Standing Charges on utilities, Is it possible to rid of

QrizB

sounds like a challenge

You might not want to read all 137 pages but HertsLad has been essentially off the energy grid for some years.

I'm not sure I'd choose to live like that, but it's certainly possible.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6334019/how-to-live-without-heating-save-000s

always_learning22

no offence to him but i’m sure there are better way to do it

subjecttocontract

I could live without gas central heating, just about, if I really wanted to. We back onto around 30 acres of woodland that provides enough timber to supply my wood burner throughout the winter. BUT, the work & effort of collecting, chainsawing and chopping it up is really, REALLY hard work. It's wouldn't be worth my time or effort not to pay for gas (or the standing charge).

always_learning22

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81961665#Comment_81961665

So technically you could do it, but the logistics probably aren’t worth it ,and realistically, how much would you even save just relying on a wood fire?

squirrelpie

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81961623#Comment_81961623

I built and live in a very energy efficient house, and I chose not to connect gas, partly to avoid another set of charges, and partly to reduce carbon emissions. And we have solar panels. But I consciously chose to connect to mains water and electricity, because the costs are cheaper and the service is better doing that, IMHO. It's expensive and a lot of effort to live off grid unless you compromise your lifestyle a lot.

always_learning22

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81961752#Comment_81961752

how much of a difference do solar panels make? as a percentage of energy use

QrizB

how much of a difference do solar panels make? as a percentage of energy use

That's one of those "how long is a piece of string" questions. It all depends.

For example, the average dual-fuel household uses 2700kWh of electricity a year. By sheer coincidence I have enough solar panels on my roof that we generate about 2700kWh a year from them. So, if we were an average household, we'd be effectively grid-zero.

But not bills-zero, even ignoring the standing charge. Because the electricity is generated entirely during daylight, and mostly during the warm, sunny April-to-September period, most people will only be able to directly use about one third of the electricity they generate. The rest is exported and sold.

So, if we were average, we'd be using 900kWh of solar electricity directly, selling 1800kWh back to the grid, and buying another 1800kWh when it's dark and cold.

And because export tariffs are mostly lower than import tariffs, we won't be paid as much for exporting as we are charged for importing. Our average household might buy from the grid at 25p/kWh and sell at 12p/kWh.

Before fitting solar, 2700kWh of imported electricity would have cost £675.

After solar, 1800kWh of import will cost £450 and 1800kWh.of export will earn £216. Net cost £234, saving £441.

Now, you can get around this by fitting more solar panels so you generate more (and self-consume a bit more). If you have enough panels to generate 4200kWh a year, so you use 1400, import 1300 and export 2800, your net cost works out to be -£11 and you're making a small profit. With an even bigger array generating 5400kWh a year, you'll probably make enough to zero out the standing charge too.

(My panels are quite old, dating from 2012. Newer ones are more efficient. If I was to replace them I'd probably make 4200kWh, but my roof isn't really big enough to get to 5200kWh.)

QrizB

But - if you're going to do that, you still need the grid. You need somewhere to sell your surplus in summer, and somewhere to buy extra electricity in winter.

If you wanted to go off-grid you'd probably need some sort of storage battery plus a way to get extra electricity in the winter (assuming you don't want to live like HertsLad). Rather than a petrol or diesel generator, these days you could use an EV with V2L and charge it from a public charging point, then drive the battery full of electricity back to your home.

always_learning22

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81961841#Comment_81961841

Sound do able but very difficult logistical, you reckon the new plug in coming won’t make much of a difference?

dunstonh

Do others see standing charges as fair, or does it feel like a poor deal, particularly for low usage households?

Low usage could be for people who have lots of money and have installed solar, which requires infrastructure improvements to cater for it.

that how i feel right, we are paying for the mess up of greedy private companies, Really Utilities should be covered by our taxes. but that’s in another reality

Why should taxpayers suffer the cost of higher users?

Taxpayers are being squeezed harder than ever. Do we really need to give the scroungers even more freebies?