My electricity bill has just tripled: how about yours? Alternative suppliers?

[Sasaferrato]

Read our meters yesterday, input the figures which generated the bill.

£342.71 for 88 days gas and electricity = £3.89 a day. That was with the £199.00 'gift' from the government, without that it would have been £6.16 a day.

We put aside £200.00 a month towards fuel, boiler repair/renewal etc, so at present would still be within that. In the future, fuck knows. There is a lot we will give up before heat though. In the ignorance of my youth, I used to think wrinklies were talking bollocks about feeling the cold more. Now I'm a wrinkly myself...

I have G&E bills going back a decade, I haven't looked at this period last year because a grown man sobbing his heart out isn't a good look.

 

[cupid_stunt]

I posted this on the 'fucking weather' thread just after 9am this morning, it's proper buggered my target for this month.

It is surprisingly cold around here for December, the average Dec temp is normally in the range of 4c-9c daytimes, with 4c being rare, we're averaging around 1-2c, it's not even getting up to 0c until around 10am, and down as low as -5c overnight, plus we have another week of this cold snap, it's exceptional. These are the sort temperatures we would normally expect in Feb.

It's reflected in my gas use the last few days, I've been only using about 10% less than last year, despite having a new boiler that is around 35% more efficient and heating to lower temperatures than usual, I've already used just over 30kWh* today, getting the place up to 17c.

* Now over 45kWh just maintaining 15c indoors.

If they don't change the forecast again, we should be getting back to a more normal daytime averages of around 5-7c from next weekend.



I didn't use the heating in Oct & very little in Nov, because of the mild weather, so this grown man isn't at the sobbing stage yet, but I hope we don't get too many cold snaps like this over the rest of winter, especially with the threat of possible power cuts if we do.

 

[Sasaferrato]

I posted this on the 'fucking weather' thread just after 9am this morning, it's proper buggered my target for this month.

It is surprisingly cold around here for December, the average Dec temp is normally in the range of 4c-9c daytimes, with 4c being rare, we're averaging around 1-2c, it's not even getting up to 0c until around 10am, and down as low as -5c overnight, plus we have another week of this cold snap, it's exceptional. These are the sort temperatures we would normally expect in Feb.

It's reflected in my gas use the last few days, I've been only using about 10% less than last year, despite having a new boiler that is around 35% more efficient and heating to lower temperatures than usual, I've already used just over 30kWh* today, getting the place up to 17c.

* Now over 45kWh just maintaining 15c indoors.

If they don't change the forecast again, we should be getting back to a more normal daytime averages of around 5-7c from next weekend.

View attachment 355108

I didn't use the heating in Oct & very little in Nov, because of the mild weather, so this grown man isn't at the sobbing stage yet, but I hope we don't get too many cold snaps like this over the rest of winter, especially with the threat of possible power cuts if we do.

Are you sure you mean kWh? A kWh is a one bar electric fire for an hour, that's like burning 45 one bar fires for an hour.

 

[two sheds]

I've actually been using the fan heater locally yesterday and today with rayburn in the afternoon/evenings. Still bloody cold mind.

 

[teuchter]

Are you sure you mean kWh? A kWh is a one bar electric fire for an hour, that's like burning 45 one bar fires for an hour.

Or one 3-bar fire from 7am to 10pm, which sounds less dramatic.

 

[Sasaferrato]

I've actually been using the fan heater locally yesterday and today with rayburn in the afternoon/evenings. Still bloody cold mind.

We lived in three houses that had a Rayburn when I was a kid. Amazing things.

 

[cupid_stunt]

Are you sure you mean kWh? A kWh is a one bar electric fire for an hour, that's like burning 45 one bar fires for an hour.

Yep it's 45kHw of gas so far today, see the gas & kWh tabs selected in the graph above, and this is what the comparison with last year looks like with the gas and cost tabs selected, bearing in mind I was using over 50% less in the first six days of Dec.



My cost on variable tariffs per kWh from last Dec to this one is up around 75% for electric and 165% for gas.

Lucky I saved almost 1500kWh of gas in Oct & Nov.

My heart goes out to those in uninsulated homes and/or with only electric as a heating option.

 

[Sasaferrato]

Yep it's 45kHw of gas so far today, see the gas & kWh tabs selected in the graph above, and this is what the comparison with last year looks like with the gas and cost tabs selected, bearing in mind I was using over 50% less in the first six days of Dec.

View attachment 355115

My cost on variable tariff per kWh from last Dec to this one is up around 75% for electric and 165% for gas.

Lucky I saved almost 1500kWh of gas in Oct & Nov.

My heart goes out to those in uninsulated homes and/or with only electric as a heating option.

We are uninsulated single concrete walls, but with gas heating. At our age the cost of insulation would never be recouped.

 

[two sheds]

We lived in three houses that had a Rayburn when I was a kid. Amazing things.

It's ancient and it's driving the radiators which makes a real difference but I'm only burning wood and starting in the afternoon so it doesn't get as hot as it should. Am going to light it soon though - also for cooking and constant supply of hot water bottles.

 

[Sasaferrato]

It's ancient and it's driving the radiators which makes a real difference but I'm only burning wood and starting in the afternoon so it doesn't get as hot as it should. Am going to light it soon though - also for cooking and constant supply of hot water bottles.

Many a newborn lamb got warmed up in a Rayburn oven.

We used to burn peat in it.

 

[two sheds]

the dog goes and lies right next to it as soon as it's lit - which I'm not hugely keen on tbh because I'm having to be constantly aware as I'm transporting pans of boiling water around.

 

[cupid_stunt]

Many a newborn lamb got warmed up in a Rayburn oven.

We used to burn peat in it.

I love the smell of burning peat, that was our main fuel in Ireland, with just one open fire in a 5-bed house, ye olde ice on the inside of windows days.

 

[two sheds]

As opposed to the extremely nasty smell of burning coal with just one open fire in the house and ice on the inside of windows.

 

[Supine]

Ta. Fkn Northerners get the shitty end of the stick again.

Yeah, but we don’t have to live down south.

 

[cesare]

As opposed to the extremely nasty smell of burning coal with just one open fire in the house and ice on the inside of windows.

The smell of burning coal smells somewhat homely to me ... when I stayed with my grandparents as a kid there was coal everywhere. It fired the fire and hot water. There were shingles of it everywhere in the gullies between the back to backs, the air was tainted with it, and the street railings were covered in coal dust, absolutely black as soot hands when you used them.

 

[two sheds]

I'll swear the coal dust was a contributory factor to my asthma

and the dog is now lying on the hot water bottle

 

[cesare]

I'll swear the coal dust was a contributory factor to my asthma

and the dog is now lying on the hot water bottle

Yep mine too.

The dog has good sense

 

[Chz]

Are you sure you mean kWh? A kWh is a one bar electric fire for an hour, that's like burning 45 one bar fires for an hour.

Just checked ours for fun. 70kWh yesterday. The 3rd was only 45 for us. (gas only - add 10 for electric)
It's the joy of two people working from home and a sick child, so it's worth keeping it at 20C for the day.

 

[AnnaKarpik]

My husband is claiming that he needs to put a bit of heating upstairs because it's too cold for his tablet to charge. Is that a real thing?

 

[danny la rouge]

My husband is claiming that he needs to put a bit of heating upstairs because it's too cold for his tablet to charge. Is that a real thing?

I don’t know, but can’t he charge it in a room that’s already heated?

 

[gentlegreen]

My husband is claiming that he needs to put a bit of heating upstairs because it's too cold for his tablet to charge. Is that a real thing?

even if it started out cold, the charging process is inefficient and generates heat.
In general with electronics, the cooler the better...

 

[AnnaKarpik]

I don’t know, but can’t he charge it in a room that’s already heated?

There aren't any heated rooms at sleepy-time night, ever. He wants to heat the bedroom so he doesn't have to get out of bed. You would not believe how much time that man spends playing games on that blooming tablet.

 

[AnnaKarpik]

even if it started out cold, the charging process is inefficient and generates heat.
In general with electronics, the cooler the better...

I knew it!

 

[gentlegreen]

Yes there are extremes - like large battery banks in freezing garages, but not a Liion cell crammed into a tablet or phone.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Just had an email telling me my bill is going up by £495/year in January.

Merry fucking Christmas.

 

[donkyboy]

let us know know how your measurements stack up

It seems to have made a tiny difference thermometer was reading 15.5 when I started. its now reading 15.7

 

[two sheds]

you need to put the thermometer on the upturned plate for maximum benefit, it's far too far away

 

[donkyboy]

I'm gonna move the thermometer next to the tissue box. the temp should increase. I can feel the heat behind my head while in bed surfing the net. Update will follow. Stay tuned, kids.

 

[donkyboy]

wow. instant impact

 

[donkyboy]

Its now at 16 daygrees.