Help with choosing best Elecricity supplier for New build.

handag

Could you guys help me out, i'm one of these that sticks with the same company, very stupid of me I know!!
We are currently building a new house and are ready for our Electricity meter to be fitted. We had a phone call today from electricity board asking which company are we going to go with, they need to know this before they supply the meter. The solar PV panels have already been fitted and we are going to be having Ground Source too! The house we are building is 3 times the size of the house we are currently living in so I have no idea of the amount of electric we will be using.
I would really appreciate any kind of help/guidance.
Many Thanks

matelodave

Your guess on consumption is as good as anyone else's and probably a lot better than the electricity suppliers. How are you heating it - if not by electricity then it shouldn't be massively different from what you are using now unless you are installing heaps of high-tech power hungry appliances Are you going to have more lights on than in the other one, bigger TVs or what. Are you going to try using less or try maximising your PV generation by only doing the washing on sunny days in the summer. If you are heating using a ground source heatpump then you wont get a lot of benefit from the PV during the winter when you need most heat and the days are short and the sun is absent.


I've got an air source heatpump and our consumption varies wildly depending on the temperature - we use a lot in the winter months and significantly less in spring & summer as you'd expect (last year's cold January used 1500kw but in January this year only 900kw. In spring & summer we average about 250-350kw a month) but that's for a three bed bungalow. Our total electric consumption last year was 7977kwh whereas the year before it was 8688kwh because it was so much colder


I'd expect a ground source to be a bit more stable and have a better COP and should therefore cost less to run, but as you've got so many variables you are just going to have to make up your own estimates - hopefully you've got some calculations for the expected heating system performance and for the expected performance of the PV set-up. Perhaps your EPC/SAP estimates will help you there


All you've got to do is think of a number for your usage - the same as you are now, then again plus 50%, then again minus 50% and do a few comparisons using the different figures and decide who best meets your requirements. Hopefully your PV should reduce your consumption but only you will know if you can maximise it's potential by altering your lifestyle to use most power when the sun shines which is mainly in the summer when you use least electricity.

yangptangkipperbang

I think your best bet is to go to any supplier for a few months and see what your consumption is. Then you can make a reasoned choice as to who will be cheapest for you.
A supplier who is cheapest for x units per year may not be the cheapest for 2x units !

handag

Thank you so much Matelodave, lots of info there.
We may just do that Yang....

matelodave

Nor even x/2 units, that's why several scenarios should be tried or as suggested go onto a tariff with no exit penalties to see how you use it. Your first decision is whether to go for E7 or a single rate tariff (or go with a supplier who won't charge if you want to swap later down the line).


We don't have E7 although we are all electric because we don't really heat the place overnight (the heatpump & thermostats are set back by 3-5 degrees). Most of our electricity use is during the day and in the evenings. We don't use an immersion - the heatpump heats the hotwater tank during the day.
I've no chance whatsoever of persuading my wife to do the washing, drying, vacuuming or ironing after midnight or before 7 in the morning. It's pretty difficult just to get her to turn lights off in unused rooms, LED bulbs have helped there)


It would be worthwhile checking your meter daily or weekly for the first couple of months and using the readings to help you optimise your consumption.