Is this heating bill normal?

[TwinsAndTiramisu]

Just want to know if this sounds reasonable....

Family of 5, 2 adults, 1 teen, toddler twins. 4/5 bed detached.

Twins home all day 3 days a week (nursery the other 4)

Teen home all day weekends and school the other 5.

Us, home most days, DH usually WFH and me some part time work (online seller), with usually a TV on, and heating set to come on at below 21c.

Gas central heating. Electric everything else.

Our precise bill (smart meter) for the last calendar month is £470. £220 electric, £270 gas.

Does this sound vaguely in line with what others are getting billed? A bit toppy, or ridiculously too much? Or indeed, cheap compared to other people in similar circumstances?

I keep my thermostat on 16 . My house is freezing . Two bed mid terrace . No insulation but rented so can’t do anything
my bill last month was £380 gas and electric combined. I expect it to go up as the weather gets colder

I work from home and have 2 children. I pay £120 includes gas and electric. Setting your heating to come on at 21 degrees is going to be expensive. I wear lots of layers when working from home and turn it on just before children come home and sometimes in the morning. It's around 17 degrees in my house on average without heating on.

If you click on useage there should be a chart where it shows you how much energy is used per hour. You're using a lot of gas, may be time to turn the thermostat down or only on in morning and later afternoon.

£160 a month here for gas and electric but heating only comes on for 5 hours a day
thermostat set at 19

That seems really high to me. I live in a large 4 bed, 3 children, 2 at school and 1 at home 4 days per week. DH and I both work from home, so basically always someone there. Our hearing is set to 18 in the day, 15 at night. I’ve just submitted our meter readings and I have used £220 of energy in the past month. However we are on a fixed rate until April, which is lower than the current price cap. Are you on the variable rate?

3 bed detached house, fairly modern, around 20 years old. 2 adults, 1 toddler and a dog. Heating never above 18 degrees but we’ve had it on whenever we wanted. I’ve just checked our bill for 25 Sep to 24 Oct and it was £100 combined for gas and electricity.

Looks more like £250 for the month just gone, waiting for the bill. And I’m already thinking I’ll whack the heating down a bit next month!

It sounds like the majority of your spend is on you heating and 21 degrees is high. Mine goes off around 7.30/8pm, so maybe try a degree down and off earlier. If you’re used to 21 then 18 is a stretch, maybe do a degree at a time and give yourselves time to adjust.

But as others have said, it’s up to you what you spend. It’s no one else’s business. If you think it’s too much then see if you can cut down in places.

2 bed small terrace, 2 adults, 1 toddler.

1 adult WFH 3 days a week, the other is in the office full time. Last month was £200 electricity and £60 gas but we only use gas for heating & hot water and we’ve not had the heating on yet at all.

Dishwasher x2, washing x2, tumble drier x2 and oven on every day? This is where 546 kwh is coming from. Tumble drier takes around 2kwh per load, that alone will take 120kwh per month if you run it twice a day.
2 adults wfh, 1 dc, small home here and we use 200 kwh per month.

Can you look at how many KWh of electric you used in summer?

I.e were you always a high user but on a low tariff or is something spiking your useage?

To me it seems very high but you are using a lot of appliances very regularly. Do you really need the dishwasher on twice a day?

My heating is on 6-10am and 5-10pm but the thermostat is set around 18⁰C. Hot water is on for 1 hour a day. I haven't done my monthly readings yet (done on 1st usually).

Last month our usage was £87 gas and £180 electricity but have had the heating on more this month - 4 bed detached in Scotland with 2 adults and 2 teens

Prices won’t up for everyone though, so you base electric price will go up with same use, in October.
heating wise, I get you like 21’ but keeping it that all day is where the gas is going. We’ve been weaning ourselves to a lower temperature. We’re happy around 16/17 in the morning, then around 18/19 whilst it’s light outside and then around 19 Maybe 20 ig cold in the evening. Feel it needs to be warmer in the evening than during the day. But if you want it 21 all day then that’s what you pay.

I only get the option for monthly, or weekly. If I click daily it says "unavailable" which is probably because I've only just downloaded the app. I'll give it a week to see if this populates and this should provide a helpful insight.

Not if you’re on a fixed rate for a specific period.

5 bed house.
2 adults, 2 tweens/teens. DH wfh.
Gas heating, water and cooker.
Not got a November update, but October was £100 for electricity. Less machine washing, less dishwasher, no tumble drier than you. But don't think that accounts for all the difference.

Gas isn't comparable, as our heating use has really ramped up in the last couple of weeks. Thermostat is set well below 21 tho. Currently at 18, and coming on for an hour in the morning, 2 hours on the afternoon, and often boosted for an hour in the evening.

I think your usage is high.

18C maximum is fine in living areas. Bedrooms can less. You only need it this high once or twice a day too.

Could it be your boiler or pump using a lot of electric? Our electricity seems to increase in line with having our gas CH on.

Ours is going up to £470, detached 4 bed house. I have it set to 18 as I don't like it getting too hot or it dries out skin.

Also if you are on shell, with a smart meter , look online and under “energy insights” you can see a visual of when the most energy is used . This is an image from the website on my phone but on the computer you can see the whole day / week

Is your tumble drier a heat pump style or an older one? If it’s an older one it maybe worth upgrading.

This is the highest warm month bill. Gas was £35 and this is electric

So electric has gone up about £70 from that.

Check the temperature of the water on the boiler. It should be set so you don’t need to add much cold water when you run a bath.

Just found this on the app as well … so you can see if there is a particular surge in usage

Mine does this sometimes, it’s normally there by 10am the next day.

Did your rate per unit go up for electric in October and that’s why it’s gone up?
I’m luckily on a fixed rate til end April but honestly I can’t have it less than 21 it’s just too freezing cold! Will need to buy an electric blanket or something for wfh and watching tv!

Make sure your account is set to 1/2 hourly meter readings as well, otherwise you only get a total day view