Please, help me compare heat plant heat with gas!

donbiggles

Hi, newbie here, hope this is in right place. etc. I have an unusual heating set up in my brand new build apartment. We all pay for heat and hot water, not gas itself. The advantage is we don't have to have separate boilers, the disadvantage is it seems excessively expensive, very hard to compare (and I have looked loads) and we can't change, because there are no gas pipes in the building and we get our hot water from a local heat plant.

The cost is, for a one bedroom flat: 72.44 pence a day; Tarrif: 5.27 pence per KWh; This is for heat to heat the hot water, and heat to warm the radiators. Vat is included.

I really would love to get some feedback and insite on this. Using conventional comparison sites is no good, because they are for gas.
Thanks in advance

System

You will only add to your feeling of unhappiness if you do as you cannot switch providers. This might help explain the situation that you now find yourself in:

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/what-are-my-rights-with-district-heating

Your best bet is get neighbours etc to lobby the provider for a fair deal. Your MP, when you have one, might take up the case for more rights for consumers on these types of heating schemes.

And this:

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/CitizensAdvice/Energy/District%20Heating%20Information%20Request%20-%20January%202016.pdf

Hutchch0920

Who is your energy provider?

You might find the Heat Trust's heat cost calculator useful for a comparison as the cost of heat is not simply gas, but operation and maintenance costs too. A better comparison would be to electricity as this would have been the likely alternative rather than gas and would probably make the cost more comparable.

Also you are either on a communal heating or district heating scheme.

donbiggles

Hengus, thankyou very much for your links. One thing I am seriously considering is just not having hot water and central heating. I can boil up water for a bath. I haven't signed a contract with the heating provider, and there is nothing saying I have to use them in the house contract. If it's going to save me about three hundred pounds a year, I think it's worth it. Any ideas?

donbiggles

Hutch, thanks for your comment. I found the heat trusts site as about as useful as most of these sites, because one of the compulsory fields was 'your annual heating and hot water bill'. This is a mandatory field and considering I haven't paid an heating and hot water bill for about five years, and that was in another property, it's not very helpful.
Besides, I want to compare my tarrif and standing charge with other options, not predict what I will pay over a year. Is there not a comparison site which can do this form me. BTW I am on a community heating system.
Thanks for all your help.
Robin

matelodave

Is it a conditon of your tenancy or purchase to use the heating system - if so you might find that even if you dont actually use it you'll still have to pay the standing charge.

You need to check all your paperwork, tenancy agreements if you are renting or any deeds, covenants or lease agreements if you've purchased the place.

The tariff rate is certainly comparable with E7 off peak leccy although more expensive than mains gas. It's also a lot cheaper than LPG and probably similar to oil.

The daily charge is around 50p or so more than you'd pay for gas, but it does of course mean that you dont have to buy or service a boiler which could cost you a hundred pounds or more a year - even more if it went wrong.

I assume that you've got an energy meter which records the amount of energy that you are consuming.

You'll probably find that heating hot water with full price leccy at 12-15p/kwh will cost you a lot more, so will heating the place and you'll have to buy the heaters.

donbiggles

Thankyou very much for your answer. I'm getting tired now so will get back to you in more detail soon. Thanks

reeac

I think that you need to know the annual cost of different heating options. That way you can see the relative contributions of the standing charge and the kWh charge for different options.

If we assume a total heat consumption of 10,000 kWh per annum then the standing charge will be £264 pa. and the heating charge £527 pa..I assume that there is no additional charge for system maintenance. Heating costs vary considerably though according to life style and degree of comfort desired