That it’s bonkers this is my FIX? Sorry another ENERGY one

[Ineedtoletgo83]

I wish I’d fixed in Oct 2021 but on MSE advice I didn’t then. Wow now this is our situation, what can we do? cut down usage is our option.

I did the MSE calculator is suggesting I strongly fix at £483 per month. Paying £165 atm due to go to £220.

I mean we could reduce our usage but really how much will that affect our bills?

large 4 bed semi, dreaded open plan area. Gas central heating.

we use 17800 kWh of gas?!

and 3744 kWh of Electricity.

I wfh 5 days a week. DH two days a week. Kids home from 4ish most days.

It's not education though how is it not blindingly obvious that you can't pay a fixed price and use as much energy as you like. Even if you thought that would you be happy paying for more than you actually used

Madness

I’m hoping my thread will help others (amongst the countless others). I think because we’ve never gone above our DD in the past (even had money paid back to us) then I never thought about how a fix works

@Ineedtoletgo83 you really need to learn about what a fix means. You can't 'use all you want' as you say. It means your standing charge and Kw price is fixed for a year. BUT you still pay for the amount of gas you use. So if you use loads you pay more. You are ONLY fixing the rate you are charged for kw and standing charge.

We’re planning on turning radiators off and only heating the lounge. I wfh twice a week, so have stocked up on thermals, wool jumpers/socks/neck gaiter/fingerless gloves and a heated throw.

We will keep DS’ room warm & have got a 2.5 tog sleeping bag for him so we can layer him up. He feels the cold.

We don’t have a tumble dryer & use heated clothes horses in a well ventilated space instead when it’s damp outside. We are planning to batch cook (mainly to make it easier around work) as microwave reheating is low energy.

We do live in a very well insulated house though which makes the world of difference. We keep the thermostat to click on if it goes below 18, and the house often stays at 19 during winter. Even in the heatwave, it didn’t get above 25. If I didn’t have a well insulated house, I’d be putting any spare money into making improvements there.

What is the unit price?

The terminology is confusing. In an age of unlimited mobile data/calls for a fixed price, and all you can watch Netflix etc it's really not surprising that people might assume that you can 'fix' your total energy bill.

@Mushroomlady Yes - and someone above said about paying for more than you use would be ludicrous- except in all those models you pay for more than you use! I get a stupid amount of texts and calls on my phone contract and don’t use them, nobody watches all of Netflix etc etc.

The trouble is if you don't heat your home you end up with damp. We managed until November one year and it caused no ends of problems that are costing thousands to sort out. Trouble is we've cavity wall insulation which is the work of the devil and made everything worse (not put in by us!)

we have a tumble dryer we use only at weekends in the main

it doesn't matter whether you use the tumble dryer in the week or the weekends the electric is surely the same price

night time use is cheaper if on economy 7 but not sure then if its more expensive in the daytime

The trouble is if you don't heat your home you end up with damp.

you don't need to heat your entire home, you can heat parts of your home - just the dinning room or just a bedroom - people should not be heating empty rooms thinking in 2 moments its going to go damp if I don't heat the room, thats not going to happen

damp has much more to do with moisture and.ventilation than heating alone

@ivykaty44 yes that's true- bloody cavity wall insulation 🤬.

We need to hear 3 bedrooms and one living room, we only have one more room so it's not really practical to heat less.

Oh and we don't ever have heating on in that last room as it's the kitchen and always warm

But yeah thermostat in wrong place too!

its not expensive to get a movable thermostat, it means you can shut internal doors and take the thermostat with you from room to room - set on 17/18 degrees a room will be toasty. All the internal doors open and trying to heat to 22 the rooms will be much cooler but you'll be using far more energy

@Ineedtoletgo83

If you have not already done so change every single bulb for energy saving ones. They can be bought on-line at excellent prices. Our kitchen was originally 250 watts and is now 24 watts. Lit up like a lighthouse. The "current" usage does not even register on the "smart" meter.

www.screwfix.com/c/heating-plumbing/wireless-thermostats/cat4600004?ds_kid=43700072645769596&ds_rl=1249404&gclid=CjwKCAjwgaeYBhBAEiwAvMgp2s0fricc3QWnyfdhMUhDWPCxzrZc4fcbFUXSmoByZHOgKejmvgoSeBoC6QEQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

@Ineedtoletgo83

It's up to you, it depends what you are paying now obvs. We pay around £100 to £110 a month for gas and electric combined atm (but the figures are lower because it's summer!) Will jump to probably £150 in winter (usually!) I reckon it will be £180-£190 or so with the rise. (This first one in October that is!) So no way would I be 'fixing' at almost £500 a month!

Thing is, some people did this with mortgages, 'fixed' for 5 years at say (for example) 5.75%. And the interest rates went down and they were stuck with the higher amount for another 3 - 4 years in some cases! Whereas if it had been variable it would have reduced. Quite dramatically for some.

My old neighbour in the early noughties fixed his rate at 5.75% or something, and his payment was £550 a month. Then the rates reduced about a year later, and his payment WOULD have reduced to £450! Then it dropped again. Would have dropped another £75.

He fought tooth and nail to get the deal cancelled, but no solicitor in the land would be on his side. It was written in stone. '5.75% for 5 years.' He signed it and agreed to it. So he paid around six or seven THOUSAND pounds more than he would have if he had stayed on a variable rate.

As a number of people pointed out though, he would not have complained if the rates has gone UP! Would he have demanded to cancel the deal so his payments can go up from £550 a month to £650, then up again to £725??? Would he fuck.

SO, just be careful, that's all. I am always a BIT wary about fixed rates.' Depends what you normally pay and how long it's fixed for...

thank you for this, honestly I don’t know why I don’t know this stuff. Because there’s a view in this country that basic science is important only for those who want a career in science, so less concern that everyone should understand it.

night time use is cheaper if on economy 7 but not sure then if its more expensive in the daytime It is. If you don’t use a substantial proportion of your electricity during off peak hours you can pay more than if you were on a standard tariff

When you think about it OP, having your misunderstanding corrected is actually good news. The fix you've been offered has a headline cost assuming that your usage remains the same as it was last year. If you take the fix and reduce your usage then your bills will be lower than that "quote".

I too got mixed up in that don't fix crap. My supplier went under, I ended with Shell of all companies. Desperately wanted yo move, just done it and moved to Octopus. Was told the tarriff was fixed and now seen it isn't. I've been mis-sold and I am about to throw a fit.

I may just install a log burner and with my pv go off grid and f them all. Well done government for allowing this mess by having no energy strategy and ofgem need a breaking up, the leaders need a rocket up their arses.

How does the thermostat connect to our central heating boiler? Sorry?! We have a wireless HIVE atm so I could just get another one for the kitchen area

bizarre to me that you didn't previously wear a cardigan/jumper on a cold day.

Be careful as it doesn't work like that. Fixing doesn't mean you can use all you want!

Sorry just realised you got the message about how the fix works a few replies ago! I jumped in because honestly I didn't realise this until I started looking into it more a few days ago! 😄 x

You misunderstand the meaning and purpose of FIX fuel price.
The company offers you a fixed price per unit of electricity and gas.

Your actual bill, depends entirely on how much you use.

To help you budget fuel use, they have given you an estimate based on your previous period units used (on your records with them). If you used exactly the same amount in the coming period, , that's what it would cost at the new unit price. If you use more units than before, the estimate will be too low. If you use fewer units than before, the bill will be lower than the estimate.

You're leaving your heating on too long at night in winter, and at too high a temperature. Reduce the temp to 19 and length from 5-8.