New House - Storage Heaters, Economy 7/10 and bill questions

Ada3050

A set of cheap oil heaters and convector heaters will do short term.

As the weather gets warmer you wont need to use them over the summer anyhow.
If they are turned off they wont cost a penny to run. When you move in get your electricity on a normal tariff to start with and see how you go.

As I said before, think of the cost of GCH before you condemn the running costs.

Monkey_Joe

Ada3050 wrote: »

A set of cheap oil heaters and convector heaters will do short term.

As the weather gets warmer you wont need to use them over the summer anyhow.
If they are turned off they wont cost a penny to run. When you move in get your electricity on a normal tariff to start with and see how you go.

As I said before, think of the cost of GCH before you condemn the running costs.

So I'm not obligated to have a E7 or E10 tariff just because I have storage heaters? If so that great then I will switch. How much will it cost to have the storage heaters replaced with the ones you recommended?

Ada3050

No if they are turned off they wont cost a penny. Just need to tell your new supplier you want a standard tariff, you can always change to Econ 7 afterwards.

For short term use just look at argos/comet/currys etc for portable heating.

From £10 upwards. Just choose what you fancy and what you can afford.

Ada3050

I did some maths on another thread:
Been looking in to the basic maths of this myself.

So my big storage rads are 3.4kw, 7 hours charge will cost in the region of £1.30. (3.4kw x 7 hours @ 5.5p = £1.30)

A 1kw heater on my econ 7 tariff can be used for 12 hrs for £1.30 assuming its on all the time at 11p per KWh day rates (11p x 12 hrs = £1.30)

So using a stand alone heater for less than 12hrs a day will be cheaper than a storage heater. The savings will be greater if on a standard day time tariff.

It should be easy for anyone to work out the cost if they know the price per unit and the wattage of the appliance.

The savings will be greater if the appliance has a thermostat.

JennyR68

Depending on your supplier you may have to get your meter changed if you want to use standard electric.

I know when I was with BG they let you have a standard tariff adding both the day and night rates together. Whereas when I moved to EDF they wouldn't do that and I had to have my meter changed to a single rate one. Had to pay E7 rates for 28 days before they would do it. (change it for free btw) And once done can't change it for a year.

I know for me ditching the storage for standard electric heating gave quite a saving as it enabled me to access the cheapest rate in my area.

deedee71

I've just come through a winter with electric storage heaters - only two as the third wasn't working. I needed to use one oil filled radiator as the house was freezing. My bill was £500 for 3 months. Far be it from me to suggest your figures aren't right regarding the wattage etc lol.

I've just put central heating in and even if it takes me years to recupe a financial benefit, I have a better quality of life in a warm house now.

I reduced my usage by using my washing machine and dishwasher through the night, making sure the electric shower was used before the day rate came on, even charging my phone overnight etc.

I've just paid £3000 for a 4 bedroom sandstone maisonette. That included the boiler, all new pipework and the radiators too. One good thing from the recession is tradesman are a lot keener to price well and I didn't have to wait either. So maybe shop around and get proper quotes so you can make an informed decision.

Ada3050

Ada3050 wrote: »

Some people hate them, some people love them. It all depends on your lifestyle weather they will suit.

Deedee71

I quote post 3.

The maths are simple, if a house has bad insulation then I would look at that before spending money on a new heating system.

dunloadin

Your getting some strange and poor advice from some posters (Premier has the right idea).

First off, the metering should reflect the type of heating in the house...it has storage heaters, you need Eco7. Dont forget that the hot water tank will also be fully heated overnight as well as the storage heaters, you get rid of Eco7 and the cost of heating your water will be prohibitive.

Storage heaters on charge will not have the element switched on all the time, once up to the correct heat the thermal switch will cut the supply off, so you won't be using 3.7 units per hour per heater. Plugging in additional heating WILL be more expensive.

Changing your tarriff to single rate when you dont need the storage heaters will be frowned upon.....and don't forget the water tank, your overnight charge will be at a higher rate. Bearing in mind some suppliers drag their heels on switching, if you ever need the heating before you manage to change to Eco7 for the winter then expect to be paying up to 3x the normal single rate bill. Eco10 is not the answer...it's not for storage heating.

If the supplier decides to change the meter you may end up with no storage heating at all, or a meter change you have to pay for to get it all sorted correctly.

Monkey_Joe

dunloadin wrote: »

Your getting some strange and poor advice from some posters (Premier has the right idea).

First off, the metering should reflect the type of heating in the house...it has storage heaters, you need Eco7. Dont forget that the hot water tank will also be fully heated overnight as well as the storage heaters, you get rid of Eco7 and the cost of heating your water will be prohibitive.

Storage heaters on charge will not have the element switched on all the time, once up to the correct heat the thermal switch will cut the supply off, so you won't be using 3.7 units per hour per heater. Plugging in additional heating WILL be more expensive.

Changing your tarriff to single rate when you dont need the storage heaters will be frowned upon.....and don't forget the water tank, your overnight charge will be at a higher rate. Bearing in mind some suppliers drag their heels on switching, if you ever need the heating before you manage to change to Eco7 for the winter then expect to be paying up to 3x the normal single rate bill. Eco10 is not the answer...it's not for storage heating.

If the supplier decides to change the meter you may end up with no storage heating at all, or a meter change you have to pay for to get it all sorted correctly.

So are you saying that Im better off sticking with the storage heaters on E7 rather then switching to a standard electrical tariff?

I can see the advantage of the storage heaters and the E7 tarriff for heating and water. However, how about for other electrical appliances such as TV's, Computers, Stereos, Kettles ect....I hear the E7 tarriff will be a lot more expensive for day time use.

What would you do in my situation?

shegar

My best advise to you is dont buy a house with electric heating it will cost you a bomb, and the electric heating is useless.The only people that say electric heating is good is the ones that cant get GCH ,cos thay are not on the mains ,so they make out their electric is brilliant, only cos they are stuck with it ...and cant change..:mad: