Bills

**ZenTherapy** · 12-18-2008, 08:40 AM

Hello people from the European countries.

I am curious about how much you spend in electricity and heating and how you keep the bills low.

My last bills were:
• electricity € 44 (2 months)
• gas € 32 (2 months again)

I think these are reasonable sums. I'm very careful not to have lights on when not needed, stand-by and such. I use a laptop computer with LCD screen, it consumes less power, and I don't have dishwasher, dryer and hairdryer. I don't know if I can do better than this but tips are welcome.

As for heating, it's not on all the time (fortunately mine is programmable) and it's on 19° or 20° depending on the time, no more.

**rainbowgc** · 12-18-2008, 08:46 AM

I say you are doing quite well and I could only hope to have such low bills.
My electric last month was $212 but we use electric for everything i.e. heat, hot water ect.

**Bournecrazy** · 12-18-2008, 11:40 AM

they sound like reasonable amounts to me, i *think* here (bf's dad pays bills) is about £35-40 a few months(not sure how many months they pay each time) (works out the about the same in Euros these days),

**Royal** · 12-19-2008, 02:35 AM

We pay € 147,33 per month for electricity and gas. We are pretty low compared to family/co-workers. We are a family of 4!

**Dutchie** · 12-19-2008, 03:00 AM

OK - now nobody faint - we pay 337 euros per month for gas and electricity and a further 37 euros for water.

How do I get the Euros sign on the keyboard - someone one told me but I forgot?

**ZenTherapy** · 12-19-2008, 05:24 AM

On Mac it's alt + E - don't know if it works on Windows!

**ZenTherapy** · 12-19-2008, 05:26 AM

Oh, I'm waiting to see the bills after the winter period. More gas, and more electricity too since I can't shower if I don't heat the bathroom!

**Scattymum** · 12-19-2008, 09:23 AM

ours is normally in the region of €280, give or take 20 Euro - it will be higher in January.Thats for a 2 month bill though, we dont pay water rates. Our heating is oil and that costs about €120 a month.

I think part of the problem is that there is no room to shop around in Ireland as there is only one electricity supplier so you have no choice but to keep paying the increase in prices

( the € Key is AltGr and 4/$)

**AdamantEve** · 01-12-2009, 04:15 AM

Yikes... DH and I pay about 90 GBP/month for electricity.
We just got news that the place we rent has an F rating for energy efficiency. Old storage heaters (we only heat 2 rooms), new windows, 30 year old kitchen and boiler. maybe we will look into moving when the lease is up.

**britbunny** · 01-13-2009, 02:04 PM

Originally Posted by AdamantEve

Yikes... DH and I pay about 90 GBP/month for electricity.
We just got news that the place we rent has an F rating for energy efficiency. Old storage heaters (we only heat 2 rooms), new windows, 30 year old kitchen and boiler. maybe we will look into moving when the lease is up.

My sympathies, storage heaters can be a nightmare!

We currently pay £25 a month for gas and £28 per month for electricity. In an attempt to keep the costs low we just do all the usual tricks - insulation, wear a jumper when it's cold, have throws on the chairs, use a steamer for cooking, switch lights off when leaving the room - you know, just loads of little things that seem to add up.

I do a unit watch every week so I can keep an eye on how much we're using - wow, this cold weather has NOT been good for the budget!

**AdamantEve** · 01-14-2009, 07:30 AM

Britbunny, maybe you could help me out, I'm new to the UK. How do you do a unit check on your electricity? Do you just keep meter readings? Also, do you know the best way to shop around for electricity providers?

**britbunny** · 01-14-2009, 01:54 PM

Hi,

Yes I just read my meter every week and make a note of it so I can see the usage patterns. In terms of looking around for a supplier having a look at uswitch.com or confused.com might be your best bet. They're good for all manner of price comparisons not just gas and electricity, they do insurance, mobile phones, broadband etc too.

HTH

HTH

**Peaches** · 01-18-2009, 01:23 AM

We're paying £84/month for gas and electric. Britbunny, which supplier are you with? £25 and £28 per month? I'm jealous! Maybe it's time to switch suppliers!

**britbunny** · 01-18-2009, 04:59 AM

Hi Peaches,

We are with Ecotricity for electricity and erm I think it's still Eon for gas. But I am the queen of having things turned off! Ecotricity is not the cheapest for us but we liked the ethics of the company when we first stumbled across them.

There are only 2 adults and the bunny live here so not many people draining all resources, lol. We have the central heating on pretty low and I do all the traditional money saving ticks to cut down on expenses with our utilities - smalls baths, we don't have a dishwasher or tumble dryer, everywhere is insulated - we have door curtains and draught excluders all over the place, all that kind of thing

I forgot to say in my other post it might be possible to go through a cashback site like Greasy Palm and get a little something extra when you switch suppliers! (I think we got cashback of £17.50 when we switched our insurance so it is worth having!)

HTH

**Siebrie** · 01-19-2009, 05:34 AM

We pay € 27 for electricity per month. Gas and (hot) water are included in the service charges of our apartment. We do not get any money back on gas or water, it's a fixed price. We hope to get some back for electricity, though.

The euro-sign is [Alt Gr + 5] or [Alt + 128].