hi, i live in a brand new house which is all electric.im very carefull about how much electric i use, and probably have the washing machine on twice a week, dont do a great deal of cooking,have 1 tv in the house, 1 computer. I dont have a problem with my summer usage, its about a tenner a week,but as soon as the colder months arrive my usage goes up to around 30 quid a week, which means im paying about £20 just for the heating, , i think this is far too high for heating a 2 bedroom, brand new house, and im also on the social tariff, so my bills at the moment are cheaper then they will be when this tariff finishes.I have looked everywhere on the internet to find out what the average yearly bill for a new , 2 bed house is but cant find any details.My housing association say that they have to look at a yearly figure , and the average is 18 units a week, but i dont live yearly, i live weekly, and cant afford to subsidise the winter througout the summer, and wouldnt be able to if i was on a prepayment meter. i think 30 quid a week in the winter is far too high, or am i out of touch.

1plus1equal3,
I do have gas and electric but my concerns are similar to you...as many know that my mum passed away 4 weeks ago...I am on benefits for now but when I do come into Mum's savings I will lose what I get and then I hope I'll be given help when I get back to the threshold where that happens but that assumes that I still fit the criteria to receive the new benefits being brought in to replace the old...

I have done all I can to reduce what I pay in gas and electric and I cannot see anyway that I can get my bills any lower...like you I have a tv(hardly watch it at present)a washer which I use occasionally when I can do a big wash)a computer and a couple of DAB radio's. I eat less and try to mainly have cold meals but to save on energy I use a microwave/microwave combi and am in the process of buying a halogen oven which I am told uses even less power.

My average daily use of gas is 2 units per day(even if I avoid using it, the pilot light can use upto a unit each day)The electric is usually 4 units daily. I cannot see how I can reduce it any more. I am obssessed with turning everything off as soon as as I can...

I avoid switching lights on and only sometimes use one energy light bulb on the landing for safety on the landing as it can shine into every bedroom the toilet and bathroom and on the stairs, landing and into the hall...

I talked to the energy comparison site USwitch and they think that I'll still pay £2,000+ annually for gas and electric but they are going by the previous bills which are not a good guide as Mum liked to have the heating on 24/7...they told me to phone the utility companies that I use and ask for my annual consumption.

But that was artificially high...we're using Mum's bills whilst she was here...

NPower say going by my daily readings for the last 9 days for gas/electric I would pay(if by Direct monthly debit)approx £31 for both because they give £10 discount annually and also £109 discount through paying this way...as they stand with my meter readings before all the discounts they think the electric I use costs £7 and the gas £6 for 9 days but I am saving as they have no standing charges on either meter...

That's money saved or that could be better put towards being able to use the electric and gas more or might allow for price rises if I am fortunate to be in such a position to have any spare cash...so the electric would cost £284 approx and the gas £244 approx so that's £528, then take off the £109 and the £10...that's coming in at £409 so does that sound right? Or are my calculations wrong? That's around £8 per week...

I cannot decide if I have to add VAT on to the above prices and at what rate...that could take the amount nearer to what I originally worked things out in an earlier post. I reckoned on EDF's Blue Promise I was more likely to pay £935 annually but that was increased because they have a standing charge on both meters.

I phoned British Gas and to see what they say.

Update:Phoned British Gas and they had all kinds of discounts that bamboozled me but they have standing charges on their meters...they couldn't work out what I'd save on my electric even though they say their electric charges are lower than most other companies by 7% but they worked out that the gas I had used already for 9 days would come in at nearly £10 so that's £40 each month for the gas alone. So that's around £480 annually.

In the end I may be better going with NPower for both.

And you know what? I worked all this out for myself and USwitch gave me no advice in the end except when "I" mentioned saving on the standing charges on the meters at NPower the guy at USwitch said it was a no brainer...but I don't know if NPower factor what they lose by not having standing charges into the prices that we pay for the energy used. But if I use EDF's standing charges as a guide I am saving £150 annually as a guide.

This perhaps seems quite a boring post but paying for gas and electric is a bit of a worry at present...until I know where I am financially and things settle down...

In an all electric house, heating and hot water account for the majority of consumption.

Bear in mind that the average electricity consumption for those who use gas or oil for heating and hot water is 3,300kWh a year - £350 to £400.

As you say, in Summer you are using about £10 a week - and this includes hot water - so that is reasonable.

Your winter bills of an extra £20 weekly are IMO not unreasonable. That is mainly heating(but lights are on far longer). That additional consumption depends on where you live? - are you out all day or at home? Economy 7 storage heating? How warm you like the house?


The average energy bill in UK is around £1,300 a year and that include properties with gas - which is much cheaper than electrical heating.

I'm not hijacking the thread but my concerns are exactly the same as the OP. Its making me ill the worry about trying to afford what are basic needs...

I've spent ages talking to NPower today trying to decide whether to go with EDF or them.

I am given £100 back at the end of the year as discount for having taken a monthly Direct Debit payment plan. I don't have standing charges with NPower but again I have no idea if they've factored what they lose in charges on meters into their prices.

As NPower do not have standing charges it's a bit unfair thinking I am saving £104 annually if I go with them but in a way I am because I am not paying those to EDF.

Now, that could be seen as saving quite a tidy sum but if NPower end up more expensive I could still be paying that £104 to them(but as the cost of the energy)I still cannot work out if the prices quoted include VAT.

But going by my daily readings the other day over a 7 day period and phoned in to both EDF and NPower and its only an estimate after all, I was given the impression that my bill with NPower would be £6(Gas)£7(Electric)

With EDF it would be £5(Gas)£10(Electric)and yet EDF say they are the cheapest?

I am really being so tight with what I use. I'm afraid to use either utility...

What messed things up this morning is that I was told on the phone that I may be entitled because of my medical problems/condition/benefits received at present to a further discount of £114.

I was put through to another department but that turned out to have nothing to do with my situation and it was a place that gives grants for the repairing of heating equipment that has broken down and they gave me another number to call and that help had closed in March and was a government run scheme to help ill or low income households.

So both numbers were of no use whatsoever! So I am unsure why I was given those numbers in the first place. I think they were xcalled Warm Home and Warm Front.

There are too many figures going around in my head I'm bound to have got something wrong but on the readings so far I think I'll be paying approx £576 to NPower(£100 discount)and £633 to EDF annually and that's after a discount with them of I think £147. So NPower still seems cheaper?

I'm sure NPower said I also save another £100 for going onto a different tariff. Now, this means I can either save more or use more gas and the electric as I'll only be coming up nearer to what I originally thought I'd spend...

This is doing my head in...

I've cancelled EDF as the cooling off period was coming to an end and I need more time to try and understand everything and try and decide who I should join.

I switch off everything obsessively as soon as I am finsihed with them, I wear warm clothing, I have bought gadgets that cook as quickly as possible to save energy or eat cold meals, I only have a tv, a couple of DAB radio and a computer. One energy lightbulb that lights most of the house if I leave the doors of rooms open...and I cannot seem to get the electric lower than 5 units daily and 2 units of gas daily.

British Gas could not work out a price for electric unless I signed up but they had my Gas usage at approx £9 a week.

I don't really find the comparison sites much of a help either...

hi, im shocked that you have been told to expect your gas and electric to be around £2,000, i thought i had a rough deal at £800 in my all electric house.Im really tight with my electric, most of the time im home alone, and though my lightbulbs are all energy saving ones, at £10 quid a time, i still dont have them on in rooms im not in.I have underfloor heating , and a new nibe airsource unit which runs the heating , it is meant to be energy efficient, but have had massive problems with it since moving in 3 years ago.My housing association have now told me that im using 18 units of electric a day, which they had researched to be the average for a 2 bedroom house, so they dont think my usage is too high, and it seems that my nibe airsource unit is no longer considered energy efficient, just average.Im not complaining about paying £10 a week in the summer , as it covers all my appliances and hot water, but then in the really cold part of winter it goes up to about £30/£35, which is really high, and a huge struggle as i am on income support due to illness, and only get a very small income. At the moment i have managed somehow, but many times i have been threatened with having a meter put in when i have struggled to pay my bill, how then will i be able to pay such a large sum of money, out of such a small income, but if i dont i wont have any electric, or heating.Its ok for the housing association to say they work out whether my airsource unit is working efficiently by using yearly figures, but i live weekly.Im sorry to hear that you are struggling to make sense of your bills, do you have a good friend , or relative you could ask for advise, i hope you get things sorted, as like you i also have other things to worry about too , like the migration from income support to esa ( which is a whole new ball game ).

It's a worry isn't it...£2,000 on the old readings but on the new readings I reckon £750-£1,000+ but for that kind of money I don't think I get that much use of the electric or gas central heating but I cannot see how I can afford to use more than I am. Or can use any less than I do already...

Considering all that I use is a DAB Radio, a computer and a fridge freezer that seems a lot of electric and I only use 5-6 units each day so I can see why you worry...1-2 units of gas daily.

I too worry about the way the benefit system is being changed too, lots of genuine people will be affected and most are, pity the media ignores this fact and always highlight the worst cases which are then picked up by many to be the norm and cause many ill informed people to call people getting state help to be scroungers...I'd love to be able to stop taking government money and jump through all the hoops to get it! And all the stress it entails...It's not through choice...

Hi Popperwell
Just to give you an idea, i use 4 metric units of gas a day (1450 over the last year) for which i pay £60 / month on DD but recently was asked for an extra £170 making my gas £890 a year or £74 a month. I use 15 units of electricity a day (5374 a year) costing £60 a month. This is with EDF on a fixed plan (so guess not the cheapest) . 3 bedroomed terrace house with 3 adults. I feel its quite expensive.

That is 31% more than the cheapest tariff in my area - Midlands.

According to your figures you are paying £1,610 pa(£890 + £720. The cheapest tariff is £1,230.

Even Scottish Power fixed to Aug 2013 is 'only' £1,252.

£380 pa seems a lot extra for a fixed tariff.

Hi Cardew
Thanks for that. Its fixed until 2013 or 2014 (cant remember which). I know i paid about 20% extra at the start and soon after all providers put their prices up 10/15%. i bought on the assumption they would continue to go up but this has not happened (so much for the experts predictions). I think its £50 to get out of the contract (maybe for each) so i might look at this. I am in the Yorkshire area

Thanks for that...mine is a semi detached three bedroom hose, no gas fire just radiators...

Two bills arrived today from British Gas, the second was to be added to the first and for 58 days they have charged me(and it's accurate because I gave meter readings)£146.26! The advisor thought that was quite good. That still works out at £2.52 per day. But he says that I am approx two thirds down on what we were spending when Mum was here.

Now, he has suggested trying an on line tariff that offers 4% discount with British Gas for duel fuel...but then he said the cheapest deal can be obtained by doing gas/electric through Sainsbury's Energy(which is still run by British Gas)but it's still cheaper than signing up with them directly...

More things to consider...

I'm away to the bank to pay the bill now, then at least I am upto date.

The next bill will probably be the electric(but that is approx £100 in credit)I don't know how either, so that may cover quite a lot of what it will be. Then the phone bill(£130+ approx)

Then for a little while I may be left alone apart from sorting out the rent/probate/community tax situation...

Lucky that I still had just enough in the house to cover this bill and put aside for the telephone bill.

As said earlier EDF have daily standing charges on the meters which I dislike...but that's not to say that another supplier doesn't make it up by adding a little bit to their prices...

Hi all,

Sharing concerns on cost of living currently - it's a nightmare and a constant worry.
One little tip my good friend let me in on was the amount of energy/money to be saved by making sure you have the right lightbulbs in your house.

I can recommend these guys - The Lightbulb Company as they have energy saving calculators onsite and also regularly offer good discounts. I just used this 25% discount code at their checkout - LBCMSE . Whether that's allowed or not I am not sure but thought I would share the wealth!

Any ideas could help...

I've had a quote from Sainsbury's regarding duel fuel..doesn't seem cheap to me and is as confusing as ever...It's still coming out at around £1,500 or the year for both...

I must be really lucky. We're a family of 2 adults, 1 child and we live in a 2 bed terraced house, with dining room living room, kitchen & bathroom and I pay £49 a month for both gas & electric combined. And I don't even use all that, my quarterly bill is always around £110-120. We don't scrimp on heating either, if it's cold we put it on, and I cook every day (gas oven) and do 2 loads of washing every single day. The only thing I Makesure I do is always turn lights/plugs off and leave nothing on standby. I can't believe how much some of you pay! (I'm with British gas)

[QUOTE=Amyteddy;56276029]I must be really lucky. We're a family of 2 adults, 1 child and we live in a 2 bed terraced house, with dining room living room, kitchen & bathroom and I pay £49 a month for both gas & electric combined. And I don't even use all that, my quarterly bill is always around £110-120. We don't scrimp on heating either, if it's cold we put it on, and I cook every day (gas oven) and do 2 loads of washing every single day. The only thing I Makesure I do is always turn lights/plugs off and leave nothing on standby. I can't believe how much some of you pay! (I'm with British gas)[/QUOTE

Welcome to the forum.]

Your gas/electricity costs are less 50% of the UK average. - which is 3,300kWh electricity and 16,500kWh gas.

Being in a terraced house helps on heating - assuming a mid tce.

I cannot see how all your quarterly bills are always £110 -£120 as the winter quarter bill is usually 2 or 3 times more expensive than the summer quarter. In any case an annual bill of £440 to £480 would mean a monthly payment of under £40!

Perhaps your meter(s) is faulty?

P.S. Standby consumption is tiny. Most TV's will cost under £1 a year if left on standby 24/7.

I live alone in a 30's 3-bedroom semi-detached, my quarterly gas bills (British Gas) for last year were between £130 - £280, only for central heating, hot water & cooking. My boiler was changed 4 years ago. Since British Gas announced the 6% increase in gas prices, my bill for has gone up to £293.80 for January's bill, £422.50 for April's bill & £878.66 for July's bill. That's a 200% increase!!

Now, I work from home most of the time so on colder months the heating does come on more often. I have not changed my habits so there are no changes in my gas usage. I thought it might be a gas leak but can't detect anything either through a burns test. Most of my friends with a larger household do not even pay as much as I do on an average.

I have called British Gas & they are currently investigating this matter. But can someone tell me how much does a standard household pay for gas as I think I am paying much much more?

The average medium household uses 16500kWh og gas and 3300kWh of electricity.
This costs about £1300 for a user on the suppliers standard, pay quarterly traiff but will be charged at your tariff rates.

What you don't mention is whether whether there has been a change of tariff (prehaps a fixed tariff came to an end?) or more likely if any of the bills were based on estimated readings, so possibly involve a catchup amount.

As said above, have you racked up some arrears that are now being collected because you've been getting estimated bills and not correcting them.

Last winter was extremely cold and prolonged so, even though you might have thought that you haven't change the timers or thermostats the heating will have been working considerably harder just to maintain the indoor temperatures that you had last year.

Without having details of your usage in kw to check whether you've used more or less it's impossible to know if you are being overcharged, if your consumption has increased or your tariff has changed.

Read your meter regularly and often - at least monthly (weekly is better), record the results so you can see what's happening. Make sure any estimated bills are corrected immediately - you can usually phone in your own reading if their estimate is wrong. You'll then get an accurate record of what you are using and when you are using it. You'll also have better information when you use comparison sites to get yourself on a better tariff.

These "how much does everyone else use pay" threads tickle me. Its simple, if you feel your energy bills are to high then they probably are for your circumstances.

One of my work colleagues prides themselves on having quarterly bills of around £200 for a 2 bed semi. Sounds good but their lifestyle doesn't match mine - all radiators turned off except in the living room and bedroom and even then heating on only 4 hours a day. All appliances are unplugged (including digi box and router etc) only being plugged in as and when they are being used. Electric shower only actually used before and after soaping etc.

There are two main factors to consider. How much your willing to pay for what level of comfort. Yes you can make some sugnificant savings if your willing to go the extra mile and make some sacrifices.