£854 per month gas and electricity

[vinoandbrie]

My fixed rate comes to an end on 31 May.

Scottish Power emailed me this morning to say your tariff is ending, click here to view options.

I have two options, one for £853.99pcm, the other for £854pcm. I’m going to attach screen shots as this amount is so unbelievable otherwise. We currently pay £285pcm.

I should just go to a default tariff right and not a fixed rate?

Gas and electricity will now be costing us more than our mortgage.

Absolutely sure about the gas Sorrynotathome.

We do monthly readings of our gas/electricity and the usage is spot on. In fact a little less than estimated because we are a tiny bit in credit.

We only use the gas for heating and hot water too but I hate the heating being on! It dries the air and makes me sneeze. I hate being central heating warm. I love being cosy and making sure my DC are cosy but we do that with clothes, blankets and hot water bottles. So we must be hardy. Heating off April - October.

Relatively new combi boiler. Each radiator is adjusted (I hate my bedroom being warm, but want my DDs bedroom to be warm) and we have a thermostat that we move about to keep an eye on.

Our shower is electric, maybe that helps too?

Oh and no other heating sources. I do notice other people's houses being warmer than mine, but I find those houses too warm!

OP, haven't time to read all the responses to you but have noted the following:

Your house is around 3-4 times the size of the average UK home. You use nearly twice as much gas to heat it as the average house — on top of two log burners — and at least double and possibly three times as much electricity as the average household. You've been on an amazing deal.

If you really are running two standard-sized log burners each day during the colder months of the year, the house must be leaking warmth like a sieve. Have you have an epc done? It would point out some of the worst issues regarding insulation and drafts. Sounds as if you need a new, more efficient heating system. Renewables are unlikely to be of much help. Heat pumps only work efficiently in well-insulated buildings.

Your best course of action is to look for a domestic energy consultant who'll come to your property and carry out a heat-loss survey, then advise you on how to start bringing the house into the 21st century. They'll charge around £300 but it could be money well spent.

Hmm given the size I would expect it to be around £600pm based on mine, so defo go on the standard variable and don't fix. And turn the radiators off in south facing spare rooms!

Your best course of action is to look for a domestic energy consultant who'll come to your property and carry out a heat-loss survey, then advise you on how to start bringing the house into the 21st century. They'll charge around £300 but it could be money well spent

I agree, or at the very least do some serious research about cutting your usage, to more average levels.

Even if it means spending money, it could really pay off if you can cut your bills from the current huge amounts.

Most people who live in houses like this just heat a couple of rooms during winter and live in them. It's why so many larger old houses are comparatively cheap to buy — because ordinary people can't deal with a £6k+ heating bill.

Yes, surely you wouldn't heat the whole house if there are only four people living there? Understandably gas usage would still be high even then, but electricity too? Does house size make much difference there? You have all the same appliances and usage of appliances for four people as in a smaller house don't you, and only have lights on in the room you are using?

We have different reception rooms for different things (kids sitting room, our sitting room, snug, plus other spaces), which could be on the go at once. Also the rooms are large, so will be costing more to heat.

A sitting room for you, a sitting room for the children and a snug... Well, there's your answer. I'm going to take a guess that you have a gas or electric Aga, too. These are your lifestyle choices and of course they're going to cost you more than people who live in smaller homes and limit their fuel consumption. And that's before we even look at your carbon footprint or your family's contribution to global warming. Perhaps it's time for a total rethink?

Although we don’t need a total rethink, and are happy with our lifestyle and our home, what we are going to do is not take the fixed rate tariff, and look at better insulation options etc.

Thank you to all those who have helped with constructive and thoughtful suggestions- it’s much appreciated.

I think you're hardier than me, for sure Romeo ! I do have an old leaky house with central heating that doesn't take well to switching off individual radiators. I also am here all the time so heating is on all day. I've turned the thermostat down though and I think it's making a difference. Roll on summer...

This thread makes me relieved not to be in the UK any more, and very glad to have solar panels! My mum told me the prices had risen massively in the UK but I had absolutely no idea how much. And I'm not just talking about the OP who clearly has a massive house, some of the monthly amounts people are posting for normal-sized houses are just jaw-dropping! You should be rioting in the streets!

@vinoandbrie Have a look at Drayton Wiser - I have a big house and I have smart TRVs on all the radiators. It means that if I am the only person in the house, I can heat the room I am in, but the other radiators won't come on.

(When its cold) So for instance, I work in the backroom of the house, the radiator will come on in here whilst working.

At about 3pm I have it set so the living room and DS bedroom come on. They turn off at 7pm as DS room will be warm enough and he has wool duvet/hot water bottle. My bedroom gets heated by downstairs, so comes on for an hour before bedtime. Then the whole house heats from 6am to 7am and then turns off except where I am working.

Now, this actually saved me 60% energy usage over just all radiators coming on. I've had this system for a few years now. I even have it set so if no one is in the house it all just turns off.

At the moment as its warmer, I've just set the whole system to off, unless we have freak weather and it dips below 13degrees inside in which case it will fire up.

I will probably make some adjustments in the winter.

With regards to energy in terms of electricity, all our big devices are plugged into smart plugs - when I say Alexa goodnight, she turns them all off. All of our bulbs are Hue Bulbs, they're set to 60% dimness. Bathroom lights are motion sensored so if there is no movement within 3 minutes they turn off as the boys kept leaving the lights on. Same in the kitchen which you walk through to get to the back bathroom and my office.

I love smart stuff and did a lot of it diy, my energy bill dipped, I think the cost of setting it up evened out after two years maybe?

This sounds amazing, thank you!!!

It's not about usage- it's the prices shooting up to scandalous levels. We haven't changed our usage at all and last year we paid £140 a month for gas and electric. In the past two months it's risen to £214 and this month the DD came out and took £417!

Yes, but the higher your usage the higher your overall costs, obviously.

No, the point is that a year ago exactly the same usage cost 1/3 of what I'm paying now. My usage has not gone up, but my bill has tripled. It's a scandal. Other governments impose a windfall tax to protect consumers but our government are probably all bloody shareholders.

Have you taken on a new fixed rate?
Were you told about a dd of £417 before it was debited?

I know exactly how it works, thank you. The fact that prices have risen dramatically isn’t news to anyone… we’ve all noticed 😊. Plus, of course, it’s been on the news now for months.
The reason posters are talking to the OP about usage is because, by her own figures, her usage is extremely high. One way of mitigating against price increases it to cut your usage.

Your usage levels are very high, over double ours over a year. We use about 17,000 kWh of gas and 4,000 kWh of electricity so are considered high users. We have a large four bed 1960s house and have the heating on (thermostat set to 19) for approx six hours a day with a boost at other times when needed. We also have two of us WFH, Tv and games consoles on regularly etc. You must have the heating on a lot longer or higher, or you have terrible insulation.

As others have said, the fixed tariffs the companies are offering are much higher than the variable rates as the price cap is expected to rise again significantly later this year. So stick with the variable rate and try to work out how to cut your usage.

Your unit rate has probably not quite tripled and that's what you need to compare, unless you've signed up to a new fix that's way above the current price cap, but that's your choice.

You need to compare unit costs and work out your own annual cost to check if the direct debit is reasonable, as it's only an estimate of what you should be paying, and sometimes it's way off. Some direct debits have gone up a lot to pay off previous debt on the account, others to stay paying towards next winter's bills now to spread the cost, but some suppliers are putting them up by huge amounts to boost their own cash flow.

If you're in the latter position, you need to do your own calculations based on usage, tariff and repayment of any debt and if your DD is way above what it needs to be, challenge it with your supplier with the aim of coming to a more reasonable figure.

Mines currently 277 in a small house so i expect it to double. Yours sounds right unfortunately

Sorry yes must be hardier. Our heating is barely ever on! Even during winter. Never, ever overnight and maybe only for 2 or 3 hours on the coldest of days.

Off completely April to October. Last year we didn't turn it on until November and it's effectively been off since mid-March already.

Mainly because of my green living aspirations and my allergies. The financial benefit is a bonus!

Oh and I've WFH since July 2019 (not a typo) so home all the time too.