GAS up 25% in weeks (BG)

solarstone

Gambler wrote:

I've been looking at this. I've only just switched to London Energy and will be paying £850 per year.

To cap with scot power would take me over £1000 but that wouldn't go up again until Oct 2007.

That was my thinking, you get 18 months at a fixed price. With Gas/Elec you know the prices can only go up, so in my opinion it's not much of a gamble. I think it works out as £48 per year more than current rate. If it goes up by as much as they suggest it might, you'd be paying about £200+ more. Do London Energy cap ?

When you look at the wider issue of supply, and how the French/Germans are being investigated by Brussels for not releasing gas to the UK, you start to think it's not going to be sorted quickly.

Badgergal

The only form of heating in my studio flat is a gas fire that pretends to be a real one and it has a chimney obviously. This fire was there when I moved in and I never thought to get an alternative as central heating is not an option yet.

Would I be better off with an electric heater? Why are the halogen ones so good? Are they cheaper to run?

Thanks

Derek_A.

Lets face it, the problem is of our own making.
When Natural Gas came about in the early 70s we were told it would last for 30 to 40 years, so we now know that it was true.
Ten years ago we should have started to build Nuclear power stations, not Gas fired ones,that will only make Electricity much dearer.
France have dozens of them that is why they have much cheaper energy.

Cardew

kittie wrote:

Yes they are cardew. Putting the heater on in a room with the door closed is cheaper than putting the CH on. There is no point in heating the whole house if cost is a problem

kittie,
Heat produced from a halogen heater costs 3 to 4 times as much as heat produced by gas c/h.

However I totally agree that it makes sense, for convienience if nothing else, to just warm a small room for a short period rather than switch on the CH. In fact I often use a small fan heater in my study. That said, you don't have to have "heating in the whole house" with the CH running as you can simply switch off the radiators in the rooms not being used.

The point being made is that halogen heaters are no more efficient at producing heat than other forms of electric heating. Their advantage is they radiate heat toward, say, a person stting at a desk.

[Deleted User]

efficiency = useful energy output/total energy input

The directed energy from a halogen heater is more likely to give a number closer to 1

ie no wasted heat on venting a CH boiler . Less wasted heat going out through external walls etc

Bouriquet

Apparently radiant floor heat is said to be the most efficient way to heat a room. Which I guess makes sense as heat rises and the floor's always the coldest in any room.

I once saw this setup in France. Open fire in lounge sitting on a tubular grate. Water passed through the grate and circulated to radiators throughout the house... an ideal compromise. That way you're not paying for gas or elec, plus you have your heating and hot water all sorted.

tk

i just dont know how we are expected to afford to heat our homes or cook, bathe etc at this type of increase.
just out of control. however at least we have a home to heat, unlike some....
this is my year if positivity!

Cardew

Bouriquet wrote:

Apparently radiant floor heat is said to be the most efficient way to heat a room. Which I guess makes sense as heat rises and the floor's always the coldest in any room.

I once saw this setup in France. Open fire in lounge sitting on a tubular grate. Water passed through the grate and circulated to radiators throughout the house... an ideal compromise. That way you're not paying for gas or elec, plus you have your heating and hot water all sorted.

That is the principle of the Baxi Fire(Baxi Burnall Underfloor Draught fire) which gives 'Open Fire Central Heating.'(to quote the manufacturers) It is a conventional open coal/log fire with a 'back' boiler.

I have one where the water circulates through the back of the fire. It circulates water to the hot water tank and radiators and supplements the Gas CH when a fire is lit. I had one fitted when I had my house built thinking that I would get the best of both worlds. However in practice in can create problems and on balance I wish I had not had it fitted.

They were very common some years ago when solid fuel was more widely used, my parents had one in the 60s. They were fine for hot water and a couple of radiators but in most cases not adequate for the full CH most of us require today.

Poppycat

Just my luck I have to keep heating up because my daughter with CMT is prone to the cold. I am hoping I can get DLA for her to offset some of the cost.

misterthrifty

There is a one off money saving option if your gas reading is usually estimated. Make sure your next estimate is well above the correct meter reading then you will be paying future usage at todays prices. It may cost you some interest but if prices go up 25%.........

Mr T