Use the energy calculator below to see how your actual annual energy consumption compares to the average home in your area. It covers England and Wales and includes a gas and electricity cost calculator. Specific data from Scotland is not available at the moment but we hope to add it soon.
To use the energy calculator:
- Enter your property details .
- Look at the calculator results section. The energy calculator displays energy consumption and cost for a year, month and day.
- To include electricity costs & gas costs from your own bill (rather than the calculator’s default prices) adjust the sliders below the calculator results section to correspond with the tariff you pay (including VAT).
- Compare the results with the energy usage from your own electricity and gas bills or the annual energy statement provided by your energy supplier. Your latest bill should also contain an estimate usage for the last 12 months.
The default calculator settings use national information for all properties of all housing types and ages. It also assumes a gas connection and that the home is not using economy 7 electricity. 2020 energy costs are based on popular tariffs from major suppliers. Annual Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG) are calculated using Draft SAP10 figures.
For some combinations of property details there may be no data available; in this case chose the closest property match to your home. The calculator does not include space and water heating data for properties using unmetered fuels such as LPG, oil, wood or coal. For the closest comparison in this case use a property with a gas connection.
Enter Property Details
Enter your own property details and see the average energy use and energy cost for your type of property below.
Now adjust the sliders to use your own energy costs
Take these from your gas and electricity bills (inc VAT figures).
Read more below…
What do you do with your energy consumption comparison?
When comparing your own energy use against the annual averages above, do allow for variations by season if using energy figures for a day a week or even a month. In winter, with central heating used much more, daily gas use will be much higher than the average daily gas use calculated above. Likewise, electricity use will generally be higher when nights are longer or when more cooked meals are prepared.
If your energy consumption is above average then there are a number of things you can consider doing.
These include:
- Improving insulation in your home to reduce gas bills
- Choose energy efficient electrical appliances and LED light bulbs
- Reducing the price you pay for your energy by finding a better deal with a new supplier
- Invest in solar pv panels to generate your own electricity
Reducing your energy usage is a great place to start. With a combination of measures it is possible to reduce consumption by 20% or more. See Ten Steps To Saving £1,000 On Our Gas Bill as an example. For other ideas, take a look at some of our recent articles:
- Insulate suspended timber floors
- Save Money By Studying Your Energy Bill
- Compare Gas Prices
- Consider solar panels
Where Does The Data Come From?
The energy calculator uses National Energy Efficiency Database (NEED) data for 2018 (data published June 2020) using meter point data to show the average electricity and gas usage for a specific type of property. The data shows metered usage of electricity and gas only, so use of fuels for space and water heating such as LPG, oil, wood or coal is not included. Typical pricing is based on the assumptions below.
Pricing Assumptions
Actual prices will depend on your supplier and tariff. The energy cost calculator assumes the prices below and that 40% of Economy 7 electricity consumption is at the night rate. These rates can be adjusted using the sliders.
Electricity cost calculator: 18.1p per kWh and a standing charge of 22.0p per day
Economy 7 cost calculator: 8.5p per kWh off peak
Gas cost calculator: 4.0p per kWh and a standing charge of 26.5p per day
Last Updated: 31 July 2020 to include 2018 NEED data release
Hi Jon
I’m a little confused. On the default settings the electricity usage is 3,300 kWh and gas usage 13,200 kWh. Changing the assumption on whether the house has access to gas drops the gas uage to zero which obviously makes sense but only increases the electricity usage to 4,100kWh. Is that because in reality the homes that this data is derived from that are off grid won’t be 100% electric heat and powered but will either generate their own electricity or use another fuel source?
I am trying to get data on what a standard home’s electricity consumption would be if it was fully reliant on electricity, what that would fall to if it carried out a deep retrofit and finally how that would compare to a new build using the best thermal efficiency techniques but again fully electric heated and powered. The point is to try to understand what the electricity generation requirements would be to cover this using local renewable generation sources.
Many thanks for any pointers!
Best,
Rufus
Hi Rufus,
Thanks for the feedback.
Many of those with no access to gas but on the standard electricity tariff will use other unmetered energy sources for space heating eg wood or oil which will pull down the average.
Those using primarily electric heating will generally use Economy 7, or the modern equivalent in the form of half hour metering. The calculator shows that those in this category use on average 6,900 kWh. The average is skewed towards 1 and 2 bedroom flats where this type of heating is most suitable. Larger properties would have the option of switching to a heat pump.
To explore what electrification would do to the average 3 bedroom house built to a high standard read Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Energy Used In UK Homes which explores space heating demand in some detail.
Hope this help.
Kind regards
Jon
I live in a one bedroom all electric 1992 built flat, 4 in the unit on 2 floors, with a 15′ x 13′ living room which has 2 windows, narrow hallway, kitchen and bathroom, plus, one 2 element immersion heater and 2 newly installed night store heaters, NO a/c, washing machine, NO tumble dryer, halogen oven and standard cooker, computer, router and TV.
Would you say that usage of 8,8OO kWh p.a. is too high?
I really appreciate your website!
Regards, ianto
Hi Ianto,
Thanks for the feedback. The typical 1 bedroom purpose built flat of this age with no gas and on economy 7 tariff for heating would use around 4,900 kWh per year, compared to your 8,800 kWh. On this basis your consumption does seem high. A typical usage of a purpose built flat WITH gas supply would show usage of 1,800 kWh of electricity and 5,500 kWh of gas i.e. 7,300 kWh usage overall which is still below your overall energy use. It would be worth monitoring your daily/weekly/monthly usage to understand what the drivers are to your energy use – clearly in the summer, usage should be very different to the depths of winter when the night store heaters will be in use.
Kind regards
Jon
Hi Jon
Thanks for the very handy tool. I live alone in a 2 bed mid terraced property in Yorkshire. Gas and Elect supply. Gas on in winter 2 hours morning and evening. Sometimes I switch it off because its a warm house. Elect cooker. Bed by 8pm usually. Frugal with lights. Elect 15.04 per kw st charge 13.9 per day. Gas 3.447 per kwh st charge 10.74…… Bills 80 pm! Any idea how this is happening?
Would appreciate your input. Your ave gas consumption is 10,400 for my type of house in Yorks, however my supplier has given me a figure of 16744 for my use? Am I to believe that people warm their houses less than I do on what appears to be 50% more than others accordng to your average usage stats (Which I dont doubt). Any help would be appreciated. By the way the boiler is in good condition and has been regularly serviced.
Kind Regards
Jenny
Hi Jenny,
Thanks for the query. Annual usage of 16,744 kWh of gas is high for a terraced house especially as you don’t cook with gas. Terraced houses have homes either side that help heat two of the walls. Assuming that the annual usage is correct, then there are a few things that could be contributing to this which you could explore. With a terrace house I would look more to potential ventilation losses, rather than fabric losses through the walls, doors and windows.
On the space heating side:
1. Is heat disappearing into the loft due to a poorly fitting loft hatch?
2. Do you have open chimneys in any rooms? These can allow hot air again to escape.
3. Is it a suspended ground floor with gaps in the floorboards, allowing cold air to enter rooms from below?
On hot water:
If the hot water is stored in a hot water cylinder then this is one area where there may be losses if the cylinder is not lagged (modern cylinders are encased in insulation).
Boiler efficiency:
Much older boilers (15 years plus) are less efficient. My advice is always to put money into reducing the heat demand (better insulation and reducing ventilation losses) before looking to upgrade the boiler.
Hope this helps.
Kind regards
Jon
There seems to be a flaw in the calculator. If I select no gas available, standard rate electricity only, it shows a lower total energy use than if I select “all data”. It seems to be simply ignoring the Economy 7 energy usage (and similarly gas usage) to arrive at an unrealistically low consumption for an all-electric household. In my own case the calculator suggests total 4500 kWh for a 3 bed semi 1965-1982 in SW England. I’m sure more typical consumption is more than 10000 kWh!
If I change the options to allow “gas available” it increases the total energy to 14700 kWh. Even allowing for say 80% efficiency in gas boilers this doesn’t make sense.
Hi Alan,
Thanks for the feedback. To clarify, the calculator uses actual gas and electricity meter data from around 24 million homes. The NEED data on which it is based does not capture the use of unmetered fuels such as LPG, oil, wood or coal. In the case of properties with no gas using only standard electricity they are likely to be using an unmetered fuel for space and water heating which will not show on the calculator, whereas those with economy 7 are likely to be using electricity for heating.
I will amend the calculator to make that clearer. If you are looking to work out what the average house in your area is likely to use overall then a home with gas and electricity supply would be the best comparison.
Kind regards
Jon
Help!
3 Bedroom detached house in the North West, Gas Combi boiler fitted, LED lights throughout except the 5ft Fluorescent in the garage. 4 person living in the house 3 work through the day one at school.
I believe my meter is faulty in 69 days we averaged 18KWH per day, according to Scottish power that is within the average? I don’t think it is. at nigh time 00:00 to 06:00 we average 2.5KWH of electricity usage. 2 x TV’s, sky Xboxes are on standby, no lights, Router is on fridge freezer is on and the freezer is on can’t forget the central heating pump running for a maximum of 1 hour.
am I correct in this sleep mode 6 hours x 2.5KWH x 4 to make it a day so 10KWH per day x30 day =300KWH this equals 300KWH x 18.86p equals £56.58 per month in sleep mode. this equals a staggering £678.96 a year
Please can anyone advise me
My house is 1 bedroom but 3 storeys. It has 105m2 and ceilings are 2.4m.
How can I work out whether my consumption is appropriate please?
Hi Elizabeth, thanks for the email. The NEED data probably doesn’t have enough homes with your specific location and age of property within the database. You don’t say whether your house is detached / semi-detached /terraced but if we take the national picture for all ages of property and a 1 bedroom house then
Detached 1-bed house
Total: 19,200 kWh
Electricity: 3,500 kWh
Gas: 15,700 kWh
Semi-detached 1-bed house
Total: 12,400 kWh
Electricity: 2,600 kWh
Gas: 9,800 kWh
Mid terraced 1-bed house
Total: 10,300 kWh
Electricity: 2,200 kWh
Gas: 8,100kWh
To put it in perspective, the electricity use is primarily dependent on the number of occupants and the energy efficiency of appliances and whether you cook with electricity.
Upgrading to the EnerPHit standard (high levels of fabric insulation and air-tightness) would mean the house would use 25kWh/m2 annually for space heating = 2,625kWh annually for a 105m2 house. Allowing 1,250kWh per person per year for hot water heating would then take the total gas demand to 3,875kWh for one person or 5,125 kWh for two (two is the average number of occupants in UK homes).
Hope this helps.
Kind regards, Jon
I would prefer to have the GAS in cu.mtrs ie X cu.mtrs as that is how my meter reads instead of doing the maths conversion of about 11 Kwh=1 cu.mtr
Hi Michael, Thanks for the feedback and suggestion.
It would not be possible to use volume of gas to compare usage as the calorific value of natural gas can vary depending on the source of the gas and its exact composition, making gas volume an unreliable measure of energy use. That’s one of the reasons why a unit of energy (kWh) is used for charging purposes on bills rather than volume.
Background
Different countries have different standards. In the UK calorific values of natural gas can legally vary by upto 14% on a daily basis. Example: if volume was used then your meter could show that you had used 5% more gas (volume) than last year even though in reality you had actually used 5% less energy than last year (and assuming a constant gas price would have been charged 5% less as well).
UK gas suppliers have to maintain the energy content in the gas transmission network within the band 37.5 MJ/m3 to 43.0 MJ/m3. This means that the energy content can vary between 10.4 kWh and 11.9 kWh per m3. Suppliers calculate the energy content daily and then average it for the length of your billing period They then use a conversion factor to show the cost in kWh when they bill customers to ensure that users are charged for actually energy content rather than volume. That’s one of the reasons why there are 13 different gas supply areas in the UK as it would be very hard to provide a single calorific value throughout the network given that the gas could come from multiples sources like the European continent, the North sea or LNG delivered by ship to Milford Haven and would depend on which part of the network the gas was inserted into.
Generally I understand that the variations are more to do with location than time (i.e. the calorific value in any one place is relatively stable but two places far apart on the gas network could be very different) unless the local inputs to the gas network change significantly. When Milford Haven LNG terminal came on line I would have expected the Welsh calorific values to shift.
Hope this explains why kWh’s are used.
Kind regards
Jon
The gas on my meter is in cu.mtr I know a cu.mtr is about 11 Kwh but why not say X cu.mtr per day/year so no need to do conversions