If £320 is April and they expect 20% in October, how do you get to £600 a month?
Maybe this is a opportunity for a lot of people to try and save energy, lights off, heating on less, turn off empty rooms, stop using tumble driers as much etc.
I didn't know it was 20%, that's the first figure I've heard about.
I don't know what else I can do to save energy.
Every bulb in the house is LED. Lights are only switched on in the rooms being used.
We have no tumble dryer, everything is air dried.
Thermostats on every radiator compatible with them. Switched to lowest level in the rooms that are hardly used.
Combi boiler (Worcester Bosch) installed about 5 years ago with smart thermostat
New double glazing all round, fitted about 4 years ago.
Every door is shut to keep heat in that room.
The house was built around 1990 and as far as I know is insulated.
Loft is well insulated.
My typical useage will be higher than average because I imagine the average family will be out a good portion of the day at work/school etc, so nothing in the house will be used from 9am - 4pm ish, which will save a chunk of energy.
However I have both my Mum and Step Dad living with me now, who are both in their 70's, as I'm registered as an unpaid carer for my Mum, and more recently my Step Dad too. So the house is in use all day, every day with heating on during the day, when normally it would be off in a typical family household.
The thermostat is set at 21c pretty much from 7am - 11.30am which keeps the house around 20c throughout the daytime until about 5pm when it's boosted back to 21c until about 10.30pm when its dropped to 18c for overnight (which means it never switches on). You have to remember, they feel the cold much more due to age. To top this off I had to drop to part time (28 hours) at work about 3 years ago as trying to juggle a full time job and caring responsibility burnt me out and made me ill.
Don't get me wrong - they help out paying board every month and they give me their winter fuel payment to help out with the bills every year, but it's definitely a struggle, or certainly will be come April, and even worse come October by the sounds of it.