To wonder how holiday home owners regulate power usage?

[Giggorata]

Times is 'ard and it looks as though we might have to let out the Scottish cottage for the holiday/weekend trade.
We've only ever rented it out to friends/friends of friends/family before this, and by rented, I mean usually asking for contributions to electricity and council tax.
Now that both are going through the roof, this probably has to change.
So, I am wondering how we can ensure that an electric fire won't be left on for two months, for example, (looking at you, DS2).
Is there any way of doing something remotely? Via smart meter, Hive or something?
We live 4 hours away by car, and fuel is also rocketing…

We stayed at a cottage in Belgium a couple of years ago where the owners asked us to email photographs of the meters on arrival and before departure. They then calculated usage and took it from our waiver.

We use smart thermostats to an extent and just incorporate average costs into the weekly rent.

The smart thermostats so we can make sure it’s working whilst guests in there. Can check it isn’t too cold overnight etc. our heating for whole building is connected and goes off overnight, but we can override and turn on if colder.

We generally have guests in summer only (well 90%), so it’s only really electric costs to watch rise. Ours have remained fairly stable so far ( not uk). Will have to just add an extra £5 per day or something into daily rate if it sky rockets.

For you I suggest also adding slightly more to daily rate to accommodate electric and wood. Also add sensors onto hallway, utility and outside lights, ours all go off after 10 mins if no movement.
You can also make sure appliances are eco versions.

Meter readings at the start and end of each let - anything over a pre-agreed amount for fair usage is chargeable.

We use Nest for heating (I think it is capped at a reasonable temperature), have optional wood stoves and replaced all bulbs with LED ones that use much less energy.

HELLITHURT you may choose to live in denial about the effect you are having on communities in the location of your holiday / second home, but that does not mean that the problem does not exist, and that you are not part of it.

Holiday homes are destroying commutes all across the UK. Fact.

destroying communities

You too Shreddies. Will your holiday home be lying empty while you can't afford to go there? That's even worse!

I make no apology for derailing the thread.

Honestly getting quite sick of paying good money for holiday cottages only to be kept cold by stingy owners. Booked a cottage with a pool in June and the outside pool was 20 degrees and they'd locked the heater away so you couldn't turn it up. Also had two sunloungers in a house sleeping 6 and their bbq was one of tiny round things the size of a dinner plate. When you pay for these things you expect them to be usable.

Had another where the heating was restricted to mornings and evenings only.

And I think if you're going out hiking in cold weather, coming home to a nice hot house is a reasonable holiday luxury, rather than finding the heating has been turned off while you were out.

If you rent a place out you shouldn't be imposing your lifestyle choices on those people.

@Gizacluethen

Honestly getting quite sick of paying good money for holiday cottages only to be kept cold by stingy owners. Booked a cottage with a pool in June and the outside pool was 20 degrees and they'd locked the heater away so you couldn't turn it up. Also had two sunloungers in a house sleeping 6 and their bbq was one of tiny round things the size of a dinner plate. When you pay for these things you expect them to be usable.

Had another where the heating was restricted to mornings and evenings only.

And I think if you're going out hiking in cold weather, coming home to a nice hot house is a reasonable holiday luxury, rather than finding the heating has been turned off while you were out.

If you rent a place out you shouldn't be imposing your lifestyle choices on those people.

Sorry I didn't actually get to my point. I'm not accusing you of doing that. Just make sure that the things you put in place to stop things being left on when there's no one there doesn't impose on the guests stay.

A cleaner turning the heating down at the end of everyone's stay is really the simplest solution I think.

Havjng a cottage which is let year round is much better than one that is left empty.

My family are all f/t residents in holiday cottage areas and fully booked cottages keep the economy going. The shops, the boat trips, cafes, restaurants, local attractions etc.

All of which provide hugely significant employment. And the various local employment sectors closed, relocated, went to China etc.

It’s visitors who buy dressed crab fresh fish and mussels. Agri-business employs gangs of E Europeans (when they can get them, which they now can’t. So while locals don’t want that work, fruit farms have been closed down and because the land has to remain ‘agricultural’ people buy llamas, and employ locals to do llama walking. Thank goodness there are visitors prepared to pay to do that!).

Meanwhile empty cottages used sporadically by private owners are like black holes in the village. No lights on, no community, no economy. The family generally rock up on a Friday, park the XC90 on the verge and unload the Waitrose shop they brought with them, departing ruefully on Sunday night expecting local neighbours to sympathise with their job ‘back in the smoke’ as the overflowing bin disappears in the rear view mirror.

@Lindy2

I think paying guests would expect to be able to increase and decrease heating as they wish. Renting a cottage for a week or weekend usually isn't particularly cheap so it should be included in the price.

You're going to need a cleaner/maintenance person/emergency local contact so I think generally they would be responsible for resetting any heating.

I have stayed at a cottage where the meter readings were taken and a certain allowance for gas and electricity was permitted. Anything above the allowance was chargeable. I found that a bit annoying but it did mean we were more careful with leaving lights. We stayed within the allowance. I think I'd expect normal use to be included and only excessive use charged. Again though you need someone on site to deal with all that a check in and check out.

I agree with @Lindy2 . If you're staying in a holiday cottage you should be able to have it at a temperature that is comfortable to you and the price should reflect that. I have had to pay for metered electric at one holiday cottage we stayed at, but it was fairly budget accommodation so it didn't jar too much.

Mind you I suppose it depends how much the price of these things increases. If other holiday cottages charge separately and it becomes a thing, then go for it.

Homehomeintherange

A proportion of holiday homes can be a good thing. And full holiday homes are usually (not always) better than empty holiday homes.

But there are FAR too many of them, and they are destroying our communities.

Yes, some visitors do spend more money than locals, but not al of them do, and the effect of too many holiday homes is devastating. House prices sky rocketing and schools closing, to name but two specific problems.

Quite patronising tbh to believe that locals should be grateful for tourist economy / holiday homes. The tourist industry is not without its drawbacks.

Not sure I care to be honest how you heat your second home. You're charging hundreds per week to let it out for holidays. If you can't manage to pay your bills with that, then you can't afford it and should sell it. You can't be making people spend hundreds on a holiday then keeping them cold. Yeah people are having to do that at home, I would not expect to do it on holiday as its different and it's a luxury. As much as people try to protest this on here, if you can afford to have two homes, you're wealthy. Even if it was inherited.

Sell the house if it's too much, or suck it up and pay for it.

To the posters saying that people shouldn't own holiday cottages - where would other people then be able to go on holiday? The areas that rely on tourism would have no visitors, the residents would surely not be able to find jobs as easily and so wouldn't be able to buy the properties that are no longer holiday cottages.

Are you suggesting that the only option for holidays should be hotels? Would these need to be built to accomodate the guests. I don't see how not having holiday cottages would actually work.

I know someone who has a couple of cottages and was having this conversation with her recently because of the fuel price rises. It's easy to say that the cleaner can turn down the heating when the guest leaves but there's no easy way to stop them having it on at 25 degrees 24/7 when they are there. Or not without the costs of upgrading the heating systems which isn't an overnight solution anyway

@marqueses - we use tado thermostats. They just add to our regular ‘old’ radiators. Some 30/40 years old. You can definitely ‘lock’ a maximum and minimum.

Ie It’s very cold where we live in winter, especially overnight. We have them on a temperature ‘lock’ that allows adjustment but doesn’t actually allow guests to turn off completely as otherwise we risk the pipes freezing. I think it’s can be adjusted down to 8 degrees, but not off.

The tado is very good. We use everywhere. Our bathroom is set to 20 all day, but 23 7-7.30pm when we bath toddler for example.

@marqueses

To the posters saying that people shouldn't own holiday cottages - where would other people then be able to go on holiday? The areas that rely on tourism would have no visitors, the residents would surely not be able to find jobs as easily and so wouldn't be able to buy the properties that are no longer holiday cottages.

Are you suggesting that the only option for holidays should be hotels? Would these need to be built to accomodate the guests. I don't see how not having holiday cottages would actually work.

I know someone who has a couple of cottages and was having this conversation with her recently because of the fuel price rises. It's easy to say that the cleaner can turn down the heating when the guest leaves but there's no easy way to stop them having it on at 25 degrees 24/7 when they are there. Or not without the costs of upgrading the heating systems which isn't an overnight solution anyway

Only those who can actually afford holiday homes should have them, obviously. Turning down the heating of the house or pool as described by another poster is not on. If you can't afford it, you don't have it. It's just that simple. My family stayed in one recently that the owner clearly can't afford. Doesn't even pay for its maintenance. Things were broken in it and it wasn't properly cleaned.

Hotels aren't a bad thing either.

marquese

I accept that some holiday homes are desirable. As you say, they allow people to have holidays in nice places.

However, in a lot of scenic parts of the UK, there are far too many of them. The numbers need to be reduced significantly. This opinion is widespread in parts of the country which are affected.

In some cases, where there is a connection with a place, or some other good reason for retaining ownership of the house, I guess it can be justified, and gives some holiday homes within any given area.

However, what is now happening a lot is that people are buying houses in these areas purely for investment purposes. IMO that should not be permitted. Invest in something else instead.

Quite patronising tbh to believe that locals should be grateful for tourist economy / holiday homes. The tourist industry is not without its drawbacks.

A good number of my family work in the tourist / hospitality industry. In a rural / coastal holiday area.

I didn't say they should be grateful. I said it is a fact of life that other employment sectors have closed down. (And not as a result of holiday cottages).

Prices going up is an issue. It is in London, too. People whose families have lived in London communities for ages are priced out. And enough local families have sold their holiday destination homes to non local people and used the cash to follow the work. IS a serious issue, all of it, but not simple and not all due to houses used as holiday cottages.

( I do not own a holiday home, and neither do any family members).

Some people need to read the OP carefully. She isn’t renting it out as a holiday home to strangers who yes I agree if they’ve paid for a week away should be able to have it at what temperature they want. She’s letting friends and family stay for free/slight contribution to bills.

I am not obsessed with may car but I need it. Living rurally I cannot get to work or even the shop without it. If I lived in London it would be different for many of us it totally is a necessity.

@QuebecBagnet I have read the OP carefully. She is considering renting it out commercially for money.

OP just read the bit about lack of wifi. That will seriously limit the price you can charge and number of potential renters.

You can get a smart meter that connects to your phone at home and shows daily usage. Then you can charge tenants exactly what they used.

Obviously your housekeeper will ensure the heating onto kept on for 2 months.

You can get smart plugs which limit the temperature of a heater, also sensors that ensure the heater goes off if the windows are open.

I sold a cottage with electic only heaters in lockdown. The amount of people who ramp up the heating to 32 degrees then leave all the windows open is unreal. Factoring in the cost of irresponsible people who do this is impossible asit would make it very expensive for everyone. We often had people who used £95 of electricity in a weekend by overriding the timers on the heaters and presumably leaving every heater on at 32 degrees 24/7.

@AllOfUsAreDead have you actually read OP?? She’s not making hundreds of pounds or letting her guests freeze

[quote rookiemere]@QuebecBagnet I have read the OP carefully. She is considering renting it out commercially for money.

OP just read the bit about lack of wifi. That will seriously limit the price you can charge and number of potential renters.[/quote]
Sorry, you’re right it’s me that needs to read it more carefully. 🙈