to ask what you pay in gas/elec each month?

[ScoopsMama]

So, I'm stressing about finances and I know our gas and electricity bills are just ludicrous.

We pay £231 per month gas and £149 per month electricity. This is with SSE in Scotland and by direct debit.

We live in a big, 4 bedroom house. However the heating was timed approx 0530-8am winter and 4.30-8.30ish in winter. We obviously popped it on in between if ever needed. It's been off since May.

We have the hot water function on constantly. I know we probably need to update to a new combi boiler.

But does this seem around average? Because when I search our KwH usage, the average UK usage is more than half of what we used last year!

What a waste of money

Answer halfblindbunny's questions, they are sensible. We went a year paying electricity bill out of accrued credit with BG when they'd overestimated our DD.

If you are on a fixed DD and it's averaged out, that suggests you are actually using even more than these costs in the winter, which is totally absurd?

£38 for both. I live in a small flat

We pay £62 duel fuel (gas & electricity) and £36 water...

That's for a 3 bed semi

£53.95

Change your boiler OP. We're on bulk LPG due to living in the sticks and ours used to cost us around £250 a month but since changing to a Worcester combi, our DD has dropped to £120 a month so we are using substantially less gas. Our electricity is around £100 - 120 a month so together it's never more than £240 in the winter and less in summer. That's a large 4 bed detached. (We also had our windows replaced, and we have thermal blinds everywhere - those also have made us use less heat, and our loft was better insulated).

£120 a month gas + electric. Small 3 bed. Heating on 24/7 in winter. No energy debt to clear.

That sounds really high.

3 bed Victorian semi. Loft lagged. New combi boiler. New double glazed sash windows.

Just changed to Npower - pay £90 a month by DD for gas & electric.

Have a look on USwitch to calculate your average useage and check if you are on the best deal.

£293 for Gas and electricity for 3 bed cottage with granny annex. But I think that’s a combination of heavy washing machine/dishwasher/tumble drier usage as well the fact I can’t abode the cold so like the house toasty in winter.

We are a 2 bed and switched to Bulb in December as EDF wanted £200 per month when we were only paying £116 previously. We now pay just over £91 and even with the price increase (which they gave us 60 days notice of) it will be under £93! My dad is a 3 bed and has just switched through me (we both get £50 credited to our energy account) and will be paying less than £100.

Large 3 bed flat... £60 per month with first utility... I'm at your costs OP. We use the heating a lot in winter. We have a combi boiler. Use (electric) dehumidifier almost constantly too.

Fuck me. Last moth I paid £37 combined. The most I've paid in the coldest months was £75 combined (I concede I can be a bit stingy with the heating though). I live in a standard 3 bed, so smaller than yours, but still !

Sounds pretty high OP!

• take meter readings - if your usage is being estimated, you may be in credit

• check your tariff - the standard tariffs are generally a lot more than fixed deals

• get yourself onto a comparison site or moneysavingexperts cheap energy club, plug on your details (preferably the actual usage in units for the last 12 months) to pick a cheaper deal.

• check your loft insulation depth - you may be able to get a partial grant towards having it topped up to the recommended amount

• might be worth getting your boiler serviced; maybe it's not working properly and overusing fuel?

Good luck!

175 a month dual fuel, four bed semi and I work from home. Dry everything in the tumble dryer and the central heating has been on all day all winter. Modern well insulated house though.

£130 for both with Avro Energy but due to go down as they were over estimating what we were using. Medium sized 1970s 3 bed terrace with 5 people - 3 older kids who are constantly charging things and using electronics, draughty windows and rubbish central heating that's on for longer than it needs to be in order to actually get any heat from it. Do a comparison on MoneySavingExpert for your usage. We've saved £50 a month doing that and switching.

£107.24 dual fuel direct debit for large four bed with Sainsburys.

£120 DD every month for both, Sainsbury's Energy (British Gas). 5 bed detached in Surrey. Have a smartmeter which tells me current costs are under £2 per day but in Winter it's £8-9 a day.

We're £70 a month for both at the minute. We bought the house in March and british gas quoted us at £88 so we went with that for a couple of months but at the minute our usage isnt so high so will probably go up again in the colder months. We're a normal 2 bed house x

No gas here, £75 on oil/logs and £88 on electricity in Winter. £20 of that though goes on charging my electric car on Economy 7, so £68 would be the figure to use.
4 Bed house, with Bulb

We pay £130 a month for gas and electricity combined with co-op. That’s based on actual usage rather than estimates.

4-bed 1970s detached house. House has rather old fashioned double glazing for most and upstairs walls are not well insulated (apart from the extension). Upstairs is hollow block and tile hanging.

We have a modern condensing boiler (not combi) and a huge hot water cylinder (new). I am at home during the day (retired) and I don’t like a cold house. In the winter, I tend to ‘live’ during the day in one room which has wet underfloor heating, so the heating is off in the rest of the hosue. Nevertheless, I’m not a Scrooge in terms of heating.

Old, large and detached 3 bedroom cottage - 2 of us who work all day and we don't have a combi boiler - water and heating comes on 6-7am and 4-7pm, unless we're at home and need it on more (in winter) and we pay £153 a month with Sainsbury's Energy. I think we pay too much!

Does seem you're spending a lot there.. I'm going to switch to bulb as they said it will drop down to £90 based on our usage.

And I thought mine was bad at £230 combined!

I have a large 6 bedroom stone house (1802) that absorbs as much heating as you can throw at it and it's still chilly at times.

I've just switched to Bulb

I live in a 3 bed and pay £90 for both gas & electricity to Scottish Power (FYI, I don't live in Scotland. Lol)

That does sound like a lot! We are in a modestly-sized ex council 1930s 3bed semi and pay £62 pm gas and £39 pm electricity, also with SSE

Biggish 4 bed house.

Ground floor is all open plan so in the winter we have to heat the lot. Hot water is left on constant. I can easily have two baths a day in the winter.

We also have things like pond pumps, cctv, radio (sonos), PC & exterior lighting running 24/7.

I pay a fixed £92 a month with OVO. What we don't use in the summer gets held in credit for winter. We swapped at the beginning of the year.

Do you have a smart meter? I dragged my heels getting one and do pretty much ignore it now, however it is useful to narrow down what is pushing your usage up.

All our lighting is LED, pricey to start off with but you definitely make that back. We have sensors on the bathroom lights but the fans are on manual switches. We have a digital thermostat for the heating and regularly bleed/re pressurise the system.

The little bits add up, it means I can leave the heating on for the dogs in the winter, without feeling too bad