Energy Prices (Strictly NO referrals!)

[danlightbulb]

I noticed my balance with Octopus was minus £135. My direct debit of £100 has just gone in, so I expected my balance would change to minus £35. It's zero? What happend to the £35

Meter reading taken? Maybe your usage was different to expected.

 

[Haggisman]

Maybe Octopus are making some changes behind the scenes atm? I haven't been able to view my tariff or usage in the app or on the website all morning

 

[200sols]

Per month? We’re in a poorly insulated 4 bed detached and I have a lot of electrical stuff - 245kWh per month!

For your house size you are using a bit below average.

 

[Feek]

Energy saving is working well.

I appreciate it'll go up as the days get shorter because we'll have the lights on for longer but this is a decent saving.

Looking back at previous billing periods, this is what we'd have been billed for the same usage (including standing charge):
Pre April 2022 - £63.09
Post April 2022 - £112.27
Post October 2022 - £137.79

Without standing charge, so just the electricity cost:
Pre April 2022 - £58.67
Post April 2022 - £101.08
Post October 2022 - £123.42

I'm not even looking at gas yet because we're still only using a relatively small amount. Five units on the meter which is around 150kWh. That'll shoot up as the heating kicks in.

 

[MR_Punk]

Going back to the washing. There are 3 of us in our household and the washer is on average once a day, as previously stated kids make a lot of mess. The dryer however only goes on now as a last resort as its either outside or on an airer. I have however turned the washers down to 30C for the most part and cannot tell a difference in the cleanliness of the clothes.

 

[squerble]

I'm not even looking at gas yet because we're still only using a relatively small amount. Five units on the meter which is around 150kWh. That'll shoot up as the heating kicks in.

What does your meter measure in? Because my meter is in m3. We used 5m3 which Octopus have worked out as 56.7kWh - just wondering how you got almost 3x higher (or how Octopus got 3x lower, depending on who's wrong!).

 

[HungryHippos]

It's approximately a 10.9x multiplier from m3 to kwh for gas, so yes at 5m3 you'd be looking at more like 54.5 kwh.

I say approximately because regional variances do exist, your supplier will probably have a ridiculous formula to work it out on the bill.

10.9x tends to get you fairly close though as a quick fag packet maths thing

 

[Curlyriff]

What does your meter measure in? Because my meter is in m3. We used 5m3 which Octopus have worked out as 56.7kWh - just wondering how you got almost 3x higher (or how Octopus got 3x lower, depending on who's wrong!).

Yours is right. It 5m3 would be 52.75kWh exact. You are probably at around 5.375m3 to be at the 56.7kWh .

 

[Feek]

What does your meter measure in? Because my meter is in m3. We used 5m3 which Octopus have worked out as 56.7kWh - just wondering how you got almost 3x higher (or how Octopus got 3x lower, depending on who's wrong!).

It's a very old meter, it's not m3.

4 units is 11.3 m3
7 units is 19.8 m3
15 units is 42.5 m3
36 units is 101.9 m3
40 units is 113.2 m3
43 units is 121.7 m3
55 units is 155.7 m3
57 units is 161.3 m3
64 units is 181.1 m3

If you'd like to work out the conversation factor (it will help me with my spreadsheet), fill your boots

(it's about 2.83)

 

[Curlyriff]

Well a single unit on your meter is 2.825m3. So you multiply your units by 2.825 to get your m3 and then you can take that m3 and multiply that by 10.9 to get your kWh.

So 5x2.825x10.9 = 153.9625kWh. Your spreadsheet should just have the formula with the Unit as the variable and then the multiples in.

Divide the 153.9625 by 5 to give you the per unit to kWh conversion. This would be as below.
1 unit = 30.7925kWh then if you want to simplify that.

 

[pastymuncher]

It's a very old meter, it's not m3.

4 units is 11.3 m3
7 units is 19.8 m3
15 units is 42.5 m3
36 units is 101.9 m3
40 units is 113.2 m3
43 units is 121.7 m3
55 units is 155.7 m3
57 units is 161.3 m3
64 units is 181.1 m3

If you'd like to work out the conversation factor (it will help me with my spreadsheet), fill your boots

(it's about 2.83)

Your conversion factor should be on your monthly statement.

 

[Feek]

@Curlyriff Aye, that's close enough. There's a 'conversion' factor thrown in as well. I'd already worked it out from a couple of readings but have taken an average now.

 

[Feek]

Your conversion factor should be on your monthly statement.

Actually I've checked and it is there, albeit in very small print. It says 2.83 so my post above where I said 2.83 was a good calculation

It's a good reduction in use though, I'm happy with it.

 

[Ormy1]

Let's just remember that everything is going up, yet profits aren't going down, everybody gets pinched apart from those at the top

This. The tories are allowing (even encouraging) the energy companies to jack up their prices, yes wholesale prices are increased due to global factors but the energy companies are doing their own price gouging on top just because they can. And the Tory government is happy to borrow against future taxpayer funds to 'help' people now but it's the executives in charge of the energy companies (and their majority shareholders) who will ultimately benefit, exactly as intended. The government isn't going to reduce prices or profits, they're just going to let you borrow money to pay the inflated costs, which you (the taxpayer) still have to pay back later.

If you can afford it, now is a good time to go solar and stop buying from these despicable energy companies.

 

[squerble]

It's a very old meter, it's not m3.

4 units is 11.3 m3
7 units is 19.8 m3
15 units is 42.5 m3
36 units is 101.9 m3
40 units is 113.2 m3
43 units is 121.7 m3
55 units is 155.7 m3
57 units is 161.3 m3
64 units is 181.1 m3

If you'd like to work out the conversation factor (it will help me with my spreadsheet), fill your boots

(it's about 2.83)

So when are you getting a smart meter?

 

[Feek]

So when are you getting a smart meter?

I fail to see how that'll benefit me

 

[Feek]

I'm just reflecting on our gas use now. Last month we used 5 units which works out as 14.2 m3 which then equates to 158 kWh. This feels like a lot of energy used, especially because at this time of year, it's only used to heat water for showers and when she puts 30° washes on.

We have a Worcester Combi boiler with an alleged efficiency rating of around 90% and the 'eco' button pushed which I always took to mean that it's not continually heating water in the background so it uses less gas. It takes longer to come through hot when we crack the hot tap but surely 'eco' mode is cheaper to run? I'm not so sure now.

 

[Curlyriff]

I'm just reflecting on our gas use now. Last month we used 5 units which works out as 14.2 m3 which then equates to 158 kWh. This feels like a lot of energy used, especially because at this time of year, it's only used to heat water for showers and when she puts 30° washes on.

We have a Worcester Combi boiler with an alleged efficiency rating of around 90% and the 'eco' button pushed which I always took to mean that it's not continually heating water in the background so it uses less gas. It takes longer to come through hot when we crack the hot tap but surely 'eco' mode is cheaper to run? I'm not so sure now.

Your gas usage is half mine for a 2 bed house with zero heating been on for almost a year now. 3 adults showering, some hob cooking (4 nights a week average) and washing up by hand cause we don't have space for a dishwasher at all. That is it though. I don't feel it is huge tbh for your usage based on that. Considering we have a similar boiler and my house only 7yr old.

 

[squerble]

I'm just reflecting on our gas use now. Last month we used 5 units which works out as 14.2 m3 which then equates to 158 kWh. This feels like a lot of energy used, especially because at this time of year, it's only used to heat water for showers and when she puts 30° washes on.

We have a Worcester Combi boiler with an alleged efficiency rating of around 90% and the 'eco' button pushed which I always took to mean that it's not continually heating water in the background so it uses less gas. It takes longer to come through hot when we crack the hot tap but surely 'eco' mode is cheaper to run? I'm not so sure now.

As per my previous post, we used 57kWh of gas for 19 days. If you extrapolate, that comes to about 90kWh a month, which I'm happy will be our "background" gas usage before the heating kicks in - this is 2 of us in a 3-bed detached, both showering once a day (but keeping an eye on how long we stay in the shower for, and a shower at the opposite corner of the house to the boiler, meaning we run the shower for a full minute before the hot water reaches the showerhead), as well as our normal gas hob usage (cooking every day but not everyday uses the hobs, sometimes just the electric oven).

Boiler is an "Ideal Logic Combi C35" or something to that effect. House is coming up to 5 years old so boiler is/should be the same age. The water temp set point I believe is about 55C, but no tank so the lower temp shouldn't be an issue.

 

[200sols]

I'm just reflecting on our gas use now. Last month we used 5 units which works out as 14.2 m3 which then equates to 158 kWh. This feels like a lot of energy used, especially because at this time of year, it's only used to heat water for showers and when she puts 30° washes on.

We have a Worcester Combi boiler with an alleged efficiency rating of around 90% and the 'eco' button pushed which I always took to mean that it's not continually heating water in the background so it uses less gas. It takes longer to come through hot when we crack the hot tap but surely 'eco' mode is cheaper to run? I'm not so sure now.

Length of showers can have a big difference, electric showers are even worse. I'd guess 95% of modern washing machines heat the water themselves as it is more efficient. Eco modes, nah probably rubbish tbh. How does a combi heat water in the background anyway, it comes in via mains and goes out at the same pressure, unless you have one with a water tank?