Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Cost of living

Stretching your budget? Share tips and advice to discuss budgeting and energy saving here. For the latest deals and discounts, sign up for Mumsnet Moneysaver emails.

Original poster

Insane costs to run our home. Is there help on the way?

169 replies

SoupaDoupa · 12/12/2022 11:05

We are in the fortunate enough position to own our own 3 bed Victorian property. Over the years we have modernised it by adding on an extension (with lots of glass - so not great for keeping heat in (or out in the summer). We have also added in as much insulation as possible to the walls in the bedrooms and ceilings, the windows are all new wooden sash windows, we have wooden shutters I try and keep closed (no fabric curtains).

I have just checked our smart metre and we have already spend £6.28 this morning alone! I kept turning the heating off over night because our bedrooms luckily weren't absurdly cold, but our front room (north facing and always the coldest) got down to 13C!! I did have the tumble dryer on last night to dry a load of blankets I washed (son was ill) that I'll be using during the day to keep me warm while I WFH. DH and Son are upstairs in bed so it's just been my daughter and I up and about so far today. I've had a shower as well. Not used the stove or oven or anything. The heat was on this morning for maybe an hour.

I checked the smart metre and yesterday it tallied up at £19.88 for the day!!! 😳

The cost to heat and run the electrics for our home will cost us close to £600+ this month!?! This is crazy and unaffordable. As I said, I understand that we are in a fortunate position with our home, and there are many others struggling far worse than us. Will there be more help from the government? Is there an end in sight for these sky rocketing costs? (I know it won't be instant, but will they go down close to where they were within the next couple years?). Will there be help from the government?

What can we do to lower the costs? Husband says that all our bulbs are energy efficient. Right now I've got all the lights and heating off. We do have some things plugged in that's not in use like the main computer, the TV, sky box, play station etc. but there's not loads. The only things I'm actually using right now is my laptop for work that's plugged in and my Amazon Alexa to listen to some music.

OP posts:
Overthebow · 12/12/2022 12:23

I doubt there’s more help on the way from the government, at least for those of us who own houses and have a decent income. We are all just going to have to pay it and make other savings if you can’t. I’d much rather help went to those who really need it than myself who can just cut back on savings for example.

GasPanic · 12/12/2022 12:24

Shut the doors to the huge glass extension.

I use my conservatory like a solar furnace. Doors are open blowing hot air into the house when it is sunny. When it is cold they are closed.

Come back Sun.

Phrenologistsfinger · 12/12/2022 12:24

@SoupaDoupa our EV, for a full charge from scratch (250miles range) costs £25-27 a pop. DP thinks it is still cheaper than topping up a tank of petrol. We rarely need to do a full charge though, that’s just for long journeys.

antelopevalley · 12/12/2022 12:24

The old-fashioned ways are better for energy. So carpets and not laminate. Thermal curtains. Not having massive windows - sorry I know this is too late, you already have them. But the reason laminate/wooden floors, large windows with no curtains have become popular in the last 20-30 years is because energy has been cheaper. It is not that people in the past would not have liked those things aesthetically, it is simply they made no economic sense.

In short term, thermal curtains are better than wooden shutters for keeping the heat in. Although external wooden shutters are better than curtains, although very dark.

Ciri · 12/12/2022 12:27

Our house is sooooooo much colder since we ripped out the carpets downstairs and replaced with hardwood.

Original poster
SoupaDoupa · 12/12/2022 12:28

Overthebow · 12/12/2022 12:23

I doubt there’s more help on the way from the government, at least for those of us who own houses and have a decent income. We are all just going to have to pay it and make other savings if you can’t. I’d much rather help went to those who really need it than myself who can just cut back on savings for example.

This is true. It wasn't my intention to sound ungrateful. I'm fully aware people are struggling. We just have not budgeted (nor really have the extra disposable income) to pay triple / quadrupole our monthly heating and energy bills with everything else going up in price as it is. Obviously we will have to look to make some cost cutting measures somewhere, and will do so. The government assistance was more a general query about if there is any more help coming (for anyone - not necessarily specific to us but that would be great of course), but my bigger concern & query is if it is now always going to be like this? Is there any hope of the bills going down in a few years - say after the Ukraine war settles down, and anything else contributing to the excessive increase starts to hopefully settle down and even out.

OP posts:
Ciri · 12/12/2022 12:29

Prices rarely come down once they have gone up

Original poster
SoupaDoupa · 12/12/2022 12:31

Ciri · 12/12/2022 12:29

Prices rarely come down once they have gone up

I know. 🤦‍♀️ That was some very optimistic and wishful thinking in my part. Was hoping someone with more insight into economics etc was going to share some more optimistic news... 😒

OP posts:
ItsNotReallyChaos · 12/12/2022 12:32

Friends of mine who live in these types of houses are only heating one room downstairs at the moment, keeping the door closed on that room at all times to keep the heat in.

They only heat the bedrooms a little in the evening before bedtime then use hot water bottles and wool blankets to be warm in bed.

I do worry about the pipes on the bits of the house they're not heating though.

I am fortunate to live in a 1975 ex-LA house. Not so pretty to look at but it's a lot cheaper to heat than the stone houses I've been aspiring to living in!

MarshaBradyo · 12/12/2022 12:33

SoupaDoupa · 12/12/2022 12:02

Yes that's with gas and electric.

@Hooverphobe the entire extension isn't glass, but the whole back wall is with doors, and a couple velux. When we build it it was quite a common design, so we're hardly the only ones who've done it. It's our first home. Not lived in a Victorian property prior to this (won't be again after this!!!) so didn't know what to expect.

And as I mentioned before, I appreciate we're in a more fortunate position than many with our home. But that doesn't mean we're not struggling and feeling the pinch. Im not asking the government specifically to pay for our house, as I understand that most of the country are struggling and people with less than us are struggling even more. The query about government help was in general for everyone as I can't fathom how some are making do this winter.

Show quote history

This design will be a big factor. Agree with pp most tax payers will take hit to support lower earners but not all can be funded.

Fleabigg · 12/12/2022 12:33

Don’t hold your breath for more government support - talk of “targeted” support suggests it won’t include homeowners unless they’re pensioners or on specific benefits.

EmmaAgain22 · 12/12/2022 12:36

The glass extension shouldn't just be closed off, you should cover as much as you can.

my flat is boiling in summer and I literally covered the windows in cardboard in the heatwave. I also tried bubble wrap but that's not half as good as cardboard.

my sister tried the fancy thermal blinds and tells me they make no difference.

ILoveaSunflower · 12/12/2022 12:37

Have you got an immersion heater as a back up to your boiler? Has it accidentally been left on?
We were racking up £6 a day on our smart meter before we realised that we had left our immersion heater on.
Once switched off we are back to about £1-2 a day. We have oil central heating.

WhaleInAManger · 12/12/2022 12:42

Will there be more help from the government? Is there an end in sight for these sky rocketing costs? (I know it won't be instant, but will they go down close to where they were within the next couple years?).

Sadly, the market experts I've read all seem to think these prices are heer for a while and will be slow to go down.

We are all going to have to reconsider how we live through winters and I agree with PP: carpets, thick curtains, smaller rooms, walls not glass, layered clothing indoors are all going to be making comebacks despite fashions.

Reallybadidea · 12/12/2022 12:42

How many kwh of gas and electricity have you actually used today? I think I that sounds like a lot for a couple of hours of heating and a load in a tumble dryer.

Pelo22 · 12/12/2022 12:50

Fleabigg · 12/12/2022 12:33

Don’t hold your breath for more government support - talk of “targeted” support suggests it won’t include homeowners unless they’re pensioners or on specific benefits.

Which is ridiculous
My pay is min wage + commission so about £1500 average a month
My bills are £1200 before I've bought food or petrol

antelopevalley · 12/12/2022 12:52

The trend for open-plan living will go. Rooms that combine kitchens, dining room and living room cost a lot to heat.

whynotwhatknot · 12/12/2022 12:54

they wont help anymore they dont actually care sitting their big houses with their bigbank balances

thats why we have to vote them out next time

Quveas · 12/12/2022 12:55

TheLittlestLightOnTheXmasTree · 12/12/2022 11:21

That's where the bulk of your money went....the drier!

No way. On average drying a single load of clothes costs less than £2. If you have the oldest, least energy efficient model known to humankind, then say double that (which is highly unlikely).

www.idealhome.co.uk/property-advice/how-much-does-it-cost-to-run-a-tumble-dryer-295558

NoelNoNoel · 12/12/2022 12:57

Could you buy fleece type blankets from Primark or Wilko? They dry really quickly.

Quveas · 12/12/2022 12:58

Sadly, the market experts I've read all seem to think these prices are heer for a while and will be slow to go down.

Of course the market experts aren't expecting rpices to go down. When do prices ever go down? Oddly, profits are managing to still go up nicely. There's more than one way to "reconsider how we live"....

Soothsayer1 · 12/12/2022 13:07

Ciri · 12/12/2022 12:29

Prices rarely come down once they have gone up

Life is now unaffordable for normal people
I suppose it doesn't really matter if you can't heat your home if no one can afford a home or food to put in the cupboards
All the money is sucked up by the people at the top, it never trickles down it just whooshes straight up

MarshaBradyo · 12/12/2022 13:10

whynotwhatknot · 12/12/2022 12:54

they wont help anymore they dont actually care sitting their big houses with their bigbank balances

thats why we have to vote them out next time

Not sure if you got it, but £900 did go out, I wouldn’t say no but others need it more.

PinotPony · 12/12/2022 13:10

I've put electric blankets on the kids' beds and told them to get into bed if cold - 2p per hour to run.

I've got a heated faux fur throw which costs about the same to run and keeps me warm whilst WFH.

Heating goes on for an hour in the morning... mainly to dry the towels after we've showered.

Soothsayer1 · 12/12/2022 13:11

Oddly, profits are managing to still go up nicely
You say oddly but I think it stands to reason, if you have wealth and power you will use that wealth and power to make sure you hold onto your money and your profits never take a hit.
The poor and vulnerable are exploited precisely because they do not have the means to fight back.