Cost of bills in 5-bed terraced house?

AwkwardPaws27 · 05/04/2022 10:50

It's hard to say as it really depends on your usage.

Our gas & electric DD has gone up to £180 a month based on estimated usage, 3 bed Edwardian semi - but I've seen other threads on here with people saying they are paying considerably more, & some paying less.

We have our thermostat set to 18c for most of the day (both WFH, so also boiling the kettle, heating up food at lunch etc) so if we didn't heat the house then it would be less. The in-laws often have theirs at 23c - so again, depends on how warm you like it.

There's also only two of us so less showers, laundry loads etc than a big family; I expect it will go up a fair bit when baby arrives as we'll be doing more washing.

Some price comparison sites have estimators where you can enter details like number of people, bedrooms, how many showers / laundry loads etc you do each week and it gives you an estimate of potential usage.

Soffit · 05/04/2022 10:59

My house has six bedrooms and is only joined on one side. Our monthly bill is less than £150/month but probably because I price fixed and also because most of the house is empty so we do not heat it. We only heat the rooms we use (around three) for a short time every day.

sleepyhoglet · 05/04/2022 11:01

@caniaffordahouse

We've been looking to buy for about a year and just found a house we love. Sold our flat in September and renting so keen to proceed as quickly as possible. I'm just nervous that with the cost of living rises we won't be able to afford the bills in the house we have found - it's a large five bed terraced house built in the 1960s, around 250sqm. EPC rating C. Is anyone willing to share the cost of their gas/electric bills for a similar house? Thank you!

It sounds really big for a terrace and unusual being a 1960s terrace so may be hard for anyone to say precisely. Sounds a really interesting and exciting buy though!

Panicmode1 · 05/04/2022 11:09

Can you ask the people selling roughly what their bills are? I'm not sure anyone else will be able to help with an accurate picture, but if it is remotely helpful, we are in a 4 bed, 3 storey Edwardian semi detached and are now paying £286 a month. We are a family of 6 (4 teens) but don't heat the house in the day, though have the washing machine and tumble dryer running constantly in the winter.

Original poster

caniaffordahouse · 05/04/2022 11:40

Thank you so much for the responses so far. DH would rather not ask the vendors as don't want them to think we're concerned about affordability, but may ask them further down the line. It's not that we would pull out of the purchase but more that we'd like to know if we'll need to take on extra work while we still have enormous childcare costs (twins aged 2, average £1800 a month on childcare). It's an original four-bed with a loft extension and we wouldn't need all the space initially so could definitely keep some rooms unheated for the next few years. I think we could manage about £200 a month but will struggle beyond that. However think it is worthwhile for things to be very tight for a year to get this house and then once we get 30 hours free at nursery things will get easier. I'm just a worrier and would like to make plans but it's hard to do that while the costs are unknown!
@sleepyhoglet - yes, it's really exciting and a very unusual house which we both fell in love with so hoping it all works out!

OP posts:

Xfox · 05/04/2022 13:12

As a rough % guide you could see what difference of the kWh / average cost given on the EPCs of old and new house are - It only covers space and water heating but should give a rough idea?

Franklin12 · 05/04/2022 13:15

honestly don’t think £200 is enough at Ll

ChickinMarango · 05/04/2022 13:27

We’re a large end terrace from 1830’s. Heated most of the day and two bedrooms have intermittent electric heating overnight as we have young children. We have 4 bedrooms and 4 other main rooms and over winter (pre price rise) we were topping £300 a month for gas and electric (no power shower). It’s now looking more like £400 even though we have made some cut backs.

filka · 05/04/2022 13:32

I think it's a reasonable question to ask the agent

AwkwardPaws27 · 05/04/2022 13:35

I think we could manage about £200 a month but will struggle beyond that

I'd prepare for more - the price cap is likely to rise again in October, ours went up to £180 with the April rise (3 bed semi) so I'm expecting it to go up another chunk then.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/what-is-the-energy-price-cap/

Are you getting the 20% "tax free childcare" help towards your childcare costs? Any other bills you can reduce if its more? How long until you get the 30 free hours (term time) - can you bridge the gap til then?

JakeChambers · 05/04/2022 15:23

Our house is a 4 bed 1970s semi, approx same square footage. We currently pay £155 a month on direct debit, but that's on a fix. At current price cap rates it would be about £280 according to our usage.

Our DD is older than yours though and plays computer games and does homework on an evening/weekend, plus we have 2 adults WFH with the extra electricity and gas usage that brings. We have the thermostat set to 18 though, and never have the heating on upstairs, except in the bathroom.
£200 or less may be possible if you're all out most weekdays.

MyNameIsAngelicaSchuyler · 05/04/2022 15:28

We are in a five bed Victorian. Our supplier went bust, shell suggested ours would be £300 / month (for both) but with prudent use we kept it to £210 last month. Plan to get solar panels before the October price hike, otherwise I’d say £200 max budget would be very tight.

Will you be out at work / school all week? Are you a high usage family in general (tumble drier, washing every day etc)?

MyNameIsAngelicaSchuyler · 05/04/2022 15:30

Our thermostat is set to 16 with two periods - couple of hours morning / evening - of 18. 10 overnight (never comes on). Dishwasher once daily, about five washes a week. All pretty good about turning lights off / not leaving devices charging etc. family of four (two adults two teens)

TortugaRumCakeQueen · 05/04/2022 15:35

We're in a 5 bed terraced house. It's a townhouse, arranged over 3 floors.

Ground floor : Kitchen, Hall, WC, 2 bedrooms
Middle floor : Very large lounge/diner, large family bathroom, Landing 1 bedroom
Top floor : 2 bedrooms and 1 ensuite - radiators not needed on, as the heat rises.

Our bill with EON was £127pm, and has been for years. Just had a price increase to £270pm though.

There are only 2 of us here. Dishwasher goes on every second day. I do about 3 loads of washing a week. Heating is on all day, as I work from home.

TortugaRumCakeQueen · 05/04/2022 15:37

Sorry - typo in last post. Direct Debit has gone up to £202pm.

FalafelAddict · 05/04/2022 15:37

we're in a 5 bed terrace but only around 186sqm

our gas was £40 a month but has now gone up to £80 (i think it will go down again in the summer as it's only used for hot water/heating)

electricity is around £200 a month but that includes charging an electric car (so maybe assume around £60-80 for that) but we are a high usage household too

CavernousScream · 05/04/2022 15:40

£250 a month at the minute in a 5 bed terrace. It’s Edwardian though, so likely to have higher ceilings. But that’s with a new efficient boiler, new windows and doors, new roof insulation in the loft conversion. I think £200 might be doable but only if you’re careful.

Original poster

caniaffordahouse · 05/04/2022 16:54

Grateful to all those who have replied and some in what seem like quite similar houses - thank you so much, this is really helpful for me. Me and twins are out 8-5 on weekdays. DH more unpredictable as shift work but mostly out during the day as well. I did try to do a rough calculation from the EPC but think I got the maths wrong as the cost was astronomical and seemed impossible. We do have tax free childcare already but costs will reduce by over £1000 a month once we get free hours next April/May, so it will be less than a year before we have a lot more disposable income. I think I'll plan to take on some extra work to budget for around £300 a month and hope that it will end up less than that with careful usage. Thank you again to everyone!

OP posts:

Alwayscheerful · 06/04/2022 09:10

Are we taking a modern estate townhouse or
Edwardian/Victorian ?
EpC?
Heating type ?
Double glazing
At home all day with little ones ?

Happydays321 · 06/04/2022 09:20

We're in a 4 Bed semi, only the 2 of us and our direct debit is £118 based on previous usage, amount suggested by energy company.
We don't have a tumble dryer and do have the heating off when we're out but it is on when we're at home, we're both retired. We have it at 18 in the day and 20 in the evening, when we're sitting down. I cook, boil kettles, iron etc when I need to.