Excessive Electricity Quotes/bills

Ultrasonic

Alnat1 said:

What do you mean by 'the heating is on when required'? Do you mean you switch the heaters on when you come home from work and off again once the room is warm enough,  or are they on constantly 24/7 whenever the temperature in the room is below 18C?

Edit: Oops! Mixed you up with the OP! Thought you were trying to clarify what I'd said. Doh!

 More like the former. It's a bit more complicated as it's a central heating system with a thermostat and TRVs on all radiators but essentially I turn the heating on to warm up my lounge when I need it and the rest of the house is heated to a lesser extent at the same time. I also turn the heating on/off based on how I feel rather than always relying on a fixed temperature. I can be more or less comfortable at the same temperature on different days.

My point was more general though in that basically nobody should have heating on when they don't need it, for both environmental and financial reasons.

Key to your situation though seems to be making sure your meter is readying correctly! Fingers crossed you find it's not.

Ultrasonic

AFoster90 said:

Alnat1 said:

What do you mean by 'the heating is on when required'? Do you mean you switch the heaters on when you come home from work and off again once the room is warm enough,  or are they on constantly 24/7 whenever the temperature in the room is below 18C?

The latter. The heaters that are on, are always on. Only actively heating when the room is below 18C though. Does this make sense?

As @Alnat1 says, that's wasting a lot of electricity I'm afraid and sadly makes your high usage more believable, rather than a meter issue. Although do still check. You don't need your house to be as warm when you're not home or when you're in bed.

I trust you don't still have your radiators in this state currently?

The_Fat_Controller

You still haven't said how many kWh you have consumed in the last year and what are your current tariff rates.
 

AFoster90

Ultrasonic said:

AFoster90 said:

I trust you don't still have your radiators in this state currently?

No, None of the radiators are currently switched on, absolutely no need due to the warm weather.

AFoster90

The_Fat_Controller said:

You still haven't said how many kWh you have consumed in the last year and what are your current tariff rates.
 

Sorry, haven't had time to have a look at the figures, been cooking dinner etc.... Will get this over ASAP.

AFoster90

AFoster90 said:

The_Fat_Controller said:

You still haven't said how many kWh you have consumed in the last year and what are your current tariff rates.
 

Sorry, haven't had time to have a look at the figures, been cooking dinner etc.... Will get this over ASAP.

In April '21, My readings were as follows:
Day: 34581
Night: 15095
Stored: 67818

In April '22: (All estimated)
Day: 44878
Night: 20565
Stored: 70657

Does this support? All stored readings since we have lived here (2.5 years) have always read 67818, as we do not have storage heaters etc.

The_Fat_Controller

And the day/night rates and standing charges ?

If the April 21 readings are actual readings, please give us the readings as of now.

victor2

AFoster90 said:

AFoster90 said:

The_Fat_Controller said:

You still haven't said how many kWh you have consumed in the last year and what are your current tariff rates.
 

Sorry, haven't had time to have a look at the figures, been cooking dinner etc.... Will get this over ASAP.

In April '21, My readings were as follows:
Day: 34581
Night: 15095
Stored: 67818

In April '22: (All estimated)
Day: 44878
Night: 20565
Stored: 70657

Does this support? All stored readings since we have lived here (2.5 years) have always read 67818, as we do not have storage heaters etc.

Estimated readings are just that - estimated by the supplier, presumably because you didn't give them readings. Take readings now and give them to your supplier to at least get a realistic picture of your position.

From what you say, your electric heaters are on through the winter keeping the house at 18 degrees, even when you are not there, or you are tucked up in bed. Get timers on them, or switch them off when you go out or to bed. They are the most expensive form of heating you can run.

As already suggested, post your current readings and tariff rates on here. Then people will be able to give you an idea what your running costs are likely to be unless you make changes. If the debt is accurate, then it's more likely that you have been paying far less than you should have been to cover your usage.

Ultrasonic

When I've previously had night storage heaters I've just hand day and night meter values (with the night values covering the storage heater use). I'm a bit confused by the third 'storage' category but maybe this is common and I've just not seen it.

However, the real question is whether an Economy 7 tariff makes sense for you now. I suspect it doesn't but your actual current meter readings will give us more info. Although slightly misleadingly so if you've had your heating on all night previously.

Gerry1

You've got absolutely EVERYTHING wrong !

• You have panel heaters.  Nothing is more expensive to run.
• You waste vast amounts of energy by leaving them on 24/7.  (Do you do the same with the lights and the water taps?)
• You're on an Economy 7 tariff (or suchlike, see below) which is completely unsuitable for panel heaters because the day rate is even more expensive than the single rate.

You need to switch to single rate straight away.  With most companies (except Bulb) it shouldn't need a meter change.  If they won't play ball, try EDF or Octopus who will take you on at the capped SVT, but only if you phone them.

If it's absolutely impossible to get gas and you're planning to stay a reasonable time then consider changing to an oil boiler, High Heat Retention night storage heaters or a heatpump.

A reasonably cheap compromise might be to have NSHs in the main living areas (on E7) but to leave the panel heaters in the bedrooms, using them only when going to bed and getting up.  It's critical to understand and program the NSHs correctly otherwise you'll be unwittingly topping up at day rates.  Don't rely on the installer doing it for you, especially if you cut corners by using them on a single 24h supply rather than two supplies (E7 and 24h).

What is your tariff and kWh rates?  Please explain the Stored reading.  If you're on THTC or some multi-rate tariff, that's yet another clanger because those legacy tariffs are being withdrawn and are massively expensive to nudge people on to E7.

It's unlikely that the meter is inaccurate, but for peace of mind you could do the Meter Sanity Test.