Advice please re an all electric heating house

Lynplatinum

Hiya

I have recently moved 300 miles south. In my previous 3 bed house with no double glazing my over all bill I got down to £57 per month with MSE's cheap energy club' s help.

New 2 bed house, 300 miles south, with double glazing I nagged EDF into charging me £65 a month.

however, from first bills, it looks as if I will need to pay £93 per month!!! :eek:

House has 2 feet thick granite walls so would be a lot of money and work to attempt to install gas central heating.

Water is heated by gas. Just household heating + fridge + freezer + oven + Sky box + lighting costing for the electric.

3 questions:

1) The house is on Economy 7. Most usage is before this kicks in at 12 midnight through heating, lighting and cooking. (only do one machine wash per week so that is not using loads) I think, having read around that therefore Economy 7 is not for me. Would others on here agree?
2) If I get rid of E7 - and I have to go with electric heating what type would folks advise??
3) My last dial on my meter runs and runs - even when nothing is on in the house except the Sky box on standby - nothing charging; nothing else on standby - even oven turned off. Do you think this could be a faulty meter and should I get EDF to come and check it out??

Many thanks in advance for any help given.
Lyn

CashStrapped

That's what you get for moving south!

That aside....

It sounds like you own the property. If that is the case and it is a long term purchase. Gas central heating may be something to look into long term. Gas is already supplied the the property (the cost of connection to the gas mains is the first hurdle). The running costs will be lower and the convenience is not to be sniffed at.

Central heating pipes are usually plumbed under the floor boards, not the wall. If underfloor piping is not an option, they usually box it in neatly around the edge of the room.

Costs of install can range, but can be 3-5k. So there is a decent up front cost. However this could be made up for in resale as it makes the property more desirable. Get a few quotes as an option. See what they say.

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However, if that is not an immediate concern, and money saving with what you have is.....then....

1) You say your are on an E7 meter and tariff? Do you have storage heaters? Storage heaters usually have two dials (input and output) and are quite large.

2) If you do. Do not fear, E7 and storage heaters are the cheapest way to heat an all electric property. As long as you use them properly! So do not worry about other electric options. If you have storage heaters, they are the cheapest.

3) You say your meter runs and runs. It could be your fridge compressor is running while you check it. The best way to check is turn everything of at the fuse box/consumer unit. Turn all the electrics off and check the meter. Just ensure any delicate electrical are unplugged.

If it still spins madly while all the electrics are off, something is amiss. If not, it is something in the property. Then it is a case of unplugging everything in the house for a short period while you check.

4) One thing that catches people out moving into a new property and being shocked at the bill is that it is just before winter! Normally your DD is an average for the whole year, it builds a surplus in summer and then uses that surplus in winter. This means you pay the same amount all year.

You have just moved in, therefore your DD needs to be high immediately to cover winter. So, do not be alarmed.

5) Ignore what your DD is as guide to what energy is costing you, it is not! .Your DD is a guess by the energy company as to what your using. Asking EDF to lower your DD does not mean you are paying less for what you use.

What you need to concentrate on is what you actually use in energy (KWH). I would start taking daily or weekly meter readings for gas and electric. This will give you a good idea as to what you are actually using and if there really is a problem.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5545184

Check my second post in that thread. I explain how the DD system is design to work.

6) Learn how to use the storage heaters. Briefly, you should not need to move the output dial off the lowest setting most of the time. If you do, you must always put it back to the lowest setting before bed otherwise it will loose heat while it charges.

The input dial corresponds to how much heat you store. The higher the dial, the more you store the more electric it uses. The high settings should be used for very cold winter days, the middle numbers for chilly autumn/winter days, and the lower ones for mild days. Obviously you have to check the weather more in advance. Any settings must be done the night before.

7) Ensure you are on the best tariff for your use. Unfortunately you do not know your annual use in KWH yet. But a small all electric one may use between 5000kwh - 7000kwh a year. As you have gas hot water, the lower of those two may be a good guess. Compare and see what comes up.

Don't be afraid to have separate suppliers. With your gas and electric use likely to have a big difference, separate suppliers may be best. If you only heat water by gas, it could be as low as 5000kwh too (depending on the age of the water heater).