Fixed tariff ending in March – current options?

wrf12345

Going off the fixed tariff soon, British gas estimate twice what I pay now (my estimate is about fifty percent more but only for one month as the elec s'c is supposed to go down £100-ish) but when I asked to be put on variable direct debit once on the std tariff they denied that such a thing existed, repeatedly over chat. Have put in a complaint to BG and then ombudsmen if no resolution... on the bright side, with the govn free money and my own radical electrical use reduction and mild gas reduction, I am saving a couple of hundred quid compared to before price increases.

These energy companies, despite all the govn intervention, seem determined to keep on ripping people off, and yes you can get any credit refunded and eventually, after much hassle, get the DD reduced if it is too high.

Astria

Mstty said:

matelodave said:

Mstty said:

Astria said:

Do you have any savings?

The best thing to do at the moment is battery storage - charge it up during the night and use it in the day. Payback times at the moment are approx 6 years for typical usage, which may come down in April if prices rise.

If you still have cash left over then also consider solar panels, but battery first (or at the same time).

I would like to know the equipment needed,cost and payback period for this.

Now that we are in for a long period of high energy prices and what the break even point of the overnight rate is.

It depends how good your crystal ball is. If the cost of energy comes down then it likely that the payback period will increase, however if it keeps going up then it will decrease. 

A bit like having a heatpump, not all that long ago it seemed like a pretty good idea when leccy wasn't as expensive as it is now and according to stuff that I read in the press, having an electric car isn't quite as cost effective as it might have been a year or so ago.

I think in this instance the equipment outlay means 5-8 years plus payback even at 7.5p kwh overnight cheap cheap rate but I was hoping @Astria could prove me wrong and add some actual facts to their comment above when telling someone that if they have savings to invest in battery storage.

If you have insight into the battery cost, infrastructure to charge and run the house and warranties please let me know I can run a few calculations. That's what I asked for and am after👍

That depends on what you want to run and how long you want to run it for. For example, my usage is 4 kWh per day between 6am till midnight, my 4.8 kWh of batteries cost £1,500, my 1500W inverter was £200 (cheaper options available), charger was £100 (again, you can get cheaper). Total £1800, so I would expect that within 4.5 years it will have paid for itself assuming 7.5p/kWh overnight charging, but if electric prices go up in April, then it will be less. If you want more capacity then obviously the initial outlay with be higher, but then again so will the savings.

All of that is out of the window now though because I've since added 4x410W solar panels on the garage roof (£200 each), which I expect to charge the battery partially until April then fully until September, plus handle some of the daytime load.

Depending on how these panels perform I may purchase more and have them for powering the heat pump hot water cylinder also on my to do list.

wrf12345

"All of that is out of the window now though because I've since added 4x410W solar panels on the garage roof (£200 each), which I expect to charge the battery partially until April then fully until September, plus handle some of the daytime load."

What is the worst daily output during winter from your 1600W of solar panels, out of interest, and which type are they as some are better in shade than others???

Astria

wrf12345 said:

"All of that is out of the window now though because I've since added 4x410W solar panels on the garage roof (£200 each), which I expect to charge the battery partially until April then fully until September, plus handle some of the daytime load."

What is the worst daily output during winter from your 1600W of solar panels, out of interest, and which type are they as some are better in shade than others???

December was the worst, on one day in particular I only got about 200W, but overall it was still worthwhile.

These are the panels: https://www.itstechnologies.shop/collections/solar-panels-buy-online/products/410w-longi-54c-himo5-black-frame-mono-solar-panel

All panels are pretty much the same in shade unless you got the really expensive ones, and the few % extra power isn't worth the higher price IMO, but you have to remember that shading in one panel can affect other panels so I have them in 2 strings, as the front panels are shaded longer than the rear two.

I can improve October - January performance by adding more panels, but the cost/performance isn't worth it unless I increase my battery size, but then I won't be using the extra battery so it would be a waste at the moment.

matt1983

DeeQS said:

I'm £925 in credit on EON, paying £185 a month. They estimated my payments should be £205. I spoke to them and asked them to take the credit into account and recalculate and they adjusted the DD to £130 so they can do it.

You could be earning interest on that £925 if you got it refunded to you! 

matt1983

oldagetraveller1 said:

bristolleedsfan said:

oldagetraveller1 said:

The bit that I am not too happy about is the increase in monthly DD which doesn't take into account of the near £500 my account is in credit. All their computer has done is divide the expected annual cost by twelve!

I queried this with them and received a word salad response which made no sense whatsoever.

Did the response not mention that you can ask for credit to be refunded to you at any time?

It most certainly didn't. As I wrote it was just a word salad with poor grammar. Rambling on about Gov. (taxpayers') rebate and that my credit had been accounted for. I suspect a generic copy and paste reply. The figures are so precise too - DD £159.41/month. Annual estimated cost £1912.92 or £159.41 x 12!

Once the new tariff has started I could apply for a DD reduction, no doubt computer will say no.

Are they obliged to refund the credit (my money, not their's) on application?

Yes! I regularly email e on if im in credit and ask them to refund it to my bank account, which they are happy to do and takes couple of days. 

EssexHebridean

It should be added though that at this time of year, unless you are a hugely long way in credit, a lot of suppliers might well suggest that you leave a couple of months-worth of D on the account (some might even require that you do) as clearly it's the time of the year when you are likely to use the most energy. Little point in having £500 refunded now only to find that you're the same amount in debt by March!