How much is your energy bill?

[Westdene Seagull]

£125 pound a month for a 3 bedroom place - dual fuel. Cheapest I could get but still a rip off.

 

[jakarta]

Combined gas & electric bill was over £2K a year but this is a Victorian cottage with next to no insulation and single glazed windows.

We have extended & renovated the house in the last 18 months with massive amounts of insulation installed wherever we could and every window in the house is now double glazed.

As a result our energy consumption when comparing like for like over the past 6 months has halved, yes that is halved.

This has surely got to be the way to go - while I'm also sure our energy bills will not have halved they should be substantially less.

 

[Firefly]

That is crazy money.

I am very mean with electricity and gas and thought that my bill for electricity and gas was high at a combined £240 for August, Sept and Oct. This was down from £290 for the corresponding period last year.

This was due to me putting on storage heaters in the first week in November rather than first week in October. How many people live in your house?

£700 is a rip off, are you sure it;s just for those three months.

Just two adults and a baby - one adult and baby home all day.

Will ck the thermastat and timer. Its not a user friendly system, I had to down load a user guide from the net to work out how to programme it

 

[Vegas Seagull]

I 'win' this every time, so have withdrawn to let someone else have a chance

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Did you read the meter when you moved in, and is the reading now, a proper, or an estimated reading?



I'm with Eon and pay £108 a month by direct debit for gas & electricity combined, with a combi boiler for heating & hot water, with bills sent via email rather than post.

 

[Justice]

Did you read the meter when you moved in, and is the reading now, a proper, or an estimated reading?



I'm with Eon and pay £108 a month by direct debit for gas & electricity combined, with a combi boiler for heating & hot water, with bills sent via email rather than post.

About right 25-30 quid a week.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

About right 25-30 quid a week.

I know. I worked for 25 years in the industry.

 

[bluenitsuj]

I though mine was high. Gas just gone upto £99 a month. Electric just gone down to £37 a month. Largish 3 bed semi det house. I dont feel so bad now.

 

[Seagull over Canaryland]

We are all hostages to the power companies. I don't have a definitive answer but common sense suggests that the priority has to be making your home as well insulated as possible so the fuel consumption is a) minimised and b) used as efficiently as possible.

We are dependent on 'leccy and heating oil, there is no mains gas around here. Water is already metered, which makes sense.

Regarding electricity - a couple of years ago I resented paying excessive amounts to Eon only to find that after a few months they were sitting on £00's of our precious money. Mrs SoC is very proactive in negotiating across to the cheapest tariff, although they are getting wise to that tactic by standardising the tariffs. We have just agreed to have a smart meter fitted to avoid any more estimated bills and will be interested to see how this pans out.

It helps that we had a 2.4Kw solar PV system fitted 2 years ago when the tariffs were pretty good. 2013 has been a lot better than 2012 for output. This has a decent impact on the 'leccy bills. I would certainly look to further energy / heat generation options, but the others such as solar thermal hot water are not so easy to retrofit.

We joined a local heating oil syndicate a few months ago and immediately got a discount of 1 or 2p per litre which saves a decent amount on each order, currently now paying around 55p per litre. Membership of the syndicate is spiralling at a spectacular rate as punters realise it is a quick way to manage costs.

Probably the next thing to go for will be new double glazing with the maximum air space. Existing windows are only around 12mm. Not sure about cavity wall insulation.

I am sure there is more to be done but cost is a factor and knowing what to prioritise next, but I think insulation is probably the best bet. Will be interesting to see what the consensus on here is.

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

I've been with Scottish Power for about 3 years and fixed until Jan 14.
Went on a compare site and it recommended I switch to Eon to save £280 over the next 12 months.

Never go on how much you pay, what counts is how much you consume in KW/h - these figures for a year will then calculate true price comparisons.

Leaving SP early will cost me £50 but Eon are offering a £30 cash-back after 3 months, so long term I will be saving.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

About £50 a month for the lot.

 

[raba]

Did you read the meter when you moved in, and is the reading now, a proper, or an estimated reading?



I'm with Eon and pay £108 a month by direct debit for gas & electricity combined, with a combi boiler for heating & hot water, with bills sent via email rather than post.

Was going to suggest the same thing. Used to be in the industry as well, working for the evil Centrica.

 

[Leekbrookgull]

Oh dear boy's will you never listern the 'Energy' market is rigged,get on to your M/P.

 

[Norman Potting]

Gas £87pm, Electric £70pm both by DD from Utility Warehouse.

 

[Leekbrookgull]

I've been with Scottish Power for about 3 years and fixed until Jan 14.
Went on a compare site and it recommended I switch to Eon to save £280 over the next 12 months.

Never go on how much you pay, what counts is how much you consume in KW/h - these figures for a year will then calculate true price comparisons.

Leaving SP early will cost me £50 but Eon are offering a £30 cash-back after 3 months, so long term I will be saving.

Shropshire,i can see where you coming from however UNTIL THE BIG SIX are crushed your £ or there will not bother them.

 

[Chicken Runner61]

£120 a month both gas and electric - just had a new boiler fitted and now have thermostat set to 16-20 degrees constantly on adjusted to time of year and how cold it is outside - seems to be a lot more economical now and it's just right all the time except when I get caught out by a temperature drop. Last year we had a 25 yo boiler and whilst I can't say it's loads cheaper it's much warmer on cold mornings and I do live in a 1930s semi. Biggest gripe is that I reckon you waste more water witha combi waiting for the water to come though hot!

 

[Leekbrookgull]

As if that would make a difference... we need much more drastic & radical action than that

Tell me,let's discuss this issue.

 

[Leekbrookgull]

£120 a month both gas and electric - just had a new boiler fitted and now have thermostat set to 16-20 degrees constantly on adjusted to time of year and how cold it is outside - seems to be a lot more economical now and it's just right all the time except when I get caught out by a temperature drop. Last year we had a 25 yo boiler and whilst I can't say it's loads cheaper it's much warmer on cold mornings and I do live in a 1930s semi. Biggest gripe is that I reckon you waste more water witha combi waiting for the water to come though hot!

Chicken,your new system is saving you £ not the power supply.

 

[Chicken Runner61]

You need to watch estimated bills especially in the summer - they will increase your monthly dd and for eight months you could have overpaid by £800 by the time you find out. That cold snap in mar/apr might have bumped up your usage just before the summer when it would have dropped. The money is better in your account than theirs!

 

[Chicken Runner61]

Chicken,your new system is saving you £ not the power supply.

Yes I'm not complaining I was sceptical about it but it's been good!