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Had my octopus email through now too.

Elec useage 5,501kwh
Gas useage 22,148kwh

Estimated cost in total about £4400 a year


Thats a 4 bed detached but with heating set at 21/22 degrees from around 7am to 10pm due to having my Mom and Step Dad (both mid 70's) living with me now due to caring responsibilities.
Average around 10-14kwh of electricity a day, but do have a works EV vehicle which they pay the running costs.
 
Quinnaay said:
My gas usage is 20,000kwh and my electric ks 3,600 crazy how much gas I use in comparison! I even got a new combi boiler last year too.
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Insulation, insulation, insulation.

With heating, it’s all about minimising heat loss rather than maximising heat gain via a more efficient boiler. That said it’s also worth making sure your boiler is actually working in its most efficient mode as many don’t.

Most gas fitters just throw them in and don’t consider the whole system design. The boiler then just ends up running in a less efficient mode as the circumstances needed to hit those peek efficiency numbers never arise.
 
Quinnaay said:
I had my cavity walls done last year, it’s a 4 bed detached. I do believe my windows/doors are past there sell by date though letting cold in
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Yes, you can only do what you can with the property you have. I assume you’ve got at least 250mm (or more) in the loft already if you have gone and got cavity wall put in?

Windows are the biggest issue in my place and they are only 20 years old. They are really drafty despite being UPVC and double glazed. They need ripping out but it’s a big job and really not cheap at all.

Floors are something to consider if they are suspended, it’s not that difficult to DIY if you don’t mind getting stuck in. Solid floors are obviously much more difficult to deal with.
 
Just had our estimated charges from 2nd April with octopus. Last year's usage was:

10500kwh gas
8375kwh electricity

I was pleasantly surprised as last years was wfh for both of us and we definitely had the gas CH on way more than usual.

We also have an EV and did 12000 miles last year, charged at home, which by my quick maths accounts for about 3750kwh. I also did some crypto mining and had 3 laptops / pcs on 24/7 most days.

Going to stay on the Octopus standard tariff as no fixed rates make any sense.
 
At the rate gas is going up relative to electricity, if one were to be replacing a boiler, would going for an electric boiler be a better option? Has anyone done the numbers?
 
TNA said:
At the rate gas is going up relative to electricity, if one were to be replacing a boiler, would going for an electric boiler be a better option? Has anyone done the numbers?
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No, it makes no sense to get for an electric boiler. Gas is still 3x cheaper than electric

The only thing that may work from a running cost perspective is a heat pump but the sums don’t really work once you factor in the cost to retrofit, hence the incentives out there.
 
b0rn2sk8 said:
Insulation, insulation, insulation.

With heating, it’s all about minimising heat loss rather than maximising heat gain via a more efficient boiler. That said it’s also worth making sure your boiler is actually working in its most efficient mode as many don’t.

Most gas fitters just throw them in and don’t consider the whole system design. The boiler then just ends up running in a less efficient mode as the circumstances needed to hit those peek efficiency numbers never arise.
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This is something that I'm looking into now, my new-build is across three storeys and with towel rails in all of the bathrooms which aren't on a particular loop (3 of them), they are on for either H/W or C/H. If I turn the heating on for all floors and the hot water on at the same time, it takes literally hours for the boiler to get to an efficient running temperature. Balancing the system has helped massively, I was initially finding that the bathrooms got very hot with the towel rails whilst the rest of the house was still cold so I've adjusted the thermostats accordingly.

I need to look into timeshifting my hot water and heating next though, so they aren't running at the same time.

Any suggestions / resources for setting the system up better?
 
b0rn2sk8 said:
No, it makes no sense to get for an electric boiler. Gas is still 3x cheaper than electric

The only thing that may work from a running cost perspective is a heat pump but the sums don’t really work once you factor in the cost to retrofit, hence the incentives out there.
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It's not that simple though, if you had a battery system that you can charge overnight on economy7 then gas unit prices are identical to electric unit prices, except the electric will be theoretically more efficient to heat 1m3 of water.
 
ci_newman said:
It's not that simple though, if you had a battery system that you can charge overnight on economy7 then gas unit prices are identical to electric unit prices, except the electric will be theoretically more efficient to heat 1m3 of water.
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I’m not sure you have thought that through.

If you want to include water and space heating that battery system would need to be at least 50kwh of storage for a straight electric system to cover the winter need for a pretty average house.

That kind of system would cost tens of thousands to install.

You could have a smaller battery if you spent another £10k on retrofitting a heat pump system.

You can’t just ignore all of those costs.
 
ci_newman said:
It's not that simple though, if you had a battery system that you can charge overnight on economy7 then gas unit prices are identical to electric unit prices, except the electric will be theoretically more efficient to heat 1m3 of water.
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That’s what I was wondering, would one just compare like for like like he did or is electric more efficient at heating?
 
Electric is more efficient but not by much if you are talking about straight resistive electric heating.

A gas boiler will be in the 75-90% range, depending on age, state of repair and the total system design. An electric heater is about 99% (nothing is perfect).

It’s only when you start bringing heat pumps into the mix where electric makes any sense as they can have a coefficient of performance between 200 and 400% depending on the conditions but they cost £lol to retrofit properly at the moment compared to a boiler.
 
Journey said:
Surely going on Go tariff makes sense, or even Go Faster given you used 3750kWh to charge. Especially as the day time rate difference between SVR and Go is about 2p.
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I would if a smart meter would fit in our meter cupboard. There's absolutely no room for one. The smart meter fitter did our gas one last month but could find no place for the electricity meter.

Are the published rates of 7.5p between 00:30 and 04:30, then ~30p for the rest still correct? Along with a standing charge of 24.38p per day? Or do they increase after April?

If they are correct after April, the cost saving will easily offset the cost of a new backboard and consumer unit to accommodate the smart meter.
 
Christ my usage has me worried compared to some. Granted its a a 4 bed pre 1900 property but its coming in at 32000 :eek::eek:

We're on a nest thermostat with a set schedule. It's only set at 20c too. Gonna have to look at some more insulation and cutting rooms off completely (those not in use set to low).

May look at getting the meter tested too as does seem way off?
 
I feel lucky to an extent, I down sized last year from a large Victorian place, gas usage for the year before I sold was 39K KWh :eek:, I feel for the people who bought it. My far more modest 4 bed Victorian semi used 17K KWh last year (its already got cavity insulation and replacement double glazed wood sash windows). It does have exposed floor boards downstairs though and the gaps need filling asap.
 
DanTheMan said:
I would if a smart meter would fit in our meter cupboard. There's absolutely no room for one. The smart meter fitter did our gas one last month but could find no place for the electricity meter.

Are the published rates of 7.5p between 00:30 and 04:30, then ~30p for the rest still correct? Along with a standing charge of 24.38p per day? Or do they increase after April?

If they are correct after April, the cost saving will easily offset the cost of a new backboard and consumer unit to accommodate the smart meter.
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Weird our electric smart meter was way smaller than the old non-smart one.

Costs fixed right now, they haven't said it they'll go up yet in April.
 
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