Looking for some advice please RE storage heaters and prepayment meters

Cbe2012

Hi,

Just joined after a recommendation to ask for some advice here

We live in a two bed semi detached house, with single brick walls so no cavity insulation, poorly fitted windows, but we do have loft insulation.

Our house is heated by 4 storage heaters; lounge, kitchen, bathroom and main bedroom. We put £100 on our pre payment meter on the 15th of this month, but this will be ran out completely by the morning (£6 something left) so will need to put another £100 on to last til next months payday on the 15th.

We're paying this money and are still cold. I have turned the bedroom heater off to try save some money and the others are on low. We are good with turning other appliances, lights etc off too.

Does this sound like too much to be paying? We don't have gas, just the £200 electric, but we are still cold, upstairs is freezing as no heating apart from bathroom, and we have terrible condensation and mould I have to keep cleaning off.

If it doesn't sound too much for storage heaters, any tips would be great on usage! They are charged for three hours from 3am and the input and output are on the same (on number 4 atm). They are modern ones, only two years old.

Thanks for reading

McKneff

Storage heaters are notoriously expensive to run.

Also with a meter you are paying more for your electric.

could you possibly go onto monthly billing, by direct debit.

Renting or do you own the property.

Im in a three bed semi with my OH, both in all day and my gas and electricity combined for last year was £1200, £100 a month by DD.

Cbe2012

Yes I would prefer to go onto direct debit, it's a pain when it runs out, so I'll look into that. I just need a bit of advice on what to say when I phone up to try and sort it out really.

We're renting but off a family member so it's a bit awkward really. We would be allowed to put central heating in, but we're saving for it as we don't want to get into debt for it.

We put £80 a month on the meter without any heating on at all. I am home through the day with our three year old, but I am good with turning things off.

jay1181

Cbe2012 wrote: »

Yes I would prefer to go onto direct debit, it's a pain when it runs out, so I'll look into that. I just need a bit of advice on what to say when I phone up to try and sort it out really.

We're renting but off a family member so it's a bit awkward really. We would be allowed to put central heating in, but we're saving for it as we don't want to get into debt for it.

We put £80 a month on the meter without any heating on at all. I am home through the day with our three year old, but I am good with turning things off.

is this meter paying back a debt as you shouldn't be using that amount of electric in 24 hours ? check to see if you put on 10 pound's does 10 pounds go onto the meter in full eg showing a extra ten pound credit available if not your paying back somebodies else debt. a quick call to your provider will reveal all . good luck

Cbe2012

No there's no debt on it, I have spoken to them before, and given them readings, and found no problems. They don't think there is anything wrong with the meter.

We leave putting the heating on until as late in the year as possible, so the £80 we'd put on pays for lighting, a washing machine, dishwasher, cooker, a tv, other small electrical items like the phone, radio, Internet, iron and kettle etc, then it's just an electric shower and the water heater, but we don't use the bath.

Richie-from-the-Boro

Our house is heated by 4 storage heaters; lounge, kitchen, bathroom and main bedroom. We put £100 on our pre payment meter on the 15th of this month, but this will be ran out completely by the morning (£6 something left) so will need to put another £100 on to last till next months payday on the 15th.

£200 a month is 30% more than the low average, something wrong there

Does this sound like too much to be paying? We don't have gas, just the £200 electric, but we are still cold, upstairs is freezing as no heating apart from bathroom, and we have terrible condensation and mould I have to keep cleaning off.

- condensation and mould can have many sources mainly lack of airflow, one unventilated shower can make enough to last for days
- ditto the usual cooking of almost anything, its the catch 22 no vent = condensation, and cold = won't open window

If it doesn't sound too much for storage heaters, any tips would be great on usage! They are charged for three hours from 3am and the input and output are on the same (on number 4 atm). They are modern ones, only two years old.

- again something wrong, they charge for around 7 hours not 3 overnight. 3 hours would not give sufficient storage of cheap heat

Cbe2012, what tariff are you on and with which supplier ?, and what are your last 3 months day & night readings taken from your meter or account ? You should be getting:

- 7 hours of cheap overnight electricity converted to stored heat & hot water
- that stored 7 hours of electricity should be enough to supply 17 hours of next days heat & water
- look at your account and tariff, are you on an E7 tariff or an E10 tariff ?
- you should use at least 30% of your electricity at night

McKneff

Is it possible to find somewhere else to rent or are you stuck.

Single skinned walls = cold, cold, cold and money down the drain.

If your saving up for central heating, I would use the money on a move to be honest.

cutestkids

Electric heating is expensive, we have a mix of storage heaters and panels and are on Scottish Hydros Total control heating tarrif which is the only one that we can get here and I have just had my bill from 29th August to 29th November is £505.00

I find that in the very coldest months we are spending about £50.00 a week on electricity in the warmest months between £15 and £20.00 a week.

Our house like yours is not suitable for cavity wall insulation.

Cbe2012

We have mould in our bedroom, but there is an air brick, plus I open the window slightly in the morning. We have two extractor fans in the bathroom and I open the window too. I think the house is just too cold for us living, showering and cooking?

Well no, the heat doesn't last, but I can't afford to charge them any longer, I can't afford more than £200 a month.

We are with Eon, on a prepayment economy 7 rewards tariff (I think the club card points are the reward) Our cheaper rate is between 12:30 and 7:30am. I don't have the most recent readings to hand but can look tomorrow.

I put the dishwasher on overnight, the water heater heats overnight and the heaters when we use them. Unfortunately the washing machine has got a delay start and I don't think I can use a timer as it is a digital button you have to press to start it.

And we are pretty much stuck here

Thanks for everyone's help so far though.

Cbe2012

Hi cutestkids, our situations seem very similar. Do you manage to warm the house?

cutestkids

Hi

To be honest the house is never really all that warm.
If I close the living room door then it will heat up in there a bit but the room is never over 20 degrees,
The hall is really cold even with the storage heater and the panels in the bedrooms are only on when it really is too cold and then only for a very short time.

The bathroom we do not heat as it was just getting to expensive and is no heater in the kitchen.

I would say on average the bedrooms are about 15 degrees and the living room about 18 most of the time.