To have buried my head re energy costs?

[itsthesound]

So obviously I've seen the news articles floating around, but tried to ignore what was happening re energy costs.
We currently pay £200 per month for gas and electricity combined.
My provider emailed today to say our fixed term is coming to an end.
If I want another 12 months fixed then it's £409 a month.
I've checked other suppliers and they range from £450-£600 per month on a 12 month fixed deal.
If I stay on variable then it's £210 per month.
How are we actually going to cope?
Are people sticking with variable and hoping for the best? Or going with a fixed term for a horrendous amount per month?
How can they double the cost of something overnight?

Yes you can easily insulate the loft yourself and it will pay for itself.

You need to search for the energy saving threads. Lots of good cheap ideas like door curtains, foil behind radiators, film for Windows to create secondary glazing effect. Draft excluders for doors, you can get special tape for round windows if there are gaps.

Not doing anything about the efficiency of your home is a mistake. It doesn't need to be major work

Loft insulation is definitely recommended. I appreciate that it's easy to be cavalier with other people's money but it really is a pretty straightforward DIY job and can make a big difference.

Have you looked at the unit price and standing charge not just the monthly DD?
I fixed at double what I was paying and am glad I did as it's gone up a lot again. I would fix at the best possible rate (ignore the DD amount) and suck it up for a year and hope rates go down before you have to fix again.

Sounds like your boiler isn’t big enough for your house to me, or pipes/ rads are so sludged up that the water is struggling.
Was the system flushed when the boiler went in? Presumably you have a ‘magna cleanse’ system with the boiler too ( I think it’s mandatory nowadays) .
What size, in kwh, is your boiler.
DD has a 4 bed detached and her boiler is 33kwh. I have a 3 bed semi and a 28kwh boiler.
You will also be wrecking your boiler by having the room stat at 32 degrees, All you are doing is running it at full pelt because the ambient temp will never reach that. You’ll be lucky if it lasts 5 years at that rate.

This might sound like a stupid question but we have a loft full of shite that has been boarded out. We don’t want to lose the storage. Is there a way of insulating it?

I don’t understand it all either OP. I can’t get my head around how it all works. I’m with Octopus and used to pay £170 a month for a 4 bed end terrace. Now it’s £305 and they are offering me to fix at almost £600 a month!

You will need to take all your stuff out (great chance the clutter!). Lift the boards and then place insulation underneath.

If you have recessed downlights installed in the ceilings below you need to put a a downlight cover on them first - don't just put the insulation on them.

You don't want to pack it in too tightly - it needs to not be compressed. There are gadgets to lift the boarding a few inches so you can get more in before putting the boards back
Decent tips here:
www.loftleg.com/post/loft-boarding-over-insulation-the-do-s-and-don-ts

The worst bit is emptying your stuff - the rest is DIY-able

That was a reply to @EddieHowesBlackandWhiteArmy

@EddieHowesBlackandWhiteArmy We are in the same situation. I work on the theory that there is so much shite up there (you can barely get in) that the shite is the insulation in itself! 😂

Thank you @MojoMoon and @KermitlovesKeyLimePie yep, that’s the basis I’ve been working off all these years as well….

I'm staying on the variable as the price per kwh for the fixed rates I'm offered are ridiculous; like 145/155% above the current price cap.

Depends on the rates you've been offered (not the direct debit amount) as to whether its worth fixing

Just to say you don't need to keep the house at a minimum 18° - small children won't even notice if you go for 16° or 17° instead, if they are wearing socks and a jumper.

I never understand this statement about thermostats not getting the house to 18 without being set at 18. Is your thermostat in a very warm room? If so, maybe you could switch to a cheap, wireless, thermostat. Then you can sit it wherever you want.

Thermostatic heating then works by switching the heating on until the room gets to the agreed temperature then off once it's at it and repeat. So all setting it to 35 does is ensure the boiler is on all the time.

I think they mean that their house is so poorly insulated that it isn't capable of hitting the target temperature in the window that have allowed for the heating to be on.

Keeping a house too cold can make vulnerable people (including small children) more vulnerable to respiratory illnesses. It's not just a matter of popping on some woolly socks and a jumper.

OP, it’s not just you who’s burying their head in the sand. The majority are, it seems.

So many people don’t seem to have realised the scale of the increase in a unit of gas or electricity recently.

Early last year, you could pay under 15 pence for a unit of electricity and under 3 pence for gas. Come January, so a total timescale of 2 years, those same units are going to cost over 60 pence and around 15 pence respectively.
And the standing charge has increased so well over a four fold increase.

It can’t be clearer than the increase in the unit prices and we all buy thousands of them every year. Annual bills of around £1000 will turn into more like £5000.

But people are hanging onto their recent low summer use and possible last few months of a cheap fix and seem adamant that their bills haven’t gone up that much and any attempt by their energy company to increase their DD to cushion the blow they will feel early next year is dismissed as ‘evidence’ that paying by direct debit is more expensive and those of us that are doing so are stupid and are being conned.

I predict that early next year all those people who’ve refused to pay by direct debit ‘because quarterly is cheaper’ are going to be back complaining about their winter heating bills that are similar in magnitude to a decent second hand car.

Or those on prepay saying their £20 top up was used up in a day, when it used to last nearly a week.

That’s why people pay by direct debit, it protects you from all that, and you normally get a discount too.

@BarbaraofSeville Spot on 👏

So many people are sleepwalking into this because they don't understand the scale of what is happening to energy prices. If you're not on a cheap fixed rate from prior to all this beginning, winter is going to be very expensive. It doesn't matter what you paid six months ago.

So would you advise taking on a new fixed rate of £400 per month?
My fixed rate ends in October, do you think that the price to fix again will increase the longer I leave it? Is it best to lock in now or nearer the time?
Really don't know what to do.

Nobody can say without the kWh and standing charge prices - you need to find the variable and the fixed ones they're offering

Its not the £400 that is fixed, its the underlying price per kwh and standing charge that is fixed. Without those details noone can advise you whether to fix or not

It costs a fortune to move. Sort your boiler/ rads out and turn down the radiators you don't need.

Ok so current costs are added in the photos.
Photo 1 is current costs
Photo 2 is costs if we go onto a fixed rate...

This photo is the cost if we go onto a variable tariff...
If anyone could help me work it out I would be so so grateful.
I'm getting myself in a tiz trying to work out which one is best.

Personally, I'm sticking to variable and putting the difference between the variable and the quoted fixed price into premium bonds, that way I've got them it if I need it and its not going to the energy companies. However, Im in a 2 bed flat and my bills have only actually increased £20 on last year so I expect it to go up another £20 in October maybe a bit more if I start using the tumble drier again.

I cant compare directly to my last years usage as had electric oven, shower and dishwasher put in and barely use gas now apart from heating in the winter.

I would invest in fake Oodies (Primark ones are very warm), buy a roll of loft insulation and stick it on top of the boards if you cant access underneath and focus on keeping warm rather than using the heating. Maybe buy an extra duvet for each bed.

Have you tried flushing the radiators out so the system runs more efficiently. I’m no expert but my husband did this before we had the whole lot replaced and it made a difference. Might be worth looking into.

I'm not fixing because I can't afford to and the latest price fix is still more than the expected rise in October. I'm hoping there will be more help with this from the government. I can't see how they can't intervene in some way.