Household utility bills at all time high
Before we take a look at your utility bills lets look at one of the biggest costs to the average household – your car. In 2023 the average user will spend around £1,500 on fuel, compared to £ 750 in 2006. All we do is continue to use the fuel an take little notice of it as ‘we have to use it’
Cost of electricity
Over the past 17 years the cost of using electricity has risen by – not doubling like the cost of petrol – but 5 times what it was in 2006, meaning the average electricity bill in 2023 will be around £ 1,800.
| Year | Unit price | Standing charge | Average use | Cost |
| 2006 | 6.75p | £ 5.24 | 360 | £ 31.02 |
| 2023 | 30p | £ 39.65 | 360 | £ 154.73 |
I am sure, like many, that you pay the bill and don’t do anything about trying to reduce costs. But there are many ways that you can reduce these costs.
What can we do to reduce these costs?
Low energy lighting
Nearly all of us have changed to low energy lighting but in reality this hasn’t saved us that much in actual £££ – the reduction from 60W bulbs to 6W LED seems like you will make a huge saving – but unless you leave the lights on all time the actual effect is quite small.
The average 3 bed house has around 20 lights and if all of them were on 24 hours a day using 60W that would be £8 a day. Well, the average house sleeps for 1/3 of a day, are out of the house for 1/3 of a day and in the final 1/3 we generally have less than 1/3 of the lights on so that’s about £1 a day. By switching to LED appears to save you a huge amount but in reality they will by around £40 a year.
Switch off when not in use!
Broadband and Wifi – a modern ‘mesh’ broadband route uses 6W per device. OK that’s not much – but if you are only in the house for 8 hours a day why spend £ 50 a year by leaving them on. Older routers (and gaming routers) can cost significantly more with energy costs for £100 not being uncommon.
Home computers, tablets and games consoles– a PS4 or Xbox used for 2-3 hours a day will cost you about £1 a week to run, the average gaming PC around £5 a week.
Charging your phones – leaving a phone plugged in to a charger can cost over £50 per year per phone as they often continue to supply energy to the device when the battery is full. However this is likely to reduce as smart charging becomes standard. But most houses have multiple handsets so £50 a year per house is a good saving.
TV and Satellite boxes – a standard Sky Box costs about £50 per year to operate and each extension Mini about £25. Your 50″ LED TV will costs around £30 a year to run.
What is an EPC?
An EPC, or Energy Performance Certificate, is a document that shows the difference between properties based solely on energy efficiency. Each property has a rating between A and G (with A being the most energy efficient)
and can be a guideline of the running costs. This EPC takes into account how a property is constructed along with the services (heating, lighting, hot water etc) that are provided.
It does not take into account lifestyle or personal preferences. An EPC works on theoretical ‘averages’ and should be used as a ‘guideline’ when making any decision to buy or rent any property. Personal preference and lifestyle can have a marked effect on running costs that the EPC cannot account for.