Night time readings sound wrong.

mullberry_2

Hey,

I moved into a rented propertly with my partner 7 months ago. It is all electric on Economy 7. It has 2 night time storage heaters which do only come on at night (i checked).

We had a quarterly bill come through and it was estimated as usual (£130 for the quarter which seemed just a little low) so I just went out to take the actual meter readings and ring them through. The units I recorded just seemed so rediculously high! Well, mainly for the night reading.

I've worked out from the actual reading i took 7 months to the present day that the days units used were 5401. This i can accept as either me or my partner is almost always in, the pc, tv, heater, washing machine and tumble dryer run quite frequently. But the night units were just a little short of that at 5257. This i find so unbelievable as the only thing that run at night at E7 hours are the 2 night storage heaters, the fridge and the freezer.

As I have little to compare it to I was wondering if
a) this sounds right (with regards to the night units) ?
b) Are storage heaters really that uneconomical ?
c) Does it sound like an electrical fault somewhere? If so, does the costly bill now become more landlords part responsability.

Right now my electric company is thinking i only owe £130. I dread ringing through this actual reading.

Thanks

Magentasue

Sounds right - storage heaters horrendously expensive. You seem to use a lot of electricity. You also use more in the day than we do - we're a family of six with someone home all day.

mullberry_2

thanks for replying!

Well that's a disappointment, i was really under the impression that storage heaters were economical and a good saver, i was so wrong. From now on they're never coming back on.

Thanks so much.

Magentasue

Yes, I learned about them the hard way - gas CH went in double quick after the first winter bill when we had them.

mullberry_2

hehe, well out come the wooly jumpers and triple layers for us.

anniecave

night units should be a lot cheaper than day units though ... you may want to consider using some night time heating ... no point in having storage heating otherwise!

[Deleted User]

what i do (and I have 2 storage heaters as well on E7 in an all electric flat) i leave the one in the living room on low constantly, which i believe takes less time to heat up as its already warm and so is the room. The one in my bedroom i switch to number 3 on the dial but turn it off in the night ( i usually wake up once or twice) therefore the storage heater is only on for approx 3 hours. I do this every other day and i find it keeps the bedroom at a fairly constant temperature. I have to keep them running as my flat is prone to damp and/or condensation if the temperature drops then goes up as i have no ventilation in windows and i live on the ground floor and am at work all day. I so far have saved approx £120 this year, by doing this and other money saving eletric tips. I use about £10 to £15 per week electric.:j

Magentasue

I think there's a choice here:

Storage heaters and Economy 7 - background heating using a lot of lower priced units.

Or plug in heaters using fewer more expensive units, used only when you're in, and get rid of Economy 7.

All electric heating is expensive unless you use it very little - depends on how much you're in and how cold the property is.

Fire_Fox

mullberry wrote: »

Hey,

I moved into a rented propertly with my partner 7 months ago. It is all electric on Economy 7. It has 2 night time storage heaters which do only come on at night (i checked).

We had a quarterly bill come through and it was estimated as usual (£130 for the quarter which seemed just a little low) so I just went out to take the actual meter readings and ring them through. The units I recorded just seemed so rediculously high! Well, mainly for the night reading.

I've worked out from the actual reading i took 7 months to the present day that the days units used were 5401. This i can accept as either me or my partner is almost always in, the pc, tv, heater, washing machine and tumble dryer run quite frequently. But the night units were just a little short of that at 5257. This i find so unbelievable as the only thing that run at night at E7 hours are the 2 night storage heaters, the fridge and the freezer.

:eek: We are two in a two bedroom all electric flat and use approximately 4000KWH per annum! Whilst you should certainly cut down on your storage heater use (get an electric underblanket), I'd be a lot more concerned about the amount of electricity you are using on the expensive dayrate as, since this isn't heating, will be a year round expense. Are you running the washing machine at night? Do you really need to use the tumble dryer, or could you get a tall airer?