Gas & Electric, how much do you pay ?

[Saltire]

My elecy bill is around ?420.00 per quarter.
Gas bill ?370.00 per quarter.
This seem to be the norm these days.
Ive had wall & loft insulation installed, also all the lighting is low voltage.

But its all the machines that keep pushing up the cost, like we've got TWO large fridges, a very big chest freezer, 4 PCs, 2 50inch tvs & 2 32 inch. Cealing fan/lights in all rooms.
And these items seem to be left on all the time thanks to the kids!

edit :

wow mate, thats the biggest bill ive ever seen, thats ?263 per month man, you must be throwing the money out the windows, .

[badapple]

It seems that way m8.
Try telling that to the kids.
They only seem to know how to turn everything ON but don't know how to turn stuff OFF.
Their PS3s & tvs are left on 24/7, even when they're asleep & if I turn them off they tell me off.

[Saltire]

It seems that way m8.
Try telling that to the kids.
They only seem to know how to turn everything ON but don't know how to turn stuff OFF.
Their PS3s & tvs are left on 24/7, even when they're asleep & if I turn them off they tell me off.

ooo

I dunno how you pay it, you must have high paying jobs as we are now going to have to ask for help from somewhere "now" as the price increases start this month (august) and we cant even afford the ?96 a month we are paying just now man

[waken]

Its just been announced on TV that one gas company who charged their customers 20% increase as just made a ?1.2 billion prophet for the first six months

[Canker_Canison]

I have all that mate and my bills are still as per post number 1 , even have the energy monitor which is a good gimmick at first but you get tired of plugging into every appliance and saying "ohh look, thats using a lot" . ( I pay by direct debit by the way, much cheaper "fact" than prepay).

But I know what you mean mate and your post is much appreciated, thanks.

P.s
just found out from another person in the exact same street in the exact same house and also two adults too same as us, that they are only 65quid a month for both gas and lekky and I'm like no way man, they either cant be paying enough and going to get in debt (been there) or they are screwing the meters, , I dont want to talk about screwing the meters as there is already another thread for that and its something this thread does not want to talk about.

Not that type of monitor. The one I have fitted shows total household usage on the electricity. I got it off British Gas, & I've never been a customer. Check their site as they're running them again. Mine came with an extension lead that shuts the power off when one particular device is put on standby.

Here's their gadget page. Although I got mine free.

Done some searching, and as much as I hate this rectal sleeze there's some starting points for the monitors Martin Lewis

Do you still have a back boiler or immersion heater?

If you do, & you use the immersion heater, get the thermostat checked. In most cases where people get very high usage when using the immersion heater it's due to it not switching off when the waters hot.
If you always have very hot water this can be a sign of it being ~~~~ed.




A system I used to help people find the source of high usage is quite simple. It also got me into trouble many a time with management 'as it wasn't my job to advise on this'....

If you are not comfortable with handling live electrical fuses I'd find someone who is. I take no responsibility for any injuries or fatalities as a result of following this guide.

You can do this with an energy meter or just by looking at the mains meter. I'll be explaining this as best I can right now, so don't feel insulted if I state the obvious. Just making sure everyone can follow this.

First make sure there are no desktop PC's running. Also wait till any high usage devices are not being used (kettle, dishwasher, washer/dryer, microwave, hoover, hairdryer, etc)

Check the usage on either meter. On older mains meters you have a spinning disk, newer models have a flashing light. The faster the spinning or flashing of the light, the more electricity you are using. On my meter 1500 flashes of the light is equal to 1KWh. An energy meter will just tell you what you're using.

For an example, right now I have a fridge freezer & seperate fridge running, tv on standy along with DVD player & xbox, my desktop PC & several mains charges for my phone, ipod, docking station, etc.

My current usage is 0.35KWh.... or, 350Watts.

Now if you want that kind of detailed reading from the mains meter you will have to do the following....

Count the rotations of the disk or flashes of the light for 1 minute. Multiply that number by 60 & then divide that by the number of rotations/flashes that make up 1KWh.

But in most cases you can just look at the general rate of spins or flashes to get an idea.

Now, if you have a high usage at this point then something is wrong. Either a device is running you're not aware of or there might be a wiring fault.

From this point it gets a little boring (as if you're enjoying this already)

Find your fuseboard & ringmain switches/fuses. Older fuse boards have pull out fuses, modern day stuff has trip switches.

In most houses you should find the following fuses...

5A Lighting downstairs
5A Lighting upstairs
30A Sockets downstairs
30A Sockets upstairs
30A Cooker
30A Shower

Remove/trip the first fuse/switch. Check usage. If it doesn't change much (if at all), turn it back on or plug it back in.

Do the next one. What you are looking for is a notible drop in usage. When, or if, your find it. Check what the fuse is for & start looking at anything that may be connected to that ringmain.

In most of the cases it was found to be the immersion heater had either been switched on by mistake or it was faulty. But I did have a guy get back to me after finding a wiring fault in his new extension. It had what was referred to as a slow earth. Enough flow to cause higher bills without popping a fuse.

If you find nothing to explain high bills at that time wait till you have everyone at home & check the meter again. But at this point an energy meter is far easier to help point the accusing finger.

[edward hitler]

Paying ?33 per month for both with npower by direct debit. Also get ?80 dual fuel discount per year. 1 bedroomed flat 42" plasma on around 5 hours a day, ps3 around 2 hours a day, condensing boiler, electric shower and every bulb is energy efficient one.

[terrain]

Most of you guys have quite similar bills to me, some cheaper, but you "terrain", how the heck do you get by with 30 for gas and 26 for electric per month ??? You have to be out of the house nearly all the time surely ?

bear in mind the price increases to us all next month !

hi, no in the house most days and nights, 3 year ago i was with e-on my monthly bill was ?130 realised we must be wasting energy so changed to british gas asked them for a free energy monitor, you soon realise how much your appliances use,so we done all the usual stuff hardly use the dryer now, turn the thermostat on the combi down a couple of notches, never fill kettle full for only 2 cups, change to energy saving light bulbs, tell grand kids not to leave xbox, ps3, and tvs on when they go out etc,it was a bit of a pain to start with but you soon get the hang of it,why don't you go on the british gas web site and compare your energy usage with the people in your area i bet you will be a high user, you want to give it a try it mite save you money.

[jcgrumbles]

Me and mrs grumbles in a three bed bungalow that really needs the floor insulated(theres a two foot deep void under a wererock floor)We pay ?100 to n power per month but pay more over the winter so we dont get any nasty surprises...

[wetdog]

I am on prepay metres for both. during the summer, i spend around 60 quid a month for a 2 bed flat. i only have the telly on when i have my baby here and i spend half my time at the current madame spiders house using her electrickery

i work for e-on, selling gas and leccy. that seems very high to me.
i live in a 2 bed terraced and in summer only spend around ?7 a week on leccy and much less on gas.

there are a few things that need to be looked at, are they your cards being the first. a lot of peaople move in a place and use the cards that are there, and unknowingly pay off the previous tenents debt.

mick.

[wetdog]

Me and mrs grumbles in a three bed bungalow that really needs the floor insulated(theres a two foot deep void under a wererock floor)We pay ?100 to n power per month but pay more over the winter so we dont get any nasty surprises...

npower are just about the worst company out there and advise a move forthwith.

mick.

[wetdog]

Its just been announced on TV that one gas company who charged their customers 20% increase as just made a ?1.2 billion prophet for the first six months

Centrica as a whole have made 1.3 billion, BG made 270 million down 54% on this stage last year.

mick.

[wetdog]

My elecy bill is around ?420.00 per quarter.
Gas bill ?370.00 per quarter.
This seem to be the norm these days.
Ive had wall & loft insulation installed, also all the lighting is low voltage.

But its all the machines that keep pushing up the cost, like we've got TWO large fridges, a very big chest freezer, 4 PCs, 2 50inch tvs & 2 32 inch. Cealing fan/lights in all rooms.
And these items seem to be left on all the time thanks to the kids!

that is very high, ensure energy saving measures are in place and get a few quotes. but have them quote you off your bills for the last year if possible. have them to hand and do a like for like comparison. the ONLY way of guranteeing price.

mick.

[jcgrumbles]

npower are just about the worst company out there and advise a move forthwith.

mick.

I thank you sir,looking into it now....

[chucklor]

Get some PV panels and a multi fuel burner, feed the excess power generated into the immersion and CH system and ~~~~ them Saltire.....

[wetdog]

Anyone looking for new quotes to try and reduce energy bills only take quotes that are based on your existing bills. the more bills you have and can show, the more accurate your quote will be.
do not except quotes from a doorstep knocker on pieces of paper, take quotes from a pentablet that shows accureate figures based upon your own bills.

mick.