HELP!! £400 pcm Electricity!

Tallerdave

Don't fall for the "efficient panel heaters" myth. Off-peak storage is your cheapest, electric only, option (heat pumps excepted). Your problem has been your tariff.

Tallerdave

Don't fall for the "efficient panel heaters" myth. Off-peak storage is your cheapest, electric only, option (heat pumps excepted). Your problem has been your tariff.

Gerry1

ChuggerChugger said:

Gerry1 said:

It's a mystery (at least to me) why you have a three phase supply and such massive consumption, but there's absolutely no doubt you're on an absurdly expensive tariff !

The property is shown on old OS Maps as a Police House, so that may be the key to there being the three phase meter.

You're probably paying for all the electricity needed to run the water extraction pumps and the air conditioning in the bunker underneath... it was probably so secret that nobody knew it was there ! 

Robin9

Don't forget the Air Raid Siren

ChuggerChugger

niktheguru said:

Are you sure you have storage heaters or do you actually have fan or panel heaters on all the time. Can you send pictures of your "heaters" in use.

Absolutely certain. I will take pics later but I know they are because around 5 years ago two were replaced and I was the one carrying the massive blocks within the old one out to the car to take to the tip!

ChuggerChugger

Robin9 said:

ChuggerChugger said:

I am awaiting a quote for him to carry out the work and then take out all the storage heaters and replace with efficient, modern panel heaters, whereupon I will doubtless switch from an Economy 7 tariff. He has also advised that although the standing charge may be a bit higher because of the three phase meter, he would recommend sticking with it given that the entire house is run off electricity.

Agree with Gerry - NO NO NO   Repair them and find out how to operate them. 

If you've been there 40 years and it was a Police Station before -  insulation will not be good.  Are the windows double glazed,?    roof rafters  300 mm  ?

The roof was re-insulated circa 12 years ago. The property is double glazed. I believe it has an EPC rating of D.

ChuggerChugger

Tallerdave said:

Don't fall for the "efficient panel heaters" myth. Off-peak storage is your cheapest, electric only, option (heat pumps excepted). Your problem has been your tariff.

Whilst I appreciate the advice and agree the tariff is perhaps higher than it could be, I simply cannot agree that the tariff is the main issue - it is the reported consumption! See pics earlier in thread and note the reported consumption for the last 12 months (over 25,000 kwh)

ChuggerChugger

Gerry1 said:

ChuggerChugger said:

molerat said:

What is the history of the building ?  That is certainly not a usual domestic set up.  Are the fuses / breakers marked ?  Where do those 2 little fuse boxes link to - outbuildings maybe ?  You need to do loads of investigating and take meter readings at least daily.

I am awaiting a quote for him to carry out the work and then take out all the storage heaters and replace with efficient, modern panel heaters, whereupon I will doubtless switch from an Economy 7 tariff.

NOOOOOOoooooooo !  Absolute madness, no form of heating is more expensive.  Bankruptcy awaits. 

I bow to your superior knowledge relating to heating but does it not depend on usage patterns? With storage heaters a degree of forward planning is required to heat overnight for release in the day. That was fine for someone like my Mother who wanted heating on a lot. I on the other hand am a windows open at night year round kind of guy. When I want heating it is usually a spur of the moment thing and thus I would rather something that can provide near instantaneous heat. I would probably put the heating on in bedrooms an absolute max of 10 days per year, and possibly on the odd occasion an elderly relative came to stay.   

Gerry1

ChuggerChugger said:

Gerry1 said:

ChuggerChugger said:

molerat said:

What is the history of the building ?  That is certainly not a usual domestic set up.  Are the fuses / breakers marked ?  Where do those 2 little fuse boxes link to - outbuildings maybe ?  You need to do loads of investigating and take meter readings at least daily.

I am awaiting a quote for him to carry out the work and then take out all the storage heaters and replace with efficient, modern panel heaters, whereupon I will doubtless switch from an Economy 7 tariff.

NOOOOOOoooooooo !  Absolute madness, no form of heating is more expensive.  Bankruptcy awaits. 

When I want heating it is usually a spur of the moment thing and thus I would rather something that can provide near instantaneous heat.

Sounds like oil would be a better bet for you.  You may also need to consider that a property heated by daytime electricity will be a turn off for many potential buyers.

Reed_Richards

If I have done the calculation correctly you were using about 39 kWh of electricity per night (i.e at the Night Rate Tariff) between 15th January and 29th March.  In a normal situation you could not possibly use more than 10 kWh on the immersion heater, that's probably an over-estimate.  So that leaves a minimum of  29 kWh.  The storage heater might charge at 2 kW so 14 kWh for a 7 hour economy period.  Perhaps your fridges and freezers are woefully inefficient and use 1 kW , so 7 kWh in total.  That leaves 8 kW hours for the underfloor heating, which would burn your feet in the morning.  The only explanation I can think of is that you have a really major hot water leak, equivalent to a hot tap left on, and so your immersion heater is on all the time overnight and used 21 kWh.