Average energy bill for a 3 bed house
The short answer
- £1,885 a year or £157 a month, for a 3 bed semi with average insulation and gas heating; £1,941 for a 3 bed detached
- £1,981 if poorly insulated, falling to £1,552 once recently retrofitted
- £1,566 a year with a heat pump on an 18.7p heat pump tariff, and £2,216 with an oil boiler
Updated 25 September 2026. Every figure on this page comes from our published model; see where our data comes from.
A 3 bed semi with average insulation and gas central heating costs about £1,885 a year, or £157 a month, at the Ofgem price cap for October to December 2026. That is about £985 for gas and £900 for electricity, both including their standing charges.
Average bill by type of 3 bed home
Gas is the larger part of the bill, and gas use depends on the size and type of the home. Heating use comes from government meter data for 39,502 gas heated homes; electricity for lights, appliances and cooking is the 2024 median for homes with 3 bedrooms, 2,659 kWh a year, from the same government data.
| Home, average insulation, gas heating | A year | A month | Heating | Everything else |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 bed semi | £1,885 | £157 | £985 | £900 |
| 3 bed detached | £1,941 | £162 | £1,041 | £900 |
How insulation changes it
Insulation changes the heating part of the bill. These are the bills for the same 3 bed semi at each level of insulation, measured the government's way: comparing homes of the same type and size with different EPC bands.
| Insulation | A year | A month |
|---|---|---|
| Poorly insulated | £1,981 | £165 |
| Average | £1,885 | £157 |
| Well insulated | £1,754 | £146 |
| Recently retrofitted | £1,552 | £129 |
How your heating fuel changes it
Everything else on the bill stays the same whatever heats the home, so this table only changes the heating part. Heat pump running costs use the median efficiency measured in 428 homes in the government's Electrification of Heat trial.
| Heating | A year | A month |
|---|---|---|
| Mains gas boiler | £1,885 | £157 |
| Oil boiler | £2,216 | £185 |
| LPG boiler | £2,006 | £167 |
| Electric heating, standard rate | £3,506 | £292 |
| Heat pump, standard rate | £1,837 | £153 |
| Heat pump, 18.7p heat pump tariff | £1,566 | £130 |
The data behind this table
Gas bills include the £108.33 a year gas standing charge; homes without gas do not pay it. Electricity includes the £200.13 standing charge in every row. Oil is 11.3p per kWh, the BoilerJuice UK average of 116.20p a litre on 25 September 2026, and oil prices move; LPG is 9.5p per kWh, our assumption for a typical bulk contract.
Check your own bill
Put your own annual bill into the energy bill calculator to see how far it sits from a home like yours, or see bills by number of people and bills by EPC rating. To cut the bill, the retrofit plan puts the upgrades for your home in order, with what each saves.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average energy bill for a 3 bed house?
About £1,885 a year, or £157 a month, for a 3 bed semi with average insulation heated by mains gas, at the Ofgem price cap for October to December 2026. That includes both standing charges.
How much gas does a 3 bed house use?
A 3 bed semi with average insulation uses about 11,000 kWh of gas a year for heating, hot water and any gas cooking, from government meter data. A poorly insulated one uses about 12,210 kWh and a well insulated one about 9,350 kWh.
Why is my bill higher than this?
The usual reasons are a colder than average home, more people in it, being at home in the day, or a tariff above the price cap. Our bill checker compares your own bill with a home like yours.
Other homes: 1 bed flat, 2 bed house, 4 bed house, 5 bed house, and the average UK energy bill.
Data sources
- DESNZ, National Energy Efficiency Data-Framework 2026.
- Ofgem, energy price cap, October to December 2026.
- Energy Systems Catapult for DESNZ, Electrification of Heat trial, heat pump performance report, December 2024.