Night storage heaters?

Richie-from-the-Boro

I have no idea, I don't read her back threads. Many are exLA NSH for a reason .. .. because they are electric 'take it or leave it'.

Therefore it's NS heating and water @ 30% cheaper than [30% more expensive day-rate] non-night store 'take it or leave it'.

Lots of speculation by well meaning contributors in the threads, but very few facts from the O/P on which to base an opinion. Best of luck.

seashore22

My daughter is bidding for social housing after leaving an abusive marriage. There are few suitable properties and even fewer in the area that she needs to be in. There is maybe one property a week which would be practical and for the past two weeks they have had heating systems which are difficult to quantify without some advice, which is why I posted on here. Costs need to be kept to a minimum and we are helping her work out a budget which is doable for the next year or two. Beggars can't be choosers and we are looking to make these properties work in difficult circumstances.

The latest one isn't quite a tower block, but I believe that it doesn't have a gas supply.

Renting from the local authority isn't exactly like private renting or buying. There is one photo of the outside and maybe 20 words in the description. Not much to work with I'm afraid and not much that I can add to my posts.

Owain_Moneysaver

I would suggest your daughter take anything that's remotely suitable. She can always try for rehousing or a mutual exchange at a later date, but getting a secure social housing tenancy should be the priority.

Richie-from-the-Boro

I'm a NS user constantly since '82. Offered a free gas system completely free 20+ years ago, I refused and stayed with my 100% reliable existing system. I understand NS use and I've always basked in comfortable 22C in the winter. My bills are moderate and 50/50 use. Over the last 30 years I've installed my own double glazing and home insulation, upgraded one heater to double the storage quantity and could strip and rebuild a heater including a repaint in a day if I had to.

These things will run reliably for 60+ years.

pineapple

wavelets wrote: »

But E7 gives you 7 hours of cheap rate electricity per day. Typically that can be 50-70% less than the normal rate. And it doesn't just apply to electricity you use for heating, but electricity you use for everything during those 7 hours per day low the low rate tariff applies

But balancing that is the fact that day rates may be massively hiked above average.
I'm on E7 and with an annual 70/30 off peak/peak ratio, it pays to stay on E7 - but I have to work at it. My daily schedule is ruled by E7! IE up at crack of dawn to cook a roast, shower, iron and do all the other things that can't be put on a timer over overnight

EachPenny

pineapple wrote: »

But balancing that is the fact that day rates may be massively hiked above average.
I'm on E7 and with an annual 70/30 off peak/peak ratio, it pays to stay on E7 - but I have to work at it. My daily schedule is ruled by E7! IE up at crack of dawn to cook a roast, shower, iron and do all the other things that can't be put on a timer over overnight

If that's the case with your tariff then you might be on the wrong tariff. Some have day rates which are very close to the single rate charge, but perhaps with the penalty of a slightly higher night rate charge than other E7 packages.

This is partly why E7 generally gets a bad press and people seem to be scared of it. It isn't simply a case of sticking numbers into a price comparison site and getting the 'right' result, the householder needs to be thinking about how their consumption and day/night split and how this varies with time.

E.g. I guess for part of the year you are having to get up an hour earlier than the rest of the year to still be in E7 hours? Although the crack of dawn in the Summer would be very early.

pineapple

EachPenny wrote: »

If that's the case with your tariff then you might be on the wrong tariff. Some have day rates which are very close to the single rate charge, but perhaps with the penalty of a slightly higher night rate charge than other E7 packages.

Good point. You have given me an idea. In my price comparisons, maybe I should input some different ratios of day/night consumption. Maybe I can achieve a slightly more relaxed way of living but with a similar annual cost :j

EachPenny

pineapple wrote: »

Good point. You have given me an idea. In my price comparisons, maybe I should input some different ratios of day/night consumption. Maybe I can achieve a slightly more relaxed way of living but with a similar annual cost :j

Actually, after posting my previous post I noticed you said you had an "annual 70/30 off peak/peak ratio". Is that the right way round? 70% off-peak would be a very healthy figure and your savings ought to be very good too.

I'm breaking even at around 30% off-peak to 70% peak... which I thought was a typical level for many tariffs.

wavelets

pineapple wrote: »

But balancing that is the fact that day rates may be massively hiked above average....:(

I'm not sure what you mean, sorry.

Are you suggesting the day rate on E7 may be massively higher than the suppliers single rate on a their comparable tariff?

Well I suppose anything is possible in the world of energy tariffs, but that situation is highly unlikley in my experience.

Sometimes the day rate is slightly higher, sometimes slightly lower (typically within about 10% on both scenarios) or even the same.

By my own experinece, choosing the suppliers & tariffs with the assistance of a comparison site as I always do, I know my previous supplier was charging less at day rate compared to their equivilent single rate. My current supplier charges exactly the same for day rate as they do for the equivilent single rate, as they do for the daily standing charge, so those on E7 would always be better off than those on the equivielent single rate tariff. :money:
(although admitedly their low rate is not as low as the typical 50-70% less I mentioned 2-3 weeks ago - but this tariff works for me currently)

wavelets

pineapple wrote: »

Good point. You have given me an idea. In my price comparisons, maybe I should input some different ratios of day/night consumption. Maybe I can achieve a slightly more relaxed way of living but with a similar annual cost :j

You are best off using your ACTUAL figures
Your supplier should be able to assist you if you don't know what these are (or are expected to be)