New build energy questions

thejinkazama · 19 September 2018 at 8:17PM

Hi everyone,

We've recently moved to a new build property and have been set up with Taylor Wimpey on a Scottish Gas combined tariff. The Energy Club on the site here requests figures for previous usage or estimations which I'm unable to provide given this is my first home. Reading the latest newsletter has me worried when reading about possible price hikes so I'd like to ensure I'm on the best tariff for my needs. Without the required information, how can I ensure this is the case?

Thanks

matelodave · 19 September 2018 at 9:47PM

You can put in your own estimates for consumption - your guess is every bit as good as anyone elses'.

Try 3500kwh a year for leccy and 13000kwh a year for gas and you wont go far wrong

FullForce · 20 September 2018 at 1:25PM

thejinkazama wrote: »

Hi everyone,

We've recently moved to a new build property and have been set up with Taylor Wimpey on a Scottish Gas combined tariff. The Energy Club on the site here requests figures for previous usage or estimations which I'm unable to provide given this is my first home. Reading the latest newsletter has me worried when reading about possible price hikes so I'd like to ensure I'm on the best tariff for my needs. Without the required information, how can I ensure this is the case?

Thanks

You can't. You will only get accurate results based on an accurate anticipated annual consumption in kWh.
So all you can do at this stage is use an estimate - much better than guessing

1. Call your supplier and ask them. They probably have already an estimation, and would certainly need to come up with one if you don't already pay monthly by DD (where it would be needed) but request even a quotation based on that payment method

or

2. Refer to your EPC

or

3. Argubly the simplest and most obvious choice - use the "Don't know (we'll estimate it for you)" option in the CEC. :cool:

Whichever you choose, you then need to keep an eye on actual usage and update the estimation as and when you have a more accurate feel for the quantity you will actually use.

thejinkazama · 21 October 2018 at 11:22AM

Hi again,

Thank you both for your input. We have now received our first autumn gas and electricity bill through from Scottish Gas which gives us our estimated energy use "this autumn" (the bill period was between 25th August and 3rd October). Inputting this into the Cheap Energy Club gives us our options for switching. I'm assuming that the results are calculated by multiplying the autumn results by four to give us an estimation for the year. If so, is this a good time to switch using this information or would you recommend waiting until our next bill (presumably for winter) comes through?

Thanks

System · 21 October 2018 at 11:33AM

thejinkazama wrote: »

Hi again,

Thank you both for your input. We have now received our first autumn gas and electricity bill through from Scottish Gas which gives us our estimated energy use "this autumn" (the bill period was between 25th August and 3rd October). Inputting this into the Cheap Energy Club gives us our options for switching. I'm assuming that the results are calculated by multiplying the autumn results by four to give us an estimation for the year. If so, is this a good time to switch using this information or would you recommend waiting until our next bill (presumably for winter) comes through?

Thanks

Err - no. Suppliers use their own clever algorithms to calculate annual energy consumption - based on %s of annual energy consumption by month. As stated above your EPC will show your space and water heating estimate. I have just moved into a new build and my EPC shows gas consumption of 8800kWhs/year. As we moved from a home with LED lights into a home with LED lights and more energy efficient appliances, I have reduced my previous electricity consumption by 15%. I have now switched to a new supplier and I am monitoring my energy consumption closely. My present supplier doesn't have tariff exit fees so I can switch at any time. That said, with recent tariff increases, I suspect that we will end up staying with our chosen supplier.

thejinkazama · 21 October 2018 at 1:37PM

Thank you for your reply. I've referred to my EPC which estimates heat demand of just shy of 4600 kWh per year so I've added that to the Energy Club. Is it advisable to purchase an energy monitor, get some data from that over a couple of months then return with more accurate figures for electricity before possibly making a switch?

Thanks again

Robin9 · 21 October 2018 at 1:43PM

thejinkazama wrote: »

Thank you for your reply. I've referred to my EPC which estimates heat demand of just shy of 4600 kWh per year so I've added that to the Energy Club. Is it advisable to purchase an energy monitor, get some data from that over a couple of months then return with more accurate figures for electricity before possibly making a switch?

Thanks again

Just read your meter - send the readings to your supplier and keep your own records in a simple spreadsheet.

Your supplier may allow you to adjust your DD - some want you to always be in credit.

System · 21 October 2018 at 3:52PM

thejinkazama wrote: »

Thank you for your reply. I've referred to my EPC which estimates heat demand of just shy of 4600 kWh per year so I've added that to the Energy Club. Is it advisable to purchase an energy monitor, get some data from that over a couple of months then return with more accurate figures for electricity before possibly making a switch?

Thanks again

You can overthink these things. You could well save money by not waiting. There is little point in spending, say, £30 for a monitor to switch in 6 month’s time to a tariff that costs you £25 a year more. Estimating annual energy consumption is not an exact science in any property - new or old.

New build energy questions

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