Gas and Electric bill?

newbs16 · #1 8th July 2020, 12:16

Does anyone have any tips on how to save money on your gas or electric bill?

Thanks

Jen. · #2 8th July 2020, 12:40

The main one is probably to always look on comparison sites as soon as the agreement with your current provider runs out - switching is almost always very easy and something companies will sort out between themselves once you've filled in the form to authorise it.

Little things... don't overfill the kettle. Boil only what you need (or the minimum amount the kettle needs to operate if you only need a small amount). Don't use more water than you need when you're cooking things in water like pasta. Turn the radiators down/off in rooms you don't use much (but it's always better for the house to have them on very low rather than completely off). Use an oil heater if you're mostly in one room, it'll be significantly cheaper than putting the heating on. Dry your clothes outside as much as possible (if you can). If you want to do some washing and it's raining check the forecast and if you're able to put it off by a couple of days until there's sunshine, do that (and wash at 30C). Get into a routine of turning off lights when you leave the room and turning off/unplugging appliances when you're not using them. Defrost frozen foods by leaving them out until thawed rather than trying to defrost or speed up the process in an oven or microwave.

gregarious_introvert · #3 8th July 2020, 16:50

^ What they said! Some utility rates are only available online through certain sites (my current electricity contract is a uswitch exclusive) so shop around and try different price comparison sites. If you're on benefits, try to stick with a "big six" company as the smaller ones can't sign you up for the annual warm home discount of Â£140 per year (which, as my annual electricity bill is less than Â£140pa means that, effectively, I don't pay for electricity).

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Indigo_ · #4 8th July 2020, 17:56

My electric bill is Â£100 per month

gregarious_introvert · #5 8th July 2020, 17:58

^ That's gone up!

Are you cultivating marijuana or something?

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Indigo_ · #6 8th July 2020, 18:02

I honestly don't know what I'm doing. But no, I'm not growing marijuana

They wanted to put it up to Â£140 per month

gregarious_introvert · #7 8th July 2020, 18:07

I don't think Liz pays that for Buck House! I know we've discussed this before (when it was Â£68 per month) but something has to be wrong somewhere. Do you have a smart meter?

I pay Â£11 per month (last year was Â£15 per month but moved to a cheaper deal in May) but I have gas (Â£10pm) too.

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Indigo_ · #8 8th July 2020, 18:17

We have no gas, just electric, and yes, it's a smart meter.

gregarious_introvert · #9 8th July 2020, 18:30

^ In that case, keep an eye on what registers high usage (kettle? microwave? hot water? fridge? washing machine? thermonuclear reactor?) so at least you can pinpoint if you have a faulty or inefficient appliance.

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Jen. · #10 8th July 2020, 18:33

Â£100 does seem a lot for just electricity... mine is around Â£45 and gas is around Â£20. I haven't got a smart meter.

Bills can obviously vary greatly between people due to house size, number of people living there and lifestyle... there's probably no way to know if anyone is paying "too much" compared to someone else without looking at both their pence per kWh figures.

gregarious_introvert · #11 8th July 2020, 18:37

I remember being shocked when there was a thread about this a while back (2-3 years?) and I discovered how little HH pays (he's on some kind of community scheme) but in his absence, I'm feeling pretty smug (and miserly!) right now!

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Dougella · #12 8th July 2020, 19:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indigo_

I honestly don't know what I'm doing. But no, I'm not growing marijuana

They wanted to put it up to Â£140 per month

No way! That's a ridiculous amount for electricity, definitely look for a different provider.

Indigo_ · #13 9th July 2020, 08:41

We do need to switch I think, but we rent, so I don't know how easy it would be. I assume I would need landlord permission.

At the moment, there's two of us in the flat, pretty much 24/7, we have a lot of electronic equipment and aside from when we're sleeping, something is always on.

gregarious_introvert · #14 9th July 2020, 09:02

You shouldn't need permission to switch, I've always switched when renting privately (unless it's specifically written into your contract or you don't have your own meter - which you do).

I live alone but have electronics on 24/7, usually the laptop if nothing else. Admittedly, I have no tumble dryer (there's no room) and only one freezer. Most things in constant use should be fairly low usage (3 or 5 amp) and all the stuff with 13 amp fuses (like kettles and microwaves) are on for less time. You're all-electric so your oven (mine is gas) could be a bit of a drain, but modern cookers (especially with fan oven - I had one in my last house) tend to be more energy efficient. Although my heating and hot water are gas, my shower is electric and probably the highest user (per minute) in my house. I do spend longer in the shower than some, but still have low bills. Although I do live alone, before a couple of months ago, my partner used to spend a lot of time at mine so my usage was for, say, 1 1/2 people.

If they are not provided with the flat, consider replacing white goods with triple-A rated stuff (check first by reading your smart meter what your highest-using equipment is); I know this involves outlay (you may be able to get stuff on interest-free credit) but the power savings should pay for them (and if you do get interest-free, you may be saving from the outset).

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Dougella · #15 9th July 2020, 10:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indigo_

We do need to switch I think, but we rent, so I don't know how easy it would be. I assume I would need landlord permission.

At the moment, there's two of us in the flat, pretty much 24/7, we have a lot of electronic equipment and aside from when we're sleeping, something is always on.

We rent also but we are in charge of our electricity provider etc, maybe jt's different depending on who you're renting from I'm not sure. Me and my partner are home all the time too and our bill is nowhere near that so I don't think even the lockdown justifies that price increase!

Indigo_ · #16 10th July 2020, 08:37

I'll have to check but I think it is written into our tenancy agreement that we need landlord permission to switch.

We rarely use the central heating, the flat is naturally quite warm anyway and unfortunately we cannot replace any white goods as they are the landlords. We do have a fan oven.

Our meter is not within the flat itself and I have tried many a time to read it. It's got tons of buttons

I can't even work out the meter readings on it let alone do anything else with it.

Dougella · #17 10th July 2020, 10:56

^ Could someone be stealing your electricity? Could your landlord be stealing your electricity?! Because that doesn't seem quite right.

gregarious_introvert · #18 10th July 2020, 16:22

^ I did wonder if anyone else could be using the electricity, but discounted that when Indigo_ said that they had a smart meter - usually, with those, there is a hand-held unit showing (in money, rather than units) what you're using in real time (with hourly, daily or weekly totals too). That's why I thought it would be simple to turn on an appliance and see what it costs.

Before I got my council place, my last private tenancy was through Your Move (with their lovely, 32-pages' contract). All Your Move tenancies start with a rip-off supplier called Spark Energy (and mine was on prepayment meters at 25% mark-up on quarterly billing rates); although Your Move want people to stay with Spark (clearly they get some sort of percentage), I only had to notify them if I changed - I'm not sure that it's legal for a landlord to prevent a tenant changing supplier unless it's a shared supply (in which case, you shouldn't be paying the whole bill). I also told the new supplier that I was a vulnerable customer and got the prepayment meter replaced immediately.

One thing you can do is ask the energy company to come out and check the meter - then, if anyone is "tapping" it, they will be able to see that; however, if they find nothing wrong, they do have the right (at their discretion) to charge for the call-out (not that, morally, they should considering what you're paying).

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Indigo_ · #19 10th July 2020, 17:55

We are with Spark Energy

Although I believe they have now changed to Ovo Energy or something like that? I've made several complaints to them over the years about various things they have ballsed up.

We do have a hand-held unit but I think it's for a different supplier and it doesn't work with the supplier we currently have.

gregarious_introvert · #20 10th July 2020, 18:14

^ Yes, that happened to me too - and you're not priority if you already have a smart meter even if you can't read it! Get off Spark, pronto!

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Indigo_ · #21 10th July 2020, 19:54

We were with e.on before and they were just as bad.

gregarious_introvert · #22 10th July 2020, 19:58

Not Â£100 per month though. Uswitch is your friend.

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gregarious_introvert · #23 10th July 2020, 20:00

Ironically, I'm with E.On now because the fixed contract I'm on is 25% cheaper than my previous supplier (and yes, I remember what I said to you about E.On)

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Dougella · #24 11th July 2020, 16:07

Definitely a lesson for news16 here, don't sign a contract that includes an electricity contract with Spark Energy (or any other provider probably, you should always be able to chooses which electricity provider you go with.)

wlien · #25 25th July 2020, 19:39

I'm really sad and read my meters every Sunday and plot them on a graph so I know how much I'm using. A few years ago I got a new freezer and that halved my electricity usage. So I'd suggest checking what your appliances use, replacing items is probably not cost effective but switching a tv off or not having a dvd player powered unless you're watching something might be

Sisyphus · #26 26th July 2020, 18:25

@Indigo_ I do think you are going to have to learn how to read the meter. You can then check the readings against the bills.

In the winter check how much you are using and turn off your heating for a bit and make sure the consumption drops back to the summer rate. There could be a wiring mixup and this may help highlight it.

Do your bills have actual readings regularly? This will also help you judge your use through the year.

Toxic · #27 26th July 2020, 18:37

Indigo if it makes you feel any better we are another household that has a Â£100+ leccy bill

I've wondered for a while if it was right..but the various PC's left running 24/7..TV's on most of the day in numerous rooms (sometimes even if no ones in said room

) I have consoles/amps on all day..I abuse the hell out of the kettle having 10+ coffees a day

...yeah, its probably right

Indigo_ · #28 26th July 2020, 18:51

^ Haha, yeah, I have a feeling ours might be right too

^^ It's tricky. The meter is housed in a cupboard along with everyone else's meters. Sometimes the light doesn't work so you're in there in the dark using your phone torch.

We never use the heating, even in the winter to be honest as it's such a warm flat.

I believe they take monthly readings.

I will probably switch providers but I've used u switch and their cheapest isn't much better than what we are paying currently.

wlien · #29 26th July 2020, 20:45

Regarding kettles, on mine I have put my own markers on the side for 1 cup full so I only boil enough water that I need.

Custard_cream · #30 26th July 2020, 21:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indigo_

^ Haha, yeah, I have a feeling ours might be right too

^^ It's tricky. The meter is housed in a cupboard along with everyone else's meters. Sometimes the light doesn't work so you're in there in the dark using your phone torch.

We never use the heating, even in the winter to be honest as it's such a warm flat.

I believe they take monthly readings.

I will probably switch providers but I've used u switch and their cheapest isn't much better than what we are paying currently.

It might be worth taking a photo of all of the readings and emailing your electricity supplier to check they are billing on the correct readings. I work in residential property management and still find electricity readings and billing complicated in some cases, but if there are a few readings, there is normally a total, and then a night rate reading and day rate reading. Â£100 per month is a lot just for electricity.