All electric flat - heating situation

Horracce

Hi all, any ideas, help, comments, suggestions are welcome ..

Im trying to get used to / adjust after moving into a small, all electric 1 bedroom flat in a coastal area. The flat is reasonably modern, cavity wall insulated, double glazed and no draughts. The flat is heated by 2 small wall mounted thermostatically controlled electric panel heaters.  I’ve never had a smart meter before and observing it during each day lets me know my usage during the recent cold period .. I previously had a flat where the heat was included in the service charge. Here it is not. 

So my question is this. On summer or autumn days my daily electric cost was approx £1:40 (which inc. 67p service charge) .. no heating involved.  In the recent very cold period, with heating on, the daily cost is between £5 - £7 …

Is this about average for others in a similar situation? Is it normal to hide under blankets or a duvet too? Please let me know your thoughts or your own experiences.. 

lohr500

If we assume your base summer cost of £1.40 (including the s/c) stays the same in winter, then you are using around £4.60 more per day if we take £6 as the winter average.

Let's also assume your electricity unit cost is around £0.25 a unit (based on the EDF standard variable tariff looking across several regions).

What is your actual unit cost for electricity? How much did it change with the price changes in July & October?

On the basis that you are using 18kWh extra per day, if each panel heater was rated at 1kW and both were working flat out for 9 hours, then at £0.25 per kWh unit cost, that would account for it.

Have you changed anything else in terms of usage? More cooking, more frequent showers, addition of any other electrical equipment?

How long do you have the heaters on for? 

It might be worth looking at a plug in heated throw to keep warm. Much cheaper to run than wall heaters and works on the basis of heating the person directly, not the room.

Horracce

Thanks. My unit cost is 25.39 .. I am with Octupus on the flexible tariff. The heaters are rated 1.5kw each .. I turn them on and off if I go out or depending on my plans for the day. I first moved in beginning of August and there’s been no change in the tariff since then. All other usage has remained the same

Gerry1

Unfortunately you have just about the most expensive form of room heating available.

Do you own or rent?

Horracce

Thanks .. I Own

Swipe

As stated, you have the most expensive form of heating. However, based on your usage during a very cold spell, the good news is that on an average winter's day you should be using less than £4 a day. Huddling under blankets is becoming the norm these days but was quite rare a decade ago.

GDB2222

You may want to move onto an economy 7 tariff and buy some night storage heaters. 

Gerry1

If it's impossible to get gas and not realistic to have oil or a heat pump then you need to consider High Heat Retention Night Storage Heaters such as Dimplex Quantum.  Not cheap to buy and install (get two supplies for each, one E7 and one 24h) and don't bodge it with only one 24h supply.  If in doubt, go for a larger size: you don't want to be chilly in the evening and have to top up at the expensive daytime rate.

They will help you sell for a better price and more quickly when the time comes.  People are now becoming much more aware about the high cost of daytime electricity and for many people panel heaters would be a red line.

Horracce

Thanks, I’m trying to learn quickly here and been looking through some of the other archives .. so I’ve decided to adapt a little, when it really cold, I’m going to mainly heat the lounge (of which the kitchen is off) .. I will keep the door closed to the rest of the flat, and enjoy being warm / very warm .. I can do all my activities both day and evening in there .. and use as required, thick socks,jumpers, fleeces etc if necessary.. that way I can be much warmer for possibly less expense. I don’t do well for not being warm or worrying about excessive cost. With my method, I should be able to stay within budget and build a substantial buffer for the rest of the year by having a bigger DDR each month 

Horracce

Gerry1 said:

If it's impossible to get gas and not realistic to have oil or a heat pump then you need to consider High Heat Retention Night Storage Heaters such as Dimplex Quantum.  Not cheap to buy and install (get two supplies for each, one E7 and one 24h) and don't bodge it with only one 24h supply.  If in doubt, go for a larger size: you don't want to be chilly in the evening and have to top up at the expensive daytime rate.

They will help you sell for a better price and more quickly when the time comes.  People are now becoming much more aware about the high cost of daytime electricity and for many people panel heaters would be a red line.

Thanks. The smart meter I’m on allows for day / night tariffs if required without the need for E7 circuitry (I think)  .. my flat is in a retirement complex where no gas / heat pumps etc are allowed. I may consider the Quantum’s in the future but I wanted to allow at least 12 months to get used to the place before forming any decision ideas… this will be my last move, so I will be here for 10/20/30 years before they cart me away so I’m not bothered about resale issues ..

Gerry1

Horracce said:

Gerry1 said:

If it's impossible to get gas and not realistic to have oil or a heat pump then you need to consider High Heat Retention Night Storage Heaters such as Dimplex Quantum.  Not cheap to buy and install (get two supplies for each, one E7 and one 24h) and don't bodge it with only one 24h supply.  If in doubt, go for a larger size: you don't want to be chilly in the evening and have to top up at the expensive daytime rate.

They will help you sell for a better price and more quickly when the time comes.  People are now becoming much more aware about the high cost of daytime electricity and for many people panel heaters would be a red line.

The smart meter I’m on allows for day / night tariffs if required without the need for E7 circuitry (I think)  ..

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