how can i save on electricity? my bill was hurendous!?

Question

Im living in an appartment with just me and my little boy and am on Npower for both electricity and gas where i would usually have a set monthly payment, but this month i severely over used on electricity and run up a huge bill. How can i cut this down? I do the usualy - turn off plug sockets before bed etc but it isnt helping. Any one else having the same probs?

Answer 1

There is no one answer to your question, everyones different and fuel consumption goes by your way of life. Things that have already been mentioned if you havent tried you should give a go are:
*Turning off appliances when they are not in use, unplug and switch off at the socket.
*Washing dishes a minimal amount a day (shouldnt be hard :))
*I liked the one where if you wait and do your load of washing at the off-peak time sometime you'll find that your electricity can be in the regions on 1/3 of the price you pay compared to peak.
*Change light bulbs to energy efficient ones and where possible appliances because a grade c washing machine for example is gonna be an electricity guzzler! perhaps even reducing the temperature of your load from an average 40 degrees to 30 you'd be surprised how much you can save.
*If you have a cordless phone this uses electricity
*Things that you wouldnt even think of are printers, scanners etc that when you turn of your pc start up too, if you are not gonna use them then unplug!
One thing that I tend to do is leave things on charge like batterys, tootthebrush or mobile phone, so make sure your not over charging.
And I'm going on a bit now so one more thing is if you are considering changing supplier, have a look on uswitch to find the cheapest then go to greasypalm to the supplier you may receive cashback!

Good Luck

Answer 2

Have you left the immersion heater on all day and night or are you using electric bar heaters or tumble driers? These are real energy eaters. Turning your heating down by just a couple of degrees or washing on a cooler temperature saves you money.

Can NPower spread the cost of your bills out over the year a bit more so that you pay an even amount each month so you can budget more? Or consider fitting a meter? You have to charge the card up each time then and it might help you to see where the electricity is going (although I think you receive a discount if you pay by direct debit which you can't do on a meter).

Are you sure that you are only paying for electricity that you use? You say you live in an appartment - do you have to pay for lighting communal areas for example from your flat's electricity?

Most bills these days are estimated bills and the companies are obliged to read your meter only once every two years. Perhaps if you read your meter yourself every quarter and told the electricity company what the readings are it would be cheaper? The person who lived in the flat before you might have used a lot more leccy than you and yet you are still paying for it as it is estimated based on previous usage.

Answer 3

I have been off work sick since June 1st after a heart attack and my income is very low so I am very aware of fuel costs having gone up. I try and use as little power as I can and wash my hands and shave in cold water. I turn my set top box off when I go out/to bed and even turn off my central heating timer which uses a bit of electricity. Of course when I go out I'm not using power so I'm saving money every time I go out. I can get warmth from visiting friends,a pub or the local library and cafe's. There is a nasty old draught comes under my door in the lounge so I use a stuffed snake to roll up against the bottom of the door. I use energy saving light bulbs too which i think use only 20% of the power a normal lightbulb uses. I also have one of these halogen light heaters which run on 800 watts I think and they only cost about £10. I don't iron my clothes which is a big saving because an electic iron uses loads of electricity as do toasters and kettles. Unfortunately I spend a bomb making tea because I have a terrible thirst. I must drink 10 pints of tea a day. But I console myself by saying-at least its not beer!! :-)

Answer 4

Their prices have gone up recently so check your consumption before blaming anyone.

Change all your light bulbs to low energy ones is a start.

Don't leave things with a power pack plugged in overnight, even if the appliance is turned off the primary coil still draws current.

Put a timer switch on your washing machine to come on at 2 am and off at lunchtime so you can load it in the evening, turn it on and go to bed. It will then wash with cheap electricity. Same with Dryer if you use one.

A quick check for illegal sharing: turn all your breakers off in your fuse board and see if your meter changes while you are out for an hour or more.

Answer 5

Check for drafts and weather strip. Use insulating film for windows. Set your refrigerator to 3. Check for any small gas leaks around the stove or piping. Buy energy saving light bulbs. Buy some fleece throws for the both of you.Unplug appliances not used like toasters, coffee makers. Make sure all vents in the rooms are free flowing and clean. If you have a computer completely shut it down when not in use.

Answer 6

I take you have checked the meter reading on the bill against your meters. Check if they have put up their prices. Do a comparison with other suppliers. I used to be with NPower and changed because they kept overestimating my account - had quite a battle with them.
If you boil the kettle a lot, make a thermos of hot water. Energy saving bulbs. Do you have emersion on constantly?

Answer 7

I leave nothing on stand-by and make sure I don't over-fill the kettle when I don't need to. Apparantly re-boiling the kettle when it's cooled down for a few mins wastes a lot as does not closing the fridge door immediately after removing items! Maybe you already do all these?!

try:
http://www.collingwood.sutton.sch.uk/Energy%20Saving/ESElectric2.htm

Answer 8

As you are in an appartment check that there are no shared power uses, we had one once and even with everything off it was still spining in the meter until we found from the tight git landlord that power was share in some flats to light the corridors etc.

and he had the cheek to charge maintainance.

we've moved now.

Answer 9

Firstly, switch to a cheaper energy supplier (www.uswitch.com).

Fit low energy lightbulbs and turn them off when not in the room (then they use no energy at all), don't leave things on standby, etc.

Also, if possible, do energy-hungry things like washing and tumble drying on the cheaper night rate.

To this end, also fit a timer switch to the immersion heater and set it to switch on and then off overnight.

Answer 10

Of course you can try to use less, but you may also be able to reduce the cost of your electricity/gas. Energywatch (Google it) provide a free update of UK companies prices and prices do vary quite considerably. Switching could save you a lot.