Just gas alone has cost us £170 last month

[Hoochyhoo]

Does this seem high to you guys?
It was obviously a lot less in the warmer months but everyone I have spoken to has commented on how expensive it is for our gas and electric. We have paid around £250-270 the last 2 months (per month).

Can’t understand why it’s costing us so much.
We use a prepayment meter with bulb and live in a 3 bed end of terrace property

@RainbowZebraWarrior

Gas and Electric combined, £65 per month here. 2 bed bungalow. At home all day. I don't have the heating on all the time, but I do have very efficient radiators. My thermostat is mainly set to 17 degrees. Off at night as I can't stand hot bedroom. Don't use a dryer, but I'm not stingy and if I need heat I at least know I can afford it (so far) British Gas fixed tariff.

Wow that’s well cheap!

@WarmForDecember

Our new tariff is £500 for gas and electricity... we're in a Victorian semi. Not sure how to make savings really. We're in the house all day with small children/baby so do have the heating on quite a bit but not excessively, have timers to turn electrical things off, newly fitted thermostat.

We'd like to move to a bigger house this year but not if it's going to cost us a fortune just to heat...

I’m wondering if part of the reason ours is so high is the fact I don’t think the house is very well insulated and it’s not a modern build or anything.

@Hoochyhoo your gas useage is almost 4.6 times as much as ours!

How often is your heating on? What temp are you heating to? How much hot water do you use? Do you have a gas oven and a gas hob? (We don't have either of those)

I'm sure you could save useage and thus money on your gas somehow.

@Jobseeker19

I spend less than £10 a week on gas prepayment meter Edf.

You need to get blankets for the sitting room and make sure every one has a nightgown or onsie.
Once they are worn if you're still cold then put the heating on.

I also don't use a thermostat and switch the heating on and off.
When I do use the heating it is on in 10 min increments just to warm the bones of the house then turned off.

I’m gonna try turning it off a bit more and using extra blankets duvets etc and seeing if that helps

We use more electricity than you but not too much more to account for the massive difference (our shower and all cooking is electric).

[quote Nemorth]@Hoochyhoo your gas useage is almost 4.6 times as much as ours!

How often is your heating on? What temp are you heating to? How much hot water do you use? Do you have a gas oven and a gas hob? (We don't have either of those)

I'm sure you could save useage and thus money on your gas somehow.[/quote]
I know it’s insane how high it is! 2 adults 3 children.

Someone I know has 5 children and theirs doesn’t cost anywhere near as much as mine, they have a smaller house but still. It’s crazy.

The heating has been on a lot more often this month as it’s quite cold here at the moment (I live in Wales).

I don’t have a thermostat and the boiler doesn’t show temps just has a dial to turn it up and down essentially. I try to keep it on quite low and turn it up only if it’s really cold.

We do have a gas cooker. I’m assuming quite a bit of hot water especially with the kids home from school atm, (extra dishes to wash etc).

Our bath is really big so that takes a lot of hot water.

@Hoochyhoo

Your usage seems high. How many hours a day do you have the heating on for?
What clothes do you wear in the house? I tend to wear thermals under my normal clothes and sheepskin slippers when working from home plus a blanket so that heating doesn't need to be on too much.

Did your landlord provide an energy performance certificate (EPC) when you moved in? What rating was the property?

Landlords are not allowed to rent out on assured short tenancies any property rated less than E.
www.gov.uk/guidance/domestic-private-rented-property-minimum-energy-efficiency-standard-landlord-guidance

We are in a large 3 bed semi and ours has gone up quite a bit so we are trying to use things less. Nov was £245. We are all out most of the day and nothing is on then. Hot water runs on a timer and our thermostat is set to 18 and rarely clicks on. If it gets chilly I turn it up to 19 but that doesn't happen much. Heating is never on between 10pm and 6am (lots of blankets). We have lots of very good insulation which is worth the money it saves on heating.

Sorry £245 is gas and electric

That seems so so high we pay £130 a month for gas and electric combined. 5 bedroom detached house in Scotland so cold and damp. We put the heating on when it’s cold and don’t scrimp. There’s 6 of us and someone is always in the shower too.

I live in an exposed, windy costal Scottish town. Wales is probably wetter but warmer?? I'm completely guessing.

Most of our dishes are done by the dishwasher. Saves water, time and I've just realised must save on the gas bill too as the water is heated a different way. I know it's more energy efficient than hand washing.

You could get thermometers for your rooms and then only put the heating on when it drops below certain levels. Become your own thermostat!

I'm sure you'll be able to cut back.

This baby dam bath water barrier helps you use less water in the bath. Might save you some money?

www.kidly.co.uk/products/baby-dam/the-babydam-bathwater-barrier/15787?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvL3T1-mW9QIVitd3Ch1kqQAgEAAYASAAEgKVMfD_BwE

£163 per month, used to cost £83 per month for gas and electricity. 2 bed flat.

I am now thinking that if gas prices are going to increase indefinitely, i would only buy flats from now on. At least if I can rely on the heat of the other flats....and most flats are not bigger than 3 bedroom so it's only 1 more room to heat...

I thought my leccy bill was high at £80 this month. My gas is roughly the same(3 bed house). Is it bulb my sil was saying she is putting £20 every few days on her metre.

Wow - I can't believe how heigh some of these bills are!! Currently paying £70 per month for gas and electricity. Three bed semi with heating on all day as working from home. Thermostat is usually set at around 20-21 degrees. Have a fixed rate tariff though - not looking forward to the price hike when the fixed rate ends!

I’m shocked at the size of some of these bills on this thread. I don’t know how we will manage such increases.

We live in a detached house on the south coast, wfh, with 2 teens who seem to take showers for hours, have gas combo central heating on thermostats (16-19C) and solar panels. We do try to use high energy items when it’s sunny, putting on the washing machine during day for example. In the evenings we use a wood burner to warm one room if it’s really cold rather than put up the central heating.

We are with bulb currently paying £140 a month for gas and electric combined and they want to reduce DD to £105 (reckons our average monthly usage is £144 but have large credit built up). We also earn approx £200pa credit from FIT. I’ll leave everything as is though as expect the credit to get used when bills rise shortly.

I honestly thought ours were a bit too high until I read this thread. We’d been having discussions about how we do extra insulation (after being told the house wasn’t suitable for cavity insulation)

Prices have gone up considerably lately, I’m an all electric 2 bed terrace and my electric bill in November was £275. Turned off all but one of the storage heaters and the water heater and then just boiled kettles to do the dishes and used the electric shower rather than baths. The house is flipping freezing and it’s still £150 a month. Crazy!

We pay 73 pounds for gas and electric each month. We are in a 3 bed semi.

@Hoochyhoo
I’ve just gone back through my bulb statements and it’s 20p a kw regardless whether I use it day or night as they took away the cheap economy rate a couple of months-the overall price for electric has gone up 3 times with Bulb so not sure about gas as don’t have it.The standing charge went up as well-
Until it comes Ed out if administration I’m afraid we’re stuck! It’s 5 degrees here - and I’m wondering round in layers- I’m stuck at home as in treatment so can’t go to work to get warm 😂
We can luckily afford to pay big bills but it seems wasteful! I worry for my daughter and grandchildren who I expect we will have to pay their fuel bill when it arrives in February as they are on a low income

I'm so lucky my little flat is quite warm so don't spend more than 50 per month on gas. Electric however,

A large portion of it goes on the basking light for dd's snake. We bought him a year ago and if I knew then that energy prices would rise I would have steered her towards a fish or stick insect. I may have to crochet him a little dressing gown and wooly hat

@Hoochyhoo

This is our usage in the last 10 months, confirmed by an email from bulb. Can’t figure out why the gas bill is so high. We have a huge bath tub but other than that 🤔

That's your energy usage for 10 months?

The electricity seems very high - my predicted usage for 12 months is 2000kwh. But your gas seems very low - my predicted usage for 12 months is 4500kwh.

I live in a 2 bedroom detached bungalow.

I'm fixed with Sainsbury's Energy until October 2022. My direct debit is £69 a month but I know I'll be in credit.

If I were to switch now, I would be charged £180 a month.

I don't really know how to work our smart meter well but I can make it show the dialy totals. So

28th £18.33
29th £16.87
30th £12.67
31st £15.95
1st £13.19
2nd £15.36
3rd £17.79
Today so far £4.56

At this rate even our £500 per month isn't really going to cover it and we're never going to repay the deficit.

Wtf! Aaargh! It's not even that cold here. I'm going to speak to DH and figure out if there's anything we can do.

If the bath is big don't have to fill it - just enough to wash yourself

Insulate and insulate more
What can you do about the end wall ?

Get a thermometer- you say you don't have heating up high but plenty of people who say that do have very warm homes as it's easy to feel cold

Is the boiler regularly serviced ? How old?

@WarmForDecember

I don't really know how to work our smart meter well but I can make it show the dialy totals. So

28th £18.33
29th £16.87
30th £12.67
31st £15.95
1st £13.19
2nd £15.36
3rd £17.79
Today so far £4.56

At this rate even our £500 per month isn't really going to cover it and we're never going to repay the deficit.

Wtf! Aaargh! It's not even that cold here. I'm going to speak to DH and figure out if there's anything we can do.

That's ridiculous!! Who is your supplier and what size home do you have?

I think a lot of people are in for a shock with their next bills.my son’s bill has jumped by £35 a month from £65 to £100. We were warned it was going to be really bad but I suspect more people next month who have been used to low bills,won’t be ready