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Original poster

Smart meter reading shock

121 replies

Parkingt111 · 16/12/2022 22:03

We have moved to a new house two months ago and until now we're on a Direct debit with British gas of around a £100 a month. Finally switched on the smart meter and this is what it shows. Is this normal?? It seems incredibly high. We live on a 4 bed semi detached and have the thermostat set to 18 degrees. Today's daily usage is showing £12.50 for gas and electric which means on average the monthly bill will be £375? Is this how much most people are paying?

OP posts:
Original poster
Parkingt111 · 16/12/2022 22:18

Thanks alot for all your replies. It does help knowing that alot of people are in the same boat. We will have to just think of ways to cut down and experiment with the heating and electrics until its down to approx £10 a day. Maybe heat one room with an electric heater and spend most of the day there

OP posts:
Nanalisa60 · 16/12/2022 22:22

Mine has been £15 a day this week just for gas, it has been really cold -5 , but still it’s just mental.

Original poster
Parkingt111 · 16/12/2022 22:23

For those of you who manage to keep your gas and electric low this winter do share your tips. Or do you all budget for winter in advance? Our last house was a two bed terraced and cost nowhere near as much last winter

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Original poster
Parkingt111 · 16/12/2022 22:23

@Nanalisa60 yes it's crazy. Do you all budget for winter heating from before?

OP posts:
Ilovechocolatetoomuch · 16/12/2022 22:26

4 bed detached. Ours is usually £7.50 when I wake up that’s from an hour heating and and heating the water. Our thermostat is set to 16 and we have a log burner which we use every day. By the time I go to bed we are at between £15 and £20 a day.

Wiloswisp · 16/12/2022 22:29

We put in a Honeywell system with individual wifi thermostats a few years ago and it’s ‘paying’ for itself really now. We have programmed a schedule for our daily whereabouts in the house but have access from our phones so if we are not in one area of the house we turn it down, or off, when I have my shower I turn it up on the dial on the radiator and turn it down again when I leave the bathroom.

having said that we are still shocked at how much we are spending, I hate to think what it might be if we were still using our old system. Hard times for everyone and this current cold snap is really worrying for all those that are financially stretched.

Lottsbiffandsmudge · 16/12/2022 22:31

Parkingt111 · 16/12/2022 22:23

For those of you who manage to keep your gas and electric low this winter do share your tips. Or do you all budget for winter in advance? Our last house was a two bed terraced and cost nowhere near as much last winter

Gas prices are 2.5 times higher than last year!

WhiteHorse92 · 16/12/2022 22:31

Yeah sounds about right. 4 bed detached here, thermostat was set at 18.5 but have turned it down to 17 now. Smart meter ended at around £240 last month but have already racked up £200 for the first half of December so bill will probably be about £400 this month 😮😮. All the credit I've built up will just disappear 😭

WhaleInAManger · 16/12/2022 22:31

Parkingt111 · 16/12/2022 22:23

@Nanalisa60 yes it's crazy. Do you all budget for winter heating from before?

Kind of, yea.

By keeping records I know how much gas/elec we've used every month since we moved in.

That means I can make an informed 'guess' at how much we will use over the next year.

Using the news I can also make a half decent 'guess' at what the prices per kWh will be.

Which allows me to estimate the total bill over the next 12 months and budget for that.

It is really worth knowing how much you use and what price per kWh you are paying - it demystifies bills.

ivykaty44 · 16/12/2022 22:32

My daily usage was £11.68 last week

the week before it was £8.28 and the two weeks prior to that £6.42

its been much colder this week so the price will be much more, come the summer though the price will be reduced

gogohmm · 16/12/2022 22:33

But do remember the gas bill in the summer is very low, your dd should be averaged for the whole year.

Ragruggers · 16/12/2022 22:34

We had £500 in credit so that has helped.Last winter we paid £100 per month now it will be around £300.It has been so cold this month so we cut back where we can.Remember it will always be more expensive in winter but so much less from April onwards.

HowVeryLikeSibella · 16/12/2022 22:34

Parkingt111 · 16/12/2022 22:23

@Nanalisa60 yes it's crazy. Do you all budget for winter heating from before?

If you pay by direct debit then your power supplier budgets for heating in advance for you: they set your direct debit to a level which will build up a credit balance that peaks at the end of September and then gradually gets eaten away by the higher winter usage. That's the idea anyway - they frequently cock it up.

Because you've moved in at the beginning of the coldest week in a decade your default direct debit will send you into the red, so you may need to talk to your supplier to negotiate when you get your next statement.

Youcancallmeirrelevant · 16/12/2022 22:35

We just pay monthly direct debit, end up in credit over summer as use pretty much no gas, then end up in a debit come end of winter, and cycle repeats

gogohmm · 16/12/2022 22:36

Ours is set at 18 for 4 hours per day and averaging £9.50 for gas and electric

Changingmynameyetagain · 16/12/2022 22:37

We try and keep our usage under £12 a day for both gas and electricity, it costs about £2.20 an hour to have our heating on.
The heating goes on for and hour in the morning and 3 hours in the evening, we have a log burner though and that helps massively keep the downstairs warm.
Lots of extra blankets and hot water bottles in the bedrooms as well.
Dh works from home and he just wraps up well in the day and doesn’t put the heating on at all.

AlwaysFullOfQuestions22 · 16/12/2022 22:38

People can't afford it. People will have huge debts unfortunately.
We have been trying to not have it over 17.5 degrees. This morning it was minus 7 outside.
Weve been closing lounge door which helps keep heat in where kids play.
Today its on £12
Trying to keep it around the £10/12 Mark.
Last weekend poorly kids was £15.

Original poster
Parkingt111 · 16/12/2022 22:40

@HowVeryLikeSibella thank you that was really useful to know. Will be on the phone to them tomorrow or Monday to discuss this further

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Jellybean23 · 16/12/2022 22:42

Lucky you checked the meter! Don't forget to add on the daily standing charges too.

blueshoes · 16/12/2022 22:43

My smart meter says I am using 25+ a day. Yup, I am in line for a 800 per month bill. Joy.

Homeatlast2 · 16/12/2022 22:43

I put my heating on for 2 hours yesterday for the 1st time. When I checked my reading it said 10.00 for that day . That includes gas and electric. But without the gas its normally around 5.00 a day. I'm not putting it on again

Glassofwhatever · 16/12/2022 22:44

Parkingt111 · 16/12/2022 22:23

For those of you who manage to keep your gas and electric low this winter do share your tips. Or do you all budget for winter in advance? Our last house was a two bed terraced and cost nowhere near as much last winter

Well there's the small matter of Ukraine to take into account. Plus it's been so very cold for a relatively long period of time, it's going to be very expensive in comparison to last year. Yes I did save all summer, bolstered my account to £1000 in credit, the Putin situation made it fairly obvious what was coming. It's disappearing rapidly though

Original poster
Parkingt111 · 16/12/2022 22:44

@blueshoes how is that possible 😭 have you thought about how the payments will be made? It's terrifying

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Original poster
Parkingt111 · 16/12/2022 22:45

@Jellybean23 where do I check the daily standing charge?

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IncessantNameChanger · 16/12/2022 22:46

£30-£60 a day 😵 omg. I turn the heating off when it reaches £10.

We are all sitting in coats trying the house up the 15. It was -9 this morning at 8am.

It's just impossible to warm thr house right now. Can only make it semi bearable at best. I'm going to buy an electric throw. Can cope if it gets this cold again in the new year

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