Energy Prices (Strictly NO referrals!)

NotAGolf said:
Thanks. That's really helpful. It's good to hear that you're still getting good performance without the perfect setup (small pipes). That's one of my big concerns about heat pumps - thty only work well if you've got an ideal (or close to) setup for them.

The house we're looking at is a similar size, but older with likely worse insulation, we'll be looking to do quite a lot of renovating though. We can easily improve the loft insulation, and any new walls we build will be up to modern standards. We'll likely be moving/replacing the majority of rads/pipework too, so could ensure the replacements are well suited for a heat pump.
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You can use the ‘heat punk’ website to make sure you are sizing rads appropriately for the room. I’d target a 45C or below flow temperature as a good compromise between performance and radiator size, just make sure you use the same target flow temperature in each room! Plumb in rads using 15mm copper is fine. Some considerations may need to be given to your flow and return though the radiator loop and that will depend on your total heat loss.

I’d recommend looking at some of the resources on the heat geek you tube channel on heat pumps and pipework sizing.
 
Oh Ed not again. said:
Anyone managed to get Octopus to refund their surplus credit in their account recently?

The app says I can't do a refund as they haven't had a reading recently. I'm on a smart meter, and I've submitted readings so that's a lie. I've mailed them twice and had no reply. :(
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mine says that also £800 in credit. I just cut my monthlies down and gonna let it whittle down
 
b0rn2sk8 said:
You can use the ‘heat punk’ website to make sure you are sizing rads appropriately for the room. I’d target a 45C or below flow temperature as a good compromise between performance and radiator size, just make sure you use the same target flow temperature in each room! Plumb in rads using 15mm copper is fine. Some considerations may need to be given to your flow and return though the radiator loop and that will depend on your total heat loss.

I’d recommend looking at some of the resources on the heat geek you tube channel on heat pumps and pipework sizing.
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Thanks for mentioning the heat punk website, not see that before. Can you use it even if you're not considering a heat pump and are there any drawbacks from using the website?
 
Mysterae_ said:
Thanks for mentioning the heat punk website, not see that before. Can you use it even if you're not considering a heat pump and are there any drawbacks from using the website?
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I can’t see why you couldn’t use it with another heating source - all the system design principles are identical between gas and heat pumps.

I guess the only caveat is that it doesn’t replace getting a proper survey done by someone who is a well trained** installer who knows exactly what they are doing with the tools.

**the reason why we are in this mess and heat pumps have a terrible reputation compared to the continent is because for decades domestic heating systems have been installed with zero consideration for the wider system design.

You can get away with it on a gas boiler because the difference in performance between an excellent system and a terrible one is 10-15% on your bill and no one knows any different.

When it comes to installing a slightly different product that’s much more sensitive to system design and you could lose 50% of your performance, the whole thing falls flat on its face.
 
b0rn2sk8 said:
I can’t see why you couldn’t use it with another heating source - all the system design principles are identical between gas and heat pumps.

I guess the only caveat is that it doesn’t replace getting a proper survey done by someone who is a well trained** installer who knows exactly what they are doing with the tools.

**the reason why we are in this mess and heat pumps have a terrible reputation compared to the continent is because for decades domestic heating systems have been installed with zero consideration for the wider system design.

You can get away with it on a gas boiler because the difference in performance between an excellent system and a terrible one is 10-15% on your bill and no one knows any different.

When it comes to installing a slightly different product that’s much more sensitive to system design and you could lose 50% of your performance, the whole thing falls flat on its face.
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Thanks.

I totally get your points. I've had a few "drive-by" surveys done in the past and they didn't instil me with confidence. Saying things like I'd need the downstairs converted to UFH or install radiators the size of the wall etc. That was a few years ago now and I'd think the technology has moved on a bit.

I think in the next few years the existing heating oil boiler and biomass boiler will both need replacing making me consider alternatives again, I'm watching the market closely.
 
squerble said:
Prices on Agile are a bit pants today! Hitting 45p at 17:30, and still up at 29p 19:30-20:00 tonight :eek:
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Yeah I have noticed peak topping 40p lately, although when I went to octopus compare I am still profiting of the tariff. Peak is only 3 hours a day.

My dual fuel variable DD is still hovering around £65, the most recent £63.42.
 
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Oh Ed not again. said:
Anyone managed to get Octopus to refund their surplus credit in their account recently?

The app says I can't do a refund as they haven't had a reading recently. I'm on a smart meter, and I've submitted readings so that's a lie. I've mailed them twice and had no reply. :(
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Yep had one a few days ago. The app is a bit slow, you have to wait a few days after you submitted readings (or after smart readings registered, or after a bill produced) for the app to update and allow you to withdraw.
 
danlightbulb said:
Yep had one a few days ago. The app is a bit slow, you have to wait a few days after you submitted readings (or after smart readings registered, or after a bill produced) for the app to update and allow you to withdraw.
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I got a response from mailing "[email protected]". They explained to me that they were missing two imported energy readings, that's why I couldn't do a refund. Then took another £300 from my account and said they'd do me a refund and asked how much I wanted. That was at 2pm. Not heard anything since.


I'm utterly perplexed, so they knew they were missing readings yet knew exactly how much to charge me after I complained about not being able to get a refund.
 
They can estimate for any missing readings, or they can charge average use at SVR. Or they can not bill you for those missing readings and your account will be manually reviewed in time when they will rebill you properly some months later.. most people find that worse.
 
200sols said:
They can estimate for any missing readings, or they can charge average use at SVR. Or they can not bill you for those missing readings and your account will be manually reviewed in time when they will rebill you properly some months later.. most people find that worse.
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I think they charged with SVR looking at it. Ick. I think my smart meter is a potato.
 
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Still sticking with it for now but not looking great.
 
bigmike20vt said:
have to LOL at octopus suggested payments. i have been paying £71 a month and my balance is getting out of control at £800 credit, so i logged in to reduce it and it is telling me i need to up my payment to over £100 based on my usage.

given that even at £71 over 12 months (so including last winter) my balance has got as high as it is, i just dont see how the algorithm can want me to increase!.

i tried a few figures and the app has let me lower to £51.... that is something at least....saves me contacting a person!.... (I already have 1 outstanding problem with them due to 10 missing days timed usage due to a bug with their system so dont want to over work them :D )
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I'm only on my second month with them and they want me to increase my DD to £200 (Currently at £186) to make up for winter. I am in credit of £105 - so will keep an eye on it.

dlockers said:
Powers on. Boomers do make me laugh - the WhatsApp group has gone wild with near-death idiots whinging there is no power. I thought they were the make do and mend lot, seem like a right bunch of pansies.
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They would not survive in South Africa; we had outages up to 12hrs a day. Outages (Called Load Shedding locally) started in 2008 and continued to 2024 - still not solved yet to this day. I had a full solar array and batteries though from 2020 until this year when I left. So wasn't too affected. but it got really rough.
 
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