Insane electricity bill

Gerry1

Hard luck, you have the most expensive heating that it's possible to have, together with a mediocre tariff.  Time to move !

Cardew

Hot water tanks are normally well insulated(or should be) and leaving immersion heater on 24/7 is not the cause of high bills*. A well insulated tank with foam insulation should lose between 1kWh and 2kWh a day(it is usually stamped on the tank). That heat is not lost during the winter as it warms the fabric of your house. So look elsewhere for high consumption.

* I am not advocating leaving it on 24/7 but some people don't unserstand that they are thermostatically controlled.

FaceHead

If you don't have storage heaters and want your house to be warm in the daytime, you'll probably end up using more energy in the daytime than makes having economy 7. 

When switching, which you need to do urgently, check both whether E7 or single rate will be cheaper. 

houndtang

Yeah I suppose the problem is I'm stuck working at home and need the heat on during the day whereas if I was going out every day as I should be, it wouldn't be such an issue.

danrv

houndtang said:

they are not actually storage heaters but panel heaters which I understand are both fairly crap and expensive to use. Am experimenting with the immersion heater to cut down amount of time I use it. Current cost is 15.99p per kwh and 21.57 per day.

The panel heaters are 100% efficient. Maybe they’re not powerful enough.
I’m heating a 3 bed semi detached property on electric with five convector heaters but I adjust them as necessary, only heating the room I’m using.
Other rooms are on low.
I’m on Economy 10 and usage is 50/50 off peak/peak. Costing £5 to £6 a day.

drsquirrel

Hasbeen said:

Electric heating is the most expensive you can get.

Move out asap.

In the meantime look for a better tariff through tha cab site or switch with which.

You are probably paying on an expensive tariff!

It's possible the rental is lower to reflect this - so the increased costs may not be as bad as they seem.

merchcon55

houndtang said:

Yeah I suppose the problem is I'm stuck working at home and need the heat on during the day whereas if I was going out every day as I should be, it wouldn't be such an issue.

Do you work for a company (as opposed to self employed)? If yes, not unreasonable to ask them to contribute towards the heating costs. Even £10 a week (£2/day x 5 day work week). I employ 3 people working from home and they all receive a heating allowance from me.

drsquirrel

merchcon55 said:

houndtang said:

Yeah I suppose the problem is I'm stuck working at home and need the heat on during the day whereas if I was going out every day as I should be, it wouldn't be such an issue.

Do you work for a company (as opposed to self employed)? If yes, not unreasonable to ask them to contribute towards the heating costs. Even £10 a week (£2/day x 5 day work week). I employ 3 people working from home and they all receive a heating allowance from me.

If not - there is the £6/week tax free, a measly ~£60/year (or more for higher tax band). https://www.gov.uk/tax-relief-for-employees/working-at-home

Tallerdave

drsquirrel 

If not - there is the £6/week tax free, a measly ~£60/year (or more for higher tax band).

Has lockdown reduced us to 10 week years?!!!

MovingForwards

Tallerdave said:

drsquirrel 

If not - there is the £6/week tax free, a measly ~£60/year (or more for higher tax band).

Has lockdown reduced us to 10 week years?!!!

It's tax relief on £6 pw, therefore £1.20 a week for basic tax payers.