Standing Charges guide - official forum discussion

zeupater

ASavvyBuyer wrote: »

Your solar panels are probably producing more than 7.5kwh per day during the summer; but what about in the winter? If you need to import any electricity during the winter, you need to work out carefully how much it is likely to cost. The saving in Standing Charge could easily be wiped out by a higher unit cost.

Hi

Agree with above and would add that the full capabilities of the battery system depend entirely on what's been installed (ie battery type/spec and management system). If the system is capable of supplementing pv during the day then it will help in times of high load (ie a 3kW kettle) in duller conditions, but it's almost certain that energy will still be imported even during the day because the maximum power provision will be limited, either directly by the battery type (/life) or the build price/quality of the battery management system (incl battery inverter). Although the battery system should be capable of providing the power for TV, lighting etc at night, as soon as the load or charge threshold is passed, import will start, the amount of electricity purchased will depend on the the time that the combined household load exceeds the supply capacity of the battery system and, of course, the charge state as provides by the pv during the day .... as 'ASavvyBuyer' mentioned above, there will be plenty of days when the pv won't even meet daytime energy requirement thus leaving nothing spare to divert to the batteries ....

People really do need to understand the capabilities of battery storage, particularly when combined with pv else we'll just end up with unscrupulous salesmen (&women!) employing even more unscrupulous sales practices. In order to make best use of self generated and stored energy in order to reduce imports 'mickbuzz' not only needs to reassess/address the power demand of many of the devices/appliances which are currently used, but also what, when, how and importantly, the necessity. 7.5kWh/day of electricity over a year is only about 17% below the national average so there's a long way to go before being considered as being a 'very low user' ...

HTH
Z ..... (A very low energy user on a ZSC tariff ... :silenced:! )

ASavvyBuyer

mickbuzz wrote: »

Thanks just took a peep at their website think this set up would suit me, also electricity unit rate is lower than I pay at the moment (if I pay anything anymore) gas is a bit higher but hay the saving in standing charges would well out way the balances.

Your electricity unit rate must be very expensive at the moment, if the Ebico unit rate is lower. Are you on a standard tariff (the most expensive type usually) ? A quick comparison with other electric providers should easily find a company charging less (including daily standing charge).

I do hope you were not mis-sold the battery system on the basis of it producing savings based on a very high electricty unit cost.

quisquis

Can I suggest people take a look here....
http://standingwater.simdif.com
maybe it can work for energy too!

pharmice

My monthly bill for energy (gas and electric) has been halved from £30/month to £13/month after switching to a no standing charge tariff. I live alone in a 2 bed mid-terrace property with no dependants, maybe that's why. This no standing charge tariffs are not receiving enough publicity from MSE for some reason, maybe they are not being incentivised to publicise them. This deal will serve most single people very well.

molerat

Your monthly costs have reduced because the new unit price with no standing charge combined with your incredibly low use is less than the combination of (higher) standing charge and low unit cost of your old tariff. No standing charge tariffs are generally way more expensive than those with for anyone except the lowest of users. A comparison site will give you the correct tariff, with or without standing charge, that suits your particular use pattern. In my case the cheapest NSC tariff is 50% more than I am currently paying. The reason they are not promoted is that they are simply not suitable on cost grounds for the vast majority of consumers.

£30 per month for G&E is ridiculously low, £13 is unfeasibly low. I do hope you used an accurate annual kWh figure when looking at the comparisons - please give us those figures.

zeupater

molerat wrote: »

Your monthly costs have reduced because the new unit price with no standing charge combined with your incredibly low use is less than the combination of (higher) standing charge and low unit cost of your old tariff. No standing charge tariffs are generally way more expensive than those with for anyone except the lowest of users. A comparison site will give you the correct tariff, with or without standing charge, that suits your particular use pattern. In my case the cheapest NSC tariff is 50% more than I am currently paying. The reason they are not promoted is that they are simply not suitable on cost grounds for the vast majority of consumers.

£30 per month for G&E is ridiculously low, £13 is unfeasibly low. I do hope you used an accurate annual kWh figure when looking at the comparisons - please give us those figures.

Hi

I tend to disagree with the conclusion ...

Spending £30/month on G&E may be low, possibly even classified by many as being 'ridiculously low', however it is possible for many to achieve this level of expenditure with a little effort and investment. ...

As for a level of £13/month being 'infeasibly low', well, considering that our own combined energy monthly DD isn't far from this, it can't be 'infeasible' at all. Our ultra low level of gas and imported electricity usage is due to the employment of massive levels of insulation as well as energy saving measures and technologies ...

The cheapest energy you will ever buy is that which you don't use !


HTH
Z

pharmice

molerat wrote: »

Your monthly costs have reduced because the new unit price with no standing charge combined with your incredibly low use is less than the combination of (higher) standing charge and low unit cost of your old tariff. No standing charge tariffs are generally way more expensive than those with for anyone except the lowest of users. A comparison site will give you the correct tariff, with or without standing charge, that suits your particular use pattern. In my case the cheapest NSC tariff is 50% more than I am currently paying. The reason they are not promoted is that they are simply not suitable on cost grounds for the vast majority of consumers.

£30 per month for G&E is ridiculously low, £13 is unfeasibly low. I do hope you used an accurate annual kWh figure when looking at the comparisons - please give us those figures.

Electricity statement For the period: 25 March 2017 to 25 May 2017
This statement
Electricity charges £26.84
Total charges this statement £26.84
The electricity you've used - actual
Unrestricted units 13193 13339 146. kWh
Your electricity charges this period
Your tariff is EquiPower
25 Mar 2017 - 27 Apr 2017
Standard energy 85.kWh at 16.43p £13.96
Standing charge £0.00
28 Apr 2017 - 25 May 2017
Standard energy 61.kWh at 19.03p £11.61
Standing charge £0.00
VAT 5.00%
(on charges of £25.57)
£1.27
Total electricity charges this period £26.84

Gas statement
For the period: 25 March 2017 to 25 May 2017
This statement
Gas charges £0.57
Total charges this statement £0.57
The gas you've used - actual
Gas Unrestricted kWh 6898 6899 1. units
Converted to kilowatt hours (kWh) 11.27 kWh
Your gas charges this period
Your tariff is EquiGas
Standard energy 11.27 kWh at 4.95p £0.55
Standing charge £0.00
VAT 5.00%
(on charges of £0.55)
£0.02
Total gas charges this period £0.57

an_ecunemical_matter

Hi all. Can I stick me oar in on this with my figures as I can agree that bills can be mega low on no SC.

02 June 2015 to 30 May 2016
.
Your electricity usage summary

Last year's estimated usage and cost
You used 863 kWh Total cost £147.56
===========================
1 May 2015 to 30 April 2016

Your gas usage summary
We've worked out that this year you used
1,135.21 kWh.
This is based on actual readings.

This year your total estimated costs were £59.08.

£206.64.

I added up 2016 into 2017 (I switched both so didn't get an annual statement) and both together came to £195.54 !!! Both are around £16 pcm for gas and elec, single occupancy (usually !) of FFF built in 2008.

Janfork

Anyone know a tariff with zero standing charge? At my stables i use £5/year max. Moved to ebco zero when scot. power introduced standing charge, but now SSE have finished that.

Pagett

Janfork wrote: »

Anyone know a tariff with zero standing charge? At my stables i use £5/year max. Moved to ebco zero when scot. power introduced standing charge, but now SSE have finished that.

Stables?

So obviously not a domestic tariff; you need a commercial one.
Unfortunately, there are not many if any online comparison sites for this. What you probably need is a good broker, but try this thread for starters
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2103023

What are you using the £5 p.a worth of electricity on? :huh:
It may be you'd be better off without a supply at all.
Can you take a cable from another supply? (with the account holders permission, of course)
If not, consider perhaps a portable generator, rechargeable batteries (perhaps with an inverter), wind/solar power generators, etc. as appropriate.

If you give us some more details on what you use the electricity for, then perhaps someone could advise further?