thank you.

When I hear the tank bubling all day and it only being needid for washing dishesand personal hygene it seem having it on full a bit extravigant concidering the shower is self heating.

derekgsw:Thank you for your advice, one other point we have a duel emmershion which for economy should it be on short or long element?

Found this online, which I think helps.

"Leaving the immertion heater on can waste heat in 2 ways.
Firstly there is no way there can be no heat loss. No one has invented the "perfect" insulation for a cylinder, and, there is heat loss by conduction to the adjacent pipework.
Secondly, as long as there is known to be constant hot water it will be used resulting in a considerable quantity of hot water left in the pipework to the tap, which is not normally lagged and so loses its heat rapidly.

Heating a 40 gallon cylinder from cold is therefore a better option if you are going to use the 40 gallons, otherwise you will be replacing what you take out with cold water reducing the temperature in the cylinder in time to a level that then needs reheating.

If you are going to rely on an immertion heater for long periods then a dual heater is more economical where a short element heats just the top part of the cylinder and you can leave this on, and switch the second longer element on only when more hot water is needed for baths etc.
Heating just the top of the cylinder means aprox. 10 gallons which, because hot water always rises to the top of the cylinder, it stays at the top and the cold at the bottom."

I think that is ridiculously high for a one bed flat, even if all electric.

I think you need to make sure you are on a correct tariff for Economy 7 (not sure whether in your post you are confirming this).

Check the meter for your flat, to make sure this is the one shown on your bills. Normally on the bills, it should show the meter reference, when an actual meter reading has been used. If the meter readings are estimated, you might be paying amounts which have nothing to do with your actual usage.

Turn off all electric for your flat and check the meter to make sure the meter is not still registering any usage. In some converted flats it is no unknown for there to be wiring issues.

On a daily basis, start to check the meter reading at the same time of day where possible to see how many units you have used. Think about what electric appliances you have used. An electric shower can use a fair bit. If you have an electric water heater make sure this is not switched on all the time. Some water heaters can be switched on all the time and everytime the water reaches a certain temperature the heater cuts out. The heater then starts up again when the temperature drops. Ideally there should be a timer to control the heater, so it is only on for the time required to heat enough water for the day. If there is no timer, either get one fitted or turn on for the heater for only the amount of time required to heat the water to a sufficient temperature. From memory it takes about a hour to heat a normal sized tank.

I suspect the water heater is the issue, but do the other checks.

My wife and I live in a one bedroom bungalow we have Economy 7 only SOUTHERN ELECTRIC and we are paying £130.00 a month =£1,594.00 pa.

Television on about 10 hours a day. plus to laptops for about the same time.

two daily electric showers .

Washing full load on average twice a week.

Heating is hardly used at all because insulation is very good in fact hard to bare at times today's temperature is 26c.

We use energy saving light bulbs.

We get a discount for using billing on line and also a discount for my disability.

Please advise. as I feel it is a little high