Huge Electricity Usage

20RA14

I suppose the biggest difference could come from changing the electricity plan we are on. Since it's the standard variable energy plan, I guess £0.16/kWh isn't great?

WestonDave

lstar337 wrote: »

Modern buildings with insulation also keep cool in summer, so lets not bash modern houses too much.

True - was trying to look for the positives in their house - at best they've got to put up with it for at least 2 more months - the danger is they ship out at the end of March and miss the summer when it won't be a problem.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

have you looked at the EDF Blue Price Promise, see how that compares?

Robwiz

Your consumption doesn't seem out of line for the electric appliance usage you describe.

I'd suggest you don't heat bedrooms – an electric blanket warming the bed for half an hour is a far cheaper alternative.

Is there a thermostat on the immersion heater? Check its setting – it should be above 55º to eliminate the risk of Legionnaires' disease but any higher and your 'standing losses' will be wasteful. Is it lagged with a jacket? If not get one – they are cheap and pay for themselves quickly.

Have one main 'living room' which you keep warm. Go to town on draught sealing around all windows and doors and keep the doors closed. Hang heavy curtains on the windows of that room. If you have a fireplace or stove light that – people often find they are comfortable in lower air temperatures if they are exposed to radiant heat. On that basis, a halogen/radiant heater pointing towards you in the lounge may be more economical than the oil radiators.

And keep going with your daily meter readings. It's a great discipline that helps you stay in control of your consumption and costs.

16p per kWh sounds very high - the cheapest tariffs are under 11p/unit. Is there any scope to change electricity company?

spiro

As you say the immersion is in the loft and I guess the roof will leak heat like an open window I would ensure it is lagged with several sets of lagging otherwise the water you heat will get cold very quickly.

lstar337

WestonDave wrote: »

was trying to look for the positives in their house.

It probably looks pretty.

From a money saving perspective, I doubt there are many.;)

zaax

Electrical heating and old houses do not equate. Heating used to be around the fire place and chimney stack. Starting using the fireplace and logs (coal would be better as this is what the house was designed for)

https://www.coals2u.co.uk/fuel-price-comparison

hgotsparkle

All those stating storage heaters are cheapest, they're not.
We have them but we don't use them as our quarterly bill was coming to £270 with the heaters on economy 7 over winter, now we use plug in convector heaters and our bills have dropped down to £120, which is good as our summer bills are around £60-£80.

tberry6686

hgotsparkle wrote: »

All those stating storage heaters are cheapest, they're not.
We have them but we don't use them as our quarterly bill was coming to £270 with the heaters on economy 7 over winter, now we use plug in convector heaters and our bills have dropped down to £120, which is good as our summer bills are around £60-£80.

The only possible way that that plug in convector heaters can be cheaper to run than storage heater (used properly) is if they do not generate the same amount of heat that the storage heaters did.

Storage heaters normally run on electricity that is between 1/3rd and 1/2 the price of normal rates so to be more expensive than convector heaters to run they must be putting out between 2 and 3 times as much heat as the convectors.

hgotsparkle

tberry6686 wrote: »

The only possible way that that plug in convector heaters can be cheaper to run than storage heater (used properly) is if they do not generate the same amount of heat that the storage heaters did.

Storage heaters normally run on electricity that is between 1/3rd and 1/2 the price of normal rates so to be more expensive than convector heaters to run they must be putting out between 2 and 3 times as much heat as the convectors.

We get virtually no heat from out storage heaters, we've tried all kinds of combinations, plus had a family member (who installs heaters for a living) round to fiddle with it and theres no heat and they aren't faulty either as they have been stripped back for inspection. We know that our convector heaters cost around 24p for 4 hours run, whereas our storage heaters were doing around £1.30 for the full 7 hour charge at night.