Setting up energy during a renovation project - fixed or variable?

BornTooHula

Hi there,

I've just purchased a new house, which is in need of some pretty serious renovation before it's livable. Fortunately, I can live with my girlfriend and we plan to renovate the house together before we sell her place and move in.

I called up EDF, who the previous owners got both gas and electricity from, and had a very confusing phone call. They suggested, based on the size of the property, a projected energy usage of ~£3000 a year on a fixed tariff, or ~£1600 a year on a variable.

Obviously the variable tariff is considerably cheaper, but came with grave warnings of an October price hike. Because the variable has no exit fees, I went with that to start with.

Is that the right thing to do? The property has smart gas and electric meters, and I've enabled readings every 30 minutes. Presumably this means I'll only pay for what I use, which should be very little given there won't be any baths/showers, cooking, or heating in the house.

Any thoughts or tips very welcome!

Gerry1

Go for

BornTooHula said:

The property has smart gas and electric meters, and I've enabled readings every 30 minutes. Presumably this means I'll only pay for what I use, which should be very little given there won't be any baths/showers, cooking, or heating in the house.

No, they'll automatically set a high fixed DD because they'll expect average use.  Ask EDF for 'Direct Debit Whole Amount (Monthly)'.

Ultrasonic

If your energy use will be minimal then the standing charge becomes more significant and you may well find a fix cheaper for this reason. Look at the actual tariff details rather than estimated total bills.