How much do you pay a month for your gas and electric?

jonnyburgo

 Guy came round to read our meters a week ago, yesterday morning we got a rebate and a letter informing us our direct debits have been dropped to £37 a month for combined gas and electric!!

If you haven't got a woodburning stove I really recommend it, Ours heats our entire downstairs and as a voracious collector of wood, it hasnt cost me a penny to run.

breakstuff

I pay around £100 a month so not too bad.That's still £30 a month less than my council tax and I dare say I'm getting far better value for money for my gas and electric than I'm getting from the bellends playing at politics on my local council.

£37 would still be nice though.

CabbageCat

£40-something. I only use my heating when it's cold. Jumpers are cheaper.

VimFuego

erm, think leccy is about £19 a month, but we're both home all day with 2 laptops running and generally a light on as well (plus I bake all our bread, so the oven gets a bit more use than some). No gas here, but a tank of oil lasts us about 18 months or so (think the last top up cost us about £400). Lots of free wood for the burner which warms the house in the evening.

jonnyburgo

Great stuff, my mates wife has the heating on constant, he was having a moan because theirs is around £150 a month, Cabbage is right, put a woolly jumper on!

Bogwhoppit

About £1450 per year for both.

strumjoughlamps

since switching to OVO last year we have seen bills go down to a price I am quite happy with, semi family house 2 adults 3 kids someone in pretty much 24/7 we pay £89pm and in the summer actual cost is about £40. jan, feb, mar about £120. our last statement was £59.87 so quite happy.. we also earn 3% on the accumulated credit.

Sambostar

£36 a month for gas alone in winter, but no cavity walls and that barely makes it to 14 or 15C. I'm putting in £50 a month in DD which I'II review in Spring to be sure. The shower runs off the boiler, so I try and save there too.  Five radiators.  Only electric is a bit of crap 1 lumen CFL lighting, which don't work in the cold, the laptop and the DSL50 really.  Big floor area though, around 900 sq. ft and all open plan plus a small bathroom, which I believe is bigger than most three bed houses I guess.

With gas and electric, the standing charge is the sting, at 30p a day + Vat.

Summer gas near zero, as I try to avoid washing.  But again,even a cold house and shower will cost you a tenner a month, just for the privilege of having a meter.

Be interesting to see what people in two/three bed end terraces are paying.

RobDavies

£172 per month for both.

not_the_dj

£37 a month Gas

£38 a month Elec

TheMarlin

jonnyburgo said:

 Guy came round to read our meters a week ago, yesterday morning we got a rebate and a letter informing us our direct debits have been dropped to £37 a month for combined gas and electric!!

If you haven't got a woodburning stove I really recommend it, Ours heats our entire downstairs and as a voracious collector of wood, it hasnt cost me a penny to run.

Be careful, this is a trick used by many energy companies (particularly NPower) to tie you in to their service. I found this out the hard way.  They drop your direct debit, based on your summer usage. But, because it's winter, your usage goes up a lot, particular gas costs (the most expensive part) if you have gas central heating.

You then come out of winter owning the energy company money, and your bills shoot right up to get you account back in check. I'd get the energy company to maintain your direct debit at the old level, and get them to pay back any surplus in February (usually when a bill is due).

I have an old five bedroom house, and I pay around £180 a month (in winter).   The first year my family moved in, Npower did just this to us.  By the end of the year, we ended up owing Npower £1000, which came as a huge surprise to us.   I've kept a close eye on the bills ever since.

Think twice before dropping your direct debit, and check last years usage, and the usage they're predicting your winter bill at to make sure you don't get caught by this trick

Marlin 

Axe_meister

Was £172 with Eon. Changed to Ovo and has gone down to £124.

Our gas usage is average apparently (just heating and cooking), but our Electricity is

25% higher than average even though all of our lighting is LED, but our washing machine

and dryer are constantly on, we have an American style fridge freezer and loads of computers
dotted around the house.

RobDavies

Axe_meister said:

Was £172 with Eon. Changed to Ovo and has gone down to £124.

Our gas usage is average apparently (just heating and cooking), but our Electricity is

25% higher than average even though all of our lighting is LED, but our washing machine

and dryer are constantly on, we have an American style fridge freezer and loads of computers
dotted around the house.

Sounds similar to our house - add the dishwasher into the equation too....

Sambostar

It's not rocket science to calculate your bills as you go and manage your accounts.

(Cubic Metres x 1.02264 x 39.3 / 3.6) x £ per KWh + (Days x £0.30 Standing Charge) = £

£ x 1.05% Vat  = Bill

Sambostar

He who pays highest most probably has a wife and daughters I reckon, which is ironic, given that women have an extra layer of insulating fat compared to men.  Glad I've cut the elements in my place down to the minimum.  Better put the kettle on.

Skipped

Just under £60 month for both.

The smart meter display (sat on the kitchen top) has reduced my bills just from glancing at it a couple of times a day.
2 random examples: I notice that one Laptop/Device uses hardly any electricity. So I leave that one on.
Steaming Fish and Vegetables? I can see that the Microwave steamer is the cheapest way to do that.

Many other examples....but this is Fretboard. Not Mumsnet.

Sambostar

Skipped said:

Many other examples....but this is Fretboard. Not Mumsnet.

Yeah, but it helps if you are thinking about moving or starting a family or getting hitched.  You can kind of get to know your enemy, keep the initiative and maybe think twice about it.

jellyroll

I pay by standing order rather than direct debit as I don't want the supplier controlling the payments. I realise I'm losing out a little by doing this but I prefer being in control. 

Pay about £150/mth combined.

Are there any suppliers who are significantly cheaper than others or are they much the same?

Axe_meister

Ovo seems to always come out on top as the cheapest

Danny1969

About £180 a month for both which pains me being a tight arse skint musician 

The things you gotta watch leccy wise are the oven,washing machine, tumble dryer, and then you got hair dryers, hair  straighteners, irons etc. One trick I'm thinking off  nowdays is to use a Halogen oven when poss, you can roast a chicken quicker and a lot cheaper in one : 

Clicky 

Skipped

Ah - The tumble dryer.
I bought a new washer/dryer. And then put the dryer cycle on. On a summers day. And all the lights lit up on the Smart Meter. :-O
So guess what I did. I got a freaking Washing Line. And some freaking pegs.