Electricity in garage

plymothian

Hi everyone,

Just wondering if anyone has any money saving ideas…. My detached garage (it’s about 20metres from my house, the land in between it is owned by us) has a separate electricity supply to my house, different supplier and therefore an additional daily rate etc. We use electricity in the garage fairly infrequently, the odd bit of DIY, sanding etc. Maybe once/twice a month. 

At the moment I am with Eon-next and pay £3.85 a month and am £38 in credit. My tariff is due to end in May and the cheapest available tariff is £22 a month!! 

Does anyone have any good ideas on how to maintain an electricity supply that is v rarely used. Thank you all in advance. 

tux900

Run an extension cable?

Thrugelmir

Have a word with an electrician. 

Gerry1

Buy a plug-in EV.  You could get an absurdly low rate for a few hours per night and not have to worry about an absurdly high day rate.

cymruchris

Connect the garage to the house via an underground cable and terminate the garage supply. Would likely cost a little up front - but with energy prices as they are - I'm sure the payback would be fairly quick in the grand scheme of things. Get an electrician in to quote (You might need a bit of work at the house end depending on where your distribution board is and how much load you've got running through it compared to what you need/want in the garage).

Robin9

plymothian said:

Hi everyone,

At the moment I am with Eon-next and pay £3.85 a month and am £38 in credit. My tariff is due to end in May and the cheapest available tariff is £22 a month!! 

Dont go for a fix - let the supply roll over onto the variable

Really ask yourself do I need electric in the garage. If yes use an extension lead and see how you get on with that.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

Screwfix, £19.99, in-store pickup.

plymothian

Wow, thanks everyone. I didn’t expect so many speedy replies! An extension cable is a good idea. I will look into an EV as I’ve never heard of this and will see about getting an electrician round to quote.

Thank you all!

[Deleted User]

Hi,

you do know that an EV is an electric vehicle, so could cost you a few ££££, be cheaper with the extension.

plymothian

Oooh, no I didn’t know that, thank you!

I did wonder about getting a solar panel but no idea of cost, or either whether that is possible…

jimjames

plymothian said:

Oooh, no I didn’t know that, thank you!

I did wonder about getting a solar panel but no idea of cost, or either whether that is possible…

Solar panel will be of little use unless you also have batteries - big bucks. Unless you have a decent number the output will be insufficient and you will need to ensure the amount generated matches what you need - maybe possible in summer but not in winter or in the evening when it's dark.