To ask for your electricity usage for last year? Possible weed grower!

[buddhasbelly]

We’ve just moved house (2 bed detached bungalow, 70s construction, gas & electric) and got our predicted energy bill - we have a sky high fixed kWh rate but that’s just the way things are at the moment.

However the annual predicted electricity usage is 5300kwh - our old house we used 1700kwh in a year!

Our bedroom has a strong smell of weed. Could the predicted usage be down to the last owner possibly growing weed? I’m sort of hoping so as the predicted use seems crazy. The gas usage is about the same as our old property.

aibu to ask for your average electricity kwh for last year? I’m trying to gauge what others are using, particularly interested to hear if you have a bungalow!

Our last house, which was a three bed semi, ex local authority. We had 3 adults, all working from home and DS who would game a lot plus all the usual devices (just to give context) We averaged 3500KWH most years.

We used 8100 last year. We’re not growing weed or doing anything else dodgy!

Big 5 bedroom house but main heating is wood burners and cooking is by Aga for 8 months of the year.

In 2021, we used 3,377 kWh of electricity and 16,048 kWh of gas. 3 bedroom detached house

3-bed mid-terrace occupied 24/7 with electric shower and gas for heating, water & cooking. Very well insulated and all lights LEDs etc.
Electricity 1650 kWh/year - hardly varies summer/winter
Gas 6700 kWh/year - varies from 140/month summer to 1400/month winter.

Your best source for comparison would be your neighbours if they have similar houses. Niece moved into her first house last year and they had a ridiculous sounding estimate for energy usage. She did what others have suggested - paid actual usage in arrears at first, and after 6 months moved to monthly direct debit once usage history was established.

Thanks all am now having to put a stop on checking the meters (passing this on for DP to do). My dad fell ill this afternoon (won’t go into details but not great) and can’t be on his own so have decamped to there. The energy thing is now seeming somewhat irrelevant in the grand scheme of things 😢

I just checked ours and am 😳

Electricity in 2021 was 6,675 kWh. There's 2 of us in a 4 bed house that has gas central heating. Total energy use in 2021 was 21,383 kWh!

DP was home a lot in 2021 though, between contracts (based on the graph, it looks like March was particularly cold or unemployed), and he is NOT particularly conscious of how much he's using.

2020 was a bit less at 5,765 kWh of electric.

He has, at least, been convinced that now he's WFH permanently and has got the A/C unit out, that he will be paying more of the fuel bill!

The previous occupants used 12 500 kWh last year in the house I’ve just bought.
it’s got a huge hot water cylinder and the immersion was always on!

Cross post - sorry to hear of your troubles @buddhasbelly (that'll teach me to RTFT before replying)

As you say, it puts it all in to perspective.

Have you had an electric certificate as my landlord didn’t issue me one and last tenant or the landlord has been growing weed. Still cant get rid of the smell and worried it’s stuff in the attic but no way of getting up there. I didn’t have an electric certificate and the trip switches had been removed which is apparently common if someone’s growing weed

Ours is a staggering 8000kwh. We suspect the main culprits are 12kw electric shower, using electric heaters in outbuildings and 2 power hungry gaming PCs.

I’m now reading replies about energy as a distraction. Awaiting ambulance for my dad. Feel like shit. Isolating away from partner has his immune system compromised and I’ve been with covid positive dad all afternoon.

if anyones still reading this please tell me your energy readings just for the sheer mundanity of it.

Yea I think they poss had the immersion heater on all the time. We changed the shower over to gas before moving in. I didn’t realise that was such a massive culprit so maybe just a pot storer and immersion tank lover. Today is crap.

Thank you @WireSkills i feel we may be in for a long wait

I used about 1500 kwh over the year, but that's just me on my own. House is B rated, gas ch but electric hob, work from home. Drink lots of tea.

Gas is about 500 units (m3)

@buddhasbelly so sorry to hear about your dad, sending good thoughts your way.

Our usage in our previous house (4 bed detached, 1970’s built, 2 adults, 1 WFH, gas CH, HW and cooking) was almost exactly 2,900 kWh per year.

Been in the new house almost a year - new build, gas CH and HW, electric cooking, also now electric car. Same 2 adults, but now retired. Looks like a year’s usage will be something like 5,300kWh - but that’s with the car, which is about 40% of our usage. We’ve installed solar panels and battery, though, so we’re paying less despite using more. Gas usage is about 1/3 lower than the old house.

Good thoughts to your dad again.

Did this company supply the property before you moved in?
if not it’ll be a random average across similar properties so won’t be relevant.
Just track your usage for a few months

1635. Pretty standard 3 bed house, 2 of us with me working from home most days. Gas heating and cooker but we run fans pretty much constantly in summer. Don't use the dryer all that often and don't run a dishwasher.

Also really sorry to hear about your dad, I hope he pulls through and is on the mend quickly!

We have a 3 bed bungalow and use about 2100kWh a year.

So sorry to hear about your dad💐

We used aprx 5000 last year. There are 7 of us, one WFH.

1 adult, dual fuel, 2 bed semi. 900kWh electricity per year.

Still awaiting ambulance. Crazy the difference in usage between folk isn’t it. Sorry this thread has taken an odd turn but reading things like electricity readings seems all my brain can now cope with. I don’t know how long we’ll be waiting. Just me and dad here 😢

7200 kWh per year, but I don't have gas

Ours is approx 4700, two adults but often a guest or two. Electric car. 4 bed house. So that does seem a little on the higher side all things considered.

Energy suppliers just make their own rules, they said we had to have our gas DD increased to £58 pm this month, we’ve actually been using £16 ish, highest was £24 for months now.

My nan’s is hundreds in credit for same company and they increase them regularly, no money returned or any decreases.