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How many units of electricity do you use a day?

74 replies

SpeckledlyHen · 10/12/2022 14:16

Does anyone know roughly how many units of electric they use a day? Reason for asking is my husband has calculated based on our current usage that our electricity bill is going to be about £1100 this month. I am gobsmacked. He said we are using approx 100 units a day - a unit is 34p, so that's £34.00 a day.

This CAN'T be right can it? He said so far today we have used 20 units. The only thing that is on is the heating (but not high) and the aga (although we set this to a low tick over heat during the day. The house is not by any means boiling, yesterday I did plug in an electric heater to top it up whilst I was working from home. We don't have pools/hot tubs or anything apparently obviously gobbling electricity that I can think of to switch off.

This is not a smart meter reading but just reading the numbers on the ordinary meter.

I just did a very quick google and an "average" household seems to use between 4-6 units a day.

I am going to phone the electricity company soon but this just seems totally and utterly ludicrous and I can't get over what we "appear" to be using.

We only moved into the house in August and I am wondering if the meter needs replacing.

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NewBootsAndRanty · 10/12/2022 14:18

1 or less, if I don't use the dehumidifier or tumble dryer. I'm in a 1 bed flat, mind...

NewBootsAndRanty · 10/12/2022 14:21

^ i also used a plug in heater yesterday, which used 1.5kwh an hour; normally i just use gas central heating.

Pootle40 · 10/12/2022 14:24

Normally £5-£6 a day including standing charge on electricity. Roughly 14kw per day? That's PS4, TV, dishwasher at least once, washing machine 30 minutes, tumble dryer 60 minutes.

hamsterchump · 10/12/2022 14:25

@SpeckledlyHen What kind of heating do you have? And the Aga runs off electricity? I know Agas costa fortune to run but that is an insane amount, it's the most I've seen anywhere, possibly a fault with your meter unless you are doing something very unusual?

FourTeaFallOut · 10/12/2022 14:25

So, is all your heating electric, including the aga?

Hugasauras · 10/12/2022 14:26

About 14-15 a day. How is your husband getting these figures?

Hugasauras · 10/12/2022 14:26

I'd check myself tbh in case he is misreading. Go take a meter reading yourself now, write it down, and then do it again same time tomorrow.

megletthesecond · 10/12/2022 14:26

About 12 a day in winter.

Blowyourowntrumpet · 10/12/2022 14:28

About 20kwh per day, but my house is all electric, I don't have a gas supply

SpeckledlyHen · 10/12/2022 14:28

hamsterchump · 10/12/2022 14:25

@SpeckledlyHen What kind of heating do you have? And the Aga runs off electricity? I know Agas costa fortune to run but that is an insane amount, it's the most I've seen anywhere, possibly a fault with your meter unless you are doing something very unusual?

I don't know what heating we have. We have radiators, and I know the boiler is gas fired (LPG tank in garden).

The Aga is all electric but we found a timer thing and have managed to turn it down (a bit like the heating system) during the day.

I am going to take a reading of the meter now.

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chocolateasaltyballs22 · 10/12/2022 14:30

Between 5 and 9, depending on whether we've used the oven/dishwasher/washing machine that day.

Blowyourowntrumpet · 10/12/2022 14:30

I think you'll find your husband is mistaken. 100 kWh per day doesn't sound right

Athenen0ctua · 10/12/2022 14:31

Three, but showers and stovetop are gas

boys3 · 10/12/2022 14:34

The price cap is based on an annual average of 2,900 units. So your DH has your usage at pretty much 12 times that. Doesn't sound quite right. Do you have an indoor swimming pool that you've not yet told us about ? 😀

Onegingerhead · 10/12/2022 14:38

Just checked and we are using 2-4 kW a day of electrics. Heating is gas tho.
Usual stuff, fridge/freezer, hob used once a day, sometimes oven, washing 2-3 times a week, microwave, kettle, coffee machine few times a day, telly in the evening, laptops x 2, LED lighting throughout. No dishwasher or tumble drier.

SpeckledlyHen · 10/12/2022 14:40

Blowyourowntrumpet · 10/12/2022 14:30

I think you'll find your husband is mistaken. 100 kWh per day doesn't sound right

I think you must be right..

Although we just looked at the bill for November and by the looks of it we were averaging 41 units a day. Admittedly we both work from home but we did not have the heating on for the first two weeks in November and whilst we are detached we do not have a massive house, smallish cottage, double glazed.

I have just taken a meter reading now, and noted the amount and time of day. I will do the same for a few days and see what it amounts to. I think I then need to phone the supplier and see if there is something wrong with the meter because I just can't fathom how we can be using that much. We both have a shower in the morning but that's it, not in there for hours. No tumble dryer, no heated dryers (have a maiden over the ago for drying clothes). We are not charging cars. It's literally a couple of showers, about 3-4 wash loads a week, laptops during the day and I tv at night.

There are only two of us in the house.

OP posts:
SpeckledlyHen · 10/12/2022 14:41

Onegingerhead · 10/12/2022 14:38

Just checked and we are using 2-4 kW a day of electrics. Heating is gas tho.
Usual stuff, fridge/freezer, hob used once a day, sometimes oven, washing 2-3 times a week, microwave, kettle, coffee machine few times a day, telly in the evening, laptops x 2, LED lighting throughout. No dishwasher or tumble drier.

We have used 2 units in the time I started this thread.. Something is very amiss!

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SpeckledlyHen · 10/12/2022 14:42

Also, he confirmed the heating is gas.

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Elieza · 10/12/2022 14:42

If you have lpg radiators, why do you have the aga on all day?

I thought agas stayed on to heat the house but if yours doesn’t I don’t understand?

NewBootsAndRanty · 10/12/2022 14:42

What happens if you switch the Aga off?

Marmite27 · 10/12/2022 14:44

10.6 as an average since 1st December.

MaisyMary77 · 10/12/2022 14:47

Yesterday we used 92.9 but that’s really unusual for us. I needed my car charged up to 100% (from 30%) so I could get DD from uni. Normally we’d be around 50, that’s with a 3 adults in a large old house, 2 electric cars and a couple of oil filled radiators on top of our central heating.
100 kWh definitely doesn’t sound right!

SpeckledlyHen · 10/12/2022 14:58

NewBootsAndRanty · 10/12/2022 14:42

What happens if you switch the Aga off?

I can do that next. The issue is it is the only thing that is heating the kitchen. There is a tiny radiator in there but not enough I don't think the heat the whole space.

I am not sure how long they take to get back up to heat, I understood it to be about 24 hours? Maybe I need to research that.. Do people switch them off and back on again?

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SpeckledlyHen · 10/12/2022 14:59

Elieza · 10/12/2022 14:42

If you have lpg radiators, why do you have the aga on all day?

I thought agas stayed on to heat the house but if yours doesn’t I don’t understand?

It is in the kitchen which is a bit separate from rest of house, it is the only thing we have really to heat the kitchen. It would be baltic in there otherwise as there is only one small radiator, but I can do a test and turned it off and turn the rad on and see if that makes a difference.

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