Thread: Gas and Electricity

Just a quickie. I'm a bit rubbish at the whole gas and electricity thing.
Just received our bill and its £544! We've got a 3 bedroomed house. We're all out all day so there is little electricity used during the day.
The water is on constant (as I was told by a gas engineer this was the most cost effective way to do it, and always done it like that), and my heating is on all the time, but at about 16-18 degrees, which is what I've also always done. Obviously the summer months its switched off, I think I put it on mid October so its not even been on that long!!

What do others pay out of interest, and is this about right? I was paying £100 a month, but now they're asking for £257 a month which we just cannot afford to do at the moment. Help!!!

Seems way to high, did you get it checked out? I'd switch water off constant my heating and water comes on for an hour in't morning and if I'm out all day it comes on for a couple of hours in't evening. I'm in a 3 storey 4 bed mid terrace and pay £70 a month for G&E and I'm in credit at the mo'.

We're in a 3 bed semi that's only partially double glazed and has little in the way of insulation and we only pay £90 a month with BG. We always go into the winter in enough credit that we break even by March as well. I would say that something isn't right with that bill but I agree with bootifull that if you're out all day, your heating and water don't need to be on constant as it will be kicking in and using gas when you're not even in the house.

£90 a month for both in a 2 bed bungalow. I suspect we're overpaying but will find out when we leave next month.

Whoa hun that's far too much. I pay £65 a month for dual fuel and am in £100 or so credit to start winter. We have 3 bedrooms and are open plan. My htg is off during the day if I'm out but on at around 20 when I'm home. Our hot water is the instant kind but I agree with keeping it on cos it must be false economy to keep trying to heat a tank full of cold water.
My average bill is £90 - 200. Believe me, I aint frugal either!!!

When I say my heating is on constant, it only kicks in if the temp goes below what I've set the thermostat too, so if its set at 15 then the heating only comes on when it gets below that. I just hate coming home to a really cold house! Was told that this is the most efficient way to do it as it means the heating is only usually on for about 30 - 60 mins a couple of times a day to get the house to the required temp, whereas if you've got it set to be on for 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening.

Will try putting the water on the timer. Last time we tried it though nothing happened and both hubby and I had to go to work without having a shower, I felt yuck all day!!

I've checked the meter readings and they're right. I had Modern Housing out last year as our summer bill was the same price, and the heating wasn't even on!!! But they've said there's nothing wrong with the boiler so there is nothing they can do.

I didn't think it was right, but wanted to check what everyone else is paying. We're in debit from the summer months and at £100 a month we really shouldn't be at all.

There is most definitely something wrong!!!!

Is it an estimated bill? If it is then take a reading and update your readings online and submit them asap. If it is a correct reading, then is it possible that some of your previous bills have been estimated and you have underpaid - that happened to me once. Nightmare.

Other than that, turn your water and heating completely off during the day, no way leave it on all day. An hour or two morning or two should suffice.

TLC x

I pay £82 per month for dual fuel and am in credit with my electric but not for the gas. I also have my water on constant and I was also told its more economical and I thought it only heated up if you used it??!! My heating is on 16 overnight and if I'm out but I turn it up to about 18-20 when we're in and its cold, but I'm quite stingy with it as I'm worried about them wanting more a month and I cant afford it

I pay £65 per month for G&E through Marks and Spencers. I'm in a three bed terraced, and in about £120 credit. i must admit to being a bit anal about switching off plugs and lights though.

I agree that keeping the heating on all day may hike up the prices but it should be no where near that amount.

I would phone them up with a meter reading, and see if it is an estimate.

Things such as the thermostat on the boiler not working properly could contribute to the really high water temp and in turn high bills.

Maybe someone from the energy company could do a check for you, I don't know if that is possible.

We pay £170 a month but are all electric and yes it is extortionate and I can't wait to move to our next quarter!

I was under the impression that leaving hot water/heating on constant was more expensive. Had a quick look on the Energy Saving Trust website and they seem to agree with having it all on timer.

Is it the gas that is the most or the electric? We have an electricity monitor and you wouldn't believe how expensive some electrical items can be to run. I spent many an hour when we first got it running around turning things on and off in shock!

I agree with the others, check it's not an estimate. Also have a look on U Switch and consider switching suppliers. Mine are about to swap me to a different tarrif so I'm switching, which will save me around £500 a year compared to the tariff they seem to think I should be on!

Its not an estimate, I sent the readings in earlier in the month, and the previous readings I've done too, so I know they're correct.
emmalou you do the same as me, and I've done this for the last 4 years, but its gone right up since we've been in this house.

I spoke to a senior manager at DIO about it before and he told me to get modern housing to do an efficiency check of the house, but they've refused.
We've also had a problem with our water heater which has been letting water through the valves to get to the radiators, which it shouldn't be doing when the heating is switched off - which is why we stopped the water on constant until we had no hot water at all! Apparently DIO have refused to fund it cos its not "urgent". I told the guy I spoke to earlier that I will be sending them my gas bills for them to pay!
Trying to get Modern Housing to do anything is like getting blood out of a stone, and I'm certainly not one for being taken for a mug.

We don't have gas, but oil heating, I have my water on constant and over the summer is hardly used any oil, it only heats it up if it needs it. My mum works for heating engineering firm and says this is most economical way for type of boiler we have. We were using loads last year, but that was due to a leak, gas though is easier to detect a leak.

I assume the thermostat is in one of the main rooms and not anywhere really cold which might not read the temperature accurately.

That bit about your water heater sounds a bit odd, as you seem to think. Have you checked neighbours with similar houses/boilers to see what they pay?
It also might be worth checking its just your property the metre is reading. I had an issue with a water metre which was assigned to my flat, but read all the flats in the building. I got billed for all of their usage. it was only when I compared with others that it seemed very odd.

My neighbour is attached to our house, same size and does the same as me, her bills are about half.
Who do I get to check the meters? N-Power are saying its the landlord, Modern housing tell me its the utility company?!
The thermostat is in the front room in a fairly warm part of the house. I've noticed my heating comes on at about 3am for a little while (I can actually hear the boiler flicking on!) I don't know when it comes on during the day but the thermostat is usually on about 14/15 through the night and during the day, then I turn it up to about 18 when I get home from work so its on for about 30 mins to get it up to that temp.
Its a new thermostat as it was changed last year.

Is it the gas or the electric which is higher than average?
With my water, the water company told me to pick a day when I was not it, check the metre make a note of the number and then check it when I got back. If it moved then the metre was reading other peoples water. Obviously this is hard to do for gas and electric as difficult to isolate as something needs to be on at some point in the day.

Effing 'eck that's steep! We pay about £55 a month for gas and leccy. Now that ur baby is here, the heating's on at 20C but the temperature of the house rarely falls below 18C.

We have our hot water (and at this time of the year the heating) come on twice a day for no more than five hours total. Our house is well insulated and we've just had new glazing put in. It's a myth that you have to leave your heating or water on all the time, so said an engineer to me last year.

In the longer term, shop around for cheaper deals. Dual fuel, paying monthly, an eco-metering thingy for monitoring energy use. Its not too much of a faff to change providers and you could save yourself a lot. And make sure the boiler serviced too - you might even need to get it replaced for a more efficient one.

And if modern housing won't do an efficiency check, take it higher up the chain!

To start with, turn everything off, including the freezer (if you don't open the door it will be fine) nothing on for either, read both meters then read them again an hour later.

Why are you doing this, because the first check is that nothing is drawing on the supply - if there's a change and you are sure nothing is on, then it's the utility's responsibility to come check the meters.

Also, there can be a huge discrepancy if they think you have an imperial meter and you are metric, so check what the meter is (it should on meter say which) and then check the bill.

And if you need it checked, call out the utility company, it's my understanding that the landlord can't touch the meters, as they belong to the utility companies.

I am a frugal old bird. I average about £100 per quarter and that is water, cooker, lights etc. No gas and heating is via solid fuel.

The things I found that send the dial whizzing round were any electrical items (such as lappy, radio, etc) that have one of those boxes half way down the lead. Sorry, I don't do technical. The shower was also high in useage. Turn everything off and get the OH to turn things on one by one and watch what happens to the dial. You will be quite surprised by the impact certain items have.

The meters are the property of the utility company but it's not necessarily the utility provider who owns them. For instance, we get our gas & electric from British Gas but United Utilities came out to change our meter when we switched from pre-payment. It's defo not your landlord who is responsible for the meter. Landlords/homeowners only come into play once the meter has been checked and found to be working correctly. The meter owners should then establish where the fault is - for instance if you have a leak outside it is their job to fix it but a leak inside the house is the responsibility of the landlord/homeowner.

We've got one of those electrical meter things that you can see what uses and what doesn't, and our usage is actually quite low.
Was shocked at the kettle though, went higher than the tumble dryer!!! Its actually the gas bill that is alot higher, so think I may need to turn the heating off through the day and turn the hot water onto a timer, we only use it in the morning anyway for a shower, then a little bit to wash dishes.
Hey ho, due posting in April. This is the 1st house I actually want to see the back of!