On 15 Aug, 09:20, "sweetheart" hotmail.com wrote:
I know this is cheeky but I wondered if anyone would be willing to give me a
"price comparison" for their electric usage?

My house is a large 2 bedroom bungalow. I say large because we have large
rooms and a *big kitchen dining room and extra big sitting room *as well as
two double bedrooms.

There is no gas main where I am so I use all electric - economy 7

*The bill for this last year has come to £1086 . That includes the central
heating last winter. *The company is British Gas - so not the cheapest I am
sure but given its E7 none of them come in greatly cheaper for my area
(Cornwall) so I have stayed with who I know since they have been no trouble.

My eco conscious and money miser husband thinks our bill is high and wants
me to look for ways to cut it. *I cant find any.

He wants me to stop using my washing machine which goes on *once a week - or
maybe twice if I have anything big and my usual wash is 40 degrees although
I occasionally use the higher wash rates for bed clothes and towels.

He wants me to use the dishwasher less - I put it on every other day at
normal ( 55 degrees) wash *and he wants to switch the emersion heater off
altogether - it goes on for an hour each night to provide water for cleaning
and washing every day.
He says our bill is high ( the DD is £26 a month ) *but I cant see where
its going other than on things I need now.

My mum tells me her leccy bill is higher *than ours yet she uses a coal fire
central heating system ( but *my parents are old and need the heat so do
supplement it with electric fires and she has a much bigger house).

I just wondered what other people who are all electric in a comparable
situation might be paying.

Sorry to be a pain.

Your pattern of usage seems very reasonable - you're already doing all
the right things to reduce your bill.

What do you do for hot water for daily washing? Electric showers, or
do you manage everything with the hot water from the cylinder?

You might look at running your immersion a good while longer than an
hour on economy 7, if you're having to supplement it with hot water
from elsewhere.

But *above all* what will save you money is any improvements you can
get in home insulation - 250-300mm loft insulation, cavity wall
insulation, draughtproof windows (which usually means modern double
glazed units), hot water tank insulation, and tackling draughts - both
those due to how the house is built (poor fit, cat flaps etc), and bad
habits with doors left open etc.

Low energy lights might save you a bit, as might careful planning with
electric cooking, only filling the kettle with what you need, turning
down heating in less used areas of the house, thick curtains and
carpets - it all counts - but house insulation is the big win.

Like you, there's no gas in my area, and I have oil-fired central
heating and hot water - but have gone overboard on the insulation and
airtightness - and reap the benefits.

Really, you sound to be doing all the right things, and your bill is
probably around average for a rural all-electric house.

To get your bills down substantially, you're looking at extensive
professional insulation and draughtproofing (an investment), or
changing to a cheaper source of heating (oil, LPG, or even a ground
source heat pump) - a large investment