Shit just got my electric bill!!

[2anddone]

Just got my electric bill it's gone up £200 compared to this time last year....it's going to get worse isn't it!
I have night storage heating which works on a thermostat and is set to low (17 degrees) plus a log cabin which I need to heat for my work (childcare so have to have heat!). I don't leave lights on unnecessarily, don't have my hot water heater switched on, only run my washing machine and dishwasher when they are full. The tv is on every evening but not in the daytime, don't have a tumble dryer.
I honestly can't see where I can save money on my electric bill (was over £400 this month)

That is what I wrote, 2 in 40 out I work with these things everyday

No it's not.

You can't create energy. Or destroy it.

@Leftbutcameback

Has anyone else worked out how much kWh of electric they use a day? I've just checked and ours is 26 -28. Various websites suggest average is 10, and I can't see why we are so far above that. Is 10kwh per day what people are using?

I just checked ours for the last 3 months and electricity is 8.6 per day.

Just checked winter gas use and both last winters are 32 and 33 per day.

Ok, I've worked out what our problem is (I think). I'll go away and test it for a week and then come back! If that's not the answer I'll try one of those plug in monitors instead.

Also checking all the lightbulbs as suggested as LEDs are indeed awesome!

I use 10kw per day and I work from home so the laptop is on all day. I think I pay 19.6p per Kw. My entire flat is electric but I don't use the heating. I just sit with 2 jumpers and a blanket. It's not nice but I cannot afford the heating

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/4402111-Fridge-freezer-costing-20-per-day-to-run Remember this one?

@cakeorwine

That is what I wrote, 2 in 40 out I work with these things everyday

No it's not.

You can't create energy. Or destroy it.

Don’t understand sorry. 2watts input 40watts output ?

I do remember that one - it was classic!

Surely the cost of housing will now come down a bit? As the cost of living sky rockets and mortgage rates go up, I’m wondering if their will finally now be a crash. No way can young people afford both rocketing cost of living prices and sky high housing prices..

*there....
This is one of pet peeves!

@Limmers14

Our bill has doubled from this time last year. Used to be about £90 a month, now £186. Same usage, checked it against last years bills. Our supplier went bust in October and we were transferred to Shell where they put us on their highest variable tariff and we can’t change from it. Same usage but at the mercy of the energy company telling us we need to pay the highest price.

We’re a household that earns well but we sat down this evening and have decided to cut our dog walker and other costs so we can stay on top of our energy bill. This is going to hurt a lot people.

Was it Pure Planet? The same has happened to me

Don’t understand sorry. 2watts input 40watts output

Ok.

In the old days, we had 40 watt light bulbs. They gave out a particular brightness in lumens.

However about 2 watts of that energy (2 joules per second) went towards giving out light energy. 38 watts (38 joules per second) was wasted as heat when the filament got hot.

Nowadays, you can have a 2 watt LED light. If it was 100% efficient, then all 2 watts (2 joules per second) would be converted to light energy, The same brightness in lumens as an old 40 watt bulb.

So a 2 watt bulb can give out the same brightness as an old 40 watt bulb,

Mogrus, to add to what cakeorwine is saying, watts are a measure of the power output i.e. energy given out per unit of time. Both heat and light are forms of energy. Old fashioned light bulbs gave out more heat than light so most of the 40 watts was heat. LEDs are much more efficient so most of the energy output is light.

It's why you can touch an LED bulb whilst it's on but would have given yourself a nasty burn if you'd touch one of the old bulbs.

@BertramLacey

LED bulbs defy physics. 2watt in 40 watt out. amazing

No. It's just that they're efficient. Old 40 watt bulbs mostly gave out heat and very little light. LEDs mainly give out light and very little heat, so a 2 watt LED can give out the same amount of light as an old 40 watt bulb. (Or thereabouts).

Exactly - as watt isn’t a measure of light output, you want lumens to compare output by lamp type. An LED light consumes far fewer watts per lumen than an incandescent or even fluorescent one do as most of the energy is turned into light, and not heat

And of course, incandescent lights had a glow about them....

I wonder if they'll come back as we seem to be into nostalgia at the moment.

@SquirrelG

By the way - I am on a monthly direct debit, but there is a bill generated every month so I can see exactly how our balance is standing up to actual usage. I’ve chosen to increase my DD before they tell me I need to, and I’m hoping that with that, the savings from solar over the summer and the £200 credit in October, I won’t need to increase it again.

This is something I can't quite understand. Do you mean you pay the same amount via DD every month, regardless of what your bill is? I'm not in the UK, here we get a monthly bill and the electricity company takes the amount of my bill via DD so I am always paying for what I use.

Yes. So I pay £160 every month. It used to cover me for all year roughly for a 3 bed semi

Last few months bills have been 200 250 and a 300 but I haven’t paid anymore then £160

Tho they keep saying I need to up my dd to 190 a month to cover myself

At the moment I’m just in credit

I prob won’t be with feb bill

Hopefully my May June July I will be and those few summer months will go towards winter

@Leftbutcameback

Has anyone else worked out how much kWh of electric they use a day? I've just checked and ours is 26 -28. Various websites suggest average is 10, and I can't see why we are so far above that. Is 10kwh per day what people are using?

Says it on my bill

Apparently I’ve used less this year then last yet bills much higher due to increase :(

@cakeorwine

Don’t understand sorry. 2watts input 40watts output

Ok.

In the old days, we had 40 watt light bulbs. They gave out a particular brightness in lumens.

However about 2 watts of that energy (2 joules per second) went towards giving out light energy. 38 watts (38 joules per second) was wasted as heat when the filament got hot.

Nowadays, you can have a 2 watt LED light. If it was 100% efficient, then all 2 watts (2 joules per second) would be converted to light energy, The same brightness in lumens as an old 40 watt bulb.

So a 2 watt bulb can give out the same brightness as an old 40 watt bulb,

Thanks cake

That’s what I said for goodness sakes, 2watts input. 40 watts output. It’s all about efficiency & that’s what I’m trying to get over, you only use 2watts to get 40 watts out depending on the way the bulb has been put together,

@blyn72dobr know about the OP but my gas and electricity was £400 for the month of December. I was quoted £460 this time but got it down to £330 by submitting a meter reading. So depressing.

@mogsrus

That’s what I said for goodness sakes, 2watts input. 40 watts output. It’s all about efficiency & that’s what I’m trying to get over, you only use 2watts to get 40 watts out depending on the way the bulb has been put together,

It's not 40 watts output.

It's 2 joules input in electrical energy.
2 joules output in light energy.

Energy cannot be created or destroyed, Joules is energy. Where did the 38 joules of energy come from?

2 joules per second.

And around 75% cheaper to run

@Blondeshavemorefun that's good (showing the kWh per day, not the higher bill of course). I might suggest Octopus do that on their bills.

That's quite a difference to last year, is that heating or have you had to cut back on other electric usage if you don't mind me asking?

@mogsrus

And around 75% cheaper to run

Even more than that.