My energy bill will still quadruple even if I put a jumper on?

[verdantverdure]

AIBU to think that even if I participate in this weird new “wear warm clothes in wintertime” trend, shut doors, buy draught excluders, buy Oodies, buy thermal curtains, and buy a £300 air fryer my energy bill will still quadruple.

Especially as most people wete already doing all or some of that.

Nothing short of turning the heating off is going to make much difference is it?

(Although of course I'm trying.)

After all, the money saving expert himself, Martin Lewis, says this isn’t something individuals can fix on their own , and it would be pretty arrogant to think I know better than him.

The "Put a jumper on" advice doesn't help British businesses at all does it?

What do you think?

@ImEasyLikeSundayMorning
it’s not an all you can HEAT buffet
its only the unit rate of electric per kWh that is fixed

if you use 3000 units last year and you bill comes to 1k or 120 fixed a month

this year if you use 6000 units but carry on paying £120 a month as your fixed DD rate then you will be £120 a month in debt roughly as you haven’t upped your DD to match your usage which is double of last year

The people suggesting wearing warm clothes in wintertime seem to think it's unusual enough to suggest it to us.
Colder than we'd like is not what we're talking about here. It's going to need to be a lot colder than we'd like for our bills not to quadruple.

Surely the people who are saying they are fixed are still on good rates. Im fixed until july 23 so this winter will be no different to me than last winter. I moved just before everything went south so count myself lucky as long as my provider doesnt go bump

Quadrupling is happening irrespective of how many jumpers anyone wears.

Well not if we turn the boiler off, which I’m not suggesting but some people will have to do.

OP I’m with you.

I am considering being a good little capitalist by producing a set of posters with jolly phrases like “Chill and turn your tumble drier off” or perhaps “Keep calm and throw another Tory on the fire” …. Which I can then sell to pay my bills like a good little serf.

I am also considering a range of thermal wear with similar slogans ….

After all, stiff upper lip and all that…. No doubt frostbite will help with that…..

Quite

When I was little, the Brownies had a badge for 'Thrift' (had a bee on it IIRC) because it was seen as a standard desirable quality to foster in growing DC. And it was of course something the wartime generation had by default.

So when and how did people become wasteful? And, for the sake of the planet and future generations, how to we get back to less profligate times?

I guess the rate has doubled for me in terms of pence as I wasnt in a low tariff before so i have to half my useage for my bills to stay the same? Except the standing charge has gone up.

Are only certain people allowed to start threads,then? What's your problem with mine? What do you mean upsetting people? I am using my power of free speech, venting my worries, expressing my feelings and hoping to reach some of the people who think a fixed tariff is a fixed price and they can use as much energy as they want for that price, because doing that will be catastrophically expensive at these prices, abd it really worries me how many people seem to think that way.

Remember though, if you put a jumper on and stop eating avocados you will practically be a millionaire in a few weeks.

@verdantverdure please could you link me to the article you posted a screenshot of, where it says that every reduction in heating causes X amount of deaths - I'd like to see the ways that cold can harm health. Got me a bit worried! X

In fact if you do buy avocados, you should of course be fashioning the skin into some sort of warm clothing. Why are people so wasteful these days?!

Draught excluders will save us all!

OP - Those figures are based on an average household use. Some people will pay more than average and some less depending on household size and how much fuel they use In April of this year when the average bill went up by 50% my bill increased by 33% so less than average.

You would be surprised by how many people do only wear tee shirts in winter but have their heating turned up high.

I believe they did, but this seems to be the latest advice.

Maybe a bit niche but I often end up in a t shirt in winter. The problem is my DH is disabled with a painful condition, the colder it is the more pain he is in so we end up with the house being hot, I hate it as it tends to give me headaches but they don't really compare to him screaming in pain. God knows how we can cut down other than I've given up the tumble dryer.

Does anyone know how I can work out what my October bill is going to be? I can't get through to my energy provider to ask - I was on hold for almost 30 mins on my lunch break and gave up. I've looked at my online account and I'm on a standard variable tariff. We already pay £269 per month. I'm really scared about what's in store from next month 😥

And it was of course something the wartime generation had by default

When my mother was widowed and had to go back to work my GM took over childcare. She was of the pre NHS and wartime generation, and brought up five healthy children on rationing and could feed a multitude on a MN chicken. Looking back it's surprising how much of that her how to get by and make do attitude has come in useful.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/what-are-the-price-cap-unit-rates-/#tool

This should help

A lot of sneering going on here.

People are not idiots, they just haven't had to study and figure out the calculations behind their energy bill before. The language used is deliberately misleading as well, a 'fixed tariff' implies just that, a fixed cost that will stay the same each month. We're all struggling along right now, and it would be better to help each other out and patiently share knowledge rather than just feeling smug because you've got it all figured out.

Do check (online?) whether you are in credit with your supplier.
I pay £275 per month but am nearly £1k in credit. So if they ask me to double my DD I'll refer them to that and refuse. It'll provide a cushion for a bit.

I'm not too hot on maths but if prices quadruple then wouldn't people would have to reduce their usage by at least a quarter for their bill to only triple? A lot of people are already careful with their energy bills, can most of us even reduce usage by a quarter so our bills only triple?

I was. What's weird to me is that people keep suggesting it, as if wrapping up warm in winter in the U.K. is something none of us will have ever thought of doing before.

Yes. Same. We did back to school haircuts yesterday and the number of people saying it made me feel panicky.

@Bubblebubblebah

Thank you. I put my details into the calculator and it gave me a price cap of £3,230 per year from Oct 2022. But this is £269 per month and we already pay that now. I'm confused 😂

Many people do not wrap up warm in winter but instead wander around in light clothes with the heat turned up high

Those people will be able to reduce the temperature by wrapping up warm and so save money

A well insulated house can easily use half the energy a portly insulated one does for the same temperature - ao cling film on windows, curtains on doors, don't forget insulation on the loft hatch itself will all help

Although yes most normal people would be hard pushed to offset all the price rise