Best way to check if you any faulty appliances ?

[Lee Chilvers]

Our electric bill has double within the last 6 months and the electric company are now saying the bill will be £440 a month. The electric company installed a check meter to see if the main meter was faulty. The readings comeback fine and they are now saying that it is down to our usage. We live in a 3 bed house my wife is at work all day and I'm still working from home (using a laptop) and my stepson goes to work every afternoon. We have a made a point to keep electric use down to a minimum but the readings are still increasing. What is the best way to check if we have any faulty appliances or does any one know of a company that would come and investigate ?

 

[telectrix]

£440 a month would supply a medium size cannabis farm. something isn't right unless you are using a lot of heating appliances. no appliance can draw more than it's rated current, so I'd be looking for an illegal tap off to next door as one possibility. check attic.

just for info, we are in a 4 bed semi. occupied mostly all dayand our monthly leccy is about £80-£90

 

[James]

I would recommend getting something like this

geo Minim Energy Monitor - Self-Installed - CT Clip Sensor for Single Phase Electricity Meters : Amazon.co.uk

geo Minim Energy Monitor - Self-Installed - CT Clip Sensor for Single Phase Electricity Meters : Amazon.co.uk

www.amazon.co.uk

you can then see what your usage is in realtime
if the readings look high, turn off one circuit breaker at a time to identify where the large usage is being created.

 

[snowhead]

Take a reading from the electric meter several times in the day, morning, lunch early evening and last thing at night.
Compare the usage between each reading and narrow down when the highest usage is.
You may need to do it for a few days to compare days as well.

 

[DefyG]

Are your suppliers suggesting £440/mth to 'get back on track'?

£440 sounds a lot but if it is partly for previously used units it presumably would be short term?

Many people have found their usage has increased working from home these past 18 months or so and whilst a laptop uses very little power, extra teas and coffees, heating, lighting all add to it.
Has the unit rate changed (£/kWh)?
Has an immersion heater been left on 24/7 or thermostat not working correctly?
Have you had an electric vehicle charger installed in last 6months or so?