Gas only used for heating. Switch tarrif twice a year? other ideas?

CashStrapped

Lum wrote: »

Hopefully by then I'll have a bit more data, and I guess should re-assess it around May or June next year when I have more figures for warmer times of year.

Only thing I really need to hear now is if switching is still as much of a horror story now as it used to be way back when. I've already had one issue with EDF who ignored the meeter reading I gave them, 1, and put it down as 100, but they said not to worry about it since it's pre-pay.

As soon as you get a normal meter, do a comparison based on the UK average figures I gave you. If you wait untill may to look at switiching you may be on an uncompetative tariff for the whole of winter when you use heating the most. Do not wait untill May.

In fact, the best thing to do initially is to do a comparison based on the UK average figues and then switch on to the best EDF tariff available. This type of "internal" switch will be immediate. Then you can afford to wait/look around etc. I also think that most of the EDF tariffs do not have a penalty for leaving.

Lum

Energy rating of the house is 70 (C) with a potential of 75 (C), however the EPC was done in 2010 and states "replace boiler with new condensing boiler". My boiler is a 2012 model combi so I can presume this has already been done. It also recommends upgrading the heating controls (I did that) and swapping out the lightbulbs (duh!) only other options are solar, which is a bit tricky when you rent.

Don't know where people got the idea that I was living alone, it's just me, my girlfriend and a cat. We both work from home which is part of the reason why I'm getting a bit obsessive about heating costs.

The numbers in jbuchanangb's post really do show how much you get shafted on pre-pay though, standing charge less than half what I pay, I think I'd be a lot more tolerant of the standing charge at that price.

I really can't wait until these bloody meters are gone. Even ignoring the costs one day it's going to get really embarrassing having to tell a customer "can I call you back in 15 minutes, need to go down to the newsagent and get more electric" after losing my monitors in the middle of a 4 hour long remote support session or similar.

@CashStrapped: I didn't mean I was going to wait until May before switching off EDF's standard tarrif. I meant wait until May before re-visiting the idea of switching twice a year. Of course I'll be switching supplier within 5 minutes of the engineer leaving my house. I only went with EDF to get the free meter swap!

I didn't think of switching within EDF to cover the 6 week waiting period though. Thank you!

MegaMiniMouse

Lum - do you and your girlfriend work in the same room? Does your system heat the whole house for the whole day? Have you considered that when you use your combi boiler to provide hot water in order to wash your face, you usually waste a pipeful of water whilst waiting for the hot, and you then allow a pipeful of heated water to go cold?

Central heating was a good idea back in the day when energy costs were not an issue - I now live alone, and heat only the space which I need to heat - electric heating offers a variety of quick and slow, and when I go into my (very small) kitchen, I put an extra sweater on and switch on my ceramic oil-free radiator boosted when necessary by a ceramic fan-heater.

I shower no more than twice a week, and it costs me about £1 a month with Ebico. All other hot water is provided by boiling a kettle.

There is an unchallenged wisdom that gas central heating is the best available system, but it ain't necessarily so.

Lum

We don't work in the same room no. We do have the TRVs set accordingly though: kitchen - off, spare room - off, bedroom - very low. Office, living room and hallway a little higher. Admittedly the main reason for the kitchen one being off is because the fridge is backed up to the radiator (and will be until the landlord's decorator removes all his crap from the shed, allowing for things to be arranged a bit better). Not sure how much difference it makes since my gf doesn't like closed doors and this isn't going to change (and in any case the cat needs free access)

There's a balance to be struck between convenience and cost savings. I think using a kettle to do the sink water may be taking things a bit far, though I do tend to just use cold when doing my own face. It's something worth thinking about though.

MegaMiniMouse

Lum wrote: »

I think using a kettle to do the sink water may be taking things a bit far, though I do tend to just use cold when doing my own face

It made more sense when we had two-tier tariffs - since my electricity consumption always took me into the second (lower) price range, it made sense to boil a kettle rather than use the combi boiler at the higher price for gas. The abolition of two-tier tariffs was a knee-jerk reaction - I am sorry to be able to say that I can remember when the two-tier pricing structure was introduced in order to make it easier for people to calculate the cost of the weekly family bath.

The issue about sink water etc probably depends upon the length of your pipe!

Lum

It's a fairly small house 72m² according to the EPC.

For the kitchen sink, the length is likely about 2m, for the bathroom probably more like 10m, but I'm not having a bloody kettle in the bathroom!

I don't remember two-tier tariffs, but I do remember when instead of a standing charge you had a higher price for the first x kWh of gas or elec used. Apparently Ofgem got rid of those which seems pretty dumb to me as that sort of tariff would have been ideal for my usage patterns.

MegaMiniMouse

Lum wrote: »

It's a fairly small house 72m² according to the EPC.

For the kitchen sink, the length is likely about 2m, for the bathroom probably more like 10m, but I'm not having a bloody kettle in the bathroom!

I don't remember two-tier tariffs, but I do remember when instead of a standing charge you had a higher price for the first x kWh of gas or elec used. Apparently Ofgem got rid of those which seems pretty dumb to me as that sort of tariff would have been ideal for my usage patterns.

Two-tier tariffs only disappeared last year, and the system which you describe is, in fact, the two-tier tariff. As you say, many of us were seriously disadvantaged by Ofgem's decision to ban the two-tier tariff.

My bathroom is next to the kitchen, and it is quicker to carry a kettle than to wait for the hot tap to start fulfilling its job description.