Thinking of joining Octopus, what's the best tariff for me

BellaBlondykeTheThird

Deleted no longer relevent

Spoonie_Turtle

Smart meter or non-smart?

If you have a smart meter you have options to switch between tariffs - for instance, even if none if the smart tariffs would suit, you could be on Economy 7 for the months you need heating and switch to single rate for the other months, unless you have a lot of off-peak usage in summer as well.

But for Economy 7 you should look at rates for all the suppliers to see which would be best during the heating months, based on what your best estimate of what your winter usage might be.

BellaBlondykeTheThird

Deleted no longer relevent

lohr500

Does the meter show the total amount of electricity units used on each of the two rates? It should be possible to view the numbers by scrolling through the display using the buttons on the meter.

Whilst this won't tell you how much you will end up using, it should give an indication of the previous occupiers usage and the ratio of peak to off peak usage. If the meter has an install sticker on it, this would also tell you how many years/months the smart meter has been in place. Not all smart meters are installed with zero readings on the rate registers, but most are. If you know the number of years teh meter has been there, and the readings, you can calculate the previous owner/s annual usage. Only a guide and not guaranteed to be accurate but it gives you a start point.

As mentioned above the peak and off peak rates do vary by supplier, so you could use the previous ratio of peak to off peak to get some comparisons. 

dunstonh

What's going to be best for me. 

We need more information.  Nobody can answer at the moment.

What is your ratio of off peak to peak use?  (annual kWh for each would be ideal)
What region are you? 

For example, someone with a high ratio of off peak use in Eastern would see EDF be a no-brainer in terms of cost.   However, a low off peak ratio would see EDF be more expensive than other suppliers.

No idea of usage yet for winter not had the heating on and previous house was gas for heating and water.

That is going to make comparisons very difficult unless you have other devices which you use off peak all year round (such as dishwasher, washing machines/tumbles with timers or an PHEV/EV)

LOHR's comment about looking at the difference between peak and offpeak historically is a good one.  However, you don't know if previous owners heated the house so it was toasty or kept it lower and wore jumpers.  But its probably the best you can do for the moment.

EssexHebridean

First thing allowing you are currently with BG, on E7 and have a smart meter is to be absolutely certain that B are charging you correctly and separately for the your day and night use - as there is a known issue for E7 customers who fit this exact set of circumstances! You need to address this now as there is just a possibility that otherwise, come winter, your heating won't work. 

Have you double checked that the heaters do actually turn on when they are meant to? If you're not sure of how to do this (as you are new to NSH's) then just ask and we can talk you through. 

Is the immersion heating charging correctly - ie you leave it switched on and it just heats up overnight on the cheaper rate?  (If this is happening that's a good sign!) 

Grizzlebeard

lohr500 said:

......, it should give an indication of the previous occupiers usage and the ratio of peak to off peak usage.......

If you can see a previous house owners power data useage, while I understand how it works (contract on premises not person) and think it's a good idea, isn't someone someday going to regard it as a breach of their data privacy rights and take it to court?

If someone moves house they can retrieve the stash of drugs and p^^n from under the floorboards, but they can't secure the historic data the energy companies hold on them.

Sounds like a legal minefield.

EssexHebridean

I assume it's because the data essentially "belongs" to the meter, which is not the property of the householder, and therefore it doesn't come under the heading of "personal data"?

[Deleted User]

Grizzlebeard said:

lohr500 said:

......, it should give an indication of the previous occupiers usage and the ratio of peak to off peak usage.......

If you can see a previous house owners power data useage, while I understand how it works (contract on premises not person) and think it's a good idea, isn't someone someday going to regard it as a breach of their data privacy rights and take it to court?

If someone moves house they can retrieve the stash of drugs and p^^n from under the floorboards, but they can't secure the historic data the energy companies hold on them.

Sounds like a legal minefield.

I very much doubt that historians are going to look back kindly on the last 20 or so years. 

BellaBlondykeTheThird

Deleted no longer relevent

dunstonh

[Deleted User] said:

Grizzlebeard said:

lohr500 said:

......, it should give an indication of the previous occupiers usage and the ratio of peak to off peak usage.......

If you can see a previous house owners power data useage, while I understand how it works (contract on premises not person) and think it's a good idea, isn't someone someday going to regard it as a breach of their data privacy rights and take it to court?

If someone moves house they can retrieve the stash of drugs and p^^n from under the floorboards, but they can't secure the historic data the energy companies hold on them.

Sounds like a legal minefield.

I very much doubt that historians are going to look back kindly on the last 20 or so years. 

The way things are going, I don't think there will be historians in the future.  Either the world would have destroyed itself or history will be considered bad and no-one will be allowed to discuss it or know about it.       Indeed, you won't be allowed to think it because the thought police will be after you.