Leading question about electrickery .....

[Tugmistress]

I am curious to ask other people as to their last quarters electrickery bill, especially if like us, you are all electrickery - no gas, no solid fuel/oil heating.

I know i had a week or two where the washer and tumble drier were on almost 3 or 4 times a day, but i am rather concerned about what hydro say the bill for the quarter was ( i pay monthly DD so didn't have to fork out extra thankfully) as i think i may have a fault somewhere and have thought this for some time but if anyone could give me a comparison i would be grateful - even a rough comparison!

BTW the quarterly bill with readings was nearly £970!

[theone]

Was it really £970 for the quarter, or was it £970 after you gave them a meter reading (ie have you been on estimated bills for ages?)

There's not many faults that could cause electricity use that you don't know about, other than perhaps an immersion heater stuck on?

[Corrie 3]

Hiya Tugs, I am all electric but dont have a tumble drier and my washer is only on twice a week. From spring to autumn my quarterly bills are around £150 each quarter x2...(=£300). In the winter my bills are around £250 a quarter x2 (=£500) making my consumption for the year £800.
Do you have the THTC 2 meter system where you get cheap heating for storage heaters and immersion heater? You should do otherwise you will be paying a fortune. What I have done before is given the two meter readings and got them mixed up..(as the numbers on the dials are very similar)!! There is no way your bill should come to that much and I would query it with your provider!!

C3..............:eek::eek:

[gollach]

We continually queried our Hydro Electric bills as they seemed massive and we gas gas ch & cooker. Eventually, they removed the meter and put a tiny white box in instead. Certainly paying less for electricity now. Question your meter - you've nothing to lose.

[Tugmistress]

Was it really £970 for the quarter, or was it £970 after you gave them a meter reading (ie have you been on estimated bills for ages?)

There's not many faults that could cause electricity use that you don't know about, other than perhaps an immersion heater stuck on?

Immersion is definitely not stuck on as no hot water in tap unless i put it on
definitely actual reading because they kept sending me estimates and i threw a hissy at them as the meter is outside and rang them in May with a reading and had to ring them this time round about 2 or 3 weeks ago with a reading.

Corrie,
not got he readings mixed up, the meter (small and white and digital) was brand new in during november 2009 and readings both started at 0, readings tonight at about 5.35 when i was leaving for work were (1) 19538 and (2) 49214

I am going to take another reading tomorrow evening on my way out to work to see what we have used in 24 hours, which will be tv tonight, computer 24/7, cooker 7 minutes on one ring, fridge/freezer 24/7, light in living room, laptops (2) charged until full, thermostat controlled heater in bedroom from about 9pm until 8.30am, and 3 x 3kw storage heaters, oh and bathroom/hall lights on and off as required. I know there is 2 different tariffs but as to what they are i don't know.

i have said for years, even on a prepay card meter that at £200 a months average usage seemed high.

When i gave the wifie on the phone the last set of readings a couple or three weeks ago i also said to her that the meter is outside so no reason for estimates but also that the door is broken due to it being left unloacked by an actual reading being done and the rain heads straight in there and on to the meter, but they wont replace it :( could that be something of a cause?

[Rheghead]

not got he readings mixed up, the meter (small and white and digital) was brand new in during november 2009 and readings both started at 0, readings tonight at about 5.35 when i was leaving for work were (1) 19538 and (2) 49214

Seems about right to me if your quarterly bill is £970.

I suggest you get one of those Owl energy recorders, £30, it will tell you in real time what you are using. It is a good exercise to switch off all your appliances just to see if you have something on which is drawing power and costing you a fortune.

I have one and reckon it has saved me a lot in the time I've had it.

[Corrie 3]

Tugs, you need to ring Hydro and ask for the helpline that gives you advice on your consumption. As far as I know the cheap off peak will feed you immersion heater and two storage heaters, it could be that you have one on the expensive meter. Are they the new type of storage heaters or the older type? Also, I would think the heater in your bedroom will be using a lot if its on all night and wont be on the cheap meter. I was told its cheaper to keep you immersion on all the time cos it costs a lot to heat it up from cold. When I moved here I was using £5 a day in Lekky, I rung the helpline and they got it down by a lot, I also did a meter reading every day and worked out each day what I had used until I sussed what was using all the lekky!!....If you have two switches to you immersion turn the top one off.
Not sure if water getting into the meter will alter the readings or not but you can ask the helpline!
I hope you get it sorted very soon, no one wants to be paying that much just to stay warm!!

C3...........:eek::(

[Tugmistress]

Tugs, you need to ring Hydro and ask for the helpline that gives you advice on your consumption. As far as I know the cheap off peak will feed you immersion heater and two storage heaters, it could be that you have one on the expensive meter. Are they the new type of storage heaters or the older type? Also, I would think the heater in your bedroom will be using a lot if its on all night and wont be on the cheap meter. I was told its cheaper to keep you immersion on all the time cos it costs a lot to heat it up from cold. When I moved here I was using £5 a day in Lekky, I rung the helpline and they got it down by a lot, I also did a meter reading every day and worked out each day what I had used until I sussed what was using all the lekky!!....If you have two switches to you immersion turn the top one off.
Not sure if water getting into the meter will alter the readings or not but you can ask the helpline!
I hope you get it sorted very soon, no one wants to be paying that much just to stay warm!!

C3...........:eek::(

Trouble is i have only had one heater on until this week, the bedroom heater was not on every night either and it is thermostat controlled and is set to 15c. i have no idea if they new or old type but they were new last summer as i went through the previous winter with only one heater working in the whole house and landlord didn't pull his finger out. Immersion is off at every switch when not on!

normally washing machine and dryer are on about 3 times a week, so where is it all going?

going to have to do something - rheggy lend me your owl thingy please lol

[gollach]

I think the Ormlie energy advice people have a thing you can clamp across flexes to confirm consumption. Give them a ring at the start of the week, they were very helpful when we spoke to them.

[Tugmistress]

Thanks gollach i'll look them up and try that :)

[Rheghead]

Is there much in the way of insulation in the loft? You said it was rented. It might be worth your while putting extra insulation in if you plan to stay a while even if the landlord won't help out.

The computer will be on 24/7 for the weather I suppose, but if you are using a desktop then they consume ~150W which will cost you £160 pa, you might want to switch over to a laptop which consumes 50W saving you £100.

[ducati]

We're all electric with 2 computers, immersion heater on all the time (I'm told that is the most efficient way) dryer electric heaters in 5 rooms. With a log burner for when its very cold or we feel like it. Plenty of insulation. Annual bill is about £2000 :eek:

[Rheghead]

I don't have the immersion heater on all the time, I have it on a timer to come on for a couple of hours in the morning and an hour at night when I think I need it. I'm not convinced having it on all the time is the most energy efficient but accept it is more convenient.

I did have it on all the time at one time and noticed the heater kept kicking in for 10 minute periods even though no water was being used and I was sure I was using a lot more electricity. And having a hot tank on all the time seems to say that thermal losses will be maximum all the time.

[golach]

I am in a 2 bedroom maisonette flat, with both Gas & electicity, my monthly bills at the moment are approx £23 for Gas, no central heating on at the moment, and £25 for electricity, no doubt they both will creep up as the winter draws in.

[Kenn]

I'm baffled, we are all electric appart from the boiler which is oil fired, I use the cooker for about an hour each day, fridge/freezer always on, fish tank, 3 computers during the day and 1 24/7.....washing machine is used 3 or 4 times a week depending on the weather and also have a tumble dryer, microwave gets used for aproximately 15 minutes each day...quarterly bill £175.

[bekisman]

Talking about high energy use..
Had an interesting incident with a friend of ours, many years ago they had booked a chalet, out in the countryside - which was next door to another.
The usual form was that electricity use was paid at the end of the two-week stay..
Our friend, being canny sort of chap, noticed after a few days that they seemed to be using rather a lot of electricity, considering the small amount of electrical appliances that were in use. Having used up the milk one morning, and fridge not needed, he decided to switch off the mains in the fuse box - just to see what happened.

They returned that early evening and found the mains back on.. he searched out the owner of the site who was rather evasive and did not give any sort of satisfactory answer..'fridge will defrost'.. so our friend; a practical sort of bloke with building experience had a good look around the fuse box and ancillary equipment, and was surprised to see badly hidden wiring leading away from the box, he followed as best he could the path and outside he noticed the wires went to the next chalet, where he had been given to understand, that a friend of the owners lived..
Yep, our friend was actually supplying and paying for the power consumption of another chalet..

A police investigation followed and the chalet owners were done..

[Tugmistress]

Rheg,
The loft had that freebie insulation done last year so i guess it is now at minimum requirement as before it had none.
I'' try and get one of those consumption things and see what is taking it all, a monthly DD of £130 was covering usage until this last quarter - i'm confused lol

just taken readings again and since 5.40 last night used 8 units on normal tariff and 44 on 'cheap'

[Gronnuck]

We're in a four bed detached bungalow, we're all electric on 'Total Heating Total Control.' Electricity costs have averaged £145 a month this past year although we voluntarily pay slightly more on DD. I read both meters each day at 9.30AM and log the readings on an Excel spreadsheet. Sad I know, but we can see where the electricity is being used and why. We reckon we're learning all the time of ways to use less electrickery and so cut costs. I keep an eye on Tug's weather reports and also use http://www.accuweather.com to help us decide if and when to switch the heating on. We keep a gas heater for sudden cold spells.

[Corrie 3]

Rheg,
The loft had that freebie insulation done last year so i guess it is now at minimum requirement as before it had none.
I'' try and get one of those consumption things and see what is taking it all, a monthly DD of £130 was covering usage until this last quarter - i'm confused lol

just taken readings again and since 5.40 last night used 8 units on normal tariff and 44 on 'cheap'
That works out at approx £5.60 per day Tugs!!....About £168 per month....You need to find out which appliances are using up the lekky and try and save on it!! I would look at any heaters that you have that aren't on the "cheap" meter!!

C3.............:eek:

[ducati]

We're all electric with 2 computers, immersion heater on all the time (I'm told that is the most efficient way) dryer electric heaters in 5 rooms. With a log burner for when its very cold or we feel like it. Plenty of insulation. Annual bill is about £2000 :eek:

I should say that at least one of us in most days working from home so its all on all the time.

[orkneycadian]

BTW the quarterly bill with readings was nearly £970!

See when you hook your house into a streetlight, the idea is to get the streetlights to feed the house, not the other way around.... Looks like you have a crossed wire somewhere....

[meyman]

i suggest you check appliances. The in-laws had a sudden large rise in electric bill and after investigating found out the fridge/freezer was always running on 'high' (they usual cycle between high and low) and was sucking up the power.

[theone]

BTW the quarterly bill with readings was nearly £970!

Tugs,

When was the last time you paid a bill by "readings"?

If you've been paying by (low) estimates for a couple of years it might explain it.

[NickInTheNorth]

Hi Tugs

We have been using £20 electricity per week since I turned the heating off in april.

We are all electric, the washer is on at least once a day, usually more and the tumble drier most days too. We cook with electric, and I use it for baking too most days.

The water is on at least twice a day.

We've tellies, comuters, consoles, DVD players sewing machines etc on the go all the time, and an occassional hour or two of a heater and de-humidifier.

And on a pre-pay metre we'll be paying a higher tarif than you. So to my Mind your bill sounds way over the top.

[Tugmistress]

I've managed to arrange to borrow a thingy that you clip to the main input cable and it tells you usage whenever you switch something on, so everything will be being tested over the next week or so! get hold of this on tuesday afternoon, (can't do it tomorrow as off to inverness for an op) so hopefully by next weekend i should know what's eating it all :)

Glad you have all confirmed my thoughts that it is excessive usage, and for whoever asked about estimated bills, i have had to read the meter myself for the last 2 years even though it is outside!

[Bazeye]

Just wear your thermal overalls inside your house.