New Electricity provider for Electric Storage Heating

CharLottie_2

I am in the process of moving into a 2 bedroom upstairs flat with the Electric Storage Heating. It get electricity through the night and stores the heat, then lets it out gradually throughout the day. I have previously been with N Power for Gas central heating on a pre pay meter.

Can anyone please give me advice on which tariff or company will be the best and cheapest to go with.

Many thanks

Owain_Moneysaver

The tariffs depend on where in the country you are. If you want to continue using storage heaters then use an Economy 7 tariff and make sure your water heating is also correctly timed to use the off-peak electricity.

On--peak electricity is more expensive on Economy 7 tariffs.

If you are out at work all day you might find it cheaper to change to an ordinary tariff and use convector heaters only as required.

Premier_2

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

...
On--peak electricity is more expensive on Economy 7 tariffs.

But don't get too excited, the difference is only marginal.

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

If you are out at work all day you might find it cheaper to change to an ordinary tariff and use convector heaters only as required.

Highly unlikely if heating by electricity only (chances are the heating & hot water alone will account for over 50% of your annual usage) when you consider peak (or single) rate electricity is typically about 3 times the cost of the low rate you would heat with on E7

OP - I suggest you use a comparison site to find the best deal for you

macman

You will be on a deemed contract with the existing supplier from day one, you need to take your opening readings and register with them first before you can start any switching process.

Katie-Kat-Kins

You need to know whether you are on E7 or E10 before you can do a comparison.

If you are on E7 then you can use the comparison services as usual, although I would suggest that you don't do the comparison until you are actually in the property and are able to take some readings and work out your usual usage, as the amount of electric you use off peak is important to which tarriff is cheapest.

If you are on E10 (a heatwise tarriff or similar) then the good news is that you get 10 hours of off peak electric for your heaters and it will be easier to keep the house warm right through to the evening as you will get some cheap rate electric in the afternoon and evening. The bad news is that your choice of tarriff will be dramatically cut with probably only a couple to chose from. I use npower for my E10.

Do not make any hasty decisions about changing your type of tarriff. There seems to be a standard line both on here and from the energy providers that you are cheapest to go to a standard tarriff and that E7/E10 is never good value. But if you like your house warm in the evening and don't have any gas heating E7/E10 **MAY** be best for you.

In fact I would go as far as saying that if you have storage heater, no gas, live a relatively normal lifestyle and like to keep your home at the sort of warmth you get used to with central heating E7 will almost certainly be cheaper than a standard tarriff.

dogshome

Hi CharLottie - If you are moving from a flat with gas heating, even though it was thro' a Prepay meter, to an all Electric 2 Bed flat with an ECO7 meter, BE AWARE that your running costs will be in the region of £1000- to £1200 a year.

Though the Overnight power for your Hot Water & Heating is reasonably priced, the power you use in the Daytime is charged at a Premium rate, so be strict on running Wash m/c and Dryers etc
overnight to avoid the premium Day rate and get the best value from the Nightrate

Katie-Kat-Kins

dogshome wrote: »

Hi CharLottie - If you are moving from a flat with gas heating, even though it was thro' a Prepay meter, to an all Electric 2 Bed flat with an ECO7 meter, BE AWARE that your running costs will be in the region of £1000- to £1200 a year.

Though the Overnight power for your Hot Water & Heating is reasonably priced, the power you use in the Daytime is charged at a Premium rate, so be strict on running Wash m/c and Dryers etc
overnight to avoid the premium Day rate and get the best value from the Nightrate

That is a bit over dramatic. A two bed flat shouldn't cost £1000- £1200 for a years electric, I can run my 3 bed detached all electric property for that. A flat should be cheaper as it is smaller and benefits from being adjoined to neighbouring properties.

The day rate on E7 isn't hugely more expensive, it is a little more than the cheapest standard rate tarriff but premium makes it sound like it is double or something.

OP it is well worth while using your E7 by running your appliances at night as far as possible (especially the power hungry ones like the washer and dryer) but don't panic too much although a little more expensive all electric properties aren't the nightmare some on here would have you believe, especially not in a modern well insulated house. In fact if you account for maintenance costs as well as running costs (ie if you are a homeowner rather than a tennant) all electric is often cheaper!

Owain_Moneysaver

Premier wrote: »

But don't get too excited, the difference is only marginal.

I've just checked a British Gas Standard E7 Tariff vs single-rate tariff:

Day rate (first 60 kWh per month) 27p vs 23p
Day rate (subsequent units) 14p vs 10p
E7 Night rate 5p

Katie-Kat-Kins

so 4p more during the day, but you get your electric for just 5p over night - not that bad is it? Especially as this is likely to be good 50% of your use, more if you are canny with a timer switch!

If you are a heavy user at night E7 is cheaper, if you have storage heaters you will be a heavy user.

Unless you have very limited heating needs you will be hard pressed to heat your home using electric more cheaply than using storage heaters and E7.

Although your electric bills will look really high, you won't have a gas bill, your total energy spend is likely to be a bit higher but it isn't as extreme as is often feared. I see plenty of SoAs on this site where people with gas are spending £100 a month or more on energy you can heat a smallish place on E7 for that no problem.

Premier_2

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

I've just checked a British Gas Standard E7 Tariff vs single-rate tariff:

Day rate (first 60 kWh per month) 27p vs 23p
Day rate (subsequent units) 14p vs 10p
E7 Night rate 5p

It will vary by region, but I don't see any region that match those prices on the current BG standard tariff :huh:
http://www.britishgas.co.uk/pdf/unit%20rates/Elec%20ONLINE%20Rates%20Tables%20-%20Standard.pdf

e.g. in Scottish Power region (inc vat):

Single rate:
Tier 1: 24.367p
Tier 2: 10.917p

E7 rate:
Tier 1: 34.995p
Tier 2: 12.746p
Night rate: 4.674p


as another example, here are the rates from Scottish Power on their Online Energy Saver 12 tariff for the Esat Midlands area:

Single Rate:
Tier 1: 17.276p
Tier 2: 9.788p


E7 Rate:
Tier 1: 17.803p
Tier 2: 10.066p
Night rate: 4.889p

Owain_Moneysaver

Premier wrote: »

It will vary by region, but I don't see any region that match those prices on the current BG standard tariff :huh:
http://www.britishgas.co.uk/pdf/unit%20rates/Elec%20ONLINE%20Rates%20Tables%20-%20Standard.pdf

I was checking at
http://www.britishgas.co.uk/products-and-services/energy/our-tariffs/standard.html#PriceMapFlash