Energy prices

viva1

Astria said:

Although to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria you should set it to at least 65c at least once a week.

This is only necessary if you have a hot water tank with a conventional boiler. If you have a combi boiler there is no need to do this as your hot water is not stored but heated on demand.

crazybass_uk

I’m in the same boat with SO Energy, my tattoo finishes on the 25th January and they offered me gooseberry my bills are going from £170 a month to £405 a month with them so I will be sticking with the variable rate. Fingers crossed. 

Astria

viva1 said:

Astria said:

Although to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria you should set it to at least 65c at least once a week.

This is only necessary if you have a hot water tank with a conventional boiler. If you have a combi boiler there is no need to do this as your hot water is not stored but heated on demand.

Do you have a link to somewhere that states that? As most boiler manufacturers state otherwise, as in, even if you don't have a hot water tank, you still have the associated pipework that can still build up bacteria growth.

eg. https://www.baxi.co.uk/faqs/what-temperature-should-a-boiler-be-set-at

bristolleedsfan

Flight3287462 said:

.
 do a bit do some research and see what others are charging.

Scottish Power appear to offer cheapest fixed rates for new customers, if someone searches google for Scottish Power referral, covers exit fee

Electricity

Standing charge

24.38p

Primary unit rate

28.55p

Exit fee

£30.00

Tariff end date

31/01/2024

Gas

Tariff

Fixed Price January 2024 YM1 Online

Payment method

Monthly direct debit

Standing charge

26.11p

Primary unit rate

8.32p

Exit fee

£30.00

doodling

Hi,

Astria said:

viva1 said:

Astria said:

Although to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria you should set it to at least 65c at least once a week.

This is only necessary if you have a hot water tank with a conventional boiler. If you have a combi boiler there is no need to do this as your hot water is not stored but heated on demand.

Do you have a link to somewhere that states that? As most boiler manufacturers state otherwise, as in, even if you don't have a hot water tank, you still have the associated pipework that can still build up bacteria growth.

eg. https://www.baxi.co.uk/faqs/what-temperature-should-a-boiler-be-set-at

Note that in a combi boiler arrangement the water is not exposed to air and consequently remains chlorinated.  Chlorination does kill legionella, albeit slowly.

The worst case is probably a traditional gravity fed cylinder arrangement where chlorine has the opportunity to leave the water whilst it is sat in the tank in the loft before it reaches the cylinder.

I'd be surprised if there is any significant legionella growth in unvented hot water systems, even if the temperatures are kept low.

Having said that, I'm not an expert - do your own risk assessment.

tim_p

Loft tank, vented hot water system, indirect cylinder with immersion (solar iBoost), never, ever (in 36years) had either Legionella or the tank stat set anywhere above 50-55 degrees. Once the stat failed and I only knew because could hear the water boiling!

ChequeBookGerry

Turner1966 said:

My fixed rate energy deal finishes at the beginning of March with So energy. I currently pay £160 a month for dual fuel. I’ve been advised by so energy to sign up for their two year fixed rate and they’ve quoted me £320 pcm. That is more than a third of my wage. Am I better off going on their variable rate? I cannot afford £320 per month so is there a good chance the variable rate will be less? I’d really appreciate some advice I could cry at the thought of these bills.
thank you

I was just about to post a similar question and saw this.  Here is my gas offer:

Current - fixed - ending Feb 2022 -  2.824p per kwh
Offered fixed tariff - 9.04785p per kwh
Offered variable tariff - 3.9543p per kwh

Answer's pretty clear, then...

meg6005

Turner1966 said:

My fixed rate energy deal finishes at the beginning of March with So energy. I currently pay £160 a month for dual fuel. I’ve been advised by so energy to sign up for their two year fixed rate and they’ve quoted me £320 pcm. That is more than a third of my wage. Am I better off going on their variable rate? I cannot afford £320 per month so is there a good chance the variable rate will be less? I’d really appreciate some advice I could cry at the thought of these bills.
thank you

  Have you looked at your daily charges ? Have they risen by 40% or 50% ?
 Mine have and its that amount that puts your bill up so high.
  We cant argue about gas and electric price rises , but we should be able to challenge these daily price charges.

QrizB

meg6005 said:

Turner1966 said:

My fixed rate energy deal finishes at the beginning of March with So energy. I currently pay £160 a month for dual fuel. I’ve been advised by so energy to sign up for their two year fixed rate and they’ve quoted me £320 pcm. That is more than a third of my wage. Am I better off going on their variable rate? I cannot afford £320 per month so is there a good chance the variable rate will be less? I’d really appreciate some advice I could cry at the thought of these bills.
thank you

  Have you looked at your daily charges ? Have they risen by 40% or 50% ?
 Mine have and its that amount that puts your bill up so high.
  We cant argue about gas and electric price rises , but we should be able to challenge these daily price charges.

The total cost of the standing charge is around £8/month, per fuel. If that is all your bills have risen by, you're doing really well.

Swipe

Legionella risk is often overstated on this forum. If you are emptying your tank most days it's never going to be an issue anyway as the bacteria grows in standing water over time