Electricity Bill Query . No Gas at property just electric...How much will bill be?

LadyDeeDee

I am interested in renting a two bedroom terraced house (moving April) and have been informed that there is NO gas at the property, only electric storage heater. Apparently over night heating ???

I am very clueless about how this all works, tariffs, and costs as have always had gas and electric, GCH etc.

I currently spend £30 on electric and £30 on gas per month but haven't got a clue what my new bill would be if/when I move to this house.

I'm on a tight monthly budget so need to keep out-goings low as possible so I am pretty scared about this.

Please can anyone advise me, or give me rough idea of what monthly bill will be ???

Side point, has anyone heard of or received a government grant for funding towards GCH to be installed ?

anniecave

is it just you living in property?
when are you in? daytimes? evenings? both?

LadyDeeDee

Myself and my 2 year old daughter.
We are busy on a usual week, in and out all day, mainly in the house in the evenings.
Currently, I enjoy having heating on 730am til 9am and 5pm-9.30pm.
Obviously, will need to consider heating water too, I suppose. So a bath each daily, may need to turn to showers ??
thanks for your interest in advance

spiro

Going on other posts you are looking at £100-150 per month.

In terms of heating, the storage heaters heat up between about midnight and 7am and then give off heat during the day but you need to ensure the settings are correct or the will cool down too quick. Unlike gas you cant just switch them on for a hour and if you do turn them on during the day they will cost you a fortune.

Based on other posters I would choose another property with GSH if you have half a chance.

tori.k

Not necessarily. It all depends on how well you manage your tarrif and usage. there a 5 of us (no gas) and for the last 8 weeks we have used £132 (incl vat) worth of electric, so not far off what the OP are paying now.
I would say if the house is what you want i wouldnt let the idea of no gas put you off. there are ways to save money on a E7 meter its just means making the most of the cheap nightime electric.

LadyDeeDee

Thank you Sprio and tori.k

That £100-150 frightens me silly to be honest. The hardest, bit is not being able to plan ahead.
Good I am moving as the season is changing and less heating required (no change on water and cooking though) but that won't help me next Winter.

tori.k ... is E7 , Economy 7. Am I right in thinking that's the tariff, you ask your supplier to put you on? Sorry for being so dumb, it's just the unknown to me.

BTW I do really like the house, and don't want this to be a deal breaker. But its still a real concern.

Many thanks for your help!

LadyDeeDee

tori.k
another question sorry, is yours this 'night storage heating'?
practically, does it work for your family, i.e, i understand the day time, house is warm, after heater has stored heat all night, but does the heat remain for the evening, which really is when we would like it the most.
your bill is encouraging, especially as there are more of you than us!
Who is your supplier, or does that not really make much difference?

Thanks

NEH

It depends on the age of the storage heaters as well. I lived in a one bed flat two years ago and I was paying £80 odd a month. The flat was never warm enough by storage heating alone so i had to resort to convector heaters as well.

Now i wouldn't touch a house with storage heating at all, to me it isn't reliable enough and i don't like the fact that you can't just have heat at the touch of a button.

JasX

Also will depend on how well insulated the house is, middle of terrace with good quality modern external doors (ideally two) modern double glazing, and loft + wall cavity insulation could make it quite efficient (along the lines of what you're paying now).

non-double glazed windows, cheap lightweight curtains, and no loft insulation will potentially make it very dear (£150pm or higher if heaters are old and poorly managed)

LadyDeeDee

Thank you JasX and NEH
I really appreciate your points, as I can now go to the landlord, with these specific queries.
The house definately has double glazing and is a terrace, but as for age of heater or quality of insulation... I will now investigate
Many thanks


PS this is first time I have used a forum ... very impressed :T

JasX

you can probably get a good idea from looking round the place, if you stand near/behind the back door/windows/front door and it feels 'colder' than the rest of the room or is very cold to touch it's not usually a good sign, the place feeling 'draughty' will be a very bad sign too.

Also if he say's something is there (eg loft insulation) get it in writing/email or physically check before signing to cover yourself.