Help! Need advice for underfloor heating

mawales22

Hi all, I moved into a 2-bed apartment (990 sqft - electric only) back in January 2022 that operates an underfloor heating system (no rads). I have just received a £1338 bill from British Gas for 3 months? I am a single woman living on my own. I cannot understand why my bill is so high. I am on an economy 7 plan. I have been monitoring my meter and it is averaging between 60-80 kWh units per day over the last month.  I have my underflooring heating set to come on in off-peak hours for a 4-hour period and another 4 hours in the evening (expensive rate). Room temps set for 20c bedrooms and 23c in lounge/dining, it is all carpeted. Does this high bill seem right? Has anyone else got underfloor heating and do they find it expensive? Any tips would be appreciated. Thank you.

Mstty

This bill sounds correct for the 60-80 kWh usage per day.

But by now you should be able to turn your heating off and work out what you can do this winter.

23oC is a very high temperate with most looking at 18/19/20oC as maximum now with the price of energy.

Do you know your cheap and normal rates in pence per kWh just to confirm.

It does sound like a very expensive system to run.

Gerry1

Did you (not an agent) take a meter reading on the day you took possession and send it to BG?  Are you on the capped default tariff?  Have you been sending monthly meter readings?

Make sure that the off peak period really is off peak, look at the meter changing over, don't assume it's following the alleged switching times (beware GMT/BST).  Also check that there's isn't a full price two-hour gap two hours after the off peak starts.

Check that the immersion heater is on a circuit switched by the meter or on a 24h timer set to come on about an hour or two before the day rate starts in the morning.

You also have the thermostat set far, far too high, especially if it's the same 24/7. Sadly it will always be expensive but you should be able to reduce your consumption considerably.

QrizB

mawales22 said:

Hi all, I moved into a 2-bed apartment (990 sqft - electric only) back in January 2022 that operates an underfloor heating system (no rads).

That's quite a large apartment (my 3-bed semi is a similar size) and electric underfloor heating is one of the most expensive heating options.

I have just received a £1338 bill from British Gas for 3 months? I am a single woman living on my own. I cannot understand why my bill is so high. I am on an economy 7 plan. I have been monitoring my meter and it is averaging between 60-80 kWh units per day over the last month.

Depending on your tariff, E7 cheap rate electricity is around 20p/kWh. 75kWh/day is £14/day and over 90 days (three months) that would be £1260. £1338 sounds about right.

I have my underflooring heating set to come on in off-peak hours for a 4-hour period and another 4 hours in the evening (expensive rate). Room temps set for 20c bedrooms and 23c in lounge/dining, it is all carpeted. Does this high bill seem right? Has anyone else got underfloor heating and do they find it expensive? Any tips would be appreciated. Thank you.

UFH is not a good match to E7 electricity, for the reason you've mentioned; you want heat in the evening when it's expensive (likely to be over 30p/kWh). Also, your thermostat is set quite high. Can you turn your bedrooms down to 18C and your living space down to 20C?

Anything else would be relatively expensive, eg. fitting HHR storage heaters to let you use cheaper stored heat in the evenings instead of peak-rate electricity.

mawales22

Thank you all for your comments, very useful indeed.

Yesterday, my brother went into the attic and discovered there is no insulation above the ceiling and none directly above, only on the side (in areas). The property was only built 11 years ago by Banner Homes, thought they would put insulation in the roof. Crazy.

The insulation specialist who just visited my property today said this would explain why my heat is escaping and I feel cold 24/7. He quoted me £1800 for 300mm of insulation all over my attic covering an area of 990sqft. Going to get a few more quotes.

In the long term, would you suggest normal slim line radiators as more effective than UFH? I was told UFH is expensive to install but cheaper to run than radiators. Would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Thank you again for all your time and guidance 

Mstty

mawales22 said:

Thank you all for your comments, very useful indeed.

Yesterday, my brother went into the attic and discovered there is no insulation above the ceiling and none directly above, only on the side (in areas). The property was only built 11 years ago by Banner Homes, thought they would put insulation in the roof. Crazy.

The insulation specialist who just visited my property today said this would explain why my heat is escaping and I feel cold 24/7. He quoted me £1800 for 300mm of insulation all over my attic covering an area of 990sqft. Going to get a few more quotes.

In the long term, would you suggest normal slim line radiators as more effective than UFH? I was told UFH is expensive to install but cheaper to run than radiators. Would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Thank you again for all your time and guidance 

If you are bulking at the £1400 for 3 months bill I suggest getting some more quotes that seems expensive for just loft insulation.

Maybe you could do it yourself?

However even with the insulation you will still have to consider turning down the expensive underfloor heating

Grab a pair of USB charged slippers and personal electrics blanket. You will save a fortune.

Gerry1

Firstly, have you done the sums to see whether Economy 7 is cheaper than single rate for your pattern of consumption?  Obviously, you won't have annual usage figures, but it will give you a clue.  Might even be possible to be on E7 through the winter and single rate in the summer.

Slimline panel heaters are the most expensive form of heating you can have because you won't even get the benefit of E7.  However, they'll be quick to respond and you won't have to be a weather forecaster.

Assuming that you own the property, that it's impossible to get gas and that you will be staying a reasonable time, then High Heat Retention storage heaters might be the least worst option, perhaps with panel heaters in the bedrooms for a quick top-up when you go to bed and get up.  HHRs aren't cheap, but nor is daytime electricity, and they will make the property less unattractive when it's time to sell.

gefnew

Loft insulation.
The average quilt insulation (270mm) for a detached house is £600.
The average roof insulation labour cost is £250 per day.
Most loft insulations take less than a day to install.
The average return on investment is worth the attic insulation costs.

markin

The Energy Saving Trust Estimate would be £1200 install and savings of £300 a year for 'Detached bungalow' At old prices i presume.

So insulation will help a little and make you more comfortable but how you run it will probably make a bigger difference, if you have a thick slab longer at night will store more heat and down to 1-2 hr in the evening, and making sure the times are correct. Are you out or at home all day? And if the second bedroom is empty can it be turned off? Re-wired? Disconnected?

https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/advice/roof-and-loft-insulation/

The good news is with heating off now until November you will only have 6kw/day for hot water.

Gerry1

markin said:

The good news is with heating off now until November you will only have 6kw/day for hot water.

Nope.  The good news is with heating off now until November you will only have 6kWh/day for hot water.

FTFY !

QrizB

Gerry1 said:

Firstly, have you done the sums to see whether Economy 7 is cheaper than single rate for your pattern of consumption?  Obviously, you won't have annual usage figures, but it will give you a clue.  Might even be possible to be on E7 through the winter and single rate in the summer.

Slimline panel heaters are the most expensive form of heating you can have because you won't even get the benefit of E7.  However, they'll be quick to respond and you won't have to be a weather forecaster.

Assuming that you own the property, that it's impossible to get gas and that you will be staying a reasonable time, then High Heat Retention storage heaters might be the least worst option, perhaps with panel heaters in the bedrooms for a quick top-up when you go to bed and get up.  HHRs aren't cheap, but nor is daytime electricity, and they will make the property less unattractive when it's time to sell.

I agree with everything Gerry1 says (which isn't all that unusual).

The only thing that could cost less to run than HHR storage heaters would be an air-air heat pump, like danrv fitted last year. He roughly halved his energy consumption vs. storage heaters, and cut his electricity bill by 40% (link to his thread). In your case you could potentially save 50% or more vs. your current system.

However there are additional challenges in fitting one to an apartment rather than a house and you'd need specialist advice, and the installation cost could be double that of HHR storage heaters.