High Electricity Bills // Fault in the system?

[Chris]

Hi all -

I'm looking to get advice from other Electricity customers on a
pricing matter...

I live in a 1 bed flat in Central London, in a purpose-built
building. There are 2 adults in the flat and a 3rd occasionally
visits. We each have a short shower in the morning, use heavy
appliances (washing machine and dishwasher, which are less than 3
years old) in energy saving modes 2 - 3 times a week during Economy 7
hours. We cook most of our dinner meals at home. We heat with
electricity only and don't use storage heaters all that often - when
we do temps are around 21 degrees. All pretty normal stuff.

However, we've been hit with electricity bills of £450 and £320 per
quarter. Although we could switch to another company initial quotes
suggest we won't save more than about 5 - 10%. I'm beginning to think
that there's something wrong with the meter reading the actual
consumption rate in our flat. So, I think:

* we're not using our equipment efficiently (although have implemented
changes in behaviour aroudn light bulb usage, shutting off machines
rather than keeping them on standby, etc)
* there is a fault in the system which is causing some electricity
loss
* or we are paying for someone else's usage (either because it was a
genuine mistake in cabling, or someone's pinching our power!)

First, does our usage as described above compare with your own, and
ultimately the bills you receive?

Second, is there any way that we can get a trained technician in to do
a quick audit on our flat to see whether we're actually using what
we're paying for?

Thanks,
Chris

[Tony Bryer]

Post by Chris
Second, is there any way that we can get a trained technician in to
do a quick audit on our flat to see whether we're actually using what
we're paying for?

Purpose-built, but how old? There are purpose-built Victorian mansion
flats that probably cost a fortune to heat.

You could get an EPC (Energy Performance Certificate as in Home
Information Pack) - there are more assessors than work, so this
shouldn't cost a huge amount. Personally, I'd find out what the owners
of similar flats in the building are paying. I presume you're being
billed against actual meter readings and not estimates?

[Andy Pandy]

Post by Chris
Hi all -
I'm looking to get advice from other Electricity customers on a
pricing matter...
I live in a 1 bed flat in Central London, in a purpose-built
building. There are 2 adults in the flat and a 3rd occasionally
visits. We each have a short shower in the morning, use heavy
appliances (washing machine and dishwasher, which are less than 3
years old) in energy saving modes 2 - 3 times a week during Economy 7
hours. We cook most of our dinner meals at home. We heat with
electricity only and don't use storage heaters all that often - when
we do temps are around 21 degrees. All pretty normal stuff.
However, we've been hit with electricity bills of £450 and £320 per
quarter.

That's very high for a flat...

Post by Chris
Although we could switch to another company initial quotes
suggest we won't save more than about 5 - 10%. I'm beginning to think
that there's something wrong with the meter reading the actual
* we're not using our equipment efficiently (although have

implemented

Post by Chris
changes in behaviour aroudn light bulb usage, shutting off machines
rather than keeping them on standby, etc)

The saving there is likely to be trivial, unless you have loads of
those horrible trendy spot lights.

A device on standby should only use a few watts, a 100W bulb should
cost less than 1p an hour.

Do you have an immersion heater? If this is left on long periods it
will use a LOT of electricity.

Post by Chris
* there is a fault in the system which is causing some electricity
loss
* or we are paying for someone else's usage (either because it was a
genuine mistake in cabling, or someone's pinching our power!)
First, does our usage as described above compare with your own, and
ultimately the bills you receive?
Second, is there any way that we can get a trained technician in to do
a quick audit on our flat to see whether we're actually using what
we're paying for?

You can buy a power monitor which shows how much power devices are
using.

Or you can do it the hard way and watch the meter, or take note of the
readings at intervals and tie this in with what you were doing.

Eg if you're going away for a few days, note the reading before you go
and when you get back. Divide the KWH used by the number of hours you
were away and you'll see what the "background" usage is (eg
fridge/freezer/alarm clocks). If this is more than 100-300W or so then
something is wrong somewhere (assuming you don't leave the heating or
any lights on).

Or turn most things off and watch the meter going round - the meter
should say how many revs per KWH, so you'll be able to work out what
your usage is - eg if it says 200 revs per KWH, then if it takes 1 min
to do a rev (ie an hour to do 60) - then you're burning 60/200 KW =
300W.

Then try turning things on and see what the difference is.

--
Andy

[Chris]

Post by Andy Pandy

Post by Chris
Hi all -
I'm looking to get advice from other Electricity customers on a
pricing matter...
I live in a 1 bed flat in Central London, in a purpose-built
building.  There are 2 adults in the flat and a 3rd occasionally
visits.  We each have a short shower in the morning, use heavy
appliances (washing machine and dishwasher, which are less than 3
years old) in energy saving modes 2 - 3 times a week during Economy

7

Post by Chris
hours.  We cook most of our dinner meals at home.  We heat with
electricity only and don't use storage heaters all that often - when
we do temps are around 21 degrees.  All pretty normal stuff.
However, we've been hit with electricity bills of £450 and £320 per
quarter.

That's very high for a flat...

Post by Chris
Although we could switch to another company initial quotes
suggest we won't save more than about 5 - 10%.  I'm beginning to

think

Post by Chris
that there's something wrong with the meter reading the actual
* we're not using our equipment efficiently (although have

implemented

Post by Chris
changes in behaviour aroudn light bulb usage, shutting off machines
rather than keeping them on standby, etc)

The saving there is likely to be trivial, unless you have loads of
those horrible trendy spot lights.
A device on standby should only use a few watts, a 100W bulb should
cost less than 1p an hour.
Do you have an immersion heater? If this is left on long periods it
will use a LOT of electricity.

Post by Chris
* there is a fault in the system which is causing some electricity
loss
* or we are paying for someone else's usage (either because it was a
genuine mistake in cabling, or someone's pinching our power!)
First, does our usage as described above compare with your own, and
ultimately the bills you receive?
Second, is there any way that we can get a trained technician in to

do

Post by Chris
a quick audit on our flat to see whether we're actually using what
we're paying for?

You can buy a power monitor which shows how much power devices are
using.
Or you can do it the hard way and watch the meter, or take note of the
readings at intervals and tie this in with what you were doing.
Eg if you're going away for a few days, note the reading before you go
and when you get back. Divide the KWH used by the number of hours you
were away and you'll see what the "background" usage is (eg
fridge/freezer/alarm clocks). If this is more than 100-300W or so then
something is wrong somewhere (assuming you don't leave the heating or
any lights on).
Or turn most things off and watch the meter going round - the meter
should say how many revs per KWH, so you'll be able to work out what
your usage is - eg if it says 200 revs per KWH, then if it takes 1 min
to do a rev (ie an hour to do 60) - then you're burning 60/200 KW =
300W.
Then try turning things on and see what the difference is.
--
Andy- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -

Hi Tony and Andy -

Your replies are very helpful, thank you.

The flat is 1980s construction, so reasonably good walls and double-
glazing, but not the more modern and highly efficient boiler, storage
heaters, etc.

I've just started looking into what other flats are paying for their
electricity - good idea!

I like the idea of the power meter - I assume I can just pick one up
at Homebase or B&Q right? It's probably worth the 20 quid or
whatever, to see if I can save a lot more on the bill. Do you know
how the device works? Presumably I just plug it into each power point
and take a reading?

Chris

[Andy Pandy]

Post by Chris
I like the idea of the power meter - I assume I can just pick one up
at Homebase or B&Q right? It's probably worth the 20 quid or
whatever, to see if I can save a lot more on the bill. Do you know
how the device works? Presumably I just plug it into each power point
and take a reading?

Yup - here's an example:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ModuleNo=38343&doy=4m6&QV=Y

Problem is you can only use it to monitor things you plug in, so you
won't be able to monitor your shower or heating for instance, which
are more likely to be the cause of the problem than things you plug
in. Not sure if there are versions you can plug into the consumer unit
to monitor things like showers. For them you'll probably have to do it
the hard way as I described.

--
Andy

[Tony Bryer]

Post by Andy Pandy
Do you have an immersion heater? If this is left on long periods it
will use a LOT of electricity.

Not with a modern foam cylinder - standing losses are about 2kW/day, say
£18 on the quarterly bill, and for some of the year this reduces the
heating energy input. It's the hot water used that matters - if the OP has
a power shower this might be one factor making his bills so high.

[Joe Lee]

Post by Andy Pandy

Post by Chris
Hi all -
I'm looking to get advice from other Electricity customers on a
pricing matter...
I live in a 1 bed flat in Central London, in a purpose-built
building. There are 2 adults in the flat and a 3rd occasionally
visits. We each have a short shower in the morning, use heavy
appliances (washing machine and dishwasher, which are less than 3
years old) in energy saving modes 2 - 3 times a week during Economy

7

Post by Chris
hours. We cook most of our dinner meals at home. We heat with
electricity only and don't use storage heaters all that often - when
we do temps are around 21 degrees. All pretty normal stuff.
However, we've been hit with electricity bills of £450 and £320 per
quarter.

That's very high for a flat...

Post by Chris
Although we could switch to another company initial quotes
suggest we won't save more than about 5 - 10%. I'm beginning to

think

Post by Chris
that there's something wrong with the meter reading the actual
* we're not using our equipment efficiently (although have

implemented

Post by Chris
changes in behaviour aroudn light bulb usage, shutting off machines
rather than keeping them on standby, etc)

The saving there is likely to be trivial, unless you have loads of
those horrible trendy spot lights.
A device on standby should only use a few watts, a 100W bulb should
cost less than 1p an hour.

That will depend upon the particular tariff the OP is on.

For example if it's one where the first so many Units (the primary units)
are charged at one (higher) price, with the remainder (the secondary units)
charged at a lower price, he may well be paying 18p per KWh, in other words
approaching twice as much as you indicate. Even the remaining (secondary)
Units are likely to cost more than you suggest.

Post by Andy Pandy
Do you have an immersion heater? If this is left on long periods it
will use a LOT of electricity.

Yes, if there is some other alternative they are best avoided.

Post by Andy Pandy

Post by Chris
* there is a fault in the system which is causing some electricity
loss
* or we are paying for someone else's usage (either because it was a
genuine mistake in cabling, or someone's pinching our power!)
First, does our usage as described above compare with your own, and
ultimately the bills you receive?
Second, is there any way that we can get a trained technician in to

do

Post by Chris
a quick audit on our flat to see whether we're actually using what
we're paying for?

You can buy a power monitor which shows how much power devices are
using.
Or you can do it the hard way and watch the meter, or take note of the
readings at intervals and tie this in with what you were doing.
Eg if you're going away for a few days, note the reading before you go
and when you get back. Divide the KWH used by the number of hours you
were away and you'll see what the "background" usage is (eg
fridge/freezer/alarm clocks). If this is more than 100-300W or so then
something is wrong somewhere (assuming you don't leave the heating or
any lights on).
Or turn most things off and watch the meter going round - the meter
should say how many revs per KWH, so you'll be able to work out what
your usage is - eg if it says 200 revs per KWH, then if it takes 1 min
to do a rev (ie an hour to do 60) - then you're burning 60/200 KW =
300W.

Perhaps the OP does have one of those but the latest generation of meters
have just a digital display & give no indication of 'rate of usage' or
instantaneous power consumption.

Post by Andy Pandy
Then try turning things on and see what the difference is.

[Andy Pandy]

Post by Joe Lee

Post by Andy Pandy
The saving there is likely to be trivial, unless you have loads of
those horrible trendy spot lights.
A device on standby should only use a few watts, a 100W bulb

should

Post by Joe Lee

Post by Andy Pandy
cost less than 1p an hour.

That will depend upon the particular tariff the OP is on.
For example if it's one where the first so many Units (the primary units)
are charged at one (higher) price, with the remainder (the secondary units)
charged at a lower price, he may well be paying 18p per KWh, in other words
approaching twice as much as you indicate. Even the remaining

(secondary)

Post by Joe Lee
Units are likely to cost more than you suggest.

Unless the OP is a very low user (which he clearly is not), he's going
to use all the higher rated units anyway. So the marginal saving for
being careful with lights etc will come off the lower charged units.
If he's paying more than 10p/kwh for the lower priced units then he is
being ripped off and should change supplier asap!

The higher/lower rates are simply bullshit which some energy providers
use so they can claim they have no standing charge. Unless you are a
very low user, the difference between the rates multiplied the number
of units in the higher priced band *is* the standing charge.

--
Andy

[Chris]

Post by Tony Bryer

Post by Joe Lee

Post by Andy Pandy
The saving there is likely to be trivial, unless you have loads of
those horrible trendy spot lights.
A device on standby should only use a few watts, a 100W bulb

should

Post by Joe Lee

Post by Andy Pandy
cost less than 1p an hour.

That will depend upon the particular tariff the OP is on.
For example if it's one where the first so many Units (the primary

units)

Post by Joe Lee
are charged at one (higher) price, with the remainder (the secondary

units)

Post by Joe Lee
charged at a lower price, he may well be paying 18p per KWh, in

other words

Post by Joe Lee
approaching twice as much as you indicate. Even the remaining

(secondary)

Post by Joe Lee
Units are likely to cost more than you suggest.

Unless the OP is a very low user (which he clearly is not), he's going
to use all the higher rated units anyway. So the marginal saving for
being careful with lights etc will come off the lower charged units.
If he's paying more than 10p/kwh for the lower priced units then he is
being ripped off and should change supplier asap!
The higher/lower rates are simply bullshit which some energy providers
use so they can claim they have no standing charge. Unless you are a
very low user, the difference between the rates multiplied the number
of units in the higher priced band *is* the standing charge.
--
Andy

Thanks again for your help, guys.

I did email the Energy Efficiency (or whatever they're called) team
last week. I was taken aback with how quickly they contacted me. The
woman in question was actually quite helpful and rang back a couple of
times when she got more information. She did promise to have one of
their technicians contact me to arrange a booking to visit my home.

That was Sunday. The call back was promised for Monday, but never
came (and hasn't come since). On Tuesday someone else replied to the
same email I had sent and effectively withdrew the promise of a
technician (saying my costs were "in keeping with seasonal usage" -
that's not the point, is it? ALL charges THROUGHOUT the year are too
high so I'm probably paying at least 40% more than I should regardless
of what the billing period is).

Disappointing. Very, very disappointing.