Can i ask your energy costs in an old house?

[Itsallabouttea]

Just trying to gauge how common our situation is!
We moved to a 3 bed Victorian end terrace last summer, typical house of the period, solid walls and EPC rating D. Prior to this I was a lodger with bills included so had little awareness of the cost. At the moment we're spending £8-9 a day just to be remotely comfortable - heating on for a couple of hours in the morning and maybe 3 in the evening. We both work from home and the house constantly feels absolutely Baltic - even when the heating's been on for hours it never gets above 16°. Is this just normal for houses of this age and are we destined to be bankrupt by the energy bill? We're paying 27p kWh for electricity, 7 for gas with Octopus

I have a 3 bed mid terrace. Heating on for 1 hour in the morning and 4 on an evening, got it to between 17 and 17.5 this week 🥶

I'm with OVO,five bed victorian semi. Three floors. It's been 15-18 quid a day during the cold snap but I don't let my house dip below 19.5. £323 pcm

I'd say your payments are pretty typical unfortunately

Just to say that these old houses do not hold the heat. You need to blast it to a comfortable temperature and then keep it there. Also think about the risk of damp. 16 isn't really optimal for you or the house.

I live in a 3 bed mid terrace with gas CH. I'm with EON.

I have the heating on a couple of hours in the morning and usually from 6 - 11 in the evening. If its very cold like this week, I've bee putting the heating on at 4ish and it stays on until I go to bed
Eon have just reduced my monthly direct debit for gas and electricity from £168 to £125.60 as I was racking up huge overpayments

3 storey, 4 bed Victorian house with no carpet. Husband works from home. About £200 per month.

Our Dec bill was just over £300 for both. We pay £225 per month dd year round.

This year we've installed a log burner, switched the very old electric shower to gas, added 2 radiators which has reduced use of plug in heaters and this has reduced our bill from £450 last December!

Yes - just had my own thread about this complaining. I am in a small 3 bed mid terrace. I do have new windows. But last winter it cost me £300 per month for both gas and electricity. In summer very little.

Thanks all, good to know that we're sadly not being charged too much! 😆 I've done as much as I can to retain heat - thick lined curtains, draft excluders etc. Waiting to hear back from the government insulation grant scheme to see if we could get any help there as well. We've also got an issue with water ingress from the roof but that's being fixed as soon as the weather gets better

I strongly recommend putting a curtain pole above the inside of your front & back main doors. Then hang a heavy, lined curtain or an old blanket. This really stops the draughts.
I have had this installed for a few years & it makes a big difference.

@ChelseeDagger
Yeah it's not great, it won't seem to get any warmer though - had heating on full for 4 hours the other night and monitored the living room temperature with all doors shut etc, still only just got past 16😔

If you have an open fire. Install a wood/coal/pellet burner the difference is amazing !

Got heavy curtains in front of front and back doors, no open fireplaces unfortunately

Oh my goodness! MN bash the new build as being just the worst thing ever but mine is 5 bed detached , I pay £150 per month dd and it’s never goes below 18! ( heat for a couple of hours in the morning, rarely in the evening, the upstairs is set to 18 and never clicks on!)

I adore old houses but this is a massive downside isn’t it.

We paid 100 a month DD in the warmer months so that covered some of the costs, it's just scary watching the smart meter go up and up. Think I need to put it in a cupboard!

If you have a smart meter you could switch to the tracker tariff with Octopus. We’ve got gas tracker and today’s price is 3.7p. I’m not sure what the electric tracker prices are like as we have solar but there are websites you can use to look at historical prices to see if it’s worth it.

Clean your chimneys and light a fire in the main living room? At least you’d have one warm room.

We live in a 2 bed Victorian terrace and heat the house to 19° 7am to 11pm and the most expensive month to date cost £130

Definitely a massive downside

Just be thankful you are not with OVO. My DD lives on her own in a one bedroom modern flat and they are charging her £480 per month! Despite 47 phone calls they will not accept they are charging her for the wrong meter. Got the energy ombudsman involved and OVO are ignoring their resolutions.
Avoid OVO at all cost!

Damp will be your problem. If you can heat it so it’s not damp, then maintain it at that temperature, it will feel a lot warmer. Or get a dehumidifier

Internal insulation makes a big difference. Do it room by room as you redecorate

It is but it's nice and cool in the summer 😊 of course I would say that because I live in a ridiculous 200 year old single glazed house that is extremely energy inefficient!! I live here because of the location. There aren't really any new builds within walking distance of the town. But there are many days I wish the house was more modern.

OP - yes summer months we pay £4 a day for energy and winter months it is between £7 and £15 depending on when we do washing. Have you insulated your roof? That made a big difference for us. Ours is a four storey single glazed 200 year old town house. So unfortunately your bill seems normal, which is annoying! But it's all averages out over the course of the year I guess

@ConsuelaHammock
Our fireplaces have been walled over, plus DH is pretty against open fires and log burners due to potential health implications unfortunately. The radiators are hot but the rooms just won't hold the heat even if we spend a million pounds on heating

3 bed mid terrace. Heating is set from 06.00-08.00 and 15.00-23.00 during the week. Weekends same but put it on as needed if needed more. We don't have a thermostat. Never have it on overnight, hate it.

We're on about £10-12 a day while it's this cold. I'm WFH today and it has been on all day.

Just rubbish really that we're all paying these enormous prices whilst energy companies make millions in profit for shareholders