[News] Energy bills to top £4200 at the start of next year

[Cheshire Cat]

We're currently paying £257 per month for dual-fuel.

Hot water and heating are gas, with electricity for everything else.

With today's 80% price cap increase, that looks set to jump to c£460 per month, or £5,500 per year. Our house isn't large, there are only three of us and I would have put us as relatively low-energy users, but we seem to be way above average, given the quoted "typical bill of £3,549" we're hearing so much about today.

I genuinely don't know why our electricity usage, in particular, is as high as it is. I think I need to pay very close attentio to the smart meter to see what the hell is going on.

That sounds a lot even for the price cap before today.

Are you actually using that much or is there currently a massive credit on your account before winter kicks in.

I'm paying £175 a month for two people and my account is about £300 in credit (although it won't be soon, come winter).

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

That does seem high..check for power cables running next door!

On a serious note hope your use of the smart meter is a positive one

Our online account congratulates us on having a smart meter on one tab then tells us that unfortunately they have been unable to take any readings from it on another. I submit two monthly manual readings every month instead.

 

[LamieRobertson]

That's our current direct debit amount which, like most I imagine, is set to build a balance over the summer to cover the increased energy consumption in the winter. At the current time we're about £650 in credit. I'm not unhappy about it working like that - it always seems to roughly level out or the DD gets adjusted if required.

Mrs B submits frequent readings and/or they are taken from the smart meter so our actual consumption is regularly tracked.

Our house does have a lot of lightbulbs, I guess - inherited from the previous owners. Our lounge, for example, has three wall fittings, each with two bulbs. There's no ceiling fitting. Will these be using much energy, for example? Presumably if we took one bulb out of each, lighting the lounge would use exactly half the energy it does currently.

LED’s?

 

[WATFORD zero]

That's our current direct debit amount which, like most I imagine, is set to build a balance over the summer to cover the increased energy consumption in the winter. At the current time we're about £650 in credit. I'm not unhappy about it working like that - it always seems to roughly level out or the DD gets adjusted if required.

Mrs B submits frequent readings and/or they are taken from the smart meter so our actual consumption is regularly tracked.

Our house does have a lot of lightbulbs, I guess - inherited from the previous owners. Our lounge, for example, has three wall fittings, each with two bulbs. There's no ceiling fitting. Will these be using much energy, for example? Presumably if we took one bulb out of each, lighting the lounge would use exactly half the energy it does currently.

I swapped all the spotlight bulbs in the kitchen from 60w to 4.6W low energy ones, same 'brightness' a few years back. Result - 960W reduced to 73W (if we had them all on at once, which we don't, but you get the idea).

Don't need to sit in the dark, just change the bulbs for low energy ones. And they seem to last far longer.

 

[KZNSeagull]

Anyone know why Sky TV is total coverage on this subject and the online BBC is giving tiny coverage to the problems...

BBC News have been covering it extensively all week and especially this morning.

 

[LamieRobertson]

Our online account congratulates us on having a smart meter on one tab then tells us that unfortunately they have been unable to take any readings from it on another. I submit two monthly manual readings every month instead.

I haven’t one at mo ..but there was a idea going around about off peak usage being made cheaper but needing one ..I’ll see what bubbles before making a decision

 

[KZNSeagull]

Our online account congratulates us on having a smart meter on one tab then tells us that unfortunately they have been unable to take any readings from it on another. I submit two monthly manual readings every month instead.

Our smart meter only works for both gas and elec when it is time to send us a bill. The rest of the month it is pretty useless.

 

[schmunk]

We're currently paying £257 per month for dual-fuel.

Hot water and heating are gas, with electricity for everything else.

With today's 80% price cap increase, that looks set to jump to c£460 per month, or £5,500 per year. Our house isn't large, there are only three of us and I would have put us as relatively low-energy users, but we seem to be way above average, given the quoted "typical bill of £3,549" we're hearing so much about today.

I genuinely don't know why our electricity usage, in particular, is as high as it is. I think I need to pay very close attentio to the smart meter to see what the hell is going on.

Fairly modern 4 bed semi, 6 people.

In 2021 we used 5,600 kWh of electricity and 17,000 kWh of gas - that cost us £1,300 inc. standing charges, but under the forthcoming cap that will be £5,700/year... We are looking at ways to reduce usage!

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

That's our current direct debit amount which, like most I imagine, is set to build a balance over the summer to cover the increased energy consumption in the winter. At the current time we're about £650 in credit. I'm not unhappy about it working like that - it always seems to roughly level out or the DD gets adjusted if required.

Mrs B submits frequent readings and/or they are taken from the smart meter so our actual consumption is regularly tracked.

Our house does have a lot of lightbulbs, I guess - inherited from the previous owners. Our lounge, for example, has three wall fittings, each with two bulbs. There's no ceiling fitting. Will these be using much energy, for example? Presumably if we took one bulb out of each, lighting the lounge would use exactly half the energy it does currently.

It all helps. We have three televisions and have stopped leaving them on standby overnight. Also got rid of Alexa as I heard that takes a lot of electricity. We don’t slow cook anymore either. Regarding bills the only figure that matters is actual usage. I have found that the direct debit asked for is way too high. They tried to increase ours to £250 + and I refused and now a few months later they say we are paying the right amount ! A lot of people have negative balances so I suspect they try to push up the direct debits even if you have a positive balance to try to offset. I take the view that it is not my job to balance their books.

 

[TomandJerry]

When [the price cap] kicks in, at the start of October, 25% of Britons will not be able to pay their fuel bills. They just don’t have the income, according to calculations by Citizens Advice. Crucially, half those people would normally be what the charity calls “financially stable”. In their first immersion into hardship, many will struggle to navigate their entitlements or the system. Some will sink. We are weeks away from creating a new poor.”

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

 

[Bozza]

I swapped all the spotlight bulbs in the kitchen from 60w to 4.6W low energy ones, same 'brightness' a few years back. Result - 960W reduced to 73W (if we had them all on at once, which we don't, but you get the idea )

The lounge lights are halogen. Each bulb is currently 42w, so that's 252w when on. I really don't understand how these numbers translate to money.

The rest of the house has LED lights inset into ceilings pretty much throughout. The box of bulbs for those suggests they are low energy, the little picture seems to suggest they draw 4.5w each and put out 50w/345 lumens. Does that sound right?

 

[pb21]

The lounge lights are halogen. Each bulb is currently 42w, so that's 252w when on. I really don't understand how these numbers translate to money.

The rest of the house has LED lights inset into ceilings pretty much throughout. The box of bulbs for those suggests they are low energy, the little picture seems to suggest they draw 4.5w each and put out 50w/345 lumens. Does that sound right?

252 W, or 0.252 kW, on for one hour = 0.252 kWh = 13p with the new price cap (52p/kWh).

 

[WATFORD zero]

The lounge lights halogen. Each bulb is currently 42w, so that's 252w when on. I really don't understand how these numbers translate to money.

The rest of the house has LED lights inset into ceilings pretty much throughout. The box of bulbs for those suggests they are low energy, the little picture seems to suggest they draw 4.5w each and put out 50w/345 lumens. Does that sound right?

That sounds exactly the same as my kitchen lights. The LED lights are the low wattage ones, but it sounds like your lounge ones aren't. You should be able to get low power equivalents. I replaced standard 60w with 4.6w equivalents.

I think a trip to B&Q may be in order (Other DIY stores are available)

 

[cjd]

BBC News have been covering it extensively all week and especially this morning.

I did post that it was about BBC.co.uk online.

Their headline is about Russia burning off gas......and virtually nothing about the rises announced by Ofgem on the rest of their 'front page'.

 

[Bold Seagull]

I did post that it was about BBC.co.uk online.

Their headline is about Russia burning off gas......and virtually nothing about the rises announced by Ofgem on the rest of their 'front page'.

Which is headline energy crisis.

 

[cjd]

Bbc radios Wake Up To Money has been covering it almost every day for months

I thank both you and KNZ for your replies, but it was BBC.co.uk that I was enquiring.

 

[Bozza]

252 W, or 0.252 kW, on for one hour = 0.252 kWh = 13p with the new price cap (52p/kWh).

Thanks - that makes sense.

So, assuming they are on for six hours a day (I'm guessing that as an average over the year) that would be 13p * 6 hours * 365 days = £284 per year. So, taking a bulb out of each fitting would save c£140 per year alone. That's quite astonishing!

They are G9 capsules. A quick search suggests there are lower-wattage alternatives that would achieve a similar result: https://www.lightbulbs-direct.com/l...y=Halogen&search_return=all&Customfieldcap=G9

 

[KZNSeagull]

I thank both you and KNZ for your replies, but it was BBC.co.uk that I was enquiring.

My BBC news site says "LIVE: Your questions answered as energy price cap rises by 80%"

 

[beorhthelm]

I thank both you and KNZ for your replies, but it was BBC.co.uk that I was enquiring.

if you're in France may be getting geo-filtered version of the page.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Thanks - that makes sense.

So, assuming they are on for six hours a day (I'm guessing that as an average over the year) that would be 13p * 6 hours * 365 days = £284 per year. So, taking a bulb out of each fitting would save c£140 per year alone. That's quite astonishing!

They are G9 capsules. A quick search suggests there are lower-wattage alternatives that would achieve a similar result: https://www.lightbulbs-direct.com/l...y=Halogen&search_return=all&Customfieldcap=G9

Don't buy the cheap Chinese made crap from Amazon. I did and they blew about once a fortnight - complete waste of money.