Electricity bill.

[~max~]

Hi all! I hve just received my electricity bill for this quarter: �200!!!! Gulp! My flat is all electric (cooker, shower, heating). I only have one Economy 7 heater on constantly but it's rubbish so I use an electric one in the lounge when I'm there. I never turn the hot water on. It's only a one bedroom flat, and I'm alone. Do you think that's about right? Sounds awfully high to me! :O(

[buildersmate]

Impossible to say since we have no knowledge of what insulation standard you have. How many Units have you used?
Do you realise that electricity used on the fire in the lounge (normal tariff) is about 3x more expensive than the Economy 7 tariff?

[~max~]

No, I didn't know that. But the economy 7 radiators do not work, so unless I want to freeze, I have no choice! The rental agency won't do anything about it.
The insulation is non-existent. No double glazing, cold walls, ground floor.
I suppose I'll just have to grin and bear it.

[Buenchico]

Typical electricity prices for a 2-tier tariff (i.e. Economy 7) are, for most of the units you use, around 12p per hour:
http://www.britishgas.co.uk/pdf/Standard%20Ele ctricity%20prices.pdf

That means that 1 hour's use of a 3kW heater will cost you about 36p. If you're using it between 6 & 10pm weekdays, plus, say 8a.m to 10pm at weekends (but with perhaps 6 hours knocked off to go shopping, etc), that's 42 hours per week, which works out at �15.12 per week or �196.56 per quarter. On top of that you've got to add about �25 o,n to take into account the higher charges of the first 125kWh you use. Heating between 10pm and 8a.m is far cheaper, at only about 15p per hour for a 3kW heater.

So, if you were in the flat most evenings and the majority of the weekend, with a 3kW heater turned on full throughout, you could expect a bill of about �225 even if you didn't use the shower and the cooker (or use any overnight heating or use your TV, PC, etc).

So a �200 total bill is probably 'normal' for the colder months of the year. An 'average' household (whatever that is!) now has fuel bills averaging out at around �300 per quarter. However, that's likely to be, perhaps, only �150 to �200 in the warmer months while the colder months might see quarterly bills of �400 to �450. Your �200 bill for an all-electric flat probably isn't out of line with that.

For comparison, I live in a one bedroom 'starter home' (which, despite being on 2 floors, is actually smaller than most one bedroom flats). Apart from the gas cooker, it's all-electric. My only heating is a single fan heater. I'm currently making weekly payments of �18, which equates to �234 per quarter but, due to some stringent economies, I'm hoping that my electricity supplier will soon recognise that I'm going well into credit and reduce those

[Buenchico]

. . .weekly payments accordingly.

Chris

(I hate it when AB cuts off the last bit of a post without warning!)

[sallywebb]

Typical electricity prices for a 2-tier tariff (i.e. Economy 7) are, for most of the units you use, around 12p per hour:
http://www.britishgas.co.uk/pdf/Standard%20Ele ctricity%20prices.pdf

That means that 1 hour's use of a 3kW heater will cost you about 36p. If you're using it between 6 & 10pm weekdays, plus, say 8a.m to 10pm at weekends (but with perhaps 6 hours knocked off to go shopping, etc), that's 42 hours per week, which works out at �15.12 per week or �196.56 per quarter. On top of that you've got to add about �25 o,n to take into account the higher charges of the first 125kWh you use. Heating between 10pm and 8a.m is far cheaper, at only about 15p per hour for a 3kW heater.

So, if you were in the flat most evenings and the majority of the weekend, with a 3kW heater turned on full throughout, you could expect a bill of about �225 even if you didn't use the shower and the cooker (or use any overnight heating or use your TV, PC, etc).

So a �200 total bill is probably 'normal' for the colder months of the year. An 'average' household (whatever that is!) now has fuel bills averaging out at around �300 per quarter. However, that's likely to be, perhaps, only �150 to �200 in the warmer months while the colder months might see quarterly bills of �400 to �450. Your �200 bill for an all-electric flat probably isn't out of line with that.

For comparison, I live in a one bedroom 'starter home' (which, despite being on 2 floors, is actually smaller than most one bedroom flats). Apart from the gas cooker, it's all-electric. My only heating is a single fan heater. I'm currently making weekly payments of �18, which equates to �234 per quarter but, due to some stringent economies, I'm hoping that my electricity supplier will soon recognise that I'm going well into credit and reduce those

[~max~]

Errr Thanks Chris! But what happened here? Are you Salliweb too? I'm having double vision!!!

[Buenchico]

Thanks for the reply. You're not the only one who's confused! I've just taken a look at the name tag Mummy sewed into my vest and I'm definitely not called Sally Webb ;-)

Just an additional thought to my previous post (based upon examining the figures in my British Gas link and getting a calculator out):

Looking at the '2 tier' prices shows that the Economy 7 tariff provides you with electricity overnight at 55% less than the standard rate. However, 'daytime' electricity is priced at 20% more than the standard rate. If you're hardly using any electricity after 10pm, you should be able to make significant savings on your electricity bill by coming off the Economy 7 tariff and just paying the standard prices. (I'd expect it to save you around �30, based on the quarter you've just received a bill for).

Chris