Average Electricity Costs Poll 14 July 2005 at 10:36AM edited 30 November -1 at 1:00AM in Energy 417 replies 327.8K views

smjxm09

mum26 wrote: »

Hi everyone, please could you give me your opinions on whether our meter is correct?

We live in a 3 storey, 3 bedroom mid terraced house. It was a brand new build when we moved in sept 2003. Our central heating / hot water and hob are all gas powered and those bills have been fine.

Our electricity meter, obviously newly installed when we moved in, currently reads approx 59700.00, which gives us an annual usage of just under 10000 kwh?

Our next door neighbours meter is about 2/3rds "lower".

All our lightbulbs are energy saving, we have modern appliances, my washing machine, fridge and dishwasher are A rated and upwards, I have a chest freezer (kept well stocked), an electric fan oven which I try be economical with, a tumble drier which is only used during the coldest and wettest months.

I've got one of those little electricity monitor things on the way but whenever we query the usage with the electricity provider they say it is average, but from looking at various sites it would appear approx 6000 kwh is about average for a 3/ 4 bed family home?

Also when I put our details into moneysupermarket utility comparison form it flagged up the kwh amount as being much higher than average and told me to check our figures!

Is your emersion heater switched on by mistake? This is only meant to be used to heat your water tank if the boiler packs up

Paul_Varjak

mum26 wrote: »

I've got one of those little electricity monitor things on the way

Hopefully, that will help you locate the source of your high usage. If you switch everything off and look at the meter you will be able to see if anything else is still running! In my small bungalow I use around 2000 KWh per year. At night I switch off almost everything and double check my monitor for good measure!

Rocketronnie7

I am using 15.5 unit's per day which equal's to Aprox £45 per month on electric.

2 Bedroom house and electric oven and shower,and a hell of a lot of appliances (3 xbox 360's,2 pc's 42inch and 32 inch LCD's and also load's of other little thing's) lol

scoobydo_2

I live in a 1930's 3 bed semi ,Have 2 teenagers one has the typical x box and pc on all the time when he's home ,other than that I only have the normal every day things and no drier I have recently swapped supplier to Mand S (southern elec) energy I had a bill for my first month 25th nov to 30dec £137 Just elec I couldn't believe it my current dd is £50 so have paid the over payment to take me in to credit .Is this a normal amount it seems really high to me .
I had put the under floor heating on in the conservatory and I have an old back boiler that as its been cold has been on all day to keep the house warm its gas but obviously needs elec pump to circulate the water to the radiators.I have since last night turned the underfloor heating off and am struggling to think what else to do to cut back .My home isn't even a boiling hot house as you'd think but I do work from home as a childminder .I have it insulated and double glazed .

Beckyp1976

Sorry if this is in the wrong place I can never work out how to post a new thread!

WE live in a mid terrace 3 bed (old and draughty). It's rented and just has storage heaters which we hardly use. We are on a key meter but it is currently costing 30-40 per week. Surely this is too much????
We have a wood burner which heats downstairs, 2 fridges and a chest freezer, no gas. Our hot water is only from an immersion heater - could this be the culprit?

Hemel_Saint wrote: »

prompted by this thread, I decided to do a bit of investigation of my Electric bill.

Is there anyone who can help and give some guidance on what should be an average usage of units or cost?

I live in a 3-bed mid-terrace and over the last 12 months the average is 34 units a day working out at £68 a month. Surely, I am way too high????


any advice???

cheers.

A_fiend_for_life

Beckyp1976 wrote: »

Sorry if this is in the wrong place I can never work out how to post a new thread!

WE live in a mid terrace 3 bed (old and draughty). It's rented and just has storage heaters which we hardly use. We are on a key meter but it is currently costing 30-40 per week. Surely this is too much????
We have a wood burner which heats downstairs, 2 fridges and a chest freezer, no gas. Our hot water is only from an immersion heater - could this be the culprit?

On the crumbtrail click gas and electricity then the New Thread button.

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ploddo

We live in and work from a 3 bed semi. Four adults. 2 freezers, two fridges, dishwasher microwave and duel fuel cooker. Also 1pc, 2 laptops, 4tv's, 1 xbox. None of these on all the time. Underfloor heating in the kitchen - on overnight, and the bathroom, on all the time (17c) Immersion heater on for 4 hours in the cheap rate, and 1 storage heater. Main heating is via multifuel burner. All the lights are energy saving, the house is well insulated and double glazed. Here I am sitting looking at the 'Owl' showing me a 9.016 per hour cost. We have only one tv (low energy, new one) 1 pc (low energy new one) and bathroom floor heating plus 2 lights on. We use around 15,000 (!) units per annum. My tariff is edf v6 online which was costing £112 per month and has just changed to £130 although the account is clear with no debt or credit, and I have just had a letter advising increase in tariff which will put another £10 per month on the bill! AArghhh.................

Angler

Hi all, I'm new to this so please excuse any posting etiquette errors.
I live in a rented maisonette, large lounge and hallway, small kitchen. Upstairs: 3 beds and a bathroom. I have double glazing upstairs (poor quality as you can see daylight through the frames etc), single glazing downstairs, some windows sealed shut, one window that doesn't close at all. Lounge faces south and gets lots of sun and is very hot in summer. Winter is a different story. The only heating that comes with the place is a night storage heater on the upstairs landing and a wall heater in the main bedroom. I use a portable gas heater in the lounge and have 2 halogen heaters which I try not to use much. I have a fridge freezer, TV, electric cooker (halogen hobs), and a PC, these see the most use apart from the heaters. I'm out at work during the daytime, home at weekends. I'm finding it really hard to stay warm. Wish I had some gas appliances but there is only a gas heater under the sink which comes on when I turn on the hot taps. Gas end Electricity are both with British gas and there are prepayment meters for both. Gas is usually around £ 25 per month all year round (which makes sense). Electricity is horrendous, currently well over £ 100 per month. At the moment I'm putting in £ 10.00 via a key every other day or so. It gets harder to pay every few weeks as I get paid monthly and money runs down. After looking at these Forums, I'm going to email British Gas and ask them if they can check if my meter is working properly (wonder if I'll have to pay for that?), I'll also ask them for a paper breakdown of costs/usage/tariff etc. Gas costs seem fair enough but the electricity seems ridiculously high. I'll post and let you know how I get on.
By the way, the landlord won't make any improvements to the place, one large window is cracked (and was before I moved in), there is a large pantry sized cupboard that used to house a gas air pump heating system in the 70's which is lined with what appears to be asbestos, the same material lines part of the cupboard under the sink where the gas heater is. Most of the downstairs windows have hardly any beading around the edges and the sills are missing or have rotted away. Rain comes down through the inside of the back door due to the poor glazing. The landlord rents the shop downstairs and the maisonette above (mine) comes with it. He's not happy with the shop premises so won't make any improvements to my place and is considering a move. My best answer is to move I know but that costs money too so am stuck here for a while until and unless I can manage to save enough money to move.
I drifting away from the main point though, which is the crippling cost of my electricity. I'll post and let you know what response I get from British Gas.
Given the poor insulation etc, do any of you think my meter may be faulty? In Summer by the way, I still have to put about £ 45 per month into the electricity meter.
Any advice will be helpful! Thanks.

beecher2

ploddo wrote: »

We live in and work from a 3 bed semi. Four adults. 2 freezers, two fridges, dishwasher microwave and duel fuel cooker. Also 1pc, 2 laptops, 4tv's, 1 xbox. None of these on all the time. Underfloor heating in the kitchen - on overnight, and the bathroom, on all the time (17c) Immersion heater on for 4 hours in the cheap rate, and 1 storage heater. Main heating is via multifuel burner. All the lights are energy saving, the house is well insulated and double glazed. Here I am sitting looking at the 'Owl' showing me a 9.016 per hour cost. We have only one tv (low energy, new one) 1 pc (low energy new one) and bathroom floor heating plus 2 lights on. We use around 15,000 (!) units per annum. My tariff is edf v6 online which was costing £112 per month and has just changed to £130 although the account is clear with no debt or credit, and I have just had a letter advising increase in tariff which will put another £10 per month on the bill! AArghhh.................

Switch off the underfloor heating and see what the Owl monitor reads. I don't see the point in having it on all the time - seems like a waste of money.

amtrakuk

Have a frined with Under floor heating. He says you need it to be on for a good 8 hours to start to feel the floor getting warm. I guess underfloor heating, while sounds good and in principle it is. It seems to be one of the slowest reacting forms of heating.