Smart meter readings for a 4 bed

[mollycoddlethem]

Hi,
Just trying to gauge whether we are using higher or lower than average electric/gas.
We are in a 4 bed. Due to work patterns there are people home 4 days a week.
We have 2 young children so try to keep the house warm.
We’ve had a smart meter fitted so we can see exactly what we spend and on an average day it’s about £4-£4.50 combined gas and electric.
So £120-£135 a month. Don’t know our summer readings as only just got the smart meter.
We maybe do one load of washing/drying a day. Dishwasher every day.
Heating on 22 degrees for 2 hours in the morning, lunch time and evening.
Got a combi boiler which is the only thing using gas.

This post is obviously too boring for replies!!!

Sounds about right for your circumstances. Used to work for 1 of the big 6 energy companies.

We are in a new build- pretty similar to you- we are a 4 bed detached. My husband works from home 2 days a week so again 4 days with people in. Our combined gas and electric is approx £90 per month.

Yeah I think it’s a little high.
Although we were paying £80 a month electric and £50 a month gas (maybe the wrong way round) when they were estimating it, so maybe they were right.

shadowboy is that by DD because if so your actual winter usage will be more than £90 you just overpay in summer to make up for it.
mollycoddlethem do you have a new build? How is your energy efficiency, insulation etc? Your tumble drier and washing machine eat electric. Do you wash at 30 or higher? Heating the home to 22 degrees will use a lot of energy especially if it comes on morning, afternoon and evening. Plus 22 is actually quite hot do you need it that hot?

New ish build. 10 years old.
Pretty well insulated.
All of us feel the cold so we probably do have the heating a bit high.
Use washing machine, Tumble drier and dishwasher most days.
We wash at 40.
Kids share a shallow bath each night and me and DH have a quick shower each evening.
I expect in summer the readings on the smart meter will go down.
I was just surprised at £4+ a day being shown on there.

Yep, sounds spot on (also work for one of the big 6!) I would calculate the daily usage in units (kWh) and then run through the various appliances in the customers home, along with how often they were used etc. Invariably the two tally's matched!

This link gives you an idea of his hang units an appliance may use. Ignore the chats as it's from 2013 and everything has gone up since then!!

www.npower.com/blog/2013/02/01/how-much-appliances-cost-to-run/

And if you can work out all the typos in that- well done!!

Wow so £1.20 a day just on fridge freezer, washing machine and tumble drier.
Added to that the cooker or slow cooker, lights, tv etc.
And I expect the big one is 6 hours of heating a day, then you can see how the £4 a day adds up!

And some days it’s 2 loads of washing and tumble drying. So £2 a day on that.
Genuinely didn’t realise gas and electric were so expensive.

Yep, things like fridge, freezers, phones etc are all hidden energy- they are just there using away and you don't even notice really.

Just looked and my brand new boiler on for 6 hours a day will cost around £2 in gas. It’s set for 6 hours a day but doesn’t come on unless the house drops below 22 and it tends to hold heat pretty well so it’s not actually on for 6 hours solid a day.
So £2 for boiler, £2 for washer dryer and we’ve hit £4!
Apparently I’m really cold weather like with the snow on the ground for 2 weeks last year you’ll probably be looking at £4-£5 a day for heating.

But don't forget that in the summer your consumption drops dramatically, you use about 70% of your annual consumption between October and March. That's why your dd is an average over the year. You use loads more than £50 pm in the winter, but much less in the summer so it averages out.

It always used to be that customers who were on key meters were the most energy efficient as they could see their money ticking away in real time. Smart meters will now do the same thing to credit meter customers.

Sounds about right here too. We have a 4 bed detached built 20 years ago. We are £3/4 a day on the smart meter for three of us. Dishwasher on every day. Washing machine and tumble dryer on most days.
Hoping it goes down considerably in the summer!

In reply to you questions- no we have smart meters. Every month on the 26th I get an email of the readings and their calculated costs- in summer this years we used approx £46 April to September. Since September we have been spending approx £90 combined.

I used to work for a utilities company for electricity and the "average" takes into account the little old lady down the street in a 1 bed bungalow who is frugal with her usage.

Compare that to a house with 2 adults and 2 teens in it, usually games console, mobile phones, laptops, plus kitchens with fridge freezers, washing machines (bigger clothes take up more space in machine means more washing,) dishwashers, kettles, toasters, ovens, hobs, tumble dryers, then moving on to electric showers and toothbrushes etc it is a hell of a difference.

We are in a 4 bed house, the electric doesn't change that much from summer to winter as it is only lights that change usage wise and they are on timers, gas for winter is the killer. We have done meter readings and have a spreadsheet (with graph ) for the last 10 years. Prices rise and fall but you can see the consumption.

This house holds the heat well but we have recently bought a thermometer thing that you point at stuff and it tells you the temperature. It allowed us to see where we have draughts coming in such as where cables come through into the lounge, or around a door to the outside which meant we could seal them better.

I pay more than you but I am home all day and do have 2 boys at secondary so I probably do more laundry than you and I use a tumble dryer every day. Plus the boys shower every day before school using an electric shower.

I'm in a 2 bed and I use about £3.50 a day heating is on constant set to stay at 19 I do about 2 loads of washing and drying a day