Electricity Costs going forward?

JamesPeter

Hello, I am hoping you fine people can help.

We are currently with eon.next having recently been directly transferred over from npower.

We reside in an electric only village where there is no gas. We live in a one bedroomed bungalow and currently have storage heaters, on a complex restricted metering system (one physical meter with two mpans serving 3 separate registers: Day, Night and Heat rates).  

The hot water tank is on the ‘night’ rate and we also set the washing machine and often the oven to come on overnight to slow roast etc in order to use as much off peak as we can. We always have enough hot water without having to use the day ‘boost’.

 We currently use/pay the following (based on actual meter readings between 2nd Oct 2020 and 16th May 2021): 

For Day and Night rates – on the ‘Price Freeze June 2022 DD’ tariff:

Day - 756.0 kWh @ 21.70p/kWh -  £164.05

Night: - 1071.0 kWh @ 7.84p/kWh -  £83.97

Standing Charge 227 days @ 15.07p/day - £34.21

 

Heating is separate on ‘Standard SC DD’ (was formerly Super Tariff with npower)

 Energy Used (Off Peak) 4422.5 kWh @ 15.89p/kWh-  £702.86  (From 2 Oct 2020 until 31st March 2021)

 Energy Used (Off Peak) 184.6 kWh @ 17.54p/kWh - £32.37   (From 1st April 2021 to 16th May 21).

 

All being net of VAT @ 5%.

Although npower assured me that we were on their 'cheapest possible tariff', I never honestly believed them.  We could not change tariffs or company because of the restricted meter.  They would not change meter to permit us to go onto straight Economy 7 either. As you can see, most of the electricity cost is heating. Even so, we only ever used 3 of the five storage heaters.

Eon.next have estimated the annual cost as £1379.93 a year for electricity based on current usage.

 

Now, later this summer, the housing association are going to change out the storage heaters and put in an ‘air source heat pump’ heating system, which they say is more efficient and should work out cheaper than the storage heaters.

 My questions being:

Should we remain on the same tariffs with an air source heat pump after the removal of the storage heaters?  

If so, can the heating engineers put the ASHP heating onto the Day/Night tariff (as opposed to the ‘Heat’ tariff)? – assuming we have it on mostly overnight with some day use in winter?

Or, can we have a new ‘unrestricted’ meter fitted with the Air heat pump system?

Would we at last be free to switch providers?

Would a smart meter be better?

How much would we roughly save with this new heating system (assuming we end up on the correct tariffs for air source heat pump)?

Sorry for the pretty basic questions. But this air source heat pump is all new to me. I am hoping the electricity usage (and bills) may go down but want to make sure I do the correct thing.  

Many thanks.

Gerry1

You need to find out how the ASHP will deliver heat.  It's likely to use wet radiators (unless they dig up the floor and install  underfloor heating), so it will need to work in 'real time'.  You'll probably need a single rate tariff: the savings using the immersion heater on E7 overnight are unlikely to offset the higher daytime rate that the ASHP will use for its much greater energy use.

You have the right to have single rate with your existing meters, but you'd still be stuck with your existing supplier. Your existing rates are dreadful, so their single rate probably wouldn't be very competitive.

It may be possible to retain your existing heating meter, rewired to supply all your circuits, but they'll probably try arm twisting to get you to accept a smart meter.

Start comparing with Citizens Advice and 'Which? Switch' when the ASHP has been installed.

BTW, always compare VAT inclusive rates, not net.

JamesPeter

Thank you Gerry 1.

Sorry, I should have stated, they will be wet radiators when the heat pump system is fitted.

I agree the current rates are dreadful, but npower insisted they were the cheapest possible rates. As I said they would not let us change supplier or tariff becaise of the restricted meter. They said going onto a 'single rate' would have been even more expensive.

Sorry but what do you mean by 'work in real time' (this is all new to me)?

Yes, I will look into comparing on those sites when the heat pump is fitted.

Thanks again.

Gerry1

JamesPeter said:

Sorry but what do you mean by 'work in real time' (this is all new to me)?

As there will be no heat storage, your ASHP will have to work at times when when heat is needed, which is likely to be in the daytime rather than overnight.

Gerry1

JamesPeter said:

As I said they would not let us change supplier or tariff because of the restricted meter. They said going onto a 'single rate' would have been even more expensive.

It's true that their single rather is probably equally extortionate, and it's not a good idea for storage heaters, but they are obliged to offer single rate with existing meters and with only one standing charge.

Restricted Meter Good Practice Guide.pdf

Ofgem: RHT must offer single rate

Reed_Richards

I think you are on the 'cheapest possible tariff' because your choice is restricted by your outdated metering arrangement. 

I have an Air Source Heat Pump with radiators and a single rate electricity meter.  You should find a Heat Pump is much cheaper to run that your Storage Heaters.  I turn the set temperature down at night so the heat pump is off but in cold weather it comes on at about 4:30 am to get the house warm for the time I get up.  I don't think I would benefit from an Economy 7 tariff, so I doubt that you would either.  

shinytop

I have an ASHP and still have E7 from the time I had storage heaters.  It's borderline for me whether E7 is better just now but I suspect over a whole year a single rate will be better unless you want your house warm all night or you use a tankful of water every morning.