MAD87 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 19, 2022 11:02 am
We have 6kw powering hot water cylinder (heated overnight on a timer), the electric bits on the gas boiler, washing machine (overnight use), dishwasher (daily use but one of the shorter washes), hardly-used TV, led lights everywhere and 2 lots of computers with their accessories - on mostly all day, 7/7. I have an electric oven and various other kitchen stuff, but I mostly use the gas hob, microwave and halogen oven. There's a lot you can do with 6kw!
Supplier is GDF.
There most certainly is, as long as you are aware you can't have everything running at the same time.
All led lighting now, dishwasher, washing machine, dryer (we have an outside line but it always rains here so it rarely gets used), chaffe eau on full time, fridge freezer + 2 freezers in an outbuilding, electric cooker, microwave, electric kettle, toaster, vacuum, desktop PC and a laptop, big old crt telly that refuses to die, extraction fan, and the ever so essential survival tool an electric blanket. On our 6kw supply we only had the Linky cut the power once, we must have been fairly near the limit when reheating a cup of coffee in the microwave was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.
On my headstone it will say: Please switch off mobile phones. I'm trying to get some sleep.
I forgot about the chest freezer and fridge/freezer, but we no longer have a dryer - I didn't bother replacing the last one when the children flew the nest. It's dryers, ovens and anything that heats air that eat money.
I don't vacuum often enough to count Henry or his downstairs mate.
Perhaps I should ask this on a separate thread - being nosy, for those who are not all electric what is your yearly energy bill including wood for stoves etc. Ours last year was 1856 euros. We are all electric, 10 rads in total - 6 x Atlantic, 4 x Sauter, electric range cooker on 24/7, hot water overnight, washer overnight and very occasional use of the dishwasher overnight. Our biggest bills come in Feb & April. This Feb it was 629,99 euros. It's a lot of money but it's budgeted for and since covid I've realised just how much we spent on having a meal out once a week sometimes twice if we fancied a Chinese plus the glass of wine & coffee at the bar when out shopping etc. Now we both collect our OAP we think b*gger it what else are we going to spend it on - live for today whilst we both still have one
With this hand, I will lift your sorrows. Your cup will never be empty, for I will be your wine. With this candle, I will light your way into darkness. With this ring, I ask you to be mine.........The Corpse Bride
We have a mix of electric for all appliances, gas CH/hot water/hob and two woodburners. Just totted our annual costs - just over 4k Euro. I say it quickly, as it hurts too much otherwise!
About 2 600 for the gas
600 ish for wood (3 cordes)
Will be about 1k for electric methinks - and I wouldn't say we use more than most households.
Just getting too depressing. Will sit in the dark soon, sipping water, wearing a duvet.
Edit: We're in an old farmhouse, approx. 120m2 on two floors if that helps compare.
Last edited by Bayleaf on Sat Feb 19, 2022 12:35 pm, edited 2 times in total.
This is an official electricity and gas charges comparison web site https://www.energie-info.fr/comparateurs-et-outils/
If you click on the electricity symbol, put in your postcode on the box on the LHS and answer a few questions (you can get/calculate the answers from the figures on your bills) then it will give you the calculated costs/offers from various suppliers.
Electricity is going up from 1 Mar so the figures may change.
@Sparkle It's difficult to make comparisons because we live in a stone farmhouse which would be impossible to heat electrically. The walls aren't insulated though some are plastered - not ideal as there is rising damp in some areas .... We dry-lined and insulated a wall in our sitting room which backs onto our barn but the biggest heat-sink in that room is probably through the floor : oak floorboards on joists resting the sand below. Rugs do help and the wood burner does a great job.
We haven't done a calculation of our annual costs (electricity is paid monthly over 10 months).....
Just done a quick check of annual costs. Our house is almost the same size as yours, Bayleaf, but our bills seem to be half what yours are - but then there are only 2 of us. Gas (with a tank in the garden) has always been more expensive to run than oil. We're economical with the heating and rarely have it on all day - but then we have a mild climate here. However, we are very exposed to the wind and weather and there are draughts everywhere so lots of strategically placed door and window draught reducing towels and sausages ! The cylinder for the gas hob lasts about a year - and we use it every day. We keep the door to the landing with the spare rooms shut during the winter so save unnecessary heating. We've also put a lot of insulation in the roof spaces.
Finally, we have the best collection of thick socks, fleeces and thick soled shoes/slippers which get well used in winter so we're never cold !
Last edited by Blaze on Sat Feb 19, 2022 1:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
We live in a large detached old stone house, which was built around 1800 ish. About the same size as Bayleaf's house going by her measurements.
We get through about €500 of wood a year - that runs the central heating, hot water cylinder and some of the cooking in the Winter.
Leccie is about €130 every two months, so say €800 - it's scary when you add it up and most of that is bloody tax and standing charge. We use leccie for a small electric oven, washing machine dishwasher, a huge fridge, hot water cylinder if needed and pressure cookers and other gadgets, tools obviously, cement mixers and drills and such like. We also have a small electric radiator in the lounge to take the chill off in the mornings before we light the cuisinier.
I also have a large gas range stove which I mainly use the burners for cooking, boiling the kettle etc. the oven is only normally used when we have guests as it's too big for two and wastes energy, so we usually get through one gas bottle every 4/5 months that's about €70
Blaze wrote: ↑Sat Feb 19, 2022 1:28 pm
Just done a quick check of annual costs. Our house is almost the same size as yours, Bayleaf, but our bills seem to be about half what yours are - but then there are only 2 of us. Gas (with a tank in the garden) has always been more expensive to run than oil. We're economical with the heating and rarely have it on all day - but then we have a mild climate here. However, we are very exposed to the wind and weather and there are draughts everywhere so lots of strategically placed door and window draught reducing towels and sausages ! The cylinder for the gas hob lasts about a year - and we use it every day. We keep the door to the landing with the spare rooms shut during the winter so save unnecessary heating. We've also put a lot of insulation in the roof spaces.
Finally, we have the best collection of thick socks, fleeces and thick soled shoes/slippers which get well used in winter so we're never cold !
We live in a valley near the river, and apparently it's always colder here! We only have the gas heating on for a couple of hours in the morning - while the hot water is heating, and only have radiators on in the rooms frequently used, so about half the capacity. We favour woodburners for heating during the day for the worst of the winter. We have a citern for the gas, and during the summer months it barely uses any for hot water and gas hob. So, that makes the gas even more extortionate, for the amount we're using - just for winter. When we had it installed, in 2005, the installers estimated for our size of house, it would cost around 220€/month - about a tonne a year. We've kept to using around that amount, but the price increases each year now make it about 265€/month. We're a combination of double glazing, and that special plastic on all the older windows - redone seals, have thick curtains or shutters, loads of insulation in the loft.
That said, this is the first winter we've stopped using the heating in the evening too - so maybe this coming year it might be significantly lower - but I'm not holding my breath!
The price of wood varies hugely according to region - it's expensive here, a contrast to where we lived before, though there we had our own so didn't have to pay for it. Wood gives such a nice "cosy" heat - we really miss our wood-burning cuisinière we had at our last place ....
