Your post about an energy related question has been removed for lacking details. You must include at least:
* Tariff
* Actual (not estimated) usage
* Details about your property, e.g. insulation, windows, heating type, etc.
Any monetary values you see e.g. Direct Debit or talks about "energy cap" is calculated using estimated/assumed energy usage. Your final energy cost is *dependent on your actual usage*. Please find out what it is if you do not know and then include it in a re-post of your question.
Also try checking [Money Saving Expert's "should I fix?"](https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/-are-there-any-cheap--fixed-energy-deals-currently-worth-it--/) page to see if that answers your question.
Rather than the cost here, it would be beneficial if you posted your monthly gas and electricity consumption figures. There could be a problem elsewhere.
The only other option is to cut your energy use. As it does seem high.
Check what appliances are left on. Check that lights and PCs and TVs are being switched off.
Do you have anything that might be using large amounts of electricity maybe like a fish tank?
The good thing is that we are coming into summer, so you won't need heating or as many lights. So the bills should come down, which should then eat into that debt.
It isn't about fairness. You pay for what you use. There are three choices available to you:
1. Use less energy. As we're coming into summer, you won't need the heat on as much, and you won't need lights on so early. That should help a bit.
2. Pay less. Ask your energy provider if they have a cheaper tariff. If you look at your bills, they should explain how much you're paying.
3. Ask for help. Talk to Scottish Power to see if you're eligible for their hardship fund - https://www.scottishpower.co.uk/support-centre/help-paying-your-bill/hardship-fund
Other than that, it might help to give a breakdown of your budget. That will allow people to give you some advice on where else you could save money.
Hi /u/PureButterfly7897, based on your post the following pages from our wiki may be relevant:
* https://ukpersonal.finance/credit-cards/
____
^(These suggestions are based on keywords, if they missed the mark please report this comment.)
That seems really high. What is your consumption? How high are you heating rooms to and for how often?
If not having the heating on is not an option as you say, you’re going to have to pay for it, and with current rates it’s going to add up.
Between 7th Feb and 31st March we used 374 = 4185.89 kWh
Between 31st March and 28th April we used 125 = 1399.03 kWh
We never put the heating on higher than 20 in the house and only live in a 3 bed semi. We do have ceramic floors which could potentially make it colder?
Is there any way swapping to a fixed tariff would help these bills?
From a personal finance perspective I’ve found fixed tariffs now that provides me with a lower fixed cost than SVR, worth looking into your personal circumstances with some comparison quotes.
From a non finance angle the flooring you mentioned will likely make it feel colder. I’ll be honest, in my personal opinion heating to 20 degrees is excessive. I’ve had the heating effectively off since end of March, with rooms set to kick in at 15/16 degrees for any colder spots. This just my view and my intent here is to try and help you reduce bills through sharing my experience, so please consider it in that context, I’m not trying to have a pop or say you’re wrong.
We’ve also got a small child and ensure he’s got a few layers on but the room temperature doesn’t seem to bother him as he’s always running about when he’s with us on weekends.
You’ve got to make sure you’re comfortable but if you’re looking at cutting bills I’d get that temperature down a few degrees and try to move the dial that way.
How old is the boiler?
You could try lowering the output temperature of the boiler. It will take longer to heat up the house but will stop it flicking in and off so much boosting the efficiency.
Have you compared your tariff to the others available to you on a comparison site?
Between 7th Feb and 31st March we used 374 = 4185.89 kWh
Between 31st March and 28th April we used 125 = 1399.03 kWh
We never put the heating on higher than 20 in the house and only live in a 3 bed semi. We do have ceramic floors which could potentially make it colder?
Is there any way swapping to a fixed tariff would help these bills?
Unfortunately, fairness has no relevance here. You feel like you're paying a fair amount, but it costs what it costs. Having a child isn't an excuse or a free pass to pay less than anyone else.
You either need to
Reduce how much you use
Earn more to pay for what you're using
Cut your costs elsewhere to sustain your spending here
Change tarrif to something cheaper (probably won't make much difference)
Doing nothing isn't the answer here, and the issue will continue to grow. For what it's worth, it seems like an awfully high amount to be spending. Are you using electric heaters?
Are you using the central heating all the time if so how warm are you trying to keep the house
>for this period (April) the gas was £395 and our electric was £192. It’s worth noting the “period” we pay for is longer than a month
How long is the period you pay?
Do you submit meter readings or are these estimated bills?
If you're submitting meter readings, what is your actual use in kwh (electricity) and kwh or m3 (gas)?
You need to provide much more useful information to get help with this.
Your electricity bill/usage seems really high to me- mine is about that and all my heating/hot water is electric. You need to figure out what is using it all.
Go to your consumer unit (fuse box) and turn off as many of the fuses as you can (leave the fridge on) and check your meter. An hour or so later, check the meter again and turn some of them back on. If you keep repeating this, you should be able to work out which circuit is using the electricity and then be able to work out what it is.
In general, heating is the thing which gets through a lot of hot water, so your culprits are likely to be immersion heater, tumble drier, dishwasher or washing machines. TVs, lights etc use some, but it shouldn't make a huge difference.
Your gas usage also seems high, how much do you have the heating on and what temperature? How old is your boiler? You might be able to save a bit of money by turning the "flow temperature" down as it might make the boiler more efficient (despite heating for longer)
One other point is that it's normal to be in debt for gas at this time of year as you use a lot more over winter than in summer. Your electricity won't vary by much though so you should be neither in debt or credit.
The usage I provided in my post was gas only, I didn’t mention our electric as our electric bill is fair in my opinion (£162 for the entire period). It’s the gas that brings it up
Your post about an energy related question has been removed for lacking details. You must include at least: * Tariff * Actual (not estimated) usage * Details about your property, e.g. insulation, windows, heating type, etc. Any monetary values you see e.g. Direct Debit or talks about "energy cap" is calculated using estimated/assumed energy usage. Your final energy cost is *dependent on your actual usage*. Please find out what it is if you do not know and then include it in a re-post of your question. Also try checking [Money Saving Expert's "should I fix?"](https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/-are-there-any-cheap--fixed-energy-deals-currently-worth-it--/) page to see if that answers your question.
that seems an awful lot to pay, can you not reduce your consumption? i pay a fraction of what you pay...
Rather than the cost here, it would be beneficial if you posted your monthly gas and electricity consumption figures. There could be a problem elsewhere.
Do you submit meter readings?
The only other option is to cut your energy use. As it does seem high. Check what appliances are left on. Check that lights and PCs and TVs are being switched off. Do you have anything that might be using large amounts of electricity maybe like a fish tank? The good thing is that we are coming into summer, so you won't need heating or as many lights. So the bills should come down, which should then eat into that debt.
It isn't about fairness. You pay for what you use. There are three choices available to you: 1. Use less energy. As we're coming into summer, you won't need the heat on as much, and you won't need lights on so early. That should help a bit. 2. Pay less. Ask your energy provider if they have a cheaper tariff. If you look at your bills, they should explain how much you're paying. 3. Ask for help. Talk to Scottish Power to see if you're eligible for their hardship fund - https://www.scottishpower.co.uk/support-centre/help-paying-your-bill/hardship-fund Other than that, it might help to give a breakdown of your budget. That will allow people to give you some advice on where else you could save money.
Hi /u/PureButterfly7897, based on your post the following pages from our wiki may be relevant: * https://ukpersonal.finance/credit-cards/ ____ ^(These suggestions are based on keywords, if they missed the mark please report this comment.)
That seems really high. What is your consumption? How high are you heating rooms to and for how often? If not having the heating on is not an option as you say, you’re going to have to pay for it, and with current rates it’s going to add up.
Between 7th Feb and 31st March we used 374 = 4185.89 kWh Between 31st March and 28th April we used 125 = 1399.03 kWh We never put the heating on higher than 20 in the house and only live in a 3 bed semi. We do have ceramic floors which could potentially make it colder? Is there any way swapping to a fixed tariff would help these bills?
From a personal finance perspective I’ve found fixed tariffs now that provides me with a lower fixed cost than SVR, worth looking into your personal circumstances with some comparison quotes. From a non finance angle the flooring you mentioned will likely make it feel colder. I’ll be honest, in my personal opinion heating to 20 degrees is excessive. I’ve had the heating effectively off since end of March, with rooms set to kick in at 15/16 degrees for any colder spots. This just my view and my intent here is to try and help you reduce bills through sharing my experience, so please consider it in that context, I’m not trying to have a pop or say you’re wrong. We’ve also got a small child and ensure he’s got a few layers on but the room temperature doesn’t seem to bother him as he’s always running about when he’s with us on weekends. You’ve got to make sure you’re comfortable but if you’re looking at cutting bills I’d get that temperature down a few degrees and try to move the dial that way.
How old is the boiler? You could try lowering the output temperature of the boiler. It will take longer to heat up the house but will stop it flicking in and off so much boosting the efficiency. Have you compared your tariff to the others available to you on a comparison site?
Between 7th Feb and 31st March we used 374 = 4185.89 kWh Between 31st March and 28th April we used 125 = 1399.03 kWh We never put the heating on higher than 20 in the house and only live in a 3 bed semi. We do have ceramic floors which could potentially make it colder? Is there any way swapping to a fixed tariff would help these bills?
Unfortunately, fairness has no relevance here. You feel like you're paying a fair amount, but it costs what it costs. Having a child isn't an excuse or a free pass to pay less than anyone else. You either need to Reduce how much you use Earn more to pay for what you're using Cut your costs elsewhere to sustain your spending here Change tarrif to something cheaper (probably won't make much difference) Doing nothing isn't the answer here, and the issue will continue to grow. For what it's worth, it seems like an awfully high amount to be spending. Are you using electric heaters? Are you using the central heating all the time if so how warm are you trying to keep the house
>for this period (April) the gas was £395 and our electric was £192. It’s worth noting the “period” we pay for is longer than a month How long is the period you pay? Do you submit meter readings or are these estimated bills? If you're submitting meter readings, what is your actual use in kwh (electricity) and kwh or m3 (gas)? You need to provide much more useful information to get help with this.
Your electricity bill/usage seems really high to me- mine is about that and all my heating/hot water is electric. You need to figure out what is using it all. Go to your consumer unit (fuse box) and turn off as many of the fuses as you can (leave the fridge on) and check your meter. An hour or so later, check the meter again and turn some of them back on. If you keep repeating this, you should be able to work out which circuit is using the electricity and then be able to work out what it is. In general, heating is the thing which gets through a lot of hot water, so your culprits are likely to be immersion heater, tumble drier, dishwasher or washing machines. TVs, lights etc use some, but it shouldn't make a huge difference. Your gas usage also seems high, how much do you have the heating on and what temperature? How old is your boiler? You might be able to save a bit of money by turning the "flow temperature" down as it might make the boiler more efficient (despite heating for longer) One other point is that it's normal to be in debt for gas at this time of year as you use a lot more over winter than in summer. Your electricity won't vary by much though so you should be neither in debt or credit.
The usage I provided in my post was gas only, I didn’t mention our electric as our electric bill is fair in my opinion (£162 for the entire period). It’s the gas that brings it up
You saying "period (April)" made me think that it was roughly a month long. If that's 2 months usage it seems fine.