Please help spot the high energy usage source

Moskovite

tim_p said:

£459 / year? Really??  

Yes, why? Is it too bad/too good to be true? 

matelodave

Gerry1 said:

Is it absolutely impossible to get gas, e.g. is it a village with no gas for miles around, or is it merely a block where a cheapskate developer didn't bother to install gas or had a cosy arrangement not to do so?  It would be well worth installing wet radiator GCH: much lower bills, it will increase the value of your property and it will sell more easily and quickly (especially after 2025 when new builds can't have GCH).  Otherwise go for Night Storage Heaters and an Economy 7 tariff.

In the meantime switch immediately to the cheapest single rate tariff you can find.  Start comparing with Citizens Advice and 'Which? Switch'.

Your developer has done you no favours.  You need to pester them to get your IHD.

I think that a lot of developers will now be anticipating the stupid idea that gas and other fossil fuel boilers will be restricted iff not banned in new dwellings and so we'll be seeing quite a few more people who have been "disadvantaged" by not having gas made available in their developments.

Unfortunately until this so called"green" electricity comes down in price (or those who think they are much cleverer than the rest of us put up the price of gas etc) then new electric only homes will cost a lot more to heat and run than older properties with gas heating and cooking. 

tim_p

Moskovite said:

tim_p said:

£459 / year? Really??  

Yes, why? Is it too bad/too good to be true? 

Too good to be true for an all electric property, unless it was super insulated. Take the s/c out of that, say, £70 a d you’re down to about £1 / day for everything including heating. Nice of you can do it but.....

Robin9

Moskovite said:

tim_p said:

£459 / year? Really??  

Yes, why? Is it too bad/too good to be true? 

It's a work of fiction as you've already found out.. -  perhaps £1500 is closer to the mark.  On the other hand the hot water is excessive.

On top if this you are adding  - your shower, cooking, lighting etc ..............

theoretica

One thing might be interesting if you know them is to ask neighbours in similar properties if they could share their kWh readings with you - if would help clarify what other people are managing with their own properties, and maybe whose settings you want to copy.

Gerry1

Moskovite said:

Gerry1 said:

They didn't bother to install gas.
Otherwise go for Night Storage Heaters and an Economy 7 tariff.
>> Go how?

In the meantime switch immediately to the cheapest single rate tariff you can find.
>> The cheapest I'm given on the Uswitch site is 15.3p per kWh

Thanks for your response, see my comments in line. 

>> They didn't bother to install gas.

• It would still be worthwhile checking whether gas can be installed.  If so, it's a no brainer, especially if your neighbours are also interested.

>> Go how?

• You buy something like this (other models and suppliers are available) and choose an Economy 7 tariff.  However, they're not cheap, so you need to do the sums to see how cost effective they will be, i.e. whether the cheaper bills will justify the capital costs.  If you're intending to stay put for several years it may be worthwhile, and it may make the property slightly more attractive.  However, you didn't  spot the No Gas problem, so NSHs may not be a deal maker.

>> The cheapest I'm given on the Uswitch site is 15.3p per kWh

• If you ignore the advice about the best sites to use, don't be surprised by expensive results.

Moskovite

@theoretica good idea indeed, thanks! 

Moskovite

Just one more thing I noticed, not sure if it behaves as expected or not: since yesterday I turned the upper (fused) immersion heater off and turned the lower one (with time switch) on. There's still a hot water in the house however the lower half of the cylinder (where the lower immersion heater is) is dead cold and upper part is slightly warm. Is this how it's supposed to be or should I expect the whole tank to be evenly warm when the lower immersion heater is on and the upper one is off? I'm just slightly worried that the lower heater may not be working at all. Thanks.

matelodave

The bottom immersion should heat the whole tank and the one one halfway up just heats the water in the upper section of the tank. Have you got any timers or controls on the tank or just two switches. Post a piccy of the arrangement. If there's a timer or something in the circuit then it may not be allowing the bottom heater to activate except during the appropriate times

The normal arrangement would be for the premises to have an economy 7 (E7) peak/off-peak supply and the bottom heater would be left switched on but would only heat during off peak periods using lower priced electricity (either controlled by a timer or the electricity meter.
The top immersion is connected to the peak supply and would normally be switched off (or have a boost button on the timer) and only used if you run out of hot water. If you've only got a single rate tariff and no E7 circuits) then it doesn't really matter which heater you use except that you'll only get either half or a full tank of hot water. 

If the bottom heater isn't working then perhaps you should get your builder or an electrician to come and sort it out

Moskovite

Gerry1 said:

>> The cheapest I'm given on the Uswitch site is 15.3p per kWh

• If you ignore the advice about the best sites to use, don't be surprised by expensive results.

Apologies. I now went to the site you recommended and the best deals with a tariff between 13.1-13.6p are offered by Symbio Low Fair and Green and Neon Riff Marine and Ocean (in that order). I did a quick search on this forum and some folks report Symbio to be a bit dodgy and a bust contender. Neon Riff however is marked with Energy Switch Guarantee whatever that means. The bad news is both providers are marked with "Review Only" red button on Which Switch site so I can't really choose them (at least not online). Next candidate is Scottish Power with the 15.2p tariff I mentioned in my previous post.