Type what your meter showed, and when.
£968.67 a year
You used 240 kWh in 30 days — about 8.00 kWh a day. If that carries on, it's 2,920 kWh over a year at 26.32p a unit.
Heating and hot water swing with the weather, so a summer week looks cheaper than a winter one. Take readings across a few months for a fairer picture.
How to take the readings
Your in-home display or the meter itself shows a total in kWh — the units used since the meter was installed, not the units used today. Write down the figure and the date, then write down the figure again a set number of days later. Type both readings and the number of days into the calculator. Use the whole number before the decimal point, and ignore any figure after it, because a single decimal place over a month makes very little difference.
If the second reading is lower than the first, the calculator will not give an answer. That usually means you have typed the readings the wrong way round, or the meter has been replaced or reset — check the date and serial number on the meter and try again.
Why a week is not a year
The projected year's cost assumes your daily usage carries on at the same rate. That is a fair guess for appliances that run constantly, but a poor one for heating: the same home can use several times more gas in January than in July, and an electricity week during a heatwave will look far cheaper than a cold one. Take readings in different seasons, or across a whole year from your annual statement, for a figure you can rely on.
Smart meters and estimates
A fully working smart meter sends readings to your supplier automatically, so your bills should not be estimated at all. If a bill says "estimated" while you have a smart meter, the communications between the meter and your supplier have probably dropped out — read your meter yourself, tell your supplier the figure and ask them to fix the connection. Taking your own readings is also the quickest way to check a bill that looks wrong.
The starting rates are Ofgem's price cap averages for 1 October to 31 December 2026 for a default tariff paid by Direct Debit in England, Scotland and Wales, and the starting usage figures are Ofgem's medium-consumption averages. Ofgem's cap is a maximum per unit, not the price you are promised: your supplier sets your rates, they differ by region and meter type, and prepayment customers pay different rates again. Check the unit rate and standing charge on your own bill before you act on anything here.
Next steps
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