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Energy usage - how much gas/electricity do you use?
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badlywornroy
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badlywornroy
I am not macho
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I do think there is an argument to be made that the further north you live the more H.M.Gov should help with your fuel bills ? I am a little biased of course, but would
not begrudge Northumberland residents getting more than me. . . . Just as long as I'm getting more than 'south coast softies'.
not begrudge Northumberland residents getting more than me. . . . Just as long as I'm getting more than 'south coast softies'.
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In my view it should be compound formula to help target help where it is most needed, combining several factors (no single one works) in something like a points based system. Anyone on benefits goes straight to the top, council tax band, location in country, health conditions etc. That would make one heck of a complicated system that likely would have almost as many problems as it solves, but as the only thing I run is an armchair not a country I'm at liberty to think it would be a good idea.
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Iirc it used to work exactly opposite to that. Cold weather payments were triggered when the temperature hit a certain number. This was lower in the North because "they were used to it"I do think there is an argument to be made that the further north you live the more H.M.Gov should help with your fuel bills ? I am a little biased of course, but would
not begrudge Northumberland residents getting more than me. . . . Just as long as I'm getting more than 'south coast softies'.
badlywornroy
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I also like your thinking. Sadly it would probably be that complicated (if even possible) and expensive that it would cost as much again as the actual assistance. And as a final
thought I sincerely doubt there is anyone in the Government with the intelligence to handle anything complicated ? (notice I didn't say ' this complicated' )
badlywornroy
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This was lower in the North because " they were used to it " Really ? that's outrageous if correct.
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I genuinely think it would be easier (and probably cheaper) to nationalise power generation and make it affordable for all. Invest heavily in renewable power and schemes whereby new houses have net zero power requirements, estates are heated by communal schemes and everybody has enough money to start warm.
But that's hardly a Conservative point of view.
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Yeah that's what I remember. Right around the time that nice Mrs Currie was telling older people to knit hats.
Can't find the details online ATM but the old system was incredibly complicated so that people only knew they were getting money after they had spent it.
Nod
Tootles
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Mrs Nod is a Northener while I'm born and bred soft, Southern nancy but it was her who put the heating on!
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You need to look at a 'secondary return' unless you have a combi boiler. Also make sure pipes are insulated.
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badlywornroy
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Hmm ! Nationalisation. that 'old chestnut' We have to accept privatisation is the way forward, promoting competition, increasing efficiency, and lowering costs.
Just look at the benefits, there's the railways, the energy sector, Royal mail . . . err, are you convinced ?
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Nod
Tootles
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Well they do say men are from Mars and women are from Venus.........and Venus is one heck of a hot place (as we know now)
And how about Venusians "of a certain age"?
badlywornroy
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Just received a letter from Octopus energy containing the following paragraph:
An email from Octopus Energy
An email from Octopus Energy
|
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Its not April thats going to be the issue, as energy consumption reduces in the summer months, its next winter!
badlywornroy
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Well, it depends. We often get snow and associated weather in april. Of course bills should be lower after april but will folk be able to build up a credit for the coming winter ?
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Only if they can afford to pay 20% more than their current 2022/3 winter rate and offset £66 rebate deduction - if you are currently paying £400 a month, that means you need to start paying £546 (a nice 36% increase on current levels
),(even at current payments of £200 a month you would be looking at £306 (£40 rate cap rise, £66 rebate offset), more than 50% increase ) - along with many fixed rate mortgage packages ending, this is not good news.
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From what I can find the new energy price guarantee unit rates and daily standing charges after April 2023 around 12p per kWh for gas and 40p per kWh for Electric and the daily standing charge will be about 30p for gas and 50p for electric.
For me that means an annual bill of around £4000 a year or around £335 a month that's up from £230 a month that I'm paying at the moment.
On the bright side that's a bit less than the predicted price cap prices for 2023 which would have left me paying around £5000 a year or £410 a month.
For me that means an annual bill of around £4000 a year or around £335 a month that's up from £230 a month that I'm paying at the moment.
On the bright side that's a bit less than the predicted price cap prices for 2023 which would have left me paying around £5000 a year or £410 a month.
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New Worcester Bosh oil boiler installed outside in 2018 was £4.5kI wonder how much you can safe on installing a new boiler. I have 15 years old Vokera.
but then if its worth doing it, while new oiler can be £1000-2000, installation same, around £2k.
Unless I could get some cowboy to install it for me
Scottish Power or British Gas would be even more expensive.
Anyone installed new boiler lately? How much was it?
badlywornroy
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The 'old' boilers have cast iron heat exchangers, these heat exchangers last for ever but are slow to heat up and inefficient. Modern boilers may use copper, aluminium or stainless steel heat exchangers. All have advantages/ disadvantages. They will heat up far quicker than the aforementioned 'old' ones and are far more efficient i.e Gas in / Heat out. They will not last anyway near as long as the ' old ' ones. Of the 3 a quality stainless steel heat exchanger will probably last the longest in a domestic system.
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We had a new boiler installed 12 months ago at a cost of £2500 ish to replace an 18 year old one.
We are using about 25/30 % less gas than before ,year on year comparison plus we have a 10 year warranty
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Time to resurrect this thread
I'm sure EDF are taking the proverbial,
I pay £233 / month, a late 60's place, 4 bedrooms, double glazing and cavity wall insulation.
They guesstimated a 10,000+ Kw/hour on gas, I just checked and this last quarter I actually used about 10% of that.
So that works out to about 40% of that, over the year.
Electric, 3000+ Kw/hour That's about the same as last year ( no real surprise 2 x 100x heaters on a thermostat for the snakes and a pond pump and UV filter ( 36w/hour) running 24/7
I looked on Octopus and going on last years figures from EDF it came out at less than £100.
Going on this years EDF guesstimates, its a fraction over £200.
The trouble is EDF don't make it easy to find these details, I guess they don't want me to swap.
My yearly contract runs from August to August, I could swap now and hope to save £30 / month ( no penalty for leaving)
Or wait until August and get the actual figures from the past year, and see if EDF drops my payment,
or I have something concrete to take to octopus.
I'm sure EDF are taking the proverbial,
I pay £233 / month, a late 60's place, 4 bedrooms, double glazing and cavity wall insulation.
They guesstimated a 10,000+ Kw/hour on gas, I just checked and this last quarter I actually used about 10% of that.
So that works out to about 40% of that, over the year.
Electric, 3000+ Kw/hour That's about the same as last year ( no real surprise 2 x 100x heaters on a thermostat for the snakes and a pond pump and UV filter ( 36w/hour) running 24/7
I looked on Octopus and going on last years figures from EDF it came out at less than £100.
Going on this years EDF guesstimates, its a fraction over £200.
The trouble is EDF don't make it easy to find these details, I guess they don't want me to swap.
My yearly contract runs from August to August, I could swap now and hope to save £30 / month ( no penalty for leaving)
Or wait until August and get the actual figures from the past year, and see if EDF drops my payment,
or I have something concrete to take to octopus.
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The usage figures are only used to give you a predicted figure. It is more for you to made the judgement call. You don't need to have any data to switch. I would look at your actual tariff differences, see if there's any difference in unit rates and standing charges between the suppliers. So the earlier switch to a cheaper tariff, the better.
Octopus also have the tracker tariff, it is the cheapest by miles. https://mysmartenergy.uk/Tracker/Southern-England
If you do end up switch to Octopus, worth going through a referral link to get £50 credit (and if you use this one, I also get £50 credit): https://share.octopus.energy/fawn-puma-136
Cavity wall insulation, I've wanted to get this done. Did you find this useful at all?
Octopus also have the tracker tariff, it is the cheapest by miles. https://mysmartenergy.uk/Tracker/Southern-England
If you do end up switch to Octopus, worth going through a referral link to get £50 credit (and if you use this one, I also get £50 credit): https://share.octopus.energy/fawn-puma-136
Cavity wall insulation, I've wanted to get this done. Did you find this useful at all?
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It was a few years ago now, but I'm sure it made a difference, (semi detached)
Thanks for the heads up.
I just tried U-Switch it seems that they aren't offering their services at the moment, but as energy prices are set to drop (
) they will inform me, who is the best when they do, and they are back in business
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I've just checked my area, ( east midlands) Electric 16.8p v 32p and gas is 3.6p v 10p
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badlywornroy
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While I cannot comment on the potential savings (if any) from switching I will say this. I have now been with Octopus Energy for approx 2 years. Previously I have been with quite a few other firms, some that have 'folded' and some still trading. Octopus in my experience are head & shoulders above all the others. I am basing this on their Customer service and management of my account. As Octopus 'grows' by attracting new customers and by ' swallowing ' failed companies this could change if their infrastructure fails to expand proportionally. I certainly hope not, but a previous company I was with ' Together Energy ' was likewise very impressive until the Regulator allowed them to ' swallow' another failed company's customer base. Together Energy almost overnight became a nightmare and subsequently ceased to trade.
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It does seem favourite, its been recommended by a few people over the months,
I've been looking at other alternatives, and the quotes are 30 odd quid cheaper / month than EDF.
Using their
I'm sure their (EDF) guesstimates are way off, that's what I meant when I mentioned waiting to see what the final figures are in August.
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You've lived in the house for over a few years? Have you got historic meter readings? Eg. when you moved in vs current readings, divide by years living in it. The usage figure doesn't have to come from the energy company.
Before smart meter, I used to keep meter reading photos in a folder. Later I entered everything into a spreadsheet and was able to work out annual usage and trends. Now it's all done automatically with data fed into my Home Assistant Energy dashboard.
I recall being with EDF, NPower, BG, Flow, Bulb and Octopus. I much prefer the smaller one's Email comms method. I honestly can't say I've had any problem with the last 3 on the list. But Octopus is special compared to the other 2 in that they are technology based. Their back-end "Kraken" is smarter than traditional big energy company who hedges their bets. Hence that's why it seems Octopus are still around and offer the best price. https://octopusenergy.group/kraken-technologies
Before smart meter, I used to keep meter reading photos in a folder. Later I entered everything into a spreadsheet and was able to work out annual usage and trends. Now it's all done automatically with data fed into my Home Assistant Energy dashboard.
I recall being with EDF, NPower, BG, Flow, Bulb and Octopus. I much prefer the smaller one's Email comms method. I honestly can't say I've had any problem with the last 3 on the list. But Octopus is special compared to the other 2 in that they are technology based. Their back-end "Kraken" is smarter than traditional big energy company who hedges their bets. Hence that's why it seems Octopus are still around and offer the best price. https://octopusenergy.group/kraken-technologies
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I have been charged so far in 2023, £720 for Electricity and £949 for Gas. The estimated annual bill is £1785 for Electricity and £1790 for Gas. I was with Bulb but now Octopus when Bulb went bankrupt.
Dave
Dave
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Over 40 years, and changed suppliers several times over the years, so no, no historic records.
But I do remember when I first went with them, it was £86, / month it quickly went up 10 quid.
Then it went to £160, and then £233, blaming the war in Ukraine and my in growing toenail.
I've been with EDF for about 3 years, and every year they increase what they think I'm using, and yet it remains pretty stable.
So yes it is the company guestimating my usage.
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The bill amount changes over time and it is difficult to compare due to different standing charge and unit rates. It's only meaningful to the individual.
I'm talking about actual meter readings. When you submit your readings, have you got a record of those over time? You have to submit meter readings when switching supplier. You can use those to estimate your annual usage. Eg, when you switched to EDF. Take your current meter reading, minus the readings when you switched to EDF, divide it by years in decimal, this gives you your average annual usage over last 3 years.
I'm talking about actual meter readings. When you submit your readings, have you got a record of those over time? You have to submit meter readings when switching supplier. You can use those to estimate your annual usage. Eg, when you switched to EDF. Take your current meter reading, minus the readings when you switched to EDF, divide it by years in decimal, this gives you your average annual usage over last 3 years.
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As above, no.
I never felt the need to keep records, EDF only goes back 2 years, and again, as above they are grossly over estimating the gas usage, electric remains fairly stable.
badlywornroy
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Octopus make recommendations as to my monthly DD but I can change it online via my account. I doubt for one minute they would allow payments that allow debt to build up ? however I have reduced mine a few times when credit has accrued with no objections.
I heard a rumour that it was because they deserved it....