UK Energy Costs

[huxley]

I`m with SSE, my breakdown is below. Why is mine different for the same tariff as Soundwave?


Electricity

Your Tariff
Standard
Your Payment Method
Direct Debit
Your Annual Usage
1308 kWh (Estimated)
Tariff Includes
Standard Tariff has no end date or exit fees

Current Price until
31 March 2022 New Price from
1 April 2022
Standing Charge (per day) 24.11p 43.39p
Standard Energy (per kWh) 20.68p 28.46p
Personal Projection £358.42 £530.55
Estimated Annual Change - £172.13

Gas

Your Tariff
Standard
Your Payment Method
Direct Debit
Your Annual Usage
7890 kWh (Estimated)
Additional Benefits
Standard Tariff has no end date or exit fees

Current Price until
31 Mar 2022 New Price from
1 April 2022
Standing Charge (per day) 26.12p 27.22p
Unit Rate (per kWh) 4.17p 7.48p
Personal Projection £424.23 £689.23
Estimated Annual Change - £265.00

[Asura]

Got the info from British Gas just now.

I think it's a bit worst-case as we just got a new boiler and expect our gas usage to go down. But still, yeah, gas & power combined going from £138 to £214 per month.

Wondering if I should get a solar cell but as we're on a ground floor flat and renting, realistically I could only move over our USB devices to a window-charger. It would probably work, but the numbers I'm seeing online suggest this is in the ballpark of £5 annually per-device. Like, the power-use of charging your phones, handheld consoles and tablets are absolutely dwarfed by a couple of uses of the kettle.

Anyone got any advice about lowering power consumption? We already use power-saving bulbs.

I'm also ordering one of these...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B085M6GL2R

Plan to use it in various places and get an idea of costs. We might be able to save some power by rearranging our power strips and having "turn off when not using" strip and a "never turned off" strip.

[MartyG]

You want to make the biggest difference, stop using dishwashers and wash your pots by hand. Washing machines and dishwashers are by far the biggest contributor to leccy bills.

[Asura]

You want to make the biggest difference, stop using dishwashers and wash your pots by hand.

We don't have a dishwasher. We do use a lot of the tumble-drier but I'm willing to just pay for that, as it's an absolute lifesaver when you're in a flat without proper garden access.

[QualityChimp]

I'm really struggling with how expensive the cost of living is at the moment.

Deffo going to have to make some sacrifices.

Was looking at reducing my Virgin package.
I've got a landline, 2 x TiVo boxes and broadband.
We get about 2 calls a month on the landline and very rarely use the TiVo boxes any more.

Basically, I just need a decent broadband to stream everything.
Virgin told me last time I asked that it's cheaper for all three than just BB, but that sounds wrong.

Anyone recommend any other fibre broadband companies?

[Asura]

Basically, I just need a decent broadband to stream everything.
Virgin told me last time I asked that it's cheaper for all three than just BB, but that sounds wrong.

Sky tried to sell me on that **** too, but if you insist, then start to move to walk away, they'll sort you out. We had to have a phone line (I think everyone has to in the UK) but we don't even have it plugged in (WFH I used to get 5-6 nuisance calls a day).

[Neon Ignition]

Yep, our landline is disconnected too, no need for it or the spam calls.
If it weren't for kids TV we could easily cope broadband only

[Dogg Thang]

Yeah my provider used to offer separate packages and now none exist without a landline. I have no use for a landline.

[wakka]

It's only compulsory to have a landline if you're using ADSL/FTTC (the most widely available, common or garden broadband).

If you can get either Virgin cable or FTTH broadband (Hyperoptic/Community Fibre/etc), you don't need a landline.

[teddymeow]

I'm really struggling with how expensive the cost of living is at the moment.

Deffo going to have to make some sacrifices.

Was looking at reducing my Virgin package.
I've got a landline, 2 x TiVo boxes and broadband.
We get about 2 calls a month on the landline and very rarely use the TiVo boxes any more.

Basically, I just need a decent broadband to stream everything.
Virgin told me last time I asked that it's cheaper for all three than just BB, but that sounds wrong.

Anyone recommend any other fibre broadband companies?

We're going to dump Virgin and go with a BB only provider.

Everything we watch is on streaming and catch-up services anyway...

[QualityChimp]

Any suggestions?

[Lebowski]

I'm really struggling with how expensive the cost of living is at the moment.

Deffo going to have to make some sacrifices.

Was looking at reducing my Virgin package.
I've got a landline, 2 x TiVo boxes and broadband.
We get about 2 calls a month on the landline and very rarely use the TiVo boxes any more.

Basically, I just need a decent broadband to stream everything.
Virgin told me last time I asked that it's cheaper for all three than just BB, but that sounds wrong.

Anyone recommend any other fibre broadband companies?

I got an upgrade to my broadband to a gig and a reduction in my bill by threatening to leave Virgin. Brsk have just moved into the area and are very aggressive going after customers. They are offering gigabite ftp (fiber to the property) and 6 months free on all their packages (25 for half a gig and 45 for a gig).

For energy we are locked in on an 18 month tariff before all the issues started so dont need to worry till 2023,

[fallenangle]

You want to make the biggest difference, stop using dishwashers and wash your pots by hand. Washing machines and dishwashers are by far the biggest contributor to leccy bills.

That is completely wrong about dishwashers. The opposite is the case particularly if you have a hot-water tank heating system.

Dishwashers use less than one kitchen sink of water/cycle. Its amazing that dishwasher tab adverts have only just started mentioning this, something I've known and have had 17 years practical proof of that it is true.

They only heat up that small amount of water they use ie. unlike a lot of washing machines they do not draw from the hot-water tank.

You can also reduce the water temperature of your hot-water tank by 10°C as a consequence too as if it is not used for washing dishes/pans etc there's no need to have it at 60°C. That will save you significant money in the long term.

[wakka]

Any suggestions?

If I was in your shoes I would, as a ruse, find the cheapest deal from an ADSL provider that you can, and tell Virgin that you are leaving and going to that deal.

They should transfer you to the retentions team who will offer you a better broadband-only deal.

My reasoning for this is:

- The technology Virgin use does not require a landline (although they might not make this clear)
- Virgin offer higher speeds than ADSL FTTC providers like Sky

Out of interest how much are you paying currently? It sounds like complete bull**** that it's cheaper to have 2x Tivo boxes and a landline than just broadband on its own.

[Cassius_Smoke]

Yeah with our dishwasher we mainly use the quick 30 minute wash. On our smart meter it doesn't move the needle much when it's running that cycle.
I never ever do the crazy 3 hour wash. An hour max will do the job on most stuff.