, no plugs, and there's a timer set for evening use that heats the water. What can I do to help reduce this phenomenal amount? I do everything I can after the cheap rate kicks in, but it is still not helping when I see figures quoted like 3000kw per annum as an average household where am I going wrong with this?

Edited in - I'm also having to use ordinary convector type heaters to try to heat the place through the day and I know these eat electricity, but there must be something I can do to get the power useage down.

I don't understand why you seem to think that there is something wrong with your meter. You live in an all electric house, so obviously all your heating and cooking will be consuming electricity.

If you have three 3kW storage heaters running for seven hours during the night, that equates to 3 x 3 x 7 = 63kWh alone, although they may not be on full load for all of the seven hour charging period.

The 3000kWh average is for users who have other methods of heating e.g. gas which costs much less to run than electricity, for the same number of kWh.

You say that you have a timer for the hot water heating set for the evening, this should only operate during the night, on cheap rate tariff.

An all electric property will never be cheap to run in comparison to heating with gas, so all that you can do is get the best possible price for your electricity or move!

Cardew

nykmedia,
The average household spends approx £1000pa on gas and electricity.

As espresso states, all Electric households are more expensive than those with gas.

Then Scotland is colder than the UK average and electricity tariffs in Scotland are more expensive than the UK average.

60 E7 units and 20 day units(costing approx £5) in mid winter is certainly not a "phenomenal amount".

However the prices you are paying are very high. For instance the British Gas Click 4 tariff* for Scotland charges 8.269p/kWh for tier 2 daytime tariff(including VAT) and 2.963p for all night(E7) units - you pay more for the first 225kWh in a quarter. So there is scope for considerable savings there.

* BG's tariff as an example, there may be cheaper tariffs.

Frugaldom

I was merely wondering what, if it's a widely acknowledged 'fact' that the average household uses 3000kwh, I am doing wrong. If, as is suggested by your response, this alleged national average is for lighting etc only in a house that has oil or gas for heating and hot water then I'd have expected the various claims to have included this fact. I wrongly, and in a panic, assumed that it calculated averages on a like for like basis.

Where would I find average useage figures for an all electric house? There is no other option where I live - no place to install a tank and no mains gas - the only other option is coal/logs on an open fire which is not always convenient for specific time schedules/working hours.

Frugaldom

Cardew wrote: »

nykmedia,
The average household spends approx £1000pa on gas and electricity.

As espresso states, all Electric households are more expensive than those with gas.

Then Scotland is colder than the UK average and electricity tariffs in Scotland are more expensive than the UK average.

60 E7 units and 20 day units(costing approx £5) in mid winter is certainly not a "phenomenal amount".

However the prices you are paying are very high. For instance the British Gas Click 4 tariff* for Scotland charges 8.269p/kWh for tier 2 daytime tariff(including VAT) and 2.963p for all night(E7) units - you pay more for the first 225kWh in a quarter. So there is scope for considerable savings there.

* BG's tariff as an example, there may be cheaper tariffs.

Many thanks for this info, it is what I was looking for - a national average on power useage. I am used to paying about £35 a week and it will drop in summer, I just couldn't understand how they worked their average figures and then see figures on here that bamboozle me. If I cut my power bills to a fiver a week I would be eccstatic, but it looks totally impossible. I'm happier finding out that it is NORMAL to spend this amount if it is your only source of power and have been looking at various tariffs in order to reduce the unit prices. Thanks for the suggestion

Apologies to espresso who now, probably, thinks I'm a thicko who can't budget - I guess there are plenty of people paying £1000 a year and I'm not, as I first thought, in a very unhappy minority.

Cardew

The Average electricity usage in UK is 3,300kWh pa and the average gas usage is 20,500kWh.

However those averages cover a single person in a bedsit to a large family in a big house.

As you only have 3 storage heaters, can we assume your rented property is fairly small?

Even then your consumption depends on so many other factors - insulation, how long you spend each day in the property, how warm you want the rooms, baths or showers are just a few.

I would have thought that for a small property 10-15,000kWh would be a ball park figure.

espresso

nykmedia wrote: »

Where would I find average useage figures for an all electric house?

What good is an average figure? What is an average all electric house? How many rooms? How much insulation? How many external walls.? What does it matter? You use what use use and it's displayed on your meter!

There is no other option where I live - no place to install a tank and no mains gas - the only other option is coal/logs on an open fire which is not always convenient for specific time schedules/working hours.

There is nothing stopping you from finding a much better price for your electricty units though is there?

.....................

Frugaldom

Gee thanks espresso, I really appreciate the helpful and friendly advice you offer, especially when you say, "What does it matter? You use what use use and it's displayed on your meter!"

Bye folks, gone to find a warmer place to research how to reduce my power useage. Thanks Cardew, your reply was a helpful one.

espresso

nykmedia wrote: »

Apologies to espresso who now, probably, thinks I'm a thicko.

Yes, if you could not work that out for yourself.

nykmedia wrote: »

Gee thanks espresso, I really appreciate the helpful and friendly advice you offer, especially when you say, "What does it matter? You use what use use and it's displayed on your meter!"

Bye folks, gone to find a warmer place to research how to reduce my power useage. Thanks Cardew, your reply was a helpful one.

:rotfl:

You can't understand plain English can you! Any idiot can selectively quote out of context!