All electric house - not sure if spending too much?
lizzie201296
Posts: 89 Forumite
in Energy
Hi
I have recently moved into my first house and am pretty clueless about these sorts of things...so would really appreciate some advice!
House info:
London, 1986 build mid terrace, 2 bedrooms over three floors, 2 people living here, all electric, storage heaters in all rooms except living room. Hot water tank is on a night timer (heats up only on the night tariff).
I am on EDF E7 Blue+ Fixed Price Nov 2019 and pay £73/month. I have a smart meter. My concern is that something in the house seems to be guzzling a lot of electric..
The smart meter shows the cost each day and on average is around £3.50/day. On weekends it often goes over £4 if washing machine/tv etc are being used, So my immediate thoughts are that £3.50 x 30 = £105 a month. I am using more than I am paying! My worry is that EDF will suddenly hike my monthly payments up.
Does this seem normal for an all-electric house? We are both at work all day Mon-Fri and I don't think we use an excessive amount of electricals (ie. only do max. 3 washes a week, no big electrical hi-fi systems plugged in etc). I know the living room heater uses a lot - it is an old-ish Dimplex that heats up to a certain temp, switches off then heats up again etc (not sure what you call these). When I unplug it the smart meter doesn't show as much being used. Will replacing this heater with a more modern one make a difference, or are they all going to be much the same?
Even without the living room heater plugged in, and all other heaters on their lowest settings, the meter is still showing around £3 a day (without the washing machine/tv/oven etc being used...on days when these are used it goes up to around £4!). I guess I just have no frame of reference so don't know whether these numbers are hideously too high or about right given the time of year etc.
Can anyone give me any thoughts/advice?
Thanks!
I have recently moved into my first house and am pretty clueless about these sorts of things...so would really appreciate some advice!
House info:
London, 1986 build mid terrace, 2 bedrooms over three floors, 2 people living here, all electric, storage heaters in all rooms except living room. Hot water tank is on a night timer (heats up only on the night tariff).
I am on EDF E7 Blue+ Fixed Price Nov 2019 and pay £73/month. I have a smart meter. My concern is that something in the house seems to be guzzling a lot of electric..
The smart meter shows the cost each day and on average is around £3.50/day. On weekends it often goes over £4 if washing machine/tv etc are being used, So my immediate thoughts are that £3.50 x 30 = £105 a month. I am using more than I am paying! My worry is that EDF will suddenly hike my monthly payments up.
Does this seem normal for an all-electric house? We are both at work all day Mon-Fri and I don't think we use an excessive amount of electricals (ie. only do max. 3 washes a week, no big electrical hi-fi systems plugged in etc). I know the living room heater uses a lot - it is an old-ish Dimplex that heats up to a certain temp, switches off then heats up again etc (not sure what you call these). When I unplug it the smart meter doesn't show as much being used. Will replacing this heater with a more modern one make a difference, or are they all going to be much the same?
Even without the living room heater plugged in, and all other heaters on their lowest settings, the meter is still showing around £3 a day (without the washing machine/tv/oven etc being used...on days when these are used it goes up to around £4!). I guess I just have no frame of reference so don't know whether these numbers are hideously too high or about right given the time of year etc.
Can anyone give me any thoughts/advice?
Thanks!
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Comments
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Hot water tank? Is that switched on as required or on all day / night?Mortgage started 2020, aiming to clear it in 2026.0
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lizzie201296 wrote: »Hi
I have recently moved into my first house and am pretty clueless about these sorts of things...so would really appreciate some advice!
House info:
London, 1986 build mid terrace, 2 bedrooms over three floors, 2 people living here, all electric, storage heaters in all rooms except living room. Hot water tank is on a night timer (heats up only on the night tariff).
I am on EDF E7 Blue+ Fixed Price Nov 2019 and pay £73/month. I have a smart meter. My concern is that something in the house seems to be guzzling a lot of electric..
The smart meter shows the cost each day and on average is around £3.50/day. On weekends it often goes over £4 if washing machine/tv etc are being used, So my immediate thoughts are that £3.50 x 30 = £105 a month. I am using more than I am paying! My worry is that EDF will suddenly hike my monthly payments up.
Does this seem normal for an all-electric house? We are both at work all day Mon-Fri and I don't think we use an excessive amount of electricals (ie. only do max. 3 washes a week, no big electrical hi-fi systems plugged in etc). I know the living room heater uses a lot - it is an old-ish Dimplex that heats up to a certain temp, switches off then heats up again etc (not sure what you call these). When I unplug it the smart meter doesn't show as much being used. Will replacing this heater with a more modern one make a difference, or are they all going to be much the same?
Even without the living room heater plugged in, and all other heaters on their lowest settings, the meter is still showing around £3 a day (without the washing machine/tv/oven etc being used...on days when these are used it goes up to around £4!). I guess I just have no frame of reference so don't know whether these numbers are hideously too high or about right given the time of year etc.
Can anyone give me any thoughts/advice?
Thanks!
Surely you'll only continue to be using more than you currently pay if you continue with the same usage.
Do you really think you will have your heating on just as much in the middle of summer?
If you do, best to contact your supplier to increase your monthly payment to cover your annual cost.0 -
I'd say that £73 a month is a bit low but you have to remember that you'll be using significantly more energy at this time of the year thah in the summer. You need to do your sums and look at your consumption in kwh rather than just money.
Dont just rely on your smart meter, take your own readings and put them into a spreadsheet - do it regularly so you can understand your consumption profile. You can then argue your case with the energy company that your account will balance out at the end of the fix
We are all electric and at this time of the year I expect to use around 1000-1200kwh/month = £120-£140, however in the summer it drops to around 275kwh (£35 month) so our annual bill is about £900 = £75 a month.
I'm pretty confident that mine will balance to within about £30 because I've got eight years worth of monthly readings to work on. I tell the energy company what I expect to use in kwh and the DD gets set up accordingly.
I've had a couple of arguements when they've tried to crank it up or even lower it but I've stood firm with my reasoning why it shouldn't be changed.Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large numbers0 -
lizzie201296 wrote: »................................... I have a smart meter............
The smart meter shows the cost each day and on average is around £3.50/day. .........................
I think you are referring to the IHD (In House Display) which is in your kitchen. That is not your Smart meter - that will be in an outside meter box, in the garage, under the stairs. Was this meter installed by EDF at your request ? It you inherited it it will not be operating in Smart mode and relies on you reading it and submitting meter readings. Do not rely of the EDF meter reader coming.
Do you read the meter and keep your records ? Do you download and understand your bills ? Are you in credit or debit ?Never pay on an estimated bill0 -
£3.50 - £4.00 per day in winter sounds quite reasonable. Read your meter and post up how many kWh you are using day and night.0
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Why no storage heater in the living room? That would be the cheapest way of heating the room. Are the storage heaters correctly set up to match your occupation of the rooms?0
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Hi,
do you have meter readings to show what your day/night usage is?0 -
I live in a 400 year old one bedroomed cottage, which has partial secondary glazing - the rest being fitted at the moment.
I'm electricity only with Economy 7, and have storage heaters but only use the one in the lounge. Bedroom and bathroom have fan heaters fitted to the wall and are only used as needed.
During the summer, my electricity bill is about £1 a day, and in winter just double that.
My water, washing machine and storage heater are all on the cheap rate, and I have a warm lounge throughout the day and well into the evening.
I'm with Eon and pay 9p a unit, cheap rate, 14p during the day, and a 6p a day standing charge."There are not enough superlatives in the English language to describe a 'Princess Coronation' locomotive in full cry. We shall never see their like again". O S Nock0 -
poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »I live in a 400 year old one bedroomed cottage,
I'm electricity only with Economy 7
my electricity bill is about £2 a day in winterIf you put your general location in your Profile, somebody here may be able to come and help you.0 -
poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »I live in a 400 year old one bedroomed cottage, which has partial secondary glazing - the rest being fitted at the moment.
I'm electricity only with Economy 7, and have storage heaters but only use the one in the lounge. Bedroom and bathroom have fan heaters fitted to the wall and are only used as needed.
During the summer, my electricity bill is about £1 a day, and in winter just double that.
My water, washing machine and storage heater are all on the cheap rate, and I have a warm lounge throughout the day and well into the evening.
I'm with Eon and pay 9p a unit, cheap rate, 14p during the day, and a 6p a day standing charge.
That's a decent tariff that is:T0
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