The best energy tariff for ashp

2SS

Could anyone tell me what the best energy tariff is for an air source heat pump

Many thanks

matelodave

The cheapest.

Seriously though we've got an air source heat pump and we've chosen the cheapest single rate fixed tariff that corresponds with our consumption which is about 8000kwh a year. Ideally you want the cheapest unit rate rather than the lowest standing charge as your consumption will dictate the majority of your cost.

I've looked at E7 and E10 (if we could get it) but as the unit is running most of the time as we need heat during the day and evening there is no benefit in having a cheap rate period overnight. Actually as ours is set back by a few degrees it uses a lot less overnight than it does during the day.

You do really need to understand how the heatpump heats your house and get the controls set properly to optimise your consumption - they do not work well if you try and use them like a conventional boiler as they cannot heat the house rapidly.

SoletraderSteve

EDF Energy's ECO 20:20 may benefit you more than an E7 or E10 as it is cheaper evenings (9pm-7am) I think, and weekends. I don't know a great deal about it though as it is dealt with by the Complex Metering team, however there may some info on the website.

matelodave

I've had a look at the 20:20 but cannot get any tariff info for where I live so it may not be universally available or may only be a legacy tariff that you can't get anymore
It looks as though you get a lower rate between 9pm and 7am and possibly all weekend.

As I said the heat pump runs when you need heating and can be turned down a bit when you don't but, if you turn it down too far you'll be cold as the house temperature takes a long time to recover.

In my case paying extra during the day when I need heating would be counter productive. Also I'd have great difficulty in persuading my wife to do her washing, drying and ironing during the cheaper tariff period.

It really is a case for working out the times when you are heating & using electricity to try and decide whether a multi-rate tariff would suit you.

The only way is to carefully monitor your consumption to see when the peaks & troughs are and try to match them to a suitable tariff.

My consumption doesn't seem to match any multirate tariffs - see here http://www.energyhive.com/dashboard/dave. So the cheapest single fixed one seems to suit me best.

2SS

Thank you for both of your answers. I have economy 10 but it still costs a packet.

I have another question if you could answer this I would be very grateful.

Can you turn the system completely off in the summer? It gets incredibly hot with the system running, or would it be detrimental to the ashp?

Regards

macman

You need to estimate your kWh usage and then use a comp site in exactly the same fashion as for any other form of heating system. As pointed out above, that's unlikely to be an E7/E10 metering option.
If you've had the system for a year on E10, then you know exactly what your usage is on each register. You will need to adjust that for comp site input on both E7 and single rate tariffs, as no comp site will compare on E10 due to it's very limited availability.
Did your installer not review your metering system when surveying the install though, and recommend accordingly?

matelodave

Just turn the thermostats down so it doesn't heat the house. I actually do turn mine off and just have it on for about 2 hours a day to heat the hot water tank during the summer.

A lot depends on which heatpump you've got and how the system is configured, some seem to be everso complicated. Mine is quite simple (as far as heatpumps can be simple) but if I turn the room stats down the machine doesn't run.

footyguy

2SS wrote: »

Could anyone tell me what the best energy tariff is for an air source heat pump

Many thanks

2SS wrote: »

.... I have economy 10 ...

Then you have no other choice at present

matelodave

If you are on E10 then just add your total consumption for the year and put it into a comparison site using a single rate tariff to see if it could work out cheaper. You wont find a comparison with your existing E10 tariff so any savings estimates will be meaningless. Use your suppliers SVT. You are looking for how much it will cost, you will have to decide if it's worth swapping.

However, being on E10 you will need a meter change to get onto a single rate tariff and possibly some rewiring as well.

You'd need to get an electrician to check out your wiring to see if it's feasible and how much it would cost to have the wiring modified. There would also be a cost of about £60 to have the meter changed by your existing electricity supplier.