Storage heaters random stupid question

Sunrise27

My parents electric bill seems really high so eon are phoning me next week about it 
But they have storage heaters that aren't working but are still on at the wall
Would there be any chance they could be drawing electricity even if they're not working ? 

viva1

If they were drawing electricity they would be getting warm - if they are stone cold they won't be drawing electricity.

Cardew

Abert Einstein would agree with the statement above!

QrizB

Sunrise27 said:

My parents electric bill seems really high so eon are phoning me next week about it 
But they have storage heaters that aren't working but are still on at the wall
Would there be any chance they could be drawing electricity even if they're not working ? 

As others have said, if the heaters are drawing electricity they will be getting hot. If they aren't getting hot, they won't be drawing electricity.

But this makes me wonder exactly how your parents are heating their house (if indeed they are). Are they using other heaters? Could those be responsible for the high bills?

coffeehound

Also how, and when, is the water tank heated?

Robin9

Are they using fan or panel heaters instead ?

Give us some details from your parents bills please - readings from about 12 months ago hopefully with the letter A for Actual rather than E for Estimated.  Read your meter today.  Do they read their meters every month and give readings to their supplier ?

Repair of storage heaters can be quite cheap - often a thermal link to reset of an element to change or a blown fuse. Are all the heaters not working?

Robin9

@Sunrise27  If you are comparing with your gas heated house then yes their energy bill will be much higher.

What do you mean by expensive ?  £100 a month, £200 ?    Your starting point is to ensure they have accurate bills, then sort out their tariff

Sunrise27

They pay £150 a month 

The house is a 2 bedroom terraced house  and only two of them at home ( they are pensioners )

The house is all electric but let's just say they are careful with their money bless them 

They have no heating upstairs apart from a small oil filled radiator in the bathroom that is very rarely used 

Downstairs they have three oil filled  heaters that come on in the morning and turn off at night . ( one is on low the other two are on medium) They kick in as and when needed temperature wise but only in the winter 

The electric shower is used twice a week

The washing machine - 5 times a week ( although this is done overnight to take advantage of the economy 7 rate 

The oven isn't used everyday and when the microwave is used it's literally minutes 

The tv isn't on all day - usually on from 2pm until 11pm 

The immersion heater is on for 2 hours a day 

They run 3 freezers 

There are no outside lights 

I am  just concerned as  they are paying more than myself and my sister , I have a 4 bed detached house ( 2 of us at home ) and my sister has a 5 bed detached house which is open plan downstairs so takes a lot to heat. They have young adult children at home . 

We cannot work out why our parents are paying so much more than us 

My daughter has a young family so is home all day and pays £93 a month ( gas and electric) I pay £99 a month ( gas and electric ) and although I don't know the exact amount I know my sister pays less than £150 a month. ( gas and electric ) 

Sunrise27

They have a smart meter which has played up since they changed from eon to eon next ( not sure how long ago they changed) they said that sometimes when they go to bed it says zero ( my mum says it doesn't read the electric the lights etc use ) I did try and explain it will read all electric used. At the moment the smart meter is upstairs so they are going to move it downstairs so I can keep my eye on it.
I looked at their bill online yesterday off the top of my head I'm sure it said they use around 7800 kw ( ?) If electric a year ? Does that sound right ? 

Cardew

Sunrise27 said:

They have a smart meter which has played up since they changed from eon to eon next ( not sure how long ago they changed) they said that sometimes when they go to bed it says zero ( my mum says it doesn't read the electric the lights etc use ) I did try and explain it will read all electric used. At the moment the smart meter is upstairs so they are going to move it downstairs so I can keep my eye on it.
I looked at their bill online yesterday off the top of my head I'm sure it said they use around 7800 kw ( ?) If electric a year ? Does that sound right ? 

7,800kWh a year in an all electric house is really quite low.

Average low user consumption is given as 1,800kWh electricity and 8,000kWh gas

medium is 2,900kWh electricity and 12,000kWh gas.

Presumably they are home all day.

As they are on an Economy 7(E7) tariff, but not using their storage heaters, they will be paying for the majority of their electricity at daytime rates. Daytime rates on E7 are higher than a 'normal' ie.24/7 tariff.

NSG666

Are the storage heaters broken or just turned off? Is the immersion being used overnight to benefit from E7?
Three freezers - I thought we were bad enough having a back-up old fridge freezer in the garage for wine and ice!