When you first move into your new home you’ll be so busy unpacking boxes it becomes easy to miss essential admin, such as setting up utilities. You’ll have heating, hot water and working sockets because your new home will have an existing utilities provider. But if you can, take a meter reading as soon as possible. This will ensure that you don’t end up paying for gas and electricity the previous homeowner used.
From setting up gas and electricity to how to estimate your future usage, this post outlines how to ensure you aren’t paying too much for utilities when you’ve just bought your new home.
Setting up gas and electricity for the first time
You’ll have been automatically placed on the ‘standard tariff’ by the utilities company that the previous owner used, or the utilities company chosen by the housebuilder for a new build. This tariff is often the most expensive rate a utility supplier charges, but it ensures that you have gas and electricity as soon as you move in.
If you’re not sure which supplier you’re with, you can wait for the first bill to arrive. Or you can ring the gas meter number helpline on 0870 608 1524, to find out your gas supplier. You can also contact your local electricity distribution company, and ask to speak to their meter point administration service (MPAS) department. They’ll tell you your electricity supplier. It could be that the same supplier provides both your electricity and gas.
The good news is that you don’t need to stay on the standard tariff, or stay with your supplier/s either. Shopping around for your gas and electricity is simple; it only takes a matter of minutes to use a site such as uSwitch.
Once you’ve entered a few details, they’ll search for the best gas and electricity deals for you. You’ll then be presented with their findings, ranked by how much you could potentially save. They’ll also sort everything for you on your chosen deal. You shouldn’t need to do anything; your supply won’t be interrupted and you’ll benefit from cheaper bills.
How to estimate your usage
If your new home is your first property, you might not know how much gas and electricity you’re going to use, but you shouldn’t let this stop you using a comparison site. You can estimate your usage, based on the size of your home to find the best tariff by using an energy consumption calculator, such as:
The average usage for someone in a flat or small house with two bedrooms, is 2,000kWh of electricity and 8,000kWh of gas. In a medium house with three bedrooms, it’s 3,100kWh of electricity and 12,500kWh of gas, while in a large house with four or more bedrooms, the average is, 4,600kWh of electricity and 12,500kWh of gas.
Older homes vs. new-build homes
There are some major differences between older homes and new builds. For example, new properties come with superior insulation installed as standard, which ensures heat is trapped and energy consumption minimised. Double-glazed windows reduce heat loss while, in most cases, such as in David Wilson Homes new builds, low-emissive coatings invite the sun in, meaning the property remains warmer all year round.
These features lead to plenty of energy savings, explained below in the comparison between new David Wilson Homes and older properties.
Find out more about David Wilson Homes energy efficient properties or download our sustainability brochure.
Finally, once you’ve chosen your new supplier(s), it should take around five weeks for your supply to switch over.
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