MSE News: Poorest 'to switch heating off' if energy bills keep rising

Former_MSE_Helen · 30 May 2012 at 11:22AM

"Household energy bills will break the £1,500 a year barrier by 2015 if pricing trends continue, says uSwitch ..."

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Poorest 'to switch heating off' if energy bills keep rising

rogerblack · 30 May 2012 at 12:20PM

My heating last winter was one electric blanket.
On a few nights, I did put an electric heater on when it got below 4C inside.

I did this to build up some savings, which will this year allow me to complete to insulate to really good standards one room, which will mean that I can keep that room warm for negligible money.

Lots of layers - and a keyboard that works under the blankets was the key for surviving for me.

At one point I was keeping bananas in the (switched off) fridge - with a small lightbulb in there to warm it enough that they don't go rapidly brown.

Could I technically afford to heat - barely.
If I sacrificed a lot on every other expense, I could probably maintain the house at 20C or so.
This would leave me with absolutely no hope for the future of doing more than existing, and worrying about future energy rises meaning I have to cut back even further.

drussii · 30 May 2012 at 12:21PM

We already restrict our electricity usage to around £500pa. Our rented home is all electric with a wet electric heating system that runs away with money. This precludes us from using it and we confine our heating to the one room in winter and use an electric fire to give us some heat in the evenings. Otherwise we add clothing during the day. Looking at schemes for low income users such as ourselves, we are both pensioners on benefits, we find that you have to spend a great deal more of our low income in order to obtain some relief which rules us out straight away. The government of Scameron gave me an increase in my pension of £5,30pw and promptly took away £5.19 from my pension credit. They have taken away £1.39pw from our housiong benefit until September when they will take away a further £8.39pw from the housing benefit leaving us much worse off and looking to cut our electric usage even further.

callum9999 · 30 May 2012 at 12:30PM

While I have some sympathy - those who always come out and moan that they have to wear an extra jumper etc. should have been doing so already anyway - I think people have been taking unlimited energy available on demand for granted for too long now.

Pincher · 30 May 2012 at 12:39PM

They need to start building more Passivhaus low energy buildings.

I have most of the ducting done for a MVHR setup,
which is a Passivhaus idea. I would love a £500 subsidy for a Heat Recovery unit.

lemontart · 30 May 2012 at 12:40PM

I already rarely turn heating on as it is - it is called early night with lots of layers - if that fails then hot water bottle. If gets much worse will have to make sure have lots more alternatives to use for light etc

WestonDave · 30 May 2012 at 1:48PM

Pincher wrote: »

They need to start building more Passivhaus low energy buildings.

I have most of the ducting done for a MVHR setup,
which is a Passivhaus idea. I would love a £500 subsidy for a Heat Recovery unit.

MVHR would be a worthy addition to the various grant schemes - the problem which often occurs at present is that people seal their homes up tight to stop heat escaping, but in doing so end up trapping a lot of moisture in due to lack of ventilation. They don't want to ventilate and let heat out so that turns to condensation and mould. Understandably people then get perplexed when the advice to deal with the mould forming is to open some windows - which defeats the object of saving energy. MVHR allows ventilation without losing much heat (its not 100% efficient but a lot better than an open window) so combining MVHR with good insulation will help energy efficiency. Its on my to do list!

Trouble is a lot of these systems cost money up front and for those renting or who've stretched themselves to the max to buy, its hard to get it done. Those who can afford to get it done probably aren't struggling with the cost of bills anyway (although in theory if global demand for energy can be reduced via efficiency then prices should fall - however we aren't going to make much impact on that via our insulation schemes)

rogerblack · 30 May 2012 at 1:54PM

WestonDave wrote: »

MVHR would be a worthy addition to the various grant schemes

Another problem is that many of the grant schemes are applicable to devices that will not be working in 25 years.
It is extremely unlikely for example - that an air-source heatpump - for example - will last 25 years.
It's quite likely if the same money was spent on insulation, that it might.

Not to mention that DIY work (even that that is required to be inspected and approved due to building control) is not eligible for grants.

CautiousKate · 30 May 2012 at 2:12PM

The school at which I am Chair of Governors has recently received a Passivhaus rebuild - the first (school) in the UK.
This surely needs a special building as it relies on very thick concrete to give the required levels of insulation? This in addition to the ducting and heat exchangers, which I don't think you'd fit into most standard homes in the UK.

Cardew · 30 May 2012 at 2:38PM

Articles like this give the false impression that USwitch have some quasi-official status. USwitch are simply a commercial company with a vested interest in putting their name before the public so people will use them to switch suppliers. - Thank you Ann Robinson!

We would be better served if the views of the Energy Saving Trust or even a Government department, were sought.

Consumerist · 30 May 2012 at 3:40PM

Shades of Mad Max here, if you ask me. :eek:

MSE News: Poorest 'to switch heating off' if energy bills keep rising

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