Struggling with electric only house

weewalsh

Hi folks. Hopefully someone can share some advice/experience about running a home on electricity only.

At the moment I am struggling to keep up with the amount of top ups I need to make to our prepayment meter. We bought the house in July and since the recent drop in temperature, £20 only lasts a few days.

We have electric storage heaters - 3 old style (2 have never been on) and 2 more modern types in the living room and kitchen. I only use washing machine etc in low tarrif times and everything is switched off unless absolutely necessary.

I am in a 2 bed former council house. Not sure if it has had cavity insulation but we have added extra roof insulation.

Is £40 a week for being only just warm normal? I have to top up the temperature with a plug in fan heater as even having the storage heaters on isn't exactly toasty. Most of the time I sit with a blanket covering me.

LewisHamilton

Hi,

Firstly, I would make sure there is no incorrect debt on the prepayment meter that is taking some of the top ups towards the debt. Your energy supplier will be able to help clarify if there is a debt on the meter or not if you are unsure how to check.

Secondly, I would say £40 per week in an all electric home during the colder months doesn't sound too unreasonable. Unfortunately, electric heating can be costly and inefficient. I would ask the supplier for energy efficiency advice including asking how to get the best value out of the storage heaters and how to set them at the optimal efficiency.

CashStrapped

In addition to above....

Find out what E7 tariff you are on, if it is competative (even for prepay) and if you can move onto a credit meter (depends on debt). EDF do not do a credit check, so if you have no debt on the meter but credit checks are an issue, switch to EDF and request a meter change. Landlord permission is technically required. But, you must manage payments to a credit meter as you would with a prepay. YOu do not want to get into debt on any meter.

Secondly, are you sure they are all storage heaters? You say some old and some modern. Are you sure they are all storage heaters?

Do not confused instant panel heaters for storage heaters. Panel heaters heat up on demand and will use the day rate. These are best avoided. Are you topping up with portable heaters? Again, these are expensive to run on day rate tariffs.

Some storage heaters are also combi heaters (with a panel heater for quick top-ups). some people end up using the panel heater part in error. So be careful or again, this will use the day rate.

Finally, ensure you are using the storage heaters correctly.

The output dial controls how quickly heat is released. Ensure the output is turned down to minimum. It should be only turned up for small boosts. Then turned back down.

The output must be set to minimum before bed. Otherwise all the heat will be lost as it charges.

The input dial controls how much heat is stored. The higher the dial, the more heat is stored and the more electricity used.

weewalsh

Thank you both for your replies.

They are all definitely storage heaters. The older one I use has a no/early/late boost dial and outdoor temperature (warm/cold/very cold) dial. I have only started using this one this week as the temperature has dropped below zero and is when the cost spiked. It is in the hallway so heats the core of the building.

The other 2 are Dimplex Duoheat which were installed by the previous owner as he was an electrician. The living room one is set at 1/2 high for background storing heat and is on the lowest output most of the time unless a boost is needed. Kitchen is on low for both settings.

I worry when the real blizzards hit (I'm in the Scottish Highlands!) that it will be not only not very warm but incredibly expensive.

I am using a portable fan heater for small boosts as even with the 3 storage heaters on it only takes the edge off the cold and is far from cozy.

I have requested a call from home energy Scotland although I cannot see how I can use less than I am. I have read up as much as possible and do everything I can - even only charging my phone in my car to save on a few pence!

CashStrapped

How is the one with no controls....controlled. That is very odd for even an old storage heater. Is there a make/brand name or a serial number on sticker anywhere?

The duoheat ones are as I though, they combination storage heaters. You have be be sure you are not using the instant panel heater part which uses the expensive day rate! Many people get caught out like this.What is the model number for the duoheaters?

CashStrapped

Here, I could not explain it better myself

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vk5CO8hQVVA

You do not want to use the instant heating panel. Just the night storage.

Have you been using it correctly as a storage heater or have you been using it as a instant panel heater.

weewalsh

Thanks again, cashstrapped

The older one is a Dimplex xln which has only the 2 dials and the 2 wall switches (for 2 electricity rates)

The new ones are Dimplex Duoheat 400n. The control is a plus/minus of light up bars. Again with 2 wall switches.

I have read instruction manuals and watched videos on both and I was under the impression the Duoheat 'charges' on the low rate input which is then released out with that time. Have I understood that correctly?

weewalsh

To clarify how I use the Duoheat at the moment:

'Night time' setting set approximately half way
Panel part on blue setting most of the time unless it's particularly cold.

Both wall switches are on all the time to allow for charging (although I'm only typically using that room between 8pm and 11pm which is annoying).

CashStrapped

Did you watch the video,

There are two modes for the duo heat ones.

You must ensure the solid red bars (which use expensive electricity) is on minimum (so it is not used much).

It is the flashing red bar you need to set to use the storage heater function. Only this uses the night rate.

Edit: Based on what you say, it seems you are using it correctly, at least we have excluded it as an issue.

From here, I would consider the first post by @lewishamilton.

I would also look at the day/nigh split. This will tell you how much you are using on the cheap rate. You should be aiming for more than 50% use at night.

To do this you need to look at your historic meter readings. And work out what percentage of your total use is at night.

If you want help calculating it, post your past meter readings here and the dates they were taken. Ignore estimated readings.

If you do not have any, start taking daily readings (for day and night use) at the same time each day. Do it for the next week, and that will give you a good idea as to your percentage split.

weewalsh

Yes I did, thank you. Solid bar is 99% of the time on the lowest (blue) setting. The flashing bar is roughly half way - the same set up as the video.

weewalsh

As you say - it's good to get confirmation I am using it correctly, so I really appreciate your help.

I will start to monitor the usage this week to get some idea. I usually use the orange light on the Duoheat wall switch to tell me when the cheap rate has started then stick on a load of washing/take a shower!