where are we wasting £ on gas & elec??

emma_b_4

hi, we pay £40 DD split evenly between g and e with powergen. recently got a bill, they have been estimated for a while but with the correct reading we now owe £130 (in arrears) on top of the £40 pm

2 people 2 bed terrace we are out 7.30 am to 5pm and consider oureslves to be quite energy efficient .. turn lights off as we leave room, although bathroom hall bedroom on energy saver bulbs, radiators turned down to moderate heat, we turn them off in rooms we do not use like the spare room
we dont leave appliances on when not in use, dont really use a tumbel dryer, maybe 3times a month for an hour (mybe this uses a lot?)

just thinking ohmygosh thats a lotta power we have wasted !! even triple checked every bill the readings are upto date
maybe my meter is passed it?

any ideas on saving ££ ? or getting something outta powergen i got a free loghtbulb when i joined could i try my luck for some more?! it feels like i ave tipped my purse down the drain!
we were wanting to change providers i am a follower of this site and changed to powergen 18mths ago through a recomendation on here, im now feeling stuck with pgen i cant afford to pay them off agggggggghhhhhhhhhh

c_smith

I applied for the 4 free energy saving light bulbs from powergen courtesy of this post:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=79046

and it says you can claim them between 01.04.05 and 31.03.08. If you only claimed 1 free bulb 18 months ago, then you should qualify for these.

You haven't said whether it is your gas or electricity or both bills that are higher than expected. If your gas bill is higher than you would like, have you thought about cavity wall and loft iinsulation if you haven't got them? The costs are extremely low when you take into account the subsidies given by companies like London Energy and will save you a lot of money in the long term.

If your electricity usage is higher than expected, have a look here to see what your appliances use: http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/howmuch.html .

On another note, I once knew someone who called out the electricity board to have their meter checked because they were going through so much power, only to discover that their neighbour had went under the floorboards into their house and connected his fuse box into their main power supply. Not that this is likely to be your problem of course.

emma_b_4

hi
wow imagine that the cheeky mare!!!!

sorry, it is my gas that is the problem, my electric we are ok with. we are £113 now in arrears with gas.. i juat dont underdstand it!
although, we dont really live in an average home..we have original wooden floors and doors amd wooden single pain sash windows so our insulation isnt what it could be i suppose. we have however sealedthe edges of the floor and skirting, but theres not much we can do with the doors. we have had the windows 'sealed' to be more energy efficient but it hasnt made much difference to be honest. but no1 will touch our windows unless we want upvc in
i will ring powergen for the bulbs, thankyou! xx

LittleJo

Hi, There was an interesting thread a few days ago about this.
It dealt with excessive bills and was very informative.
Jo

se999

Hi,

I think the one a few days ago was silverbirch's one on electric useage
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=76589

Have you asked neighbours in similar houses what their gas/elec bills are like?

It sounds like gas is your problem, so presumably boiler/cooker/fire?

Old boilers can be inefficient, but cost of replacing is high, but you can sometimes get grants, I think regular servicing of all gas appliances supposedly helps too. I think that gas fires are supposedly sometimes not very efficient at heating, especially the 'log effect' ones, so check out how efficient yours is if you have one!!

Some low cost ways of saving heat are:

In winter always keep curtains closed in unused rooms & close all curtains as soon as it get dark. Swap to thicker curtains,or try to find some themal linings for existing curtains.
Keep internal doors closed downstairs, to stop the heat going straight up.
Make sure curtains aren't covering radiators, otherwise you're not heating the room.
For front/back door think about door curtains in winter.
Top up loft insulation (grant may be available).
Radiators on external walls- you can make DIY heat reflectors with large pieces of carboard with aluminium foil, to reflect the heat, you can buy 'real' ones too.
Check timing for hot water coming on and off. Is it on for longer than you need. Are hot water taps dripping?
Is the hot water tank well insulated, if not top up insulation can use old blankets if you don't have a jacket.
Do you have open fires/chimneys? Heat can escape straight up, so use something to block temporarily when not in use.

I think most of the energy suppliers have energy advice lines, so give them a ring and see what they come up with too.

Hope some of these are applicable!