to ask how much you pay for fuel each month?

[Newmummytobe79]

I'm currently on maternity leave so stressing about our fuel bills. Before DC we were both out of the house from 7am - 7pm so heating wasnt an issue, but with a baby I obviously need to keep our house warm, use the washing machine more etc

We live in a small semi detatched and our monthly payments are £117 for gas and electricity. This is based on our usage prior to me being at home ... so I havnt a clue what we'll owe once winter is over!

I want to move company but keep reading about how they are all as bad as each other.

Is this amount excessive or reasonable in the current market?

Recently switched to edf so don't know how accurate their estimates are that they used to set up DDs.

£130 gas and electricity combined.

3 bed 70s detached house with double glazing, loft and cavity wall insulation and energy efficient bulbs.

2 adults, 2 children, someone home 24/7

Bit worried that we are underpaying and will end up with a mahoosive bill

£100 on gas & electric on a S/O and seems to even out over a year.

Over the past years I have moved to all 3xA rated appliances including a tumble drier that works overnight on a low heat (says it only the electricity of a light bulb); it gets used around 3-4 times a week but usually only in the winter. I rarely iron as I kinda figure it's costly and often unnecessary.

I only use a hair dryer in the winter, and don't cook anything that takes more than 20-25 mins; any cooker costs a bomb. and I don't understand how people can afford to home bake unless they have a solid fuel Aga type oven. I generally use a slow cooker in the winter for meat.

There is just me and 1 DS unless it's Uni vacation time when there are 2 teenage boys. I have trained them pretty well to not leave lights on, but laptops, ipods etc are another thing!

What I don't understand is how people can afford to have all those outside lights...they say they are for the kids, but given their carbon footprint and thus their potential long term affects on the environment, that arguement seems spurious. Climate change is a reality and saving energy makes sense econimically and environmentally (I hear some people leave their TV on all day so their dogs don't get lonely when they are at work... seems utter madness to me).

I recently bought some adapters that turn off the mobile phone charger when the phone is fully charged and always keep an eye out for energy saving things. My loft has just been properly insulated (got about 30cm of stuff all over, and the house is warmer) and I am having the cavity wall done this week too. I have an end of terrace ex-council half-timber/half-brick 3 bed place so nothing special. I have blinds and curtains and use draught excluders...I hate being cold.

EDF don't get a good rating from Which - 40% as opposed to 77% for UW.

"and I don't understand how people can afford to home bake unless they have a solid fuel Aga type oven. "

I do a lot of cooking and baking and don't find that it adds a lot to our bills.

teahouse I am very interested in the adapters you write about. If I google for them what should I look for?

Ours DDS are currently a whopping £100 for electricity and £89 for gas. I've just done a price comparison and could get our annual bill down by about £250 by switching which I will do but having read this thread I obviously need to look at why our consumption is so high.

We live in a 4 bed Edwardian semi with double glazing but no loft (loft converted in 80s) so no insulation and no cavity walls to insulate. Also we have incredibly high ceilings. We have gas heating provided by a new combi boiler (and our gas consumption has dropped since we put this in) and a gas hob. I am at home with a 2 yo all day so have the heating on but try to keep thermostat on 16 most of the time.

As far as electricity is concerned We don't have a tumble drier but do about 6 loads of wasing a week. I have the lap top on most of the time and DH is an IT professional and runs a server and pc 24/7.

Does those electricity monitor things work?

"As far as electricity is concerned We don't have a tumble drier but do about 6 loads of wasing a week. I have the lap top on most of the time and DH is an IT professional and runs a server and pc 24/7. "

I have a tumble dryer which is on most days and we have a computer and a laptop on all day most days and our electricity and gas are only £90 together.

yes, but they are not totally accurate, especially when usage is low. Some electricity companies will give you a free Owl or similar if you sign up for one of their high-priced tariffs so they get the money off you in the end

As for estimated bills, all the utility companies I have looked at have the facility for you to enter your meter readings online. I like to put mine in at the end of each month, but you can do it when your bill is due if you prefer. If you feel like it you can input every week or every day. If you get an inaccurate estimated bill, and you immediately provide an accurate reading, they will issue a new, accurate bill. It is a useful habit to note your readings as it will help you spot any usual patterns, for example if someone has left the immersion heater on, or taken a fan-heater up to their pigsty bedroom. You can also write the reading and usage-since-last one on your kitchen calendar if you want. It is a problem that people often pay a monthly direct debit based on inaccurate estimates; what matters is the actual usage per the meter.

Most of the utility companies have a facility to display a graph of your usage once you are signed in online, but Scottish & Southern group has not had it working for at least a year, and BG has not had it working for at least a month.

TheHoHoHouseofMirth
Ours are about the same as you - £190 per month for both. We have a 5 bed semi with converted loft, no cavity walls to insulate, high ceilings and large windows. The back windows are straightforward sash which we replace with double glazed and that made a big difference, but the ones at the front are intricate wood ones which we can't replace, although maybe we should get secondary glazing. I think it's all down to insulation, but with an old house that's really difficult - we looked into external insulation of non-cavity walls but it's too costly to justify.

No tumble dryer, but the house does lose heat very quickly once the heating goes off. It's currently on for 1 hr in the morning and 2 hrs in the evening.

teahouse "What I don't understand is how people can afford to have all those outside lights"

I have two. One in the porch has an 8W miniature fluorescent tube, and one down the side way has a 12W CFL (energy saving lamp)

That's a total of 20Watts. The two of them together will run for 50 hours for 14p (that's an average weekly cost over the year.) I can afford it.

About £250pcm. We have a large 6 bedroom Victorian terraced house which takes the weather at the back from the river and the North. Rear windows are double glazed and we have recently fitted photovoltaic panels which may make a significant difference in our favour.

We are not chilly types and the heating dial rarely rises above 18 degrees and I turn it down to 16 when I leave in the morning and before bed it goes down to 15 and I turn it up when I get up. The dc turn it back to 18, if they remember, when they get home. Lots of laundry and tumbling, etc., and we don't stint.

I'm always surprised at how low the bills are bearing in mind the direction of the weather, the river and the fact that the house is old and sprawls a bit.

our outside lights use energy saving bulbs and we only use them when it is dark and only until we go to bed so hardly draining all our power! It is the dishwasher, washing machine, fridge freezer, laptops and consoles that seem to use all our power. Having our christmas lights up on the window, on the tree and outside is not going to help either but hey ho, it's Christmas.

At the moment shelling out £135 on oil and £45 on electric. Doing my head in. But it's SO COLD.

Only just moved into our house, a 4 bed Edwardian London terrace. 3 DC are away at school, so the top floor isn't heated during the times they're not at home. DD3 and I are in pretty much most of the day, bar the 3 hours she is at nursery school. Have just signed a contract with Sainsbury's - duel fuel for £100/month which I think is probably alright but it's obviously too early for me to tell what our actual consumption will be over the Christmas holidays.

Will be following PigletJohn's tips over the winter months and see where we're at in April. So, thank you for all that info over this thread.

We have been living in Spain for the past 8 years, so heating bills were minimal between November and Feb, with aircon perhaps being used only during July and August - i.e. elec bills averaged a piddling ?25/month. This will be a shock whatever I pay!

Electricity is a DD, it was £55 per month but it has just gone up to £70. We're actually in credit right now so I shall need to keep an eye on that.

Oil bill averages out at about £225 per month - this runs the central heating, hot water and an Aga type cooker.

We are in an old (bits of it are 400 years old) detached 4/5 bedroom house.

Thank you PigletJohn..

I am also going to follow your advice @18:56:22 too.

£160 for gas and electricity. We live in a smallish end terrace.

1930s semi, 3 bedrooms, both work with 1 dc at CM.

£80 for elec and £90 for gas. Our house is always toasty warm (I detest the cold), I run a standing fan all night in our bedroom, we run a dishwasher, washing machine and tumbledrier. We have insulation and double glazing too.

Can I ask a honest question here. Those of you who have the heating set at 18 degree are you not cold. We have ours set at 21 which is a comfy termperature or maybe we are just a cold family... Our heating bills arent too expensive as roughly 120 per month all electric in a fairly big 3 bedroom old tenemant flat which is over two floors... 18 degrees just seems too cold...

Oh I should have added 3 bedrooms. Doh.

I was sitting here thinking it is a bit chilly. So shut all the curtains and got a card. Only to discover the thermostat is on13!
It is usually comfortable on 17. Buy we have a modern house with good insulation.

My heating is set somewhere between 20 and 25 (My thermostat has seven markings between 20 and 25 ).

My mom came round earlier and put it to under 20 and I have just gone upstairs because ds has been grizzling, popped on some blankets and he has now settled. His temp thing in his room is reading 19 but it feels chilly. Or I have just indoctrinated his body temp regulation to my south african ways...

Hey folks, reading with interest. Ours is around Electric £35 pm and Gas £25 pm.

Wich our boiler had some kind of termperature indicator... we just say 12 o clock for pointing at the top etc.

I am a big believer in weekend relaxing in one room with snuggly blankets and hot water bottles. Must be much harder if you have older kids who want to be in different rooms...

About £160 per month