My tips for slashing electricity bills.

Vestra

space_rider wrote: »

You`ll get around 6% discount for paying by dd. Possibly more if there is an online tariff available to you. I`m not sure if online tariff is available if you are all electric but worth a try. Before changing tariffs I would ring Eon and ask them if there is a cheaper tariff available. You can go on that whilst you shop round for a cheaper tariff.

The cheaper tariff will show up on switching sites, but by all means sit on that cheaper tariff for the couple of weeks it takes to change over.

Fire_Fox

NowThenAgain wrote: »

At the start of this winter I was alarmed at the prospect of paying 26p / 9.8p for my electricity from Eon. Previous winters had seen my usage average out at about 32 KWH per day. At that rate I'd be looking at bills of £7 per day / £210 per month.

This is for a 2 bed flat with an electric hot water boiler and storage heaters.


I didn't see 13c indoors during Jan/Feb but this saved me maybe 20 KWH per day.

The end result is that even through the coldest winter of modern times I have managed to average about 9 KWH per day, so saving a phenominal 25 KWH / £5 per day. Or about £450 over the course of the winter.

I expect my bill for the year to be around £450 at approx 6 KWH per day.

My rationale going into it was that some people live in caves so I can perfectly adequately live without it being 20c at all times. And that's the way it's proved to be.

Lowest indoor temperature was 5.1c and I'd regurlarly wake up to the joys of <7c!

Well done. Can't you switch you a cheaper tariff/ supplier? We use 10-12KWH per day and this should work out to £360 a year at todays prices (Scottish Power E7). You may be best off with a company like Ebico as there is no standing charge and only one relatively low rate. :cool:

Also is is possible to insulate your flat better? My flat rarely drops below 15C unless I open the windows, which I assume to be the benefit of neighbouring flats and double glazing.

NowThenAgain

Thanks for all the suggestions. I am already on Eon electricity online paid by monthly direct debit. Have just checked and according to the switching sites my yearly bill should come out at about £350. So my guess of £450 was a bit high.

The cheapest tariff on Uswitch puts me at £296 and is from EDF. At this stage I'm not going to switch to save ~£50. Not worth the hassle and I've already saved about £1000 per year through the above frugality!

Judging from some posts on here I must live in an expensive energy area. Does anyone know why some areas seem much cheaper than others?

Also, I really do believe that prices will come down considerably over the summer. The electricity companies say that they won't but then, that is what they would say! The fact is that wholesale energy prices are much lower, demand is much lower = prices coming down. It'll be the usual game of follow the leader. When it's settled down I'll switch to the cheapest.

As to insulation, there's not much I can do. I have double glazing, and have already blocked obvious air escape routes (i.e. under the front door). Being at ground level I don't benefit from the passive heating of flats higher up. Unfortunately. My girlfriends's flat is on floor 8 of a new building and seems to maintain 15c+ with no heating at all!

I will have a look at Ebico.

albyota

NTA if you can and if your place needs it, use some of the money you've saved to put in extra insulation, seal up gaps, buy thick curtains, insulate the loft hatch....you'd be surprised how much heat escapes, if your not using storage heaters anymore, I hope you have change from E7 to standard meter...... anyway, well done...you deserve an extra jumper for that.

Fire_Fox

If you switch via a cashback site or one of the links on this website (click on utilities/ phone at very top of screen) you will make another £20+ on top of the savings from a cheaper supply. By all means wait to switch til the price changes are announced.

For insulation you could try thermally lined curtains? What is your lighting situation?

A_fiend_for_life

Excellent work NowThenAgain.

NowThenAgain

Am on an E7 meter but now a standard tariff. So the two figures are just added together.

Not any scope for further insulation really. The only gap I do sometimes think about filling is the gap between my ceiling and the floor of the flat above. However, since this is full of wiring I think it would pose a significant fire risk to fill it with insulation!

All my lights are energy saving and my appliances are, as far as possible versus the cost of buying them, low energy use.

13.7c this morning in the flat. I love spring. On top of everything I now have a greater appreciation for the seasons!