Is this bill stupidly high or about average?

[billquestion]

We are 2 adults and 2 DC in a 3 bed detached house. Our energy bill this month was £394 for electricity and gas combined (screenshot attached with the breakdown of each). Does this seem insanely high or about average?? 🤔

In the same period my charges are electricity £124.88/ gas £135.65. 3 adults, 1 child, 4 bed house, always someone WFH. So I would say that this seems a little high. But it has been quite warm here and that makes a big difference. The last week was colder, and the gas for that week was £46.

This was 1 months usage recently. Heating on thermostat and timer but set quite low.

If you are using the central heating to dry clothes thats wherebyour money is going to

I think it sounds high, likely down to heating.

Ours 3 bed semi but Edwardian house with high ceilings, £190 last month. We have barely had the heating on. 2 showers per day and bath son every other day. It's better for his skin (less drying) and saves money.

You need to compare your USAGE in kWh to your usage this time last year, not to strangers who are on different tarrifs to you.

It seems high to me but it's not all comparable. If I have the heating on for a hour, do 2 loads of washing, 30 minutes of tumble drying like yesterday 30 minutes of hob cooking and background use like lights, tv, PC etc it was just under £9 for bot gas and electric for the day.

However that's a heavier than adverage day and we are being extremely frugal which with dropping temperatures we won't be able to sustain into December.

I'd think it's more adverage to be on £300 pm this time of year but if your using the drier snd heating daily I think this is the new scary reality unfortunately. I couldn't afford that nill unless I cut out some meals

From the screenshots OP is on the standard variable rate, has a smart meter and used:

503kwh electricity and 2045kwh gas

The electricity is similar to my usage but your gas is higher probably due to you using your heating more often than we are

Gas seems very high especially as it has covered a mild October.

Not sure if this helps but we live in a 3 bed detached new build, no kids
Gas & Electric last month (before discount) was £140
We use the dryer a lot & computers etc (we work from home) but rarely put the heating on

Gas has tripled since last winter. Looks about right if you've been using the heating a fair bit.

I should have said 3 bed detached with high ceilings so not the easiest to heat - it's an old style Victorian.

@AbreathofFrenchair

We have a smart meter so they have accurate up to date readings

😱 tripled! It's crazy.

Not really, the weather has been very unpredictable here!

That’s a lot higher than ours, we have a 4 bed with 2 adults and a toddler. But we have hardly had the heating on yet.

your useage seems very high of you have had the heating on a lot, 3 showers plus a bath everyday. Does your toddler need a bath everyday? We give ours a wash every day but a bath only a couple of times per week.

We have two adults and two children in a 4 bed detached. Our bill for same period was £165. We didn't have the heating on at all until November, but I always use the tumble drier.

4 bed terrace here and DH and I WFH and £163 last month.
I did lock us into a three year fix which doesn't expire until Oct 2024 so that may be a factor.

Could you also look at limiting shower time for everyone to max 5 mins each and have the heating on twice a day only?

Your electric useage is double mine but your gas is half. 2 adults and 2 toddlers and I work from home about half the time. Have the heating on morning and evening.

213 electricity
126 gas

Also with EON. I use my tumble dryer every day, do lots of washing, me and my husband both wfh and we have two children who have frequent baths etc. My gas bill is lower than yours but I think that's only because I have a log burner and have been trying to use that instead of the gas heating. I pay £85 for a builders bag of logs every couple of months though, so it does add up.
I have always been classed as high user though, so it sounds like you are too.

high compared with ours but we’ve only had the heating on twice? three times? We’ve got a heated air dryer for laundry and try and give it a couple of hours outside. Two adults working from home so we can rush out and get it if it rains.

Gas £195 for last quarter
Electricity £330 and we have solar panels
3500 sq ft

We have a lot of outside lights, run one hybrid car, dishwasher and washing machine daily, tumbler 2/3 times weekly, 3 adults, 1 bath and two showers per day, there's some working from home 4 days per week and we use the plug in radiator in the study, tv, alarm, fridge, freezer, probably a computer plugged in all the time.

Our utilities are usually about £3500 pa, we are budgeting for £4500 this year.

We are about £312 🤷🏻‍♀️

If you want to save money you need to cut down your heating use. Get yourself a big clothes airer and hang clothes over 2/3 of the wires at a time so they’re spread out more and they will dry. It’s more economical to then finish them off for 10 mins in a tumble dryer at the end than heat the whole house to dry them.

My electric is around 120 a month
but my gas for heating and hot water for October was around £55 for the month
I’m pay as you go so it’s accurate
heatings been on a few time maybe once a week
we do have a min of 4 showers a day maybe more