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AIBU?

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Original poster

If this is correct, how can a family afford to pay then?

570 replies

InTheNameOfAllThatIsHonest · 22/02/2022 10:13

This is my latest electricity bill. I live alone, in a big (five-bed) house. I am very careful with electricity and gas usage because that's how I was brought up. I don't leave lights on when I leave a room, I use the washing machine every other day and same with the tumble dryer. I use a hair dryer/styling tools once every couple of weeks. Heating is gas and so is cooking. I have checked the meter and it seems to be working just fine. Does this bill seem correct to you? If so, do you mind sharing how much you use/pay and how many people you live with? AIBU in saying that this is not normal for a person living alone? Thank you.

If this is correct, how can a family afford to pay then?
OP posts:
Thread gallery
19
justasking111 · 22/02/2022 11:26

Buy more towels hang them out, then a few minutes in the tumbler will soften them again.

DetailMouse · 22/02/2022 11:26

In social housing it's considered over crowding if different sex siblings over 10yo have to share.

NSPCC recommend they don't share after 10yo, but there is no legislation for private housing.

RedToothBrush · 22/02/2022 11:26

@InTheNameOfAllThatIsHonest

I have booked my electrician to come out and have a look and see what's what. The fact that households with more people in and hence higher usage of appliances, is paying less than me, means something's the matter with my meter I think.
Check your meter yourself. Switch off EVERYTHING bar your fridge/freezer. See what your base rate usage is. What shocked me was how much one of our older tvs was using on standby. The other, new one didn't use anywhere near as much. Have your meter in a place you can see how much you are using at any one time, do reguarly do a 'check' on what yuo've currently got running. Learn what is your 'background noise' and how much your dishwasher / tumble dryer / washing machine / other applicance use. It really does give you pause for thought on how much you use them.

For someone who has a smart meter you aren't really using it to the best of its use.

CounsellorTroi · 22/02/2022 11:27

@phishy

That’s crazy, we live in a 3 bed house and our lec bill is £35pm
Ours is similar. There’s two of us at home most of the time, three bed house, gas central heating, washing machine a couple of times a week, dishwasher a few times a year, no tumble dryer, no electric shower, the usual rechargeable devices.
WouldIwasShookspeared · 22/02/2022 11:28

Mines just gone from about 150 to about 200 a month and I expect it to jump again in April
4 adults, home occupied all day, I work from home

WouldIwasShookspeared · 22/02/2022 11:29

3 bed semi

Svara · 22/02/2022 11:29

In England? Yes, two people. Gas heating, cooking, shower.

SleepingStandingUp · 22/02/2022 11:30

@mam0918 We really need a 4 bed (me and DH, teenager, disabled child and baby of opposite sex that by law cant share with teen) and as we both work from home so the 5th bedroom as an office would be great it isn't actually illegal, no one is going to arrest you or prosecute you if the baby goes in with teen if that's the only sensible option. It's advice, strong advice and work towards overcrowded status in social housing but if that's where baby needs to go, you're not going to break the law

HeadingForHome · 22/02/2022 11:33

I'm amazed by some of the figures on this thread. Our useage is much, much higher than most people's. I've just checked our smart meter and in 21 days this month already we've used

961kwh of electricity @ £201
3482kwh of gas @£145 (heating, hob and fireplace)

Our monthly direct debit to the energy company is £500 per month. The house is a decent size and there's 5 of us in it but we're not charging vehicles or have the heating on all day or anything. Just a normal family life of washing clothes and dishes etc. And we've been away on holiday for a week of that.

BottlingBurpsForGrandma · 22/02/2022 11:33

No that's very high indeed. I'm looking at the kWh usage, not to cost.

For context, we use around 31 kWh per day of electricity in January. We have an airsource heat pump (very leccie intensive) and are in a 5 bed house with 2 adults working from home full time and 4 kids, all old enough to watch tv / use chargers etc. We use electricity to cook. We wash clothes daily.

We have had similar anomolies in our bills when our washing machine was on its way out and when there was an admin error - I really do not think you are using a daily average so similar to ours from what you describe.

Staryflight445 · 22/02/2022 11:34

If you live alone why do you need to do washing every other day?
I do that and we’re a family of 4. I do have a 10KG machine though.

HeadingForHome · 22/02/2022 11:35

Just check January and we used 1456kwh electricity and 5509 gas. Cost was £533.

I didn't realise this was unusual...

SleepingStandingUp · 22/02/2022 11:37

@Staryflight445

If you live alone why do you need to do washing every other day? I do that and we’re a family of 4. I do have a 10KG machine though.
One load of bedding. One load of towels, tea towels, blankets One load of normal clothes and under wear One load of dirty clothes from painting and horse
thewhatsit · 22/02/2022 11:37

@DetailMouse

In social housing it's considered over crowding if different sex siblings over 10yo have to share.

NSPCC recommend they don't share after 10yo, but there is no legislation for private housing.

Thank you for clearing that up!
BarbaraofSeville · 22/02/2022 11:37

[quote SleepingStandingUp]**@mam0918* We really need a 4 bed (me and DH, teenager, disabled child and baby of opposite sex that by law cant share with teen) and as we both work from home so the 5th bedroom as an office would be great* it isn't actually illegal, no one is going to arrest you or prosecute you if the baby goes in with teen if that's the only sensible option. It's advice, strong advice and work towards overcrowded status in social housing but if that's where baby needs to go, you're not going to break the law[/quote]
Or the baby could sleep in the parents room until 1 or 2 YO.

To add to the usage/appliances etc, our fridge freezer is about 22 YO and I was concerned that it uses a lot of electricity, especially as the seal is poor. So I checked it with a plug in meter and found that it currently costs around £10 pm to run. So could be better, but not massively awful.

prsphne · 22/02/2022 11:39

We’re 2 people in a biggish 3 bed, one working from home, with an electric car that we charge at home, oven/hob both electric, 3-4 wash and tumble dry loads a week and dishwasher runs once a day. We used 957kWh in 35 days Jan-Feb so your usage does look high, even with your washing / tumble dryer usage.

BarbaraofSeville · 22/02/2022 11:40

^One load of bedding.
One load of towels, tea towels, blankets
One load of normal clothes and under wear
One load of dirty clothes from painting and horse^

Bedding and towels for one person can all be done together, and still probably won't fill the machine, unless it's a smaller than average drum.

But in any case 3/4 loads a week isn't adding up to the OPs usage. We probably do around that (2 people who do muddy sports plus cats and kittens who like to throw up on things).

livingonpurpose · 22/02/2022 11:44

I live in a 2 bed house with my ds10. We use about 8kWh per day (we have gas central heating), and it looks like you're using about 26/27 kWh per day, so a LOT more. My guess is that it's because of the tumble drier usage. I actively try to avoid using mine and prefer to dry everything outside if I can. Yes, it means the towels aren't a fluffy, but that a small sacrifice for saving money (and the planet).

NatriumChloride · 22/02/2022 11:44

@billyt

You live alone

Why do you need to use the washing machine and dryer every other day? That is not being careful with electricity use.

Bloody hell!!!

This! Plus you’re in a five bed house on your own - how are you accumulating so much dirty laundry and why are you running three loads a week? Why are you using a tumble dryer? But an air dryer, make one of the bedrooms a laundry room and dry your clothes there.
comfortablyfrumpy · 22/02/2022 11:45

Me plus two teens, 4 bed house use approx 400kwh a month. Don't use electric for heating but I do bake a lot. I do about 4 loads of washing a week, maybe more. But no tumble dryer.
Your usage sounds very high?

squareofthehypotepotenuse · 22/02/2022 11:47

There does seem to be something amiss here…..your monthly usage is almost 3 times average (8-12 kWh per day). We do a wash and dry most days in winter and use c.10kwh a day, so I don’t think it’s your laundry habits!

Someone up thread suggested turning everything off and seeing your “shadow” usage. If you post on MoneySavingExpert Home- Energy forum, there are some knowledgeable people there who can help you with this…..think they call it a meter sanity check!

Good luck. Hopefully you can find the cause before your your fix ends (you have crazy low prices just now)

OinkyO · 22/02/2022 11:47

@InTheNameOfAllThatIsHonest

I have booked my electrician to come out and have a look and see what's what. The fact that households with more people in and hence higher usage of appliances, is paying less than me, means something's the matter with my meter I think.
Before you pay an electrician try switching things off then checking how much your smart meter jumps when you put them on. That's the benefit and kind of the main point of a smart meter
SockFluffInTheBath · 22/02/2022 11:48

3 bed detached, 2 adults & 2 children, electric cooking but not heating or hot water and we’re on 395 kWh for the last 30 days. I have a tumble drier that runs maybe 1 hr/day at the moment, washing machine averages twice a day, dishwasher once a day, induction hob and 2 fan ovens. Really not sure how you can be using that much OP, do you have external lights that are on all night?

Chely · 22/02/2022 11:49

We use a similar amount of electric.
Household of 8, heating/water and hob are gas. Washer is a workhorse, 2 dehumidifiers, dishwasher, multiple devices and tv's. I refuse to have a tumble dryer as they're extremely expensive to run, I'm looking forward to line drying weather.

butterflycatcher · 22/02/2022 11:49

Not sure if this has already been asked but...
Are you providing the meter readings yourself or through a smart meter or these based on estimates? Asking because if they are based on estimates you may be massively overpaying because the estimate has likely been calculated on the size of the house not taking into account that it is single occupancy. Double check your readings match those your energy company are using.