How does my underfloor heating work???

Gerry1

JackieD63 wrote: »

I think my hot water is on the heating rate, but not 100% sure. I can switch it off anytime but can't switch it on . It comes on automatically at night and in the afternoon.

That sounds good. Just check the meter to be absolutely certain, as previously suggested.

JackieD63 wrote: »

My neighbour says she never has her hot water switched on, she uses her shower to wash and boils a kettle for washing up etc.

If she's on the same tariff that could be a big mistake unless her instantaneous electric shower is on the heating circuit switched by the meter, which isn't likely: she'll be paying the expensive day rate, ditto for the kettle.

JackieD63 wrote: »

I used to pay by DD but it kept going up and up. They eventually put it to £110 per month and I just couldn't afford it, so I cancelled and paid 2 monthly when my bills came in.

That sounds like a mistake because 'Pay on Receipt of Bill' rates are usually significantly higher than with DD.

JackieD63

Gerry 1
My neighbour is with a different energy supplier, so I'm not sure what tariff it is although it must be similar to mine. She says her bills are high too.
I'll definitely check my meter for the hot water.
I guess my neighbour nor myself have much choice regarding paying the higher rate for the shower as the cheap rate is on during the night.
One thing I noticed when I was checking my is that although i have 4 different rates, the day and evening/weekend rates are the same at 21.97p per kWh, and the heating and night rates are the same at 10.25p per kWh.
Regarding the DD, I can't do that again because they may take more money than I have in my bank account.

JackieD63

*checking my bill

Owain_Moneysaver

JackieD63 wrote: »

Hi All
This is a bit long winded but please bear with me.
I have underfloor heating in my council flat. It's so old the thermostats are in Farenheit!!

I really would have expected that to be replaced by storage heaters in the 1980s. My flat had the same system. It's so uncontrollable and the multi-rate metering is so complex.

I'd also have expected the flat to have been rewired at some point with a new consumer unit, so again the multi-rate metering would normally have been removed at that time.

I would (assuming you're a tenant) ask the council if you have have a heating upgrade to storage heating or even if it's possible to get gas, and how many flats they still have on this system. (using the Freedom of Information Act).

Gerry1

JackieD63 wrote: »

Regarding the DD, I can't do that again because they may take more money than I have in my bank account.

If you can't afford the DD rates, how can you afford the Pay on Receipt of Bill rates, which are likely to be even higher? :huh:
With your cripplingly expensive rates, you might find it worthwhile to read the 'heating' meter at the start and finish of the afternoon boost to see what the consumption is during this period. (You'd need to switch off the immersion heater during this test.) You could then get a likely idea what the costs would be if you switched to E7 and topped up in the afternoon using the day rate. At least you would then be able to shop around all suppliers and get a far more competitive tariff.

But as Owain Moneysaver says, if you can't get gas then your best hope would be to get E7 and modern well-insulated storage heaters (something like Dimplex Quantum) so that you don't waste money heating the property overnight.

Green_hopeful

EDF. have some complicated tariffs and meters. I am not sure if yours is the same but there are EDF employees on money saving expert forums who can help.

Essentially we had a similar situation with my sons flat but with storage heaters and hot water. EDF had to change the meter from what is essentially an economy 10 tariff with five readings to economy 7. He didn’t get the boost in the afternoon but it meant he could switch energy providers to a much cheaper provider.

I am not sure how much hot water you use but he used to put it on at night once or twice a week because the shower was electric. Mind electric showers use lots of power as well.

Talldave

You're being robbed! My "standard" rate is 10.87p+VAT. At a guess, you'd save money just switching to a reasonably priced Economy 7 tariff and sacrificing the extra low rate hours which are not cheap anyway.

Richie-from-the-Boro

Owain is correct. Cathedral sized megga push grant funded LA/HA began '84 in my area. Ceiling/underfloor/NSH in my 'off-gas' area. Coulda/shoulda/woulda included double glazing openings, air permeability of the structure but hey ho limited (then/now) funding reality such that only NSH SAP PartL completed at least individual room heat/control/costs could now be individual controlled by each householder leading to the '09 EPG certification.

In my individual case the badly done piggy back daughter wiring was additional duplicate single isolated single switch CU, such that BOTH ceiling heat and separate NS systems could be used simultaneously.

Then and now NSH/E7 is the cheapest form of UK domestic electrical heating. Best of luck.

JackieD63

Thanks everyone for all your input, it's much appreciated.

I used to pay my electric by monthly DD.
It gradually increased every month until it reached £90 per month. I spent a long time on the phone talking to someone who really couldn't have cared less, but said they would lower it to £80 per month. A few days later the DD had gone from £90 per month to £110 a fortnight, so I cancelled the DD and paid on receipt of bill.

I can't change my heating system as I am a council tenant, they told me they were upgrading my type of heating to gas central heating but couldn't tell me when that would be as there are a lot of properties to be done.

I've tried to contact EDF
by phone several times but the line breaks up so bad that I gave up on that idea and tried live chat to see if I could change my tariff. I was told by one person that I would have to have my flat rewired at my cost because of the way my meter was set up.
Another told me today I could change to another tariff but I would have to phone a certain number because I have a complex meter, which I did, after hanging on the line for 20 minutes I was told the systems were down and to phone again Monday.
I'm beginning to think they know it's me again... haha!!
Anyway I'll ring them Monday as see what happens��

Owain_Moneysaver

JackieD63 wrote: »

I can't change my heating system as I am a council tenant, they told me they were upgrading my type of heating to gas central heating but couldn't tell me when that would be as there are a lot of properties to be done.

Are you paying the same rent as a tenant in an equivalent property with gas heating?

Is the council aware your property has electric underfloor heating and not storage heaters?

How many other properties are still on underfloor heating and can these be prioritised for heating upgrades? It may help if you speak to your councillor.