Frightening power bills

We are with Scottish power with a smart metre and pay £92 per month for gas and electric on a variable standard rate. If we had gone onto a fixed rate they wanted £150 per month.
Since 1st January they are taking readings every day and state on my account how much we owe to date. At the moment we owe £11.79.
We have decided that when it gets nearer the balance to pay it. Then do the same each month. Maybe we can build up a balance during the summer months.

No smart meter here. Read meter each month, get bill, pay for what we’ve used.

Calistemon

We live in a large but well insulated house and the dual bill was about £150 pm on average last year. Gas was half the price of the electricity even though we have gas heating, hot water and gas hob.

We are the same. Very well insulated, zoned heating, radiator thermostats etc and our DD is now at £180pm. I don't know how someone can even use their oven and lighting for £58 a month.

Our electricity bill is probably higher than the gas bill because we have underfloor heating in the conservatory plus an electric heater.
However, the heat is not always on all day in the rest of the house unless it's really cold because we gravitate into the conservatory in the afternoon if we're home. There's more natural light for reading or crafting.

We've got thermostats on all the radiators too and don't like the bedroom(s) warm.

One thing that has helped me save money on electricity is a really lovely warm dressing gown it is so warm that I don't e need to turn the heating on

I don't know how someone can even use their oven and lighting for £58 a month

Mines less than that and covers gas central heating 24/7 to 19 degrees, heating water for a shower every day, induction hob and electric oven on every day. But, I switch every lamp, radio and appliance off at the wall as soon as it's not in use. I also swapped every lightbulb for LEDs.

Hetty58

Germanshepherdsmum, I pay by DD (I really don't like them, though) just to get the cheapest rate. My DD is just £5 a month and they can't ever increase it, as I always pay the amount owing monthly.

I just read the meters and pay the bills every month - works for me.

£5 a month? Incredible!

Chewbacca

^I don't know how someone can even use their oven and lighting for £58 a month^

Mines less than that and covers gas central heating 24/7 to 19 degrees, heating water for a shower every day, induction hob and electric oven on every day. But, I switch every lamp, radio and appliance off at the wall as soon as it's not in use. I also swapped every lightbulb for LEDs.

GillT57, Same as chewbacca, I had money over at the end of the year after paying a set £58 a month. Also have underfloor heating, induction hob. rad thermostats upstairs, digital thermostat in each of the 5 zoned areas. I don`t put heat into an unused bedroom nor the utility room and also switch things off when not in use. I switch tv etc off at the wall every night and use LEDs everywhere. I don`t have lights on in unused rooms, my outside lights are on motion sensors. I have air filters on 24/7. fans in summer, all food is prepared from scratch. My home is energy efficient and I dry clothes outside 2/3 of the year. My white goods are all the highest energy efficiency rating. It really does add up. I also have a stovax multi fuel stove, rarely need to use it but I will do if the temperature plunges. My basic room temperatures are all a nice steady 20 degrees, colder in the bedroom overnight and on again at 5am. The uf heating remains at 20 degrees 24/7, the groundfloor base is best kept at a steady temperature as it has a high specific heat capacity ie gaining and losing heat very slowly

Its nice a lot of you have energy efficient homes but I'm pretty sure the majority don't and will find it a real struggle to pay their bills this year.

Tanith, energy efficiency has always been top of the list, once we even put an interior layer of insulating wallboard into a house, that was in 1978. Being a scientist and my husband being a structural engineer, we were always aware of the money leakage from a poorly insulated home. Draught stopping, loft insulation, door curtains, been there done that. I remember putting cling film over windows and sealing with heat from a hair dryer, also putting foil on cardboard behind radiators. There is a lot anyone can do. New build these days have to have very high energy efficiency, it is even well insulated between floors

karmalady many people live in rented property which can be good or bad and apart from the basic measures you’ve described are powerless when it comes to more affective measures. The less your home is insulated the more you have to pay to heat it and it’s more often than not those who already struggle with living costs. I can only imagine how worried people are as their bills sky rocket.

I cannot believe what some if you are paying it’s horrendous. I have my heating on when I’m in, if I go out I switch it off as it soon warm up. I need loft insulation and drought excluders, will get them done in the summer and heavy curtains.. I understand that log burners are not to be used soon, which will affect a lot of people.

Karmalady you are obviously very fortunate and have the money to do all those things in the first place many are not as fortunate as you however careful we are
My large Edwardian house has draughty sash windows and no central heating but my bills have still trebled (well they wanted five times more but I ve agreed to treble) we ll have to see if that covers it
Count your blessings but don’t think we are all ignorant of what steps we COULD take if we have the good fortune to be able to I find your post quite condescending as if we are all burning money unnecessarily

I am fortunate now because we always lived frugally and am now very fortunate to be able to reap the benefits. I have known extreme poverty and have always been able to live within my means, thanks to my mother and her teachings

Something else we did when cold was coming up through the floor and thin carpet, cardboard laid over the floorboards. was good insulation, newspaper too

ok bluebelle you have nothing to learn, fine by me but I learnt all through life and am happy to pass info on. Just skim over if my posts annoy you. If I can help even one person then I will carry on sharing my knowledge

Charity shops have old curtains, useful for door insulation and in the states, people make window cushions, also could be made from old curtains stuffed with old fabrics, even newspapers. Rolls for draught stopping under doors, trouser leg, stuffed with similar as window cushion, tied with string

Tanith, my philosophy. If there is a problem, either say` woe is me` or `ok what can I do about it`. There are cheap removable ways to part insulate in rented.

I see that landlords have to provide an epc of c and above by 2025, that is a good move, although there are 3 winters before then

I live in a grade 2 listed building so there are a lot of things I am not allowed to do like having double glazing.
My gas bill had increased substantially already and I expect it will go up more.
I am more worried about some of my children who will find the high prices very difficult.

Bluebelle I am with Karmalady to a large extent, kitchen foil on cardboard, cardboard from boxes will do, behind radiators on outside walls is a very cheap insulating measure, as is using clingfilm on windows. I usually use double sided sellotape to fit the cling film, purchaseable in £ shops.

There are many schemes, local, energy company and governmental to help with simple draft excluding measures.

Years ago we got a grant to insulate our loft. Why not speak to your local Age UK branch to find out what help is available locally. www.ageuk.org.uk/services/in-your-area/warm-homes/. Most also have a handyman service wheree someone will come and do the draft exclusion for you.

Karmalady I worked in the building services and energy industry for many years, but even before then, way back in 1968, when we bought our first house, DH immediately doubled up the amount of insulation in the loft (2 inches to 4 inches!) and later we installed secondary double glazing on the north eastern facing windows of the house, because rooms that side of the house were so cold.

snap Monica, re the secondary glazing and doubling up on loft insulation, for me it was 1970. Our bedroom was so cold that we wore hats and socks to bed. It was over a garage and a large room, that is where cardboard was first used under thin carpet and where we fitted insulating wallboard. Insulation was not talked about then but people in the building insdustry knew

We read out meters each month and pay each month. In these times we can not put up with being cold.

karmalady, we have a very well insulated three bed house built six years ago. No draughts anywhere. All electric. Underfloor heating throughout with a thermostat in every room, set at 20 degrees in rooms in use, lower in others. The most economical way of using this method of heating is to have it running 24/7 but it will only come on when thermostats call for it. Always enough hot water for showers and cleaning. All lights are LED and are not left on in rooms not being used. Outdoor lighting is controlled by motion sensors. Energy efficient appliances and nothing left on unnecessarily. I cook at least one meal every day. Our monthly bill ranges between £250 and £350 per month. I’m very fortunate to live in this cosy home and to be able to afford the bills but how you achieve bills of £58 with money left over is completely beyond me.

Teacheranne - It’s a bungalow with a large roof area, which is poorly insulated due to the construction of a dormer bedroom many years ago. I’ve improved it as much as possible but it does make it expensive to heat.

We have the same issue with our two bedrooms. They are in the roof space with sloping walls on two sides. There is no insulation between the plasterboard and the roof. There is some insulation above the flat ceiling but the walls are the biggest uninsulated area. The house was built this way in the 1940's.

I have been looking at a product called Wallrock KV600. It is a thermal wallpaper. It isn't polystyrene. It has a compressed felt like backing. The front is smooth paper which can be painted. You need special adhesive to put it on and the roll is one metre wide x 15m long. If you are not an experienced decorator I would suggest getting someone to do it for you.

One roll plus adhesive is £138.99 on Amazon. You can get it from other suppliers.

Here is some blurb from Amazon.

^Wallrock KV600 Thermal Liner and 10kg Adhesive

Brand: Erfurt
4.6 out of 5 stars 88 ratings
Price:£138.99

Reduces room warm uptime by up to 65% and offers up to 36% energy saving
Covers problem areas such as cracked plaster and textured surfaces - it is approx 4 mm thick
Resists mould and damp formation and allows walls to breathe
Roll size: 15m x 100cm. It covers 15 sq/m - one roll needs 10 kg of Wallrock Thermal Liner Adhesive^

I am seriously considering putting it on the sloping walls in our bedroom. The wall is very cold to touch when it is cold outside. Hopefully it will help to retain some heat in the room.

Hope someone finds this helpful.

If anyone has used it, I would be grateful for your opinion. Most of the online reviews are favourable.

Well I for one am very glad that you’ve posted your tips, karmalady, so thank you. I’d completely forgotten about the foil behind the radiators tip, which we used to use back in the day. We’ve three radiators on external walls, and our walls aren’t cavity insulated, so I’m sure this will make a difference to them. Before I buy the kitchen foil, do you know if it’s worth investing a bit more in the specialist reflecting foil instead?

I was interested to read that you have thick carpets to keep out the cold from under your floor. We have hot water pipes running under our floorboards and a radiator in our converted cellar, so we found the opposite. When we got rid of the carpet in our living areas, we found we had free underfloor heating.

Sorry, cardboard under carpets, not thick carpets.

Removing the VAT on fuel bills - imposed by the EU - was dangled like a carrot by the Leave campaign. Here's what they said...

“When we vote to leave, we will be able to scrap this unfair and harmful tax. It is not right for unelected bureaucrats in Brussels to tax the poorest, and elected British politicians can do nothing.” (Michael Gove, Boris Johnson, Gisela Stuart, 2016)

However, today they have changed their minds... "Downing Street has said that removing VAT from domestic fuel bills will not necessarily reduce costs for households facing large increases in their April energy bills" (English Times, 4 January 2022).

... a bit like the £350 million per week for the NHS... another carrot...

This small apartment is all electric. Himself tells me our monthly bill is now £60 p.m. down from £73 p.m. as we were in credit by a good amount. Obviously we pay an electric bill in Malaga too. Electricity is cheaper out there though. In total we probably pay about £1k a year = £20 p.w. for both places. They are only little places, but we still use electric to shower, cook, run a fridge, watch tv, charge up phones etc.