£700 Electricity Bill due to underfloor heating (I think!)

Magentasue

gazzil wrote: »

I'm pretty sure I can switch without changing the meter as they all look pretty new.

Many thanks again

I don't think the age of the meter is relevant - it's a change to a single rate meter. I'm sure I've read £50-£70 mentioned but search the forum - that might have been the cost of changing from prepay. If other suppliers are much cheaper and you're staying in the property, it's worth costing as it may be worth the outlay. As you say, you need to clear your debt first and you're fortunate that your present supplier will change your tariff for free.

Bear in mind that although getting rid of Economy 7 will save you money, your heating is still going to be expensive to run as you'll be using day time electricity, albeit at a slightly lower price.

Fire_Fox

gazzil wrote: »

Hi all, many thanks for your responses... and so soon!

Yes, I think the fact that I have used 3,500 day units and only 450 night units suggests that I need to come off E7 and as I don't have storage heaters, there's pretty much nothing that will be used during the night.... except perhaps, the odd washing machine or dishwasher cycles.

Man.. I'm currently paying 17.7p for a day unit and 5.11p for night units. I've since found that there a far, far cheaper suppliers in my area and that I need to change. The only problem is that I will need to clear the £500 arrears before transferring.

Still don't know why I have this additional manual timer which is linked into the main Electric/Water control panel. Thought that might have something to do with using the system on my E7 tariff.

I'm pretty sure I can switch without changing the meter as they all look pretty new.

Many thanks again

Yes, you probably need to come off the E7 tariff and switch supplier. But you also need to take a hard look at your overall energy usage. Why do you have the immersion on for four hours a day? Why do you have the heating on at 16C when you don't arrive home until 8pm?

You say 'I' not 'we' in your posts, so I am guessing you live alone? We are two in a two bedroom all electric flat, and used approximately 1000KWH last quarter at a total cost of £101. We manage fine on two hours heating on frosty days, and forty five minutes use of the immersion overnight. You used four times as much electricity as we did; even on the right tariff your bill would have been £350 or so! :eek:

jimexbox

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Yes, you probably need to come off the E7 tariff and switch supplier.

He doesn't necessarily have to switch supplier, yes come off E7, then compare what Eon can offer with their rivals. Then check to see if that rival will insist on a new meter. It might even be cheaper staying with Eon on a slightly higher tariff, but using the existing meter.

gazzil

Hi guys,

Yes I do live alone and yes I have thoroughly reassessed by usage over the past couple of days too.

My problem is that I dont really understand my underfloor heating system. The system is either on or off... Whilst its on, I have to set a temperature for six times throughout the day, this is why I set it at 16 during the day because I cannot turn it off for this period. Maybe I should set it down to 5 or 6 degrees instead.

Another interesting point, I have just had a quote from Scottish Power and they will do the same tariff and save me £800 per year!:

Currently with EON I am paying:
17.7p (day rate) and 5.11p (night).

Scottish Power:
10.06p (day) and 4.8p (night)... that hell of a saving for me!!

Think I'm gonna pay off the debt and change asap... then, once I've made some changes in general consumption and worked out my heating system I should be back on track.

Many thanks again for your help!

(ps - does anyone know details about water underfloor heating set-ups and operation?)

gazzil

oh... scottish power will charge £125 for a standard meter. EDF seem to be the only ones who don't charge for this, but there rates aren't as good!

Garz

gazzil wrote: »

oh... scottish power will charge £125 for a standard meter. EDF seem to be the only ones who don't charge for this, but there rates aren't as good!

'Rates arnt as good' perhaps factors in the cost of the meter change. Either way I would haggle with the cheapest supplier and say you will switch to them ONLY if they will waive the meter install fee.

Vestra

gazzil wrote: »

oh... scottish power will charge £125 for a standard meter. EDF seem to be the only ones who don't charge for this, but there rates aren't as good!

There are others that will do it for free, not sure if they will be cheaper than EDF though.

KimYeovil

If they're going around swapping meters willy-nilly and not charging then of course their prices are not going to be competitive. The other customers have to pay for the process.

It's about time the regulator stepped in and banned 'free' meter changes. There should be one set price that all suppliers charge.

jimexbox

KimYeovil wrote: »

If they're going around swapping meters willy-nilly and not charging then of course their prices are not going to be competitive. The other customers have to pay for the process.

It's about time the regulator stepped in and banned 'free' meter changes. There should be one set price that all suppliers charge.

The question is why do they have to change them?

Eon are using my E7 meter on their non E7 rate, so why cant other utility companies do it?

KimYeovil

Sorry, you're right, I was talking about prepayment meters. I have no idea why they don't add the readings together.