Electricity is confusing to the vast majority of people which is why the average cost thing is used. I also find it annoying because I know my annual usage, I know current draw of appliances etc. Tell me unit cost and I can work it out cost of usage for myself.

But many people get confused. See the two posts above this referring to kW but meaning kWh. I’m sure both know the difference but still got confused by terminology. The average person won’t know the difference and many aren’t inclined to learn. It’s those people that the average annual cost descriptor is meant to help.

Never underestimate the capacity for people to misunderstand - plenty still think that what they are being told is that annual fuel bills for all are capped at £2.5k. It’s easy to say that it could be explained more clearly but the evidence exists for me to believe that matter how well explained this is many people all still misunderstand. I’d still like to see the proposed unit costs though.

    DavecUK yeah, I don’t understand what’s the point of quoting the price cap is “X” for an average house and then that’s magically translated to price per KWh for electricity and for gas. Utter obscure voodoo. Why not make it straight forward?

    Interestingly enough, we are a family of 3 on a three bed house. We spent 3,800KWh in electrics and 12,100kwh in gas last year. We do have a couple of electric heaters, but this winter they won’t be turned on very often I tell you that!

        DavecUK if it will go that low

        PID range 80 - 130 for all 3… so no go, unless I start fiddling around with the firmware (which may be encrypted in some way) 😁

        It would be interesting to see what the empirical (as opposed to Stefan-Boltzmann theoretical) law is at “coffee making” temperatures. Is the ~square valid through the 85 - 95 °C range, as far as you know.

          MediumRoastSteam Particularly when one is looking at four distinct components that make up the total… My electricity consumption is about average, but we have a large, old house and spend a lot more on heating, even though winter temperatures are kept low (18 - 20 °C). The impact of standing charges increases is small on my gas bill, but it can be quite considerable on my electricity cost (and so on).

          Political obfuscation. When there was the will to make things clearer (e.g. the obligation to quote APR/AER rates), people quickly learned what to compare… they’d do the same if provided unit rates and daily standing charges caps rather than a meaningless “average bill”.

            My electric usage is 2721kW per year, not count the EV usage. It’s not possible for me to lower it…I suppose I could buy a more energy efficient fridge freezer for £800 which would save 200kW per annum at best (£60) per year. If it retained it’s brand new efficiency, it would not save me money but pay for itself in 15 years, after which I would start saving money ..if it retains, as new efficiency.

            My gas usage for heating and HW is around 12000kW to be cold withe the heating on 3.5 hours per day Nov to mid March.

            I have a 5 / 6 bed house.

            Contact me

              MediumRoastSteam we are a family of 3 on a three bed house. We spent 3,800KWh in electrics and 12,100kwh in gas last year.

              Our central heating is set at 21C all day. I never turn it off during the warmer months. I just let the thermostat do its job. It comes on at 7am, and it goes off at 22:30. When it comes on, I know autumn has started. Same for the hot water.

                DavecUK That’s very economical for the size of the property. Ours’ is also similar sized. Last year (2020-21) readings were 4508 for electricity and 21275 for gas. Since Aug 2021, we are averaging 360 kWh for electricity and the gas is all over the place.

                    LMSC My property is well insulated and it’s usually cold in winter with that level of heat.

                    Last year it was 9C inside and 13C outside, neighbors thought I was mad…but I needed to warm the house up 🤣 The house always lags any external temperature changes.

                    Contact me

                      And I was thinking we use a lot,

                      Gas= 13000kwh

                      Electric= 2000kwh

                      1897 built 4 bed mid terraced 2 adults and a toddler. Thermostat set to 21 all day/night.

                        Gagaryn

                        Guilty as charged! I’m better than that, I’m blaming the callout I received at 1450 on a Friday, 10 minutes before I’d usually finish!

                        My usage is much higher than the average; 3700kWh in 12 months (Sep 2021-Aug 2022) for electric and 7200kWh for the same time with gas. Gas usage is low because we have a wood burner which does the bulk of the heating in the evenings and our hot water use is low, only ever showering although this will sometimes be twice a day for 2 people.

                        Our problems are we both get through a lot of training kit with running 6 times a week, and that needs to be washed regularly unless we want it to become a smelly problem. Also, because of all the running we eat a lot! The oven and hob are usually required for most meals and they take 30+ minutes. I’m hoping the PV will help but we are also lucky with the cheap tariff until September 2024.

                        I’m sure the unit/average/standing charge cost confusion is to baffle customers. Supermarkets do it with produce too. If you want to compare prices of tea bags, some will be shown on the label per bag, others per 100g, others per KG. It seems “accept it and move on” is the only way of staying sane…

                          Inspector How new are the windows and has the loft been done recently/ is it converted? Age is one thing but mid-terrace has decent advantages.

                          We live in a drafty 1930s 3bed semi that needs new windows (uPVC but 20yrs old) and work done to the roof (200mm insulation though).

                          YTD usage according to Octopus = E-2598.79kWh G-9742.07kWh

                          Two adults, two young children. We overuse the tumble dryer, but other than that try to limit use where we can.

                              figures coming out while better than worse, it means the average house will still be paying double what they were last year, when you think petrol has had a 40% increase, as well as every other bill in the house, were still goosed

                              Decent De1pro v1.45 - Niche Duo - Niche Zero - Decent is the best machine ever made -

                                Cuprajake Mortgages, energy, food, transport. It’s all gone up horrifically….. Ultimately a knock on effect of energy and fuel prices.

                                What I felt was particularly annoying that with the future price rises planned for energy, it was going to be cheaper using a petrol generator and heating with paraffin.

                                Plus all the shite advice about using LED bulbs…does anyone not use them?

                                Typed in my house with 140W of phantom draw

                                Contact me

                                  Fuel seems to be starting to come down, once there is found a way to stop the profiteering on the forecourt retailers. Mortgages, despite protestations are not expensive, if you can remember the days when they really were. What has happened is the total irresponsibility of the millenials who despite being told, had no experience of life when interest rates were high and so could not actually imagine the effects of their reckless spending and borrowing habits fuelled by very low interest rates

                                  https://www.suddencardiacarrestuk.org/2024/02/thank-goodness-for-madeira-cake/

                                    dfk41 That’s very true about mortgages, when I was younger we thought an interest rate of 5 or 6% was a bargain. The problem now is that borrowers have significantly overextended themselves in relation to salary.

                                    The one slight benefit to inflation, mortgages become much easier to pay over the long term. We always used to say, after 5 years it will be a much smaller proportion of your total salary. No inflation means it never gets easier to pay.

                                    Contact me

                                      dfk41 irresponsibility of the millenials who despite being told, had no experience of life when interest rates were high and so could not actually imagine the effects of their reckless spending and borrowing habits fuelled by very low interest rates

                                      This is true - and as you said correctly, it was what they know/knew: cheap credit, low interest rates, low unemployment etc.

                                      Equally, they can also complain about what where those people thinking in the past…. Burning fuel like no tomorrow, making advances in medicine, in general standard of living, having a final salary pension and now we are living to an old age which was totally unexpected back when those things were in place. Where will this money come from? (You don’t need to tell me, I know - I’ll be paying for it). Although the generation before me (baby boomers) have it all, a comfortable retirement, property, I most likely will be working until the day I drop dead to pay for those, now, in hindsight, mistakes. But that was not known then. And I tell you something, I feel very sorry for my son’s generation who would potentially not even dream of the things even my generation had for granted.

                                      I’m not navigating a dig at you particularly. I just think it’s unfair to shift the blame and think that generation <insert name here> did all the good work and the subsequent generation did all wrong. After all, the future generation will have to deal with what’s set out for them… with policies and mistakes made by he current one.

                                      I lived my childhood through astronomical interest rates and hyper inflation. I know it too well.

                                      Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

                                          MediumRoastSteam I don’t think you can blame any single generation for the mess that country is now in. It was a combination of factors, the various different governments we had over the last 40 years always thought of short termism, people themselves wanted easy attractive messages and really didn’t cut their suit according to their cloth. This is true of all the generations they all got themselves into different forms of trouble, and it was basically greed. I like it, I want it, I’m going to have it. People don’t think about their retirement, they don’t think about saving money, credit has been too easy for far too long. Yes there’s talk about my generation baby boomers having had all the luck but when I started work there were millions of unemployed people, interest rates were running absolutely riot, and the country was not in a great state. But I was brought up to spend what you’d saved and not spend what you didn’t have except if it was for a house. If I wanted a car I didn’t go and get a loan i bought what I could afford with the money I had in the bank at the time. When I was 25 or 28 the thought of a new car never entered my mind my cars were like £800. My furniture was taken from the local tip and cleaned up I didn’t have carpets for years because I couldn’t afford them I didn’t have a new kitchen, I had what someone else was throwing out when they replaced their kitchen. For the first 8 years of living in my flat I had a lodger, but nowadays people wouldn’t think of doing that they wouldn’t expect to do that.

                                          Easy credit has been the scourge that got many people into trouble.

                                          Contact me

                                              DavecUK Easy credit has been the scourge that got many people into trouble.

                                              That is really the point I was making, although perhaps not very clearly. The youth of the fifties wore cardigans (like their dads), went to the pub for half a bitter with him before returning to a home cooked meal. Then the 60’s came with hippies, peace, love, rock and roll and hamburgers and society has degraded ever since

                                              https://www.suddencardiacarrestuk.org/2024/02/thank-goodness-for-madeira-cake/

                                                It all comes back to Mr Micawber, one pound income =nineteen shillings and sixpence expenditure =prosperity.

                                                                                                     one pound income= one pound and sixpence expenditure = ruination.

                                                Good job we do not still have debtors prisons.