Everything You Need to Know About Student Energy Bills

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Setting up and paying energy bills can be incredibly confusing, especially as most students have never paid utility bills before. Add that to the challenge of splitting bills in a shared student house, and the process can quickly start to feel overwhelming.

Don’t worry, though – we’ve got you covered. UniHomes has put together this ultimate guide, which includes everything you need to know about student energy bills.

We’ll go through:

• What student energy bills are
• How to set up energy bills in a student house
• How to pay energy bills in a student house
• What happens if you don't pay your energy bills

What are student energy bills?

This refers to your gas and electricity – these will likely be your biggest expense when it comes to paying bills.

Not every house uses gas, so this is something to check when looking around potential student houses. If your house doesn’t use gas, you’ll only have to set up and pay for electricity. If your house has a gas connection, it’ll typically be combined with your electricity bill in a dual fuel energy tariff with the same energy provider.

When you first move in, you should be able to use the electricity (and gas) immediately. From the start of your tenancy, you and your housemates will immediately be responsible for paying for any energy used.

For a more in-depth look at student bills are and what you need to know, read Leeds Beckett student Emily Bath's blog post on the seven things she wishes she knew about energy bills before starting university.

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How to set up energy bills in a student house

It’s essential that you get your energy bills set up as quickly as possible. You should follow the below steps as soon as you move in.

Step 1: Take meter readings

Moving into your new student house can be stressful, but you must not forget to take meter readings.

You’ll need to find and read the electricity and gas meters when you move in. Make a note of the readings because you’ll need to give them to your energy supplier.

In most houses, the meters are usually located in the basement, under the stairs, in a cupboard near the front door, or in a meter box on an outside wall. If you live in a flat, your meter will probably be located with all the other meters in the building. Your meter should be labelled with your address. Sometimes finding your meter can be tricky – your landlord or letting agent should know where it’s located if you’re struggling to find it.

There are a few types of meters, but they're all mostly read the same way. You should read the numbers from left to right, including any zeros at the beginning, and ignore any numbers inside a red border or after a decimal point.

Some meters are two-rate meters, meaning they’ll have two rows of numbers (if they’re mechanical) or alternate between two numbers (if they’re electrical). Make sure you write down both readings.

Still feeling a bit unsure? Our blog post on how to read your gas and electricity meters goes into more detail on everything you need to know about energy meters, so is a great place to get started.

Step 2: Find out who your energy supplier is

Because you’ll be responsible for your energy bills from day one, it’s important you find out who your supplier is so that you can set up payments. If you’re unsure who it is, you can ask your landlord, letting agent or previous tenants for this information.

You can also look this information up online – use the Energy Networks Association search tool for electricity and the Find My Supplier tool for gas.

Step 3: Give your meter reading to your energy supplier

After you’ve found out who your energy company is, you’ll need to give them your details and set up a new account with them. They’ll ask for the date you moved in and your meter readings.

You can always switch energy suppliers if you think you can get a better energy deal elsewhere. Switching suppliers is fairly simple – you'll just need to tell your existing supplier so they can send you your final bill.

How to pay energy bills in a student house

Paying for your energy bills can be tricky if you live in a shared student house. Essentially, you have three options:

• Use a bill-splitting service
• Set up a direct debit
• Choose student accommodation with bills included

We’ll go over these options in a bit more detail below.

Bill-splitting service

If you’re stressed about splitting energy (and other) bills among your housemates, a bill-splitting service might be the best solution. They do all the hard work of setting up your energy and water bills and divide the total between all your housemates. Some bill-splitting services even let you include your broadband and TV Licence in the package, so pretty much everything is taken care of!

Set up a direct debit

This is the DIY method. One person from your house must be responsible for setting up an account with your energy provider. They'll need to set up a direct debit to pay the bill each month, and the rest of the house will then transfer their part of the bill each month to the bill payer.

However, this relies on one person taking full responsibility for the energy bill (which can be quite a big chunk of money in large student houses) and relying on the rest of the house to send their money on time. This is one reason why many students opt for a bill-splitting service or choose accommodation with all bills included instead…

Choose accommodation with bills included

This is the simplest option, but it does rely on a bit of previous planning. Choosing student accommodation with bills included means everything (your rent, electricity and gas, water and broadband) is in one neat monthly payment! Super simple.

What happens if I don’t pay my energy bill?

Energy prices have increased a lot in the last few years. So, it makes sense that you might be worried about what happens if you struggle to pay your energy bill.

If you miss a payment, it’s important not to stress. Contact your energy provider as soon as possible – they’ll be obligated to try and work out a structured repayment plan.

Living in a shared student house means energy bills are everyone’s responsibility. However, if you’re the one who's set up and the energy account and the direct debit is coming out of your account, it can sometimes feel like it’s all on you. This is especially true if one of your housemates forgets to send you their money for the bill.

If this situation fills you with dread, we’d recommend choosing a student house that includes bills or opting for a bill-splitting service. That way, if one of your housemates has money troubles, it won’t fall on you.

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Simplify your energy bills with UniHomes

UniHomes makes it easy to find quality student accommodation across the UK – and all of the properties on our website come with bills included. If you choose one of our student properties, you won’t have the hassle of setting up and paying your energy, water, or broadband bills. You can even choose to have a TV Licence included in your monthly payments!

Check out our range of student properties and see what we’ve got available in your student city. Remember that the price you see includes rent and utilities.

Already sorted your accommodation?

If you’ve already found your home for next year, you can still take care of your household's utility bills with our all-inclusive student utilities package.

Get sorted with superfast broadband so that you can stream your favourite shows, game, and study without worrying, as well as uncapped energy so you can use what you need to shower, cook, charge devices, and watch TV, and keep everyone warm, without the stress of over-usage bills. Plus, your water and TV Licence (optional) are also covered, all in one simple monthly payment split equally between housemates.

No deposits or setup fees, no wasting hours getting quotes and setting up multiple accounts, and no chief bill payers. Go all in with your utilities and enjoy stress-free student living.