To think £250 on gas and electric is far too much?

[Curiousmum69]

I'm currently paying £250 a month for gas and electricity on a 4 bed semi detached pretty standard house. Aibu to think this is crazy high.

What are others paying and how can I reduce this

[IHaveBrilloHair]

Fuck me, that's a lot, I pay less and I have prepayment meters, and the heating on almost constantly.

[YellowLilies]

Where do you live?

We pay about £100 a month but we use a lot of electricity and have the heating on day and night!

You need to get that checked, it sounds WAY too high!

[dementedpixie]

Will the combi not be using gas rather than electricity?

[Curiousmum69]

Yes electric shower and cooker. But that's always been the case

We did switch to induction cooker.

But I can't see what has so dramatically changed.

[Scienceforthewin]

Old fridge/freezer? I'm told if they go wrong they can get through loads of lec.

[Biffsboys]

I’m paying the same - mainly electricity. I have no tumble dryer . I do have a fish tank and gaming teenagers !!

[Curiousmum69]

Your electricity charges this period
Your tariff is Standard
20 Nov 2018 - 31 Dec 2018
Standard energy 1605.kWh at 16.97p £272.36
Standing charge 42.days at 18.26p £7.67
01 Jan 2019 - 18 Feb 2019
Standard energy 1871.kWh at 15.76p £294.87
Standing charge 49.days at 20.02p £9.81
VAT 5.00%
(on charges of £584.71)
£29.23
Total electricity charges this period £613.94

[dementedpixie]

Get off the standard tariff for a start! Have you looked at alternative tariffs?

[Curiousmum69]

Fridge freezer are pretty old.

Gaming teenagers. Check.

[Amanduh]

Granted, we are in a new build, but we pay £55 a month. Cook with both every day, heating on for a couple of hours morn and eve. No tumble dryer (always the extra!!!) We’re in a 4 bed semi.

[Enidblyton1]

Have you started using an electric heater? Even the small ones can use a huge amount of electricity.
Something is definitely not right, OP.
We live in a large, poorly insulated, very old 5 bedroom house and don’t manage to pay that much.

[Enidblyton1]

(And we use a tumble drier and an electric heater)

[sighrollseyes]

Christ! I pay £65 a month for a 4 bed detached with a toddler who has a bath every night.

[OftenHangry]

God. 3 bed semi £70-£80 in winter, £45 in summer. Two of us, no tumble dryer, but i use washer dryer so no saving there. And heating and lights for our prt.
£250 would give me serious belly ache.

That price per unit sounds almighty high

[Bunnybigears]

Your unit prices and standing charge aren't ridiculously high (could probably be a bit lower though) it's just you are using loads of electric. Call your provider and ask for the energy efficiency team. They will discuss it in detail with you and work out what using it.

[sugarbum]

We are in a new build, detached 4 bed. So far (7 months) it seems to be working out at under 100 a month combined. with British gas at the mo. Im pretty sure it was way more than that in the old house, which was an 80s build, same spec but smaller.

[grannieanne]

What is the price per kw you are paying ? Something is seriously wrong.. have you checked your meter readings to see if this is a massive over estimate ?

[Mamamia456]

Get a smart meter and then you will be able to see what uses most electric. We have one and our electric shower uses the most. Things like tvs, xboxes etc don't use much. I would say that your tumble dryer and shower use the most. How many showers a day does your household have?

[Curiousmum69]

Ok. I've switched tariffs and got it down a bit.

But still... I need to find where I'm leeching electric.

[grannieanne]

Sorry, just seen rate you are paying.... seems to be the consumption that's the issue

[OftenHangry]

Go to your fuse box tomorrow and flip the main switch. Take a pic of what does the meter show. Wait few hours and check. If it moved there is a problem. I once found out about a problem on prepaid one like this

[yearinyearout]

We pay 120 a month for a four bed detached. We also work from home so electricity/gas being used during the day too.

[Princessmushroom]

That’s crazy! We pay £89 a month for a 5 bedroom detached house, hot tub in summer and heating on a lot.

[AhoyDelBoy]

Good suggestion by OftenHangry
We had an insanely high bill last quarter, I’m in Australia where electricity is billed quarterly. It turned out that the element in the hot water cylinder was broken, we had an electrician come and take a look. Could be something to look at?

[pointythings]

You need to investigate a bit... Mine is currently £70/month for gas and electric combined. 4 bedroom semi, but very well insulated. Very new and efficient boiler is helping and not too many gadgets.