Bulb

Wendywooper

I have been with bulb since March this year I live in a 2 bedroom bungalow with no tumble dryer or dishwasher washing machine on 4 times a week have no gas but it’s wet electric heating ( just like gas ) . I have been paying £290 pounds a month and in September they wrote saying there tariff was changing and they were upping my monthly payments to £356 a month I have been calling them saying this is ridiculous and it can’t be right but they are just reciting off what they have been told to say and don’t seem to be doing anything !

Gerry1

Welcome to the forum.

An electric boiler is just about the most expensive form of heating possible, so your bills are always going to be extremely high.  A bungalow makes it even worse because of the large roof area and the fact that there are no rooms above the living accommodation to reduce the heat loss.

Bulb are far from the cheapest so you need to establish your annual consumption in kWh from actual meter readings and then switch.  You have been sending meter readings every month, haven't you?  If not it often all ends in tears because you may not have been paying your way so the DD amount will rise to cover your actual usage, and rise again to claw back the arrears.

Start by comparing with Citizens Advice and 'Switch with Which?' and find a competitive tariff.  Just compare annual costs, ignore all projections and savings claims.  Avoid E7.

If you own the property, intend to stay there a while and it's absolutely impossible to get gas it would be worthwhile considering alternative heating such as storage heaters (NOT the 'magic dust' ones !), LPG, oil or a heat pump.

RedbullRJ

  As an ex Gas Inspector, I can confirm what Gerry has said is correct. Standard rate (not economy 7 etc) electric heating is horrifically expensive and in my opinion should be banned.  Heating uses huge amounts of energy compared to other normal domestic electric consumption.  As an example I use approx 3600 kWh (units) of electric but 17000 kWh of gas per year, which is below average for my property size. My unit charges are approx. 13 pence for electric and 2 pence for gas.  If I had an electric boiler, my electric heating bill alone would be £2000+ a year.

Electric heaters and boilers are often sold to unsuspecting people at inflated prices with claims of very high efficiency and low maintenance, but this is irrelevant due to the fact units of electric are several times higher than those of gas. 

Replacing your boiler is the only long term solution. 

Mains gas is normally the cheapest option if available and should work with your existing wet pipework.

Heat pumps, also work on electric, but IF installed and sized correctly, will be cheaper to run as they extract energy from another source and can turn one unit of electric into several units of heat. Because of the low flow temperatures required to run at peak efficiency, underfloor heating would be best, but expensive to retrofit, or fitting new oversized radiators onto you existing wet pipework. The property would also benefit from being well insulated. It is likely to be costly to install initially but you may be able to get grants etc.

LPG and oil is also an option.

In the meantime, control your heating as best you can, if you have TRVs, turn them down in rooms you use less. Reduce any heat losses and increase insulation where economical possible.

Any questions please reply.

matelodave

You have two major problems.

The first being electric wet heating, it's probably the most expensive form of heating known to man. So unless you you significantly improve the insulation levels or replace the heating with something more suitable then I'm afraid you are stuffed with expensive bills.

Secondly Bulb are by no means the cheapest. A quick comparison shows them to be 4p/kwh than my Neon Reef tariff (Eastern England). I use 7200kwh a year  and being on Bulb would cost me £288/year or £24/month more. I guess you could be using 10-12,000 kwh a year  so by being on Bulb could be costing you between £400 and £500 a year more than you need.

 So get onto a comparison site and get a better tariff. Hopefully you do read your meters regularly (even if you've got a smart meter) and check your bills to ensure that they are based on actual meter readings an not estimates. Don't accept an estimated bill, get it corrected.

Another point worth considering if are you on an E&, E10 or some other complex tariff. you might find it's worthwhile doing the sums to see if a cheaper single rate tariff would be more appropriate especially if most of your heating and consumption is during the day which is likely with a wet electric system.

Robin9

@Wendywooper   What is your ACTUAL consumption (in kWh not £) ?   You need an ACTUAL not ESTIMATED reading from when you moved in in March and one from today - then do some simple sums.   Even that that will not give you an Annual figure as it excludes the winter period.   The figures are frightening. 

If you are renting - move !