Devastated by EDF Bill

buglawton

Thought Id jump into this thread as folks here seem to know about EDF and E7.

Refurb flat, brand new digital meter in place with separate readings for day & night. EDF, E7 installed and working. But no storage heaters on the property! The simplest calculation of day vs night usage showed its more sense to have standard tariff not E7.

Called EDF, they say can change tariff at no charge and the will change the meter for free. Change the meter?? Seems they need to pull out the old one and put in a new!

Also I am wondering if the new meter will be compatible with any other company I switch to afterwards. Didn't know it could be so complicated!

molerat

Some companies will combine day and night reads and use them as a single read, others will not. If you are with a supplier that does combine and you change supplier you will automatically be put back on E7 as the database shows that is the type of meter you have. The new single rate meter they put in will be compatible with all suppliers and if you change you will automatically be put on a single rate tariff.

matelodave

When they did mine they just reprogrammed the meter - but they also have to notify the distribution company so that the database is updated. Once that's done you can go with whom ever you choose. It's best to get it sorted out by EDF if it's free - most companies will charge to £50-60 to do it

Willem-de-Blois

We had yet another new person move in on the 1st March and her heating requirements leave a lot to be desired. She is one of these people who wants to be 'toasty' all the time without putting on a jumper.

We had a dispute over the heating periods which she instigated. She prepared herself for the 'discussion' by putting on a scarf and slippers before complaining how cold it was during the mild March. My other flatmate had a word about the new one taking two showers per day. This was discouraging for her as she was trying to reduce costs by taking showers at her gym and by using the washing machine at night.

We don't want to put the blame of even higher bills on the new flatmate as I lost my job at the beginning of March so I am at home during the day (however, I believe that any extra costs are offset because I have been staying over at my girlfriend's and parents' houses more often than when I was working).

Anyway, I am taking monthly meter readings in an attempt to try and control the high electricity bills.

March's bill (the first with the new flatmate) was about 33% higher than the monthly average.

March

R01 25979
R02 14012

I have just taken the readings for April:

R01 26467
R02 14292

yasmup

I feel for you.

Devastating.

gfplux

Have you looked at the bills since you have been in the flat. As a previous poster mentioned it is not the £££ that matters but the consumption. We're there actual meter readings or were they estimates. Were the meter readings fudged by an outgoing flat mate!!!
Did EDF mean £50 per person????
I am also guilty in not understanding what I am paying for until you wake up.

2013yearofthehouse

Willem-de-Blois wrote: »

March

R01 25979
R02 14012

I have just taken the readings for April:

R01 26467
R02 14292

Assuming this is for 30 days, then 768kwh isn't that drastic for 3 people in a 3 bed. I usually use about 200-250kwh a month at this time of year, that's 1 person in a 1 bed. People in house/flat shares don't tend to "share" as much electricity as families, so individual usage is more likely to triple.

That much is presumably costing you about £30-40 each for the month, so I guess it's mostly usage in the really cold months that is the problem.

Unfortunately, the main pitfall of house/flat sharing is sometimes having to pay for other peoples usage. I went from paying £40 a month in a 3 bed with 3 people (gas heating/hot water) to paying £30 a month as 1 person in a 1 bed (all electric, single rate tariff, panel heaters), and I was warmer when living my myself!

Anyway, got a bit off topic.....

Of course you could still have a problem with you meter or billing....

As other posters have mentioned, do you have the previous years usage in kwh (to correspond to the costs you listed in your OP)?

For now keep monitoring, monthly's good, but weekly or even daily is better.

Willem-de-Blois

I have no records of the consumption, just written notes of the cost of the bills.

I pulled out a lot of clutter from the cupboard which previous tenants have left. I found the two wall switches: Economy and Boost. The boost switch was on.

I have now turned it off and by 6pm, the water is warm but not as hot as it used to be.

The timer panel is exactly like the one pictured in the linked PDF (page 2 of 3) by Highland Council under the heading 'Water heating'.

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=19&ved=0CIQBEBYwCDgK&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.highland.gov.uk%2FNR%2Frdonlyres%2F63F4E526-52ED-4AA8-9B82-6DD5B6ECAB13%2F0%2F7StorageheatingTEMPLATE.pdf&ei=LWFuU4DMA6TY7Aaeu4DQDg&usg=AFQjCNFffDDHqiTBwQiBKam5Pej0laWGxw&sig2=hamoj6TXAGVBJhBVlrng6A&cad=rja


The Economy 7 tariff runs from 00h00 to 07h00, the timer seems to be set from 23h00 to 03h30 and 05h00 to 09h00. I cannot seem to adjust this setting.

wavelets

Willem-de-Blois wrote: »

I have no records of the consumption, just written notes of the cost of the bills.

I pulled out a lot of clutter from the cupboard which previous tenants have left. I found the two wall switches: Economy and Boost. The boost switch was on.

I have now turned it off and by 6pm, the water is warm but not as hot as it used to be.

The timer panel is exactly like the one pictured in the linked PDF (page 2 of 3) by Highland Council under the heading 'Water heating'.

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=19&ved=0CIQBEBYwCDgK&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.highland.gov.uk%2FNR%2Frdonlyres%2F63F4E526-52ED-4AA8-9B82-6DD5B6ECAB13%2F0%2F7StorageheatingTEMPLATE.pdf&ei=LWFuU4DMA6TY7Aaeu4DQDg&usg=AFQjCNFffDDHqiTBwQiBKam5Pej0laWGxw&sig2=hamoj6TXAGVBJhBVlrng6A&cad=rja


The Economy 7 tariff runs from 00h00 to 07h00, the timer seems to be set from 23h00 to 03h30 and 05h00 to 09h00. I cannot seem to adjust this setting.

The user guide is here:
http://www.horstmann.co.uk/files/2713/9867/2126/user_guide_economy_7_quartz_-_E7Q.pdf

But you'll need the installation guide if you need to change the settings for E7
http://www.horstmann.co.uk/files/1213/9867/2106/installer_guide_economy_7_quartz_E7Q.pdf

But what I don't understand is why you say there is a switch for peak time operation. The Horstmann caters for peak time usage via it's own boost timer which can be set for a maximum of 1 hour.

Willem-de-Blois

wavelets wrote: »

The user guide is here:
http://www.horstmann.co.uk/files/2713/9867/2126/user_guide_economy_7_quartz_-_E7Q.pdf

But you'll need the installation guide if you need to change the settings for E7
http://www.horstmann.co.uk/files/1213/9867/2106/installer_guide_economy_7_quartz_E7Q.pdf

But what I don't understand is why you say there is a switch for peak time operation. The Horstmann caters for peak time usage via it's own boost timer which can be set for a maximum of 1 hour.

Thanks for this. It appears that the timings are set to the default setting which means the boiler is being used for 2.5 peak hours per day.

I have never seen anyone use the 1 hour boost dial.

Underneath the Horstmann panel, there are three switches. The first one beneath the panel is marked 'Boiler' and has a large red dial set to on. There are two light-switch style switches below the boiler dial, one is labelled Economy and the other Boost.

In the isolate switch cupboard, there are two switches labelled 'Imm 1' and 'Imm 2'.

I am trying to ensure that some sort of immersion switch has not been left on by a previous tenant.