£75 of electricity this month!

[NoodleDoodleDo]

Just got our energy bill for this month, which is based on readings so is accurate. We have used £75 of electricity this month, on top of the standing charges.

That is bonkers! It's the middle of Summer with long days so lights not needed so much, been drying clothes outside. We haven't used the tumble dryer.
We do have an electric oven and hob but haven't been cooking any banquets lately!
The dishwasher does go on daily.

We're extremely fortunate that we can manage the increased costs but its left me shocked to think of what the price is going to be in Winter, even though I have kept aware of price cap etc so knew what increases were coming.

I think seeing £75 of electricity in August when we have been conscious of making sure lights are switched off etc, the reality of the situation is really stark.

I grew up with my parents being really skint when we were kids, despite working long hours, which is partly why I have stayed living in a cheap house (the terrace me and DH bought when first moving in together) and only had one child. The thought of not been able to afford the bills like my parents has always terrified me so have stayed in a situation where we are more comfortable financially.

Thankfully we can manage the increased costa but I worry somewhat about my Mum and sister. And I could cry for some of my son's classmates whose families are already struggling.

I can only imagine how worried some people are right now.

Watching my smart meter the culprits are dishwasher, oven, hob & washing machine, Realistically lights use hardly any electricity. Even the tv is not that bad.

But I agree it's ridiculous!

It’s going to be awful isn’t it.

We use about £160 electric each month and that’s with cutting down as much as we can - we are a high usage family due to two of us having disabilities. There’s nothing left to reduce and now we’re looking at that at least doubling. Genuinely don’t have the money for it even with the governments hand outs.

Electric showers are really bad for energy usage too.

Ours is £75 too in summer. Given that our bills always at least double in winter that's £150 on the current rate. With the increase its October and January it's going to £300 per month. We only live in a 2 bed flat, 2 people. Minimal usage, no dishwasher or tumble dryer.

Timely thread for me too. Today is the first day I've ever spent over £3.50 on electricity.
It's usually £1.90ish including WFH, cooking, TV, gaming, a wash.

We don't have a dishwasher.

That'll teach me to do 2 x laundry loads in one day!! Had to use the tumble dryer as it was raining (wasn't bloody forecast) but it was only on for an hour.

Dinner was a quick 15 min oven job.

I vacuumed today, but only very quickly.

Our house is very small so over £3 just seems bonkers to me.

I've just been made redundant so feeling quite low today about it all.

We've used £115 so far this month - family of four adults all WFH. I'm trying to cut back, but nobody else in the house senses the urgency. That said, much better at turning off lights, TVs etc now. No electric showers or cooking - that's all gas. Very nervous about winter.

Electric shower?
How much oven use?
Gaming PCs?
How many fridge/freezers?
Any fish tanks, pond pumps or similar?

What tariff are you on? A lot of people have fixed above the price cap, which means they could be paying 3 or 4 times per unit more than what they were paying early last year.

Sadly, that could be how much it costs. A third to half of it could be showers if you have an electric one.

My work have just sent us all a message today to say they're aware of rising costs and it's right for them to support us and we are all being given £300
Astounded TBH, I never expected that and I think it shows how tough things are as there are a LOT of staff

Electric shower?
How much oven use?
Gaming PCs?
How many fridge/freezers?
Any fish tanks, pond pumps or similar?

What tariff are you on?

1 fridge freezer plus small chest freezer, no gaming PC (DS is only 9), no fish tanks or ponds etc, no electric shower.

Oven does get used, probably 2 to 3 times a week at moment but not for that long as not cooking slow cooked dishes like I would in winter.
I baked some shortbread with DS today.

We're on the standard price cap

Showers and cooking are by gas
One fridge freezer
No fish tanks etc

Gaming PCs and consoles? Ah ...

... I live in a bedsit with my 6 year old and I'm going through £20 a week! £80 a month! It used to be £10 a week.

I have always fixed when prices were low, so came down with a bump when shifted to Shell on a standard tariff.

Ours is £75 too in summer. Given that our bills always at least double in winter that's £150 on the current rate. With the increase its October and January it's going to £300 per month. We only live in a 2 bed flat, 2 people. Minimal usage, no dishwasher or tumble dryer.

I think it was that realisation of £75 in Augusr on current rates will likely be around £250 to £300 in winter and that's if we don't use the tumble dryer.
That's without any gas heating costs!

If our bills hit £500pm, we can cut back in other areas, we can afford it. But my Mum and sister can't. So many other people can't. Everyone deserves to be warm and fed as a bloody minimum, not as a luxury!

Watching my smart meter the culprits are dishwasher, oven, hob & washing machine, Realistically lights use hardly any electricity. Even the tv is not that bad.

That explains it then. I guess maybe usage migbt not increase hugely in winter then.

Do you know how the energy useage of slow cooker and air fryers compare to hob and oven?
We already have a sc but may look at an air fryer if they are economical

Your usage WILL increase over the winter. For example, lights may barely register on a smart meter display, but several rooms, hour after hour will make a difference. It costs more for everything to heat up when it's cold. If you use a tumble dryer, that's likely to be a major difference.

Most small appliances work out more economical because you're heating a smaller space. Obviously, you have to factor in cost of appliance. There's a report here.

I turned our shower setting down for less pressure plus less scalding hot. Me and ds only in the home but we really do love our showers. I have started letting my clothes go longer between washes too.

I don’t find my electric changes much from summer to winter as we heat with gas.
OP do you know how many kwh elec you are using?
I can’t find ways to cut mine down more and we are still on a fixed tariff from last December so I’m really worried about the increase when I come off tariff.

Is it cheaper to wash up and not use the dishwasher?

We're on a fixed tariff until Jan 2023. Currently we pay £60 a month via DD. Scottish Power's estimate our DD will increase to £400 a month when our fixed rate ends. We're on decent incomes, but we can't afford this!

ovens use a shitload of energy.
you might be better off using the oven part of a combi microwave (smaller room to heat). and generally using the microwave more.
check the manuals

use a timer for showering
check the temperature of the fridge. 6 degrees is still a save temp but will use less that the 4 degrees standard setting.
again, check the manual.

and use the eco settings of washer/dishwasher.

It’s cheaper to use dishwasher. As it’s not water going on and off and heating on and off. Plus they are very eco now with water usage.

anything that heats uses more. So washing machine and tumble dryers, showers, water tanks, heaters, hair dryers..

The easiest way to reduce is probably just try and reduce wash loads per week. each wash is ( or will be) about 50p- £1.50 per wash, plus the same for tumble dryer. If your high tarrif that could be £3 per wash and dry. Dry clothes on rack near window open the first hour, just tumble dry in winter towels and bedding.

depends on the amount you have.

for a family sized pile of dishes you might be better off using the dishwasher on the eco setting.

the manual has a section on energy use. use that and the calculations for your hot water source to calculate.

our dishwasher uses less than 10 liters of water on the eco setting. I would never use that little to get our pots & pans and everything as clean.
what's expensive (generally) is heating water - less water = less electricity used. (plus of course water saving which is important in current drought situations)

How much actual energy have you used?

People need to know how much energy a device uses and how long it's normally used for.

I compare it to a car - the energy demand (power) is the speed and the distance you go represents the energy used.

So to boil some water, you go at 'high speed' - because a kettle is powerful, but you only use it for a short time, so you don't go too far.

Whereas there are some devices that are low power (low speed) but go for a long distance as they are on 24/7.

We use about 3 - 4 KWH a day in our house. The electric shower is the main culprit but easy to reduce the usage of.

I think that a lot of people don't really understand the power rating of devices too much and can make end up making choices that don't have the most impact. Such as sitting in the dark because they have turned off the 2 watt light bulb.