Change from THTC to standard meter with ASHP?

cgray1989

Hello all,

I'm currently debating whether to stay with my THTC meters at the moment or remove and just get a standard meter. I had storage heaters but removed them and put in an ASHP with air units in the house.

One local electrician has said i should keep the THTC but going by rates and comparing i think i should be able to save with changing to just the single standard meter.

Any one on here done this change?

Cheers.

matelodave

You need to decide at what times you are going to use the heaters as they'll use energy when they are in use. You need to establish what the tariff rates are for those times

AFAIK THTC will only give you energy at times determined by the supplier so if your heatpump is on a THTC circuit then it wont run when the supplier decides to shut off your heating circuit.

Although if the heatpump is connected to one of the other circuits which aren't controlled then you will be paying for energy at whatever that rate is.

I'm not sure but I think some THTC tariifs have a separate heating circuit which might be configured for 24hr off-peak as well as a peak rate circuit which runs everuthig else and is usually significantly more expensive.

You really need to establish how you electrical system is configured and to which circuit you heatpumps are connected. If it's a 24hr off-peak then it might be better to stay on it unless theres a single rate tariff thats cheaper than your off-peak rate.

I've got an air/water heatpump which, although is switched on for 24hrs a day uses very little over night unless it's everso cold so IMO even an E7 or E10 wouldn't work out for me.

The heatpump only uses a couple of kwh a day to heat the hot water tank, so there's no benefit for an off peak supply just for that and I'm unlikely to persuade my wife to do her washing, ironing, drying or any other chores during the off peak periods.

I'm on the cheapest single rate tariff that I can find.

Thomas_Edison

Generally if you've had your storage heaters removed thtc isn't that great for you it also often mean you have 2 MPAN's. You should check this out and if you do ask for a smart meter as then they'll do it for free and they should move you onto only a single MPAN which would then reduce your bills and make switching much simpler

Hazel1102

I had THTC and a standard meter , was with SSE literally would have only the kitchen heater on between 2/3 and was getting bills quarterly between £210-420  a 2 bedroom house 2 people..was not impressed .. So i emailed my housing association told them I'm paying £1,500 a year on electricity and heating its ridiculous I'd lime permission for my THTC Meter be be removed ( as SSE were saying i needed this) they got back to me agreeing to the removal, however then SSE they came out saying Id have no hot water..that I  needed it wired to the supply i was keeping..ok leave it and il contact housing again...sent the email, housing got the electricians out to rewire the water so just meant instead of it boiling 3 times a day on THTC  it be cold..I'd need to press the Immersion switch and wait for it to heat up..absolutely fine by me..so job gets done, then SSE come back out and Remove the THTC ..I have oil heaters , a gas heater and electric fire ..so I'm I'm not gonna freeze to death..Now SSE did take 3 months to remove the THTC from the national grid so I couldn't access a new company with a cheaper tariff so I ended up getting osbudsman involved, 3 months later they got fined for poor service, had to back date my payments to the amount my new tariff would have been had they of removed it from the grid and I got £200  for them literally stalling and lying..Eventually  I went with EDF and I pay £34 a month since November , heating wise I use the oil heater upstairs on a timer and downstairs a gas fire where a gas canister during winter would last 6 weeks before i needed a new one..and thats around £35,  certainly in summer lasts like 6 months. .
Certainly Edf get a meter reading every month and I can see bit glad I got rid of the meter 

Gerry1

TL;DR: You don't have to change the meters to get single rate, and then you will only have to pay one standing charge.  But you may not be able to go back, so check carefully before taking the plunge.

Restricted Meter Good Practice Guide.pdf

Ofgem: RHT must offer single rate

Ofgem | Comply with Restricted Meters Requirements

Victory: 2 MPANs but one SC

A Dynamic Teleswitch Update – Successful Switch!

Reed_Richards

I had to look up THTC and found this statement (below) on the SSE website.  So before you come to a decision, make sure the decision is not going to be made for you anyway:

Our support for the meters below will end soon

If you have one, we'll be in touch to arrange a meter and tariff upgrade to keep your heating and hot water working. Or contact our Electric Heating team now to arrange your upgrade.

Total Heating, Total Control (THTC) meters ...