EDF ENERGY

[CtrlU]

Hi all

Hi all

I am currently with EDF energy and have a key/ card meter for my gas and electric.

My electricity is great - I usually top up about £30-£40 p/month and it’s usually enough and more.

Gas however is a killer. I am struggling to find ways to keep the costs down. At the moment I’m currently topping up about £80-£120 a month.

I work everyday and my child (6yrs old) is at school so the house is empty from 8am -7pm Monday - Friday. I then come home and turn on the heating myself. (it’s not on timed so no chance of switching on when the house is empty). The hot water is switched to OFF and I only turn it on half hour or so before I need to use hot water (bath/ washing dishes etc) however I find the gas goes so fast.

Does anyone know of any cheaper tarrifs/ providers I am able to switch to before winter please.

Just to clarify; I am currently topping up £80-£120 in gas and this is BEFORE lockdown.

It’s bound to be more now we’re indoors

Actually I think actually figures may be about £120-£150 per month in gas as usually when I top up £20 it will last 2 or 3 days maximum.

Have you looked at Octopus energy, worked out cheaper for us.

@tw2013 Thank you. I will have a look at octopus x

That is a lot on gas. Do you have an electric or gas oven?

Are you able to get off the meter and pay by direct debit, that's usually cheaper.

@ALemonyPea

Thank you. I’m glad someone else thinks so aswell. It’s crippling.

I have a gas oven but honestly I don’t usually cook that much. 1) because I get home so late so it’s usually a takeaway or leftovers before bed. 2) Because it ends up costing me to cook so I try and avoid it too often.

Most day’s I even bath with my son before bed again to avoid consuming so much gas. (It’s cheaper to have one hot bath than 2)

I have thought of being switched to a set bill but I’ve heard they can work out more expensive. And my neighbour and a few friends of mine who have set bills have found themselves in a situation where they have needed to pay more than expected - so in all honesty it has put me off. However I feel like I can’t keep affording to spend so much money on gas and I’m hardly using it

I will have another look into it x

Thank you again

You could try www.energyhelpline.com. They handle the switch for you as well as finding you a better deal. It’s worth checking back occasionally - energy prices came down a lot last October and I didn’t think to check so was stuck paying much more on a rate fixed last May - it would have worked out cheaper to pay to exit that contract and go elsewhere.
Good luck x

@Lovemornings

Thank you. I will definitely have a look now x

I was paying £60-80 a month when I had a gas oven A couple of years ago and have a family of 5 who bathed every day.

Could you phone EDF and ask them to check it for you, it might be a gas leak, probably tiny and external but enough to make your bills high.

@ALemonyPea

Thank you.

My friend pays £60 a month with herself and husband and 3 children and the hot water and heating is on all day - so I know something isn’t adding up when I’m a single parent with 1 young child and most of the day we’re out the house.

I will call EDF first thing in the morning and ask them to check. Thank you x

That seems a lot on gas.

Is your house particularly badly insulated? How old is it? Are the drafts? Do you know if it had loft or wall insulation?

How old is your boiler?

You need to do a proper comparison on one or more of the top comparison sites as a first step. Ignore the amounts that other people pay, they aren't you and get the cheapest tariff available to you then look at ways to cut your usage.

It might be boring compared to asking random other people what they spend but it's the best way to get your bills down.

@anappleadaykeeps

I’m not sure about insulation. I don’t think it’s insulated honestly as the walls so feel cold to touch. I’m not sure how old the house is as I’ve been here for about 2 years - however it isn’t a new build. I think it’s been here for a while.

There few drafts and there is a loft yes.
I have blocked any gaps/ spaces / drafts I could when I first moved in.

I have a very basic carpet which I intend to replace to something abit more thicker to keep the heat in more but money is tight right now (lockdown) and as you can imagine as I find I’m spending so much topping up constantly - plus the electric and other household bills/ expenses.

Thank you all again. I’m definitely going to look at switching if possible to something cheaper.

The boiler is from 2016.

@coconuttelegraph - Thank you. I wasn’t particularly asking for what people pay. I was asking for advice on if my bill is normal for my usage and what I can do to maybe get a cheaper option...

Hope this is allowed, if you do go ahead to sign up to Octopus here is my referral code which gives us both £50 off our bills 😊

share.octopus.energy/glad-gnu-517

@agteacht THANK YOU !!

My edf contract is running out.
I looked at octopus and they got a lot of bad reviews on fb
I’m going to look into bulb

I’m pretty sure top up metres are ALWAYS more expensive than paying monthly.

We switched from a big name to Simplicity a little while ago and now pay c£85 a month for a large 4bed house with 5 people in it. Now, granted, ours is a new build so well insulated and we have solar panels for the hot water but even so our bills with EDF etc were more like £120.

Lots of the smaller companies around now can offer much better deals. And get a smart meter so you can see exactly where you are spending.

This is who we use now and we left EDF for them. I’ve been shocked at how cheap to be honest.

purepla.net/rfm/dduuppQ

Not sure what meter tarrifs they offer but might be worth a look.

Is there a thermostat and what temperature is it set to? Do the radiators have thermostatic valves? Presumably you are renting if there's a pre-payment meter - what rating is the EPC for the place? Do you have curtains or blinds at all the windows and do you close them at night?

That is a ridiculous amount for gas. My gas and electric bill was about £120 a month through the winter and that’s 5 people in a good size 4 bed and for both fuels combined.

I would also say OP that I’m with Octopus (check regularly and happy to change suppliers) and I really rate them, their customer service is excellent and they respond to queries very quickly.

Bulb are awesome. Message me if you'd like a referral. It's another one where both of us get £50 into our account. 3 adults, 2 home a lot of the time and I pay £78 for both gas and electricity.

Don't go anywhere near Opus energy, I don't mean octopus, don't get them mixed up.

I do the accounts for a village hall, voluntary, opus ignore readings and estimate bills every month.

Thank you all so much

I’m seeing loads of providers I haven’t even heard of so thank you and I will definitely be looking into a cheaper provider x

@wowfudge

I’m in a shared ownership. The radiators have valves which I have put on maximum however the main heating thermostat is set to 22’ when I turn the heating on (and I turn it down once the place is warm enough - it’s only a small 2 bedroom home so I don’t have to keep it in for long). The EPC I’ll have to double check but from what I remember it’s I’m sure A (you know the good rating).
I have curtains at every window and I have stuffed tissue in the vents to stop drafts coming in. All double glazed windows.

Thank you again guys and I will be checking to see what I can switch to.