£760 per month for energy!

[Veuvelily]

Dear God
It was £323.
There are 2 people living in this house

@WidowTwonky

Similarly ours has doubled from 224 to 447 on Octopus. No high usage pieces either (no tumble dryer, hot tub!, underfloor heating etc) 4 people in 5 bedroom place

Is that for a fixed rate though? I've been offered higher fixed rates from Octopus but have opted to stay on the variable tariff instead which is covered by the price cap. The fixed rates aren't covered by the price cap and can be much higher

yes dementedpixie we fixed in Jan as I thought that's what everyone was advising to do

@Allhallowseve

By the way I didn't know you were supposed to turn your hot water off

You're obviously not a child of the 1970s/1980s. Those of us that age had parents who lived in fear of the immersion heater being accidentally left on because they just burn money to run and despite the numbers of people struggling now, people were generally a lot worse off then, so could afford a lot less.

Baths and washing up was timed to coincide when hot water was available which was effectively only for limited periods each day.

You were only advised to fix if the fixed rate was a certain amount above the price cap at that point (40% I think). The rates I was offered were well above that so I rolled onto the standard variable rate instead. My fixed rate ended at the end of January

@WidowTwonky I would check your fixed rate price per kWh against the price cap rates offered by Octopus just to see how much of a difference there is. You are likely to be paying a lot more than you need to

I think Op has an immersion heater and its on permanently hence her eye watering bills...I had one in my last house.. I only used it in an emergency.

[quote dementedpixie]@WidowTwonky I would check your fixed rate price per kWh against the price cap rates offered by Octopus just to see how much of a difference there is. You are likely to be paying a lot more than you need to[/quote]
Thanks demented. Just logged on. We're fixed at 27.10/8.36 for elec/gas (plus standing charge) but cant seem to see the price cap anywhere

I never skimp with the heating, do a lot of washing and the hot water is on permanently,

Well, the good news is that you have plenty of things to cut down.

Start skimping with the heating (put on a jumper or use blankets/hot water bottles).
Wash less (how much washing can 2 people generate?) - only wash things if they are actually dirty, not just because you wore them once
Work out how to use the timer and put your hot water on for an hour or so a day. And, turn your immersion heater off if it is on and never turn it back on again.

@WidowTwonky

If you've fixed with Octopus and it's more than about 50% above the April 22 price cap, you could think about going variable, there shouldn't be any exit fees, although you'll probably have to ring them to sort it out and they'll probably resist because the suppliers are losing money selling at the price cap right now.

But your usage does sound very high. What is your annual consumption and is there anything you can do to reduce it?

Octopus have a 'winter workout' on their website which is a few tips to reduce how much you use, so something you could try.

@Allhallowseve

By the way I didn't know you were supposed to turn your hot water off

Not ncssaily running it off but not having it heating up all the time when you don't need to

Like would you keep your kettle at boiling point all day when you only make a cup of tea at 8am and 6pm?

For that usage it sounds about right so you need to start making some cuts!

[quote BarbaraofSeville]@WidowTwonky

If you've fixed with Octopus and it's more than about 50% above the April 22 price cap, you could think about going variable, there shouldn't be any exit fees, although you'll probably have to ring them to sort it out and they'll probably resist because the suppliers are losing money selling at the price cap right now.

But your usage does sound very high. What is your annual consumption and is there anything you can do to reduce it?

Octopus have a 'winter workout' on their website which is a few tips to reduce how much you use, so something you could try.[/quote]
Thanks to you and demented for helping. Ive found the price cap and we're fixed below it so seems to be fair.

Yorkshire Northern Powergrid(Yorkshire) 27.35

We just need to learn to cut back

@Allhallowseve

By the way I didn't know you were supposed to turn your hot water off

I don't think with combi boilers - it's what we've always had in the houses we've bought.

I think my IL still have to switch hot water on and off though - so does depend on what you have and PP says I do remember parents fear of hot water being left on so likely had an immersion heater then.

@WidowTwonky I think this shows the octopus price cap rates from April. You look like you have a better fix than I am being offered.

I have written down my loyalty offering compared to my price cap rate from April and they are 47.4% and 69.33% higher than the flexible rate so I'm staying on that rather than fixing

Just logged on. We're fixed at 27.10/8.36 for elec/gas (plus standing charge) but cant seem to see the price cap anywhere

That's broadly inline with the price cap, maybe slightly above, but not significantly so. That means that you must either have a big debt or be using huge amounts of energy to be on a DD that high. Or Octopus is taking you for a ride, which is unlikely, unless they're balancing out having you pay far too much, with us paying far too little. We should be paying around £200 pm, but they've 'only' put it up to £160. I'm happy just leaving it btw.

I don't think with combi boilers you have to.

Half the sentence just disappeared there.

If I was OP I'd be shutting heating and hot water off for a bit - especailly as it gets warmed - and seeing how that affected usage and then working out what they cost her.

2 of us in a small detached bungalow, both work from home, partner works online with lord knows what tech running. We were 55pm with Avro and now 87 with Octopus having been switched when Av went bust. I've turned everything superfluous off. Log burner helps massive for heat though.

You don’t need to turn the hot water off with a combi boiler because they only heat the water on demand anyway. Ours is on all the time - technically so is the heating, just the thermostat is set low enough that it doesn’t click on. Our bill is over 10x less than what OP is reporting so hot water is not going to be causing it (unless it’s an immersion).

My BIL and SIL didn’t know what an immersion was so has had their’s on full time since they moved into their house and wondered why they had a massive bill. Annoyingly it doesn’t have a timer so they now have to turn it on and off at the switch. But it should save them a load, now they know what it is.

OP, things that generate heat are the most likely culprits. Underfloor heating, fish tanks, vivariums. Hairdryers, old electric ovens, kettles, straighteners, etc. Also, older tellies use a lot, I upgraded my old Plasma to an LED and its made a difference. Old appliances, fridges and freezers will also use much more than newer.

Take daily readings and see what you are using in Kw'hrs. My average daily usage over the past 6mo is 9.6kw's a day which is below average for house type and occupancy

There's no point in getting a smart meter unless you're using it to budget/track your usage. Take regular meter readings and try not to use things like tumble driers now it's getting a little warmer. It does depend on your supplier but as the price of energy is high now we'll all need to think about where we can cut back.

Don't forget to set a reminder to take your readings on 31 March before the prices go up again! You don't want energy that was used in March charged at the higher rates being introduced in April.

Your hot water is on all the time?! We put ours on for 1hour in the morning and 1 hour in the evening! For a family of 4! You've wasted thousands keeping that hot water on because you're too lazy to work out the settings?!!!!

Of course you can’t keep the water on all day and expect low bills that’s just crazy. Presumably your heating is on most of the day including underfloor at the rate you are paying.

Two person household here both working from home in a family sized house. Currently pay £135 per month for dual fuel on a good fix that I did last Autumn for 2 years thankfully.

But we just don’t have the heating on all day. Briefly in morning if cold and then back on early evening for a while. If it’s really cold house might need a boost at lunchtime.

I do a lot of washing as have a ridiculous small drum due to space in utility room with underfloor heating system that limits the width of the washing machine.

We aren’t cold but do wear appropriate clothes in Winter. We don’t go cold as don’t need to but your usage must be phenomenal to be paying what you are. We’re a 4 bed house as well.

I do a lot of washing as have a ridiculous small drum due to space in utility room with underfloor heating system that limits the width of the washing machine

Aren't all washing machines the same size on the outside? Genuine question.

We've gone from 4 (or 4.5?) kilo to 8 kilos over the years and the external dimensions are exactly the same.

@BarbaraofSeville

I do a lot of washing as have a ridiculous small drum due to space in utility room with underfloor heating system that limits the width of the washing machine

Aren't all washing machines the same size on the outside? Genuine question.

We've gone from 4 (or 4.5?) kilo to 8 kilos over the years and the external dimensions are exactly the same.

Unfortunately no. We have a small drum and it’s quite noticeable in comparison to all my other washing machines in previous properties.

There were only two options of the right size that fitted the space.