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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Household gas bills

28 replies

Mammabee20 · 17/12/2019 07:54

Hi all! It is not really AIBU but more of what can I do?! My Fiancé and I bought our first home together last year after we found out that we were expecting our DD, it is a 4 bed with loads of great development opportunities (it is not the nicest area though so not a forever home situation) The issue I have is that it seems to be sucking energy like it is going out of fashion! I am in the house every day since I have currently been signed off work sick and I am due to go back on maternity in February.

We have a smart meter so I don’t know if it is watching that which is making me crazy but i just can’t believe that it says £1.70 used already and it’s only 7:50 in the morning Shock we end up using about £4 by the end of each day after I’ve done all the washing and heated the house for when my Fiancé and DD gets home from nursery and work. This means that a months bill is over £100 Blush

Just wondering if I am being unreasonable by thinking it is a lot or is that pretty standard over winter time?

OP posts:
Original poster
Mammabee20 · 17/12/2019 07:55

So actually it turns out it is a kind of AIBU so please ignore the first line where I say it isn’t :)

OP posts:
surlycurly · 17/12/2019 07:56

Is that just for gas? If it's for both then it's pretty reasonable. I have an old three bed and I can't get my bills under £4 a day for both.

bobbiester · 17/12/2019 07:59

£100 per month in winter for gas is not at all unusual for a 4 bed house. Particularly if you're home all day, and all your hot water is gas heated.

Momniscient · 17/12/2019 08:01

Depends where you are. And why is the gas on - are you running central heating over night? It's only just gone 8am here (am down south) and apparently we've spent 20p on gas and 48p on electricity so far.

Momniscient · 17/12/2019 08:01

Ps. And size of house! 3-bed semi here

Pinkbonbon · 17/12/2019 08:04

Do you have storage heaters? They are gutsy buggers.

Fairylea · 17/12/2019 08:06

Doesn’t sound hugely out there if you have the heating on all day. We have a 3 bed semi and we pay £125 for electric (use tumble dryer and washing machine non stop and loads of gadgets etc) and £40 for gas - but we only have the heating on 3-4 hours a day. When we had the heating on all day it was about £70 a month.

speakout · 17/12/2019 08:06

Sounds about right OP.

Do you heat all the rooms? Heating on overnight? What is your thermostat set to?

msmith501 · 17/12/2019 08:08

Use a cheaper supplier perhaps?

Justkeeprollingalong · 17/12/2019 08:08

£4 a day is reasonable for gas and electricity. You'll obviously use far less in the summer so it balances out. I unplugged my smart meter display, it was driving me crazy!

Acciocats · 17/12/2019 08:09

Sounds about right tbh

IncrediblySadToo · 17/12/2019 08:16

You’ll have your ‘line fee’ in there as well I think ours is something like 58p a day.

I don’t know how it works though because our ‘today you have used £x.xx added up over the 90 days is always higher than my actual bill which makes no sense to me.

Span1elsRock · 17/12/2019 08:19

We live in a late 80s 4 bed detached. Gas (bulk LPG tank as rural) is £200 a month, electric £150 a month and we also use probably £200 of wood during the winter on the woodburner.

We've got cavity wall insulation, had the loft insulation done, new double glazing. New boiler too, so ticking all energy efficiency boxes. And to add insult to injury, it's rarely toasty warm........ thermostat never goes above 20c no matter if heating is on 24/7. Heat just seems to drain out of the place.

AuntieMarys · 17/12/2019 08:37

How many radiators do you have? I would say that's reasonable if you have it on all day.

Original poster
Mammabee20 · 17/12/2019 08:41

The heating is on all day and it is turned off before we get into bed so that we know it is not on during the night. We do each have a shower in the morning and DD is bathed on a night.. everything is gas even the cooker and I guess the dryer is running all day at the moment.. I’ve washed our clothes and DD’s clothes and I’ve even started getting my hospital bag ready so I’ve washed all the baby clothes and hung them away so I guess £4 a day isn’t ridiculous then.. I think it is the just non stop watching of the smart meter ticking round which makes me feel crazy

OP posts:
Original poster
Mammabee20 · 17/12/2019 08:42

I have bought a new dryer which is due to be delivered on Friday as the one we got was from my DP’s and it doesn’t quite get everything dry and I have to run it for 2-3 cycles to get stuff dry.. so I’ve bought a new eco friendly one

OP posts:
hoxtonbabe · 17/12/2019 09:00

I’m in a 2 bed flat and if I only run dishwasher once have the heating on only in the morning and late afternoon to say 10pm and only use the hob for a maximum of say an hour then I can get it for under £2 per day, if however like most days I have heating on all day and need to use the hob and oven my daily spend is £3 so your £4 for a 4 bed is sounding ok to me

hoxtonbabe · 17/12/2019 09:02

Sorry mine should have read that’s just for electric!

Fairylea · 17/12/2019 09:07

It will be the dryer eating all the electricity. Our monthly amount jumped up about £30 just by using one - we still use it however as it’s so convenient... !

Dontsweatthelittlestuff · 17/12/2019 09:08

I am in a similar sized house but also have a small attached annex. My smart meter says I have used £2.97 so far today. One adult already showered and gone to work. 3 more adults still in bed and me sitting in my jammies eating monster munch for breakfast.
For winter I budget £10 per day but it is usually more.

Dontsweatthelittlestuff · 17/12/2019 09:11

Why are you using a dryer in a 4 bed house?
Do you not have an empty room you can set some airers up in and pop the window open an inch to get rid of the condensation.

ActualHornist · 17/12/2019 09:12

If you’ve got the heating on then hand most of your washing to dry.

I’m glad you posted this though. We’re averaging about £3 a day on electricity and maybe just over £1 a day on gas, ours is a three bed terrace. It is SO much but according to online things we’re on the best tariff.

It probably doesn’t help when you’ve got a billion different things plugged in charging though Hmm

Original poster
Mammabee20 · 17/12/2019 09:31

@Dontsweatthelittlestuff.. I completely forgot that we have an annexe as well, it isn’t attached to the house so I guess that increases it all as well. We don’t have a spare room as there is the nursery, my DD’s bedroom and our bedroom.. the 4th bedroom is a teeny tiny single bedroom which is the office and that is currently being decorated. Unfortunately we’ve only lived in the house since September 2018 and we’ve been trying to decorate in between.. unfortunately the first 6 months of my DD’s life I was really poorly with gallstones so I wasn’t much help and my DP works full time so getting decorating done is a chore.

OP posts:
inwood · 17/12/2019 09:32

When we're at home all day with the heating on, tumble dryer and washing machine etc going we hit about £6.50 for gas and electric - three bed house.

I turn the smart meter around so I don't have to watch it!!

Dontsweatthelittlestuff · 17/12/2019 09:39

Do you have a dining room you could put an airier in?
I do have a dryer but try to not use it too much. So I do a wash everyday and use the airier in my dining room plus a couple of those over the radiator dryers.

My heating bills are very high so any saving I can make helps.

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