MNHQ here: Worried about your rising energy bills? Charity National Energy Action will be here on Thursday 9th February 12pm to 1pm

[NicolaDMumsnet]

Hello

We know many of you have been discussing your concerns about rising energy bills and are worried about keeping warm without breaking the bank. And you were asking for help on this thread on how to use your central heating most efficiently, and what is best when it comes to things like keeping your thermostat on low all day or using it for short bursts.

On Thursday 9th February from 12pm to 1pm reps from national fuel poverty charity National Energy Action will be here, live on this thread, to answer your questions about why energy bills have risen and what you can do to maximise your home’s energy efficiency to make your money go as far as possible without compromising your health or wellbeing.

You can post your questions below in advance, from now, or join the Q&A on the day.

Here's what National Energy Action say:

“Last year, we gave advice and support to Mumsnet users on this thread. Since then the Energy Crisis has worsened. Last year the average annual energy bill was £1,271 and now it is £2,500. But don’t forget, that’s an average – if you use more because of medical equipment or if you have a larger than average family you will pay more.

In the 40 years since our charity first started we have never seen energy bills this high or so many people at risk of fuel poverty. Last year our figures showed 4.5 million UK households were fuel-poor, now it’s 6.7 million –and that’s with the government’s energy price guarantee. We think from April it could be 8.4 million UK households. We hear from people who have to sleep in coats, who are rationing showers, and who cannot stay warm at home. Our summary of the crisis is here.

From April, the government’s support will stop and the average annual bill is predicted to rise even further to £3,000. Every day our advisors help the most vulnerable with advice and support.

One of them, Molly, will be on this thread on Thursday 9th February to answer your questions. Everyone’s circumstances are different so please give as much detail as you can – whether you use gas, electricity, oil, or a combination and if you are on a special tariff like Economy 7. We also have Matt, head of policy who can answer questions about how the crisis came about and what may happen over the next year. If you need advice in the meantime find it here.

@Graphista , just to add, National Energy Action very much hopes that more help will be coming from April, and have been campaigning with Martin Lewis and many others to try and ensure that the UK Government does so.

In terms of nationalisation, we don’t think it would solve this particular problem. Wholesale prices will remain high regardless. UK Government subsidy will be required, nationalised or not.

Hi @OwletteGecko

If you have heat pumps they are designed to run for longer periods of time and work better when you’re changing them gradually rather than with sudden switches.

The best way would be to use timers to control having more heat during the day and your thermostat to control how much heat they give off.

Turning off heat pumps completely can increase your bill as they are expensive to turn on again. Try lowering the temperature at night or see if your controls include a ‘summer’ setting.

Hi @TheShellBeach

Direct Debits run so that you can accrue credit in the warmer months and debit in the colder months, with the idea of this evening out over the course of the year. Sounds like you’ve been using less than expected and they’ve lowered your Direct Debit accordingly. Just make sure with your supplier that they have accurate meter readings so they’re properly calculating your usage keep them up to date so this reflects throughout the year.

If you’re not sure how to check your meter readings are being recorded, see these guides on reading your electricity and gas bill. Hope this helps.

work better when you’re changing them gradually rather than with sudden switches.
Turning off heat pumps completely can increase your bill as they are expensive to turn on again.

If there's time, would you be able to explain this a bit more please?

What's the technical reason turning them on is expensive (and what sort of timescales are we talking? Not worth switching off for 10 hours, or not worth switching off for 4 months?)

And when you say change gradually, could you elaborate a little? Does it mean step the target temperature up over an hour or two? Or what?

Should also have said: thanks for coming on today.

Hi @TheShellBeach

Sorry to hear about your issues with getting a Smart Meter. The government has set the aim of ensuring energy suppliers offer smart meters to all homes and small businesses by the end of 2025.

If you’re not sure why your supplier is not installing one for you it may be worth contacting your local Citizens Advice Bureau or us, National Energy Action to help you get to the bottom of this.

Apologies but I slightly need to sit on the fence on this one – the answer is that it depends. Here is a link to a more in depth guide to heat pumps. Factors like your home and how you use energy can change how efficient they are.

However, it’s often worth checking with your supplier to see if they can help cover some or all of the cost of installation through their ECO (Energy Company Obligation) schemes.

Hi @Decafflatteplease

Unfortunately, I don’t know of any scheme where suppliers will reduce bills in line with upgrade costs like new heating systems. However, please check some of the links above like this one – it may be that you’re eligible to apply for help towards to cost through your supplier or other schemes.

Yes, if you have a hot water tank adding a hot water cylinder jacket can be a cheap way to make some savings on your heating costs.

Thank you for your answers so far.
Do electric blankets use a lot of electricity?

Hi @PerkingFaintly

Sounds like you’re doing lots of the right things. Dehumidifiers can be a great addition to help reduce mould and for helping with household chores like drying clothes indoors. I wouldn’t recommend using them entirely instead of central heating however, as this may struggle to get your home to a healthy temperature.

I shared our link to our ‘Damp and Condensation’ leaflet but the main ways to avoid mould and damp are:

Heating – keeping your rooms heated above 15 degrees to avoid condensation on external walls

Insulation – which avoids heat leakages and can allow you to have your heating on more often

Ventilation – whether this be through fans and vents, or just popping your windows open, especially in high moisture areas like your bathroom and kitchen

Reduce moisture – there are a whole host of tips you can find in our booklet and online. One I always tell people is not to hang their clothes on radiators – this creates condensation but can also mean your rooms are colder and bills higher.

Hi @PerkingFaintly

Thanks for the question. Heat pumps work most efficiently when they are keeping the home at a near constant temperature. If the temperature drops beyond a certain point, then the heat pump has to work harder to get your home back to the target temperature, which means it operates less efficiently.

So not worth switching it off for 10 hours, but doing so once or twice won't make a significant difference.

When we mean changing gradually, its referring to trying to avoid the heat pump having to do lots of work to increase the temperature of the home by a lot in a short space of time (as this is a less efficient mode of operation). So stepping up the temperature by small amounts, as you say, works best.

Hi @TheShellBeach

We have the electricity consumption of lots of items in this leaflet. We will be updating it to include electric blankets. It depends on the wattage of your blanket. It should say on the label or box. Or you may be able to find out online.

A 100W electric blanket run for seven hours a week would use 0.7kWh.
Based on the current price cap that means it costs 24p to run a 100W electric blanket for one hour a day for seven days.

Remember, when talking about the price cap it is the price per unit that is capped not your total bill, so the more energy you use the more it costs.

Thank you from me.

This winter has been tough for millions, and in April it looks like it will get tougher as bills rise again. If you agree with us and want things to change, its worth contacting your MP. We have some information on how you can do this on our website.

Thanks so much for having us @MNHQ from me too. It is a very difficult situation at the moment. From talking to clients we know it’s been a pretty cold and bleak winter for many. Hopefully our advice will help you but we do know it’s a drop in the ocean. The average annual energy bill has almost doubled in a year.

There are currently 6.7 million UK households in fuel poverty at the moment and without Government support, our figures show this will rise to 8.4 million in April when bills are set to increase again. If you want to know more about our work please go to our website or follow us at NEA_UKCharity on Twitter . Thank you

Thank you @NationalEnergyActionMolly - that was what I suspected but people saying otherwise had me questioning myself.

Thank you everyone for all the great questions, and a big thank you to @NationalEnergyActionMatt and @NationalEnergyActionMolly for all their informative answers.