Octopus to EDF - please help beginner in a pickle

rebeccaqphan

Hi all,

Newbie here needing help on a few bits please. Please let me know if I'm doing anything incorrectly!

My household comprises 3 people (myself, my husband and our 6 year old daughter). Yesterday when working out our energy usage (for the first time ever) and we were shocked with how much gas we use a year! 

Our average electricity annual usage is 2295kWh BUT our gas annual usage is 20269kWh. We both work and are out of the house 8am - 6pm weekdays. The hot water and heating is only on twice a day from 6am - 8am in the morning and 5pm to 8pm in the evening.

Our house has 6 double bedrooms and i'm considering:-

1. turning off the heating for the 4 which we don't use and then shutting the door? Not sure if that will work in reducing our usage, please help?

2. I realised that our thermostat was set to 30 degrees so have reduced that to 25. Our house is always so cold (always wearing at least 3 layers) so I didn't even realise it was set to 30. Is setting to 25 standard or is it higher or lower please?

Now - to fix or not to fix.

I'm currently on the Octopus variable rate paying approx £230 per month - £2,600 per year.

I've seen the EDF energy on MSE and used the calculator on here yesterday which gave me a saving of 18% or greater so catergorised as "strongly worth considering".

Our current:
gas unit rate is 7.52, standing charge as 27.47
electricity unit rate is 28.78 and standing charge 47.95

EDF tariff which is being advertised is
gas unit rate 5.653, standing charge 30.765
electricity unit rate is 22.607 and standing charge 63.325

I've never dealt with electricity, gas and tariffs before so those numbers mean nothing to me but I'm really eager to learn and understand the area more.

If this were your household would you advise fixing please - and could you offer any advice why our gas usage is so high and how to get it down! 

Thank you so much for reading this far and I really look forward to advice anyone has.

kimwp

I don't heat rooms that I don't use, that doesn't seem sensible. Set the radiator thermostats to prevent freezing (very unlikely but a good practice) and block any gaps around the doors.
Have you checked your windows and doors for drafts?
Thermostat at 25 is super high. Mine is set to achieve 18 at head height when I'm on the sofa - there I have a couple of blankets and wear leggings and a warm jumper and I'm cosy. 20-21 should feel warm and might be your preference with a young child but a lot of people have it cooler than this.

Is your house actually heating to 25 though? Also is it humid?

Just to check- Are they three warm layers? Two vests and a thin jumper won't be as warm as a t-shirt and thick jumper. Thick socks or slippers? Cold floors can make you feel cold. Are you closing thick curtains when it's dark outside?

Regardless, I suspect a six double bed house will be expensive to heat unless it's well insulated.

BellaBlondykeTheThird

The things that stand out from the info so far 

1) 6 double bedroom house, so yes this will be more than the national national average

2) Thermostat set to 30oC, this will mean that your gas boiler is working to its maximum all the time is is on.

Steps

1) Do you have Thermostatic Radiator Valves on the radiators int he rooms you down use? You can turn them down to 1 or 2 rather than off if you dom

2) A 19-22oC temp is good for most so try and find your ideal temp.

Mark_d

Wow.  6 double bedrooms for 2 adults an one child.  No surprise the energy costs a small fortune.

Yes absolutely turn of heating and isolate the rooms you don't use.  Maybe use draught excluders too, to prevent the cooler rooms from affecting the warmer ones.

Our heating is set to 21.5 degrees in the day and 16 degrees over night (we're at home most of the time).  You're using more than twice as much gas as we do - I suspect that your heating system simply can't cope with your size of house - so it's constantly heating for the periods it's switched on but it never reaches the target temperature.  Perhaps it's worth checking whether your heating system (boiler, hot water cylinder etc.) is appropriate for your size of property.

We use smart thermostat for the boiler and smart thermostatic radiator valves.  This allows us to only heat the rooms we're using, and only heat them to an appropriate temperature.    So during the day we only heat the office and study, whereas in the evening we only heat the living room.  (kitchen and bathrooms are maintained at 18 degrees).

I would suggest that the priority is to make a significant reduction in your gas usage.  This will make the biggest difference to your bills.  Once this is done, you will be able to find the energy supplier/tariff which is most suitable for you.

rebeccaqphan

Hi, thank you so much for replying to my question!

So a few comments back on your questions and replies please:-

I will turn the settings on the rooms we don't use to 1 instead of 5. No idea why they're on 5 actually.

Noted on your comments on the thermostat – I will try and change to 18 and see how that is. One thing to mention though – is at no time has the house ever been 30 degrees! When the radiator is on I’m still in 3 good layers – one thermal, one wool sweater and majority in my fluffy robe or my winter coat indoors as it’s so cold even when the heater is on / has been on 2-3 hours.

We’ve noticed that the heating could be on 2-3 hours but the radiator itself still be cold. The pipes leading to the radiator not cold though? My husband has “breathed”?? the radiators a few days ago but that hasn’t done much either. Maybe I need to call someone out to this – is it a plumber I need please?

Another, yes – house is humid and damp, especially in the rooms not being used. We did a loft conversion approx. 2 years ago and that’s made the cold even worse!

Thank you so much for your help again – it’s greatly appreciated.

Gerry1

Beware of leaving unoccupied rooms with no heating at all: you risk damage to your property and health if you get mould ! 😨

TRVs set to low will help to avoid this problem.

Also get a few cheap temperature/ hygrometer units for these rooms.  If the humidity remains too high then consider getting some dehumidifiers.

But you may have to accept that with such a large property your gas usage can't be reduced significantly.

PeterGr

The variable rates are being reduced on 1st April, and the expectation is that there will be a further reduction on 1st July.  That will mean the charges over the next 12 months are similar to the EDF fixed rates that you have seen, though you might like the certainty a fixed rate gives you.  [ You should have been notified of the change in rates that will come into effect in April ]

Reducing your consumption saves you money regardless of which tariff you choose.

Gerry1

You may have to bleed the radiators more than once because trapped air in the system can accumulate.  It's not complete until water bubbles out (make sure it doesn't stain the wallpaper or carpet).

If the whole radiator is cold (not just the top) it's probably a stuck TRV.  Unscrew the top of the TRV and give the stud a few gentle taps with a hammer.

kimwp

As the house is damp, it's worth getting a dehumidifier (or two, given the size of the house). Are you opening the windows to let out bathroom steam?

General things like keeping doors closed, blocking drafts, curtains over the door or stairway if possible make a difference, but I think the fact that your radiators aren't getting warm is probably the thing to concentrate on. 

rebeccaqphan

Thank you so much for your help all. @Gerry1 - last time my husband breathed nothing came out. So not sure if the radiator is broken or he's done it wrong. I replaced all radiators around 2 years ago to be more efficient and energy saving but the radiator is always cold to touch. Some the entire radiator and others the top half is cold, bottom is warm at best! Hence I never noticed thermostat set to 30

kimwp

Gerry1 said:

Beware of leaving unoccupied rooms with no heating at all: you risk damage to your property and health if you get mould ! 😨

TRVs set to low will help to avoid this problem.

Also get a few cheap temperature/ hygrometer units for these rooms.  If the humidity remains too high then consider getting some dehumidifiers.

But you may have to accept that with such a large property your gas usage can't be reduced significantly.

I'd say humidity would be more of a concern for mould - a cold dry room won't get mould. But a warm wet one definitely will.

I don't heat my loft bedroom or box room - no mould so far.