Power Consumption

[TakeMeAway]

Morning All,

My electric bills have recently tripled. My flat is so tiny, its one wall away from a bedsit.

If the meter is found to be accurate, whate else can I do?

I am worried it is my boiler. Its only 2 years old and the pressure drops over a few months and has to be tweaked up. Its been like this since I moved in but only the last 2quarters has my bill been ridiculously high.

I read stories about combi boilers leaking and it scares me it might be this. Would that tripple my leccy bill? If the owners say its all good kit and give it a cursory check over, what can I do?

I am 99% sure it isn't any of my stuff thats doing it. I cook and heat with gas.

Worrying myself far too much over this as my previous experience (not with this lot I hasten to add) has been that the little person always gets walked over by the big guys. I can't afford to move and cant keep paying this rate of electric. £120 for the spring quarter. Approx 94 units a week at the mo (which will average at 1008 for the 1/4), compared to last year's 267 for the whole quarter. Something is wrong....and I don't know what I can do.....

Many thanks in advance.

Have a good Sunday all.
x

[Interlaken]

Start with turning everything off in your flat and see if meter is showing fuel being used. If it is still moving you have a problem so get on to your electricity supplier.

It is highly unlikely that your gas combi boiler is using excess electric. Combi boilers do need topping up occasionally - quite normal.

See if your electric supplier provides a gismo that tells you how much electric you are using - they are fascinating to watch. And just as a parting shot - electicity has gone up by about 50% in the last 2 years.

[mind the gap]

I agree with the advice given above. If your consumption has effectively tripled (irrespective of unit cost), it is a distinct possibility that you are being charged for electricity consumed by another flat (or even more than one) in the same building. A cannabis factory, even.

How secure is the meter? Who has access to it?

Even if it seems secure, get the excessive bills looked into - we were billed for someone else's electricity once becasue of a cock-up by the provider.

[mk1fan]

The boiler needs topping up with water not electricity and other than the timing gear and ignition they use very little electricity.

As has been said, turn everything off (don't turn off the main switch in your consumer unit) and take an electricity reading. If you do this at the beginning of the day / before you go out then some time can pass without the need for you to be sitting twiddling your thumbs.

Check the meter after a few hours (if you don't open the firdge / freezer they'll stay cold enough for a few hours) to see if any units have been used. If they have then there's something that needs investicgating. If not, then you need to check what electrical goods you're using.