Energy Usage

[lovelyupnorth]

Looking on e.on yesterday i was surprised to see we use more energy than the average for our house type so just wondering what you spend on gas and electric for your house.

Ours is a 1930's 3 bed semi with attic conversion & 2 bathrooms, boiler is fairly new, all double glazed, loft insulation was sorted when we did the conversion. LED bulbs everywhere and heating usually on 18oC supplmented with open fire in front room. We do have and use our dryer.

Our current elec is about £463 per year and our Gas is £466

i thought we'd be low so was surprised for it to come up on the higher side. would love any feedback.

will be switching come feb when current deal ends

the open fire will be sucking out heat and is incredibly inefficient. Look hard at fitting a stove, whether wood or multifuel.

that said, £900 a year isn't bad although all that really matters is unit price and standing charge.

Standing charge elec is 16.422 p/per day and unit 11.455p per kwh

Gas 21.903 standing charge and 3.278p per kwh

not worried really how much it is was just surprised that we where on the high side according to eon comparisson on engery use

wow, someone on the ball!

how much it is is ALL that matters. Those comparison figures are probably babble. We show as using 35% less than comparable houses for electricity (No gas), with a bill of about £360 a year. My SC is lower than yours, my unit price higher which is the right way for us as low users.

oil is very cheap at the moment, anyone using it - get tanked up!

was just logged in to eon at the time.. got to love an app

We are with scottish power and sc for gas is 19.57p, elec is also 19.57p daily.

per unit we then pay Gas - 2.960 elec - 10.708p

so generally looks like they may be cheaper, as a household ours is £50 a month but there are only 2 of us, no tumble drier and in a new build which is really energy efficient.

Same useage with british gas did cost us £8 a month more just for the differences in their charges.

We live in a 2 bed 1930's semi. Boiler new two years ago, rubbish insulation, washer dryer that does maybe 3/4 washes and 2 drys a week, electric cooker, electric shower, no dishwasher.

Only the two of us but we are below average usage with eon. Surprised me as I crank the heating up to 23 at least once a day and resting temp is 21. Of the opinion that it's better to have the heating on constantly in a house like ours though.

Your usage doesn't sound that excessive depending how often you use appliances and how efficient they are. My dryer takes 3hrs 40 mins for towels but it's meant to be very energy efficient as are all of our other appliances. We only have one TV too, small things like that probably add up. Lots of new build are meant to be very energy efficient, houses the age of ours will always be less so if you go by the EPC so that can be a factor in comparisons.

I used to work for npower 15 years ago, they are still toting out the same bloody yearly consumption.

When I worked there it was 3,330 for total electricity units used in a year, I've just checked the government website, tables last updated June 2015 and guess what? The average is 3,800. My arse is what I say.

Yes little old lady living on her own with just the basic tv, kettle, teeny fridge and her bedside alarm clock etc would use a teeny amount and the sheer number of OAPs does skew the figures.

My own house is a 4 bed, 2 adults, 2 kids aged 12 and 9. Dh is in IT so we have 1 desktop work computer, his work laptop, his own personal laptop, me and DCs each have a laptop, plus a computer in the lounge so I have a TV which is technically a computer screen, the kids have an xbox and a wii. 3 mobile phones to charge, every bedroom has a plugged in alarm clock, bedside lamps, all the usual kitchen stuff, dishwasher on every day. We have dusk till dawn outside lights and CCTV cameras.

The chances of us having an "average" bill is a joke.

We have LED lights in 75% of the house and we are aiming to replace the other ones. I pay £102pm for both gas and electricity, so £1224 per year.

Don't worry so much about what the average is, if you are unhappy with the cost, then look for ways to reduce the bills.

Oh, and I used a condenser tumble dryer daily

we use about 2500 units and work from home. (heating, hot water and cooking not from electricity).

We've no tumble dryer, one TV and 2 computers, and our mobiles last 2 weeks between charges. But I also think your guzzlers are not necessarily the brick-phones and computers, but your outside lighting (why all night? Why not proximity detectors?) Your bill doesn't sound too bad for your situation.

Ours is MUCH higher than that - about £1400 a year for both (haven't got the breakdown to hand).
That said, I've got 4 floors to cover, and our house has high ceilings in all rooms which is a killer in terms of the volume of heat you need.

I think there are other factors at play too - my dc are all teens, so are constantly all plugged in to about 3 devices each for all hours they are home, plus all the hours they aren't home when they leave things plugged in / switched on. They take frequent, long showers. The eat at strange times, so the oven will go on for a pizza, for example, outside of meals generally. I also work from home quite a lot.
If your dc are small, then I wouldn't expect quite as much energy to be used as if they are older.

special was the question about outside lighting for me?

We live next to a park and my house does not face the road and so the street lighting does not light up my house. It is pitch black, I have had taxi drivers too worried to drop me off outside my house and let me walk up a pitch black drive I have had them walk me half way up the drive as the cars parked on the drive cannot be seen from the road, only when you start walking up the drive and they suddenly appear to the side of you.

We have LED eyelid lights covering the drive (my car was broken into when it was dark hence the lighting and CCTV) plus 2 LED flood lights at the back as my house isn't straight and these are usually triggered on a nightly basis by foxes. We can see them on CCTV as they sometimes leave items they have taken. It's weird but private and we love it.

As I worked for npower I know how to keep my bill the lowest I can. But the "average" spouted out by both gas and electricity companies hasn't changed. And yet our lives have, with more TVs, bigger fridge freezers, more tech and gadgets in most family homes. I am a SAHM so am here in the day. I think my bill is fine all things considered

yes, that's what I thought and said. With all that stuff your bill is actually very reasonable.

I don't like the nuisance and light pollution of all-night lighting. But as it sounds like you've no neighbours (and I'm not one), not my problem. My house is dark outside, I take a torch...

pitch black nights are great, wonderful stargazing. But then no self-respecting criminal would look twice at my car!

No we don't have neighbours next to us on either side and no light pollution to the houses nearest us. I genuinely wouldn't do that.

Star gazing is good here but there is street lighting, as I do live on a modern build estate, my house is tucked away.

The thieves didn't take my car just broke in and nicked some cash that we have for pay and display

£112 per month for us but we haven't been at our house a full year so I don't know how much it will end up. The house is old, over 4 floors (3 proper bedrooms and a basement bedroom)with loads of bloody halogens and a freezing conservatory. I'm a SAHM with two little ones so we're in a lot and need the heating on a lot. washing machine and dryer are on daily. We've got one of those gas fires that look like a wood burner and I'm guessing it costs a fortune to run. After the first 4 months we were here (Summer) we'd got £300 in credit but I reckon that'll be gone in no time.

These figures are so low!
Our electric has just been bumped up to £77 ( was £44 before DP Moved in and I was a childminder. He watches ALOT of TV)
Our gas has just been put up to £120pm.
I'm at home with dd but our house is rarely warmer than confortable-as-long-as-you-wear-a-jumper. It's quite a big house, but there's rooms we don't even heat since we don't use them.
Just invested in extra thermal linings the other week.

My meter is taking far too much money I have a prepayment key meyrt I'm going through £20 every 4 days scared to put the story cheaters on