Help to warm house and understand

RuBy

My house is freezing and it’s really affecting my health.

i’m not entitled to cost of living or warm home discount even though I’ve had to go on universal credit since September my husband walked out in September. I miss the deadline as my claim assessment period ended mid October.

I have a disabled child who is at school in the day and I am her carer.

we were originally with EON but when my husband left and I went to change the bill to my name they stated I had to be a new customer and the only package they would offer would cost 480 per month.

so I went to utility warehouse electric: 30.703
gas: 9.713

I have a smart meter and never let it go over £5.50 a day.

my plan with utility warehouse cost me 280 a month.

sadly they messed up my opening reading from EON so they billed me incorrectly which they are sorting out and will amend on the December bill.

I have a four bed three story house I have two thermostats one on the ground floor one on the first floor I have turned the first floor thermostat off so the upstairs radiators all turned off to.

I have two radiators in the lounge and I have a hallway radiator they are the only ones in the whole house are switched on.


I  use them between 630 and 730 for an hour in the evening just to take the chill out of the house so when my child goes to bed with a hot water bottle she isn’t so cold.

I have thermal curtains I have draft excluders we sit under blankets in the lounge but my legs are like ice I am absolutely freezing what more can I do?

as I’m too late to the game of changing suppliers to get a low rate is there anything I can do to actually be able to heat my house adequately?

I’m trying to use less heat now so in a really cold month of January and February I can put the thermostat up more often in the day but there must be something else I can do.

thank you for listening if you got this far.

molerat

There are no cheap energy deals around with any supplier at the moment.  Swapping suppliers as you did has unlikely saved you much if any money, just the monthly payment is lower which could lead to you getting into debt rather than building up a credit.

I suspect your house will be expensive to keep warm, the more stories the further away from the ground floor the heat rises.  How old is the property ? What is your loft insulation like ?

Keeping doors closed, shutting off unused rooms etc will help to save.

[Deleted User]

You’ve got confused between your bill and your direct debit amount.  Nobody was offering you a “£480 per month plan”.

 You need to change your thinking to units. kWh.  How many units you use is what decides the size of your bill.

 How many units are you actually using? look on your meter or your display and going out.

RuBy

The house is a year old new build.
I couldn’t afford £480 a month hence no choice but to change suppliers. The original monthly dd when the bill was in my husbands name was £120 due to go up to £220 so I presumed it would be straightforward to just change the name on the bill.
All doors are closed etc.

PennyForThem_2

 I googled UC - these are the 'benefits' it may entitle you to:
https://www.understandinguniversalcredit.gov.uk/already-claimed/extra-support-you-may-be-entitled-to/

If it was me, I would contact or look on internet at any appropriate charity then contact for advice.  I live i SE Wales - not particularly cold - but I too have a 4 bed detached, and I 'heat the human'.  BUT I am living on my own and do not have to conform to family norms.  

There is a whole very long thread on heating the human (some of it extreme but worth a read).

(edit) I tried to find it and thought I had bookmarked it but def worth a read if anybody could give a link.

I have bought thermals ( top only but could have bought leggings - I use loose pyjama bottoms from supermarkets, usually fleecy, under loose tracker bottoms indoors) and these have def made a difference to body heat retention (don't laugh men, but proven scientific research women feel the cold more because less body mass).

RuBy

This is the up to date readings.

BUFF

As SparkyGrad said you need to know how much you are actually using & what that really is costing you. With that information you are in a better situation to argue your case with any supplier & importantly that you aren't going into debt - UW may be taking £280/month but what you are using may be more (or less) than that. If you aren't using £280/month - worth but can afford that then you can increase your heating.

Don't trust your IHD take regular readings from the meter yourself & check that your bills tie up with your readings. 

RuBy

This was last week’s breakdown 

Gerry1

Make sure you're not using any form of electric space heating, e.g. fan heaters, towel rails, oil filled radiators, immersion heaters.  Electric blankets are OK, an electric kettle is OK-ish. An electric throw may be more effective than trying to keep the whole room warm.

Check with Citizens Advice to make sure you're claiming all the benefits to which you're entitled. Make sure you're on your energy company's Priority Services Register if you qualify.

Leon_W

67 kwh of electricity a week is a lot.  Two of us live in an old 3 bed detached cottage and use half of that.

I'd try and look at issues around your electricity useage which would give you a greater budget for gas and keeping your house warm.

RuBy

I’m on the priority services register as there are injections that I take monthly in the fridge so we can’t be cut off. As well as my child being disabled.

I really appreciate all the help given above.