Rising energy prices
- Thread starter spen123
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AnotherTopJob
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16 to 18 C.
Be interesting to see what folk have their thermostat set at. Appreciate it would only be a rough guide but would be interesting. By that I mean that a thermostat in a 'cool' room (for example) set at 18C could still have the lounge at 20+.
Ours is set to 19 for a couple of hours early in the morning and evening. Otherwise 16 at all other times, and boosted if we feel cold.
The same for a separate 1kw oil-filled radiator in a loft conversion.
Being a well insulated house it only results in the boiler firing occasionally. In the winter currently around £80-100 a month in gas.
fred812
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Crikey, you must live in a large house.
We have a gas hob and gas CH. We are also retired so heating is on during the day. During the day its set at 18, 19 or 20 depending on what we are doing, ie busy 18 or watching the box 20. Evening it goes up to 21. Its off at night.
We use around 11,000 BTu a year of gas, which at our current tariff works out at about £48/month including the standing charge. The stat is in the lounge.
Hm, a "thermostat"? Very backward here. Where I sit, it's 19.5C, which is nice.16 to 18 C.
Be interesting to see what folk have their thermostat set at. Appreciate it would only be a rough guide but would be interesting. By that I mean that a thermostat in a 'cool' room (for example) set at 18C could still have the lounge at 20+.
AnotherTopJob
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Is that £48 spread out over the year or the actual winter usage?
In the summer our actual cost drops to around £30 (at the old rate) which I think is pretty reasonable.
It's a 5 bed detached with (mainly) 5 people so obviously that means extra gas for multiple showers and cooking etc and while it's a big expense it seems to compare quite well to others I've spoken to.
Bob Rathbone
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I have been following the advice of the Government over the past 20 years when the asked me to save money by turning down the thermostat by only 1 degree. It's really cold in the house now
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quasar9
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I have been following the advice of the Government over the past 20 years when the asked me to save money by turning down the thermostat by only 1 degree. It's really cold in the house now
so in winter it’s minus 20 and gas company pays you for energy not used! Sounds like a classic solution from governments energy experts ! Time our gov understood that we live in a cold country located 51 degree latitude and we need warm homes. Especially the case with ageing population. Hate to think of impact on individuals which will eventually transfer back to NHS.
terryBipp2
New Member
Time to stock up on solar panels
quasar9
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Not cost effective anymore ! 10 years ago the return on investment (ROI) was around 10years with an expected service lifetime of 20 to 25 years. Now with reduction in tariffs paid by electricity suppliers, removal of govt grants/subsidies, the ROI is exceeding 25 years. If you are unlucky, you may never recover your outlay.
fred812
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Be interesting to see what the ROI is when energy prices double?
quasar9
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Not much I suspect!
The tariff gap between buy and sell is widening as energy co simply don’t want thousands of domestic suppliers who output is variable at best and unreliable at worst. This makes planning even trickier when compared to commercial solar or wind farms, whose output is never guaranteed unlike fossil fuels or nuclear.
Often these domestic systems are not maintained. When have you seen a solar panels being cleaned ? The commercial solar farms, daily cleaning is performed by robots, albeit most of these are located in sunnier but also dustier location.
Has anyone seen panels being replaced after failure ? The cost is huge, much of it to put up scaffolding.
The whole scheme was funded by green levies of around £250 per year per household and the only beneficiaries were the solar power installation companies. Much of the govt grants and subsidies have also ended.
quasar9
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How can one reduce electricity usage when the govt is hell bent on forcing us to use it as our only energy source ! Not only to heat houses but also for transport and everything else. You will need a lot more of it in the future.
in times past, in a cold country like UK, we burnt wood and later coal to keep ourselves warm. Clearly it was not enough and average life span was in the 40’s for the average working class man in the 1750’s and a hundred years later in 1850 it had barely crept up by another 5. Even as late as end of WW2 it was only 65
Average life expectancy reached 75 only in mid 1980’s. Obviously improving living standards and health care have much to with this increase and the former includes better homes with heating. There is no arguing that cold and damp housing will reverse much of the improvements made.
it’s all very well to talk of air source heat pumps etc but with cost of around 15 to 20k it’s not affordable to most.
Beside the improvements in infrastructure to deliver say 200amps per house will cost more money.
in times past, in a cold country like UK, we burnt wood and later coal to keep ourselves warm. Clearly it was not enough and average life span was in the 40’s for the average working class man in the 1750’s and a hundred years later in 1850 it had barely crept up by another 5. Even as late as end of WW2 it was only 65
Average life expectancy reached 75 only in mid 1980’s. Obviously improving living standards and health care have much to with this increase and the former includes better homes with heating. There is no arguing that cold and damp housing will reverse much of the improvements made.
it’s all very well to talk of air source heat pumps etc but with cost of around 15 to 20k it’s not affordable to most.
Beside the improvements in infrastructure to deliver say 200amps per house will cost more money.
Bob Rathbone
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Our Government is in the pockets of the energy companies assisted by the Green lobby who do not see the the overall effect of their lobbying and how it is being perverted by the Energy companies. With Russia set to invade and Germany cancelling the pipeline, expect huge rises in both gas and electricity prices very soon. As for the magic electric car, it is not really electric, it runs on an external combustion engine powered by gas and a little bit or renewable.
Hopefully Bob R's comment about Russia may not affect the UK as much as anyone may fear. Note..... I say hopefully.
I believe we in the UK only get about 5% of our gas from Russia.
Unfortunately Germany's on the other hand is circa 60% Russian dependant for gas.
Source.....BBC or ITV news or information programme this morning.
We already know energy prices are going up by about 50% this April and another 20% come October.
This is when a lot of people will start to feel it. That is the ones aren't feeling the pinch already.
I believe we in the UK only get about 5% of our gas from Russia.
Unfortunately Germany's on the other hand is circa 60% Russian dependant for gas.
Source.....BBC or ITV news or information programme this morning.
We already know energy prices are going up by about 50% this April and another 20% come October.
This is when a lot of people will start to feel it. That is the ones aren't feeling the pinch already.
quasar9
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Unfortunately, prices are global unless the govt has the foresight to negotiate directly with OPEC/gas producing countries and have a long term storage plan to tide over periods of high prices.
our govt has no such policies and have abrogated this responsibility to energy companies who are not concerned with price fluctuations. They quickly pass on the price rise in the wholesale market but are very reluctant to do so after they fall, raking in the profits.
If Germany indeed cuts off its own nose and stops buying from the Russians, they will have to buy from elsewhere or their economy and people suffer. OPEC countries can see the mug coming their way much like a second hand car dealer senses a naive punter. With no forward contract they will have to pay spot prices, which will rise. As much of our own gas comes from the spot market, our cost will go up steeply too.
Energy guarantee and stability is key to developing a nation and private companies simply do not have the political muscle or financial capital to do so.
with inflationary pressures mostly driven by energy costs, I predict a steep decline in discretionary spending. Initially this will hit restaurants, pubs, cinemeas and theatre but if nothing is done the rot will spread elsewhere. The Bank of Englands only lever to control inflation, namely raising of interest rates, will work itself into further reduction in discretionary spend as mortgages payments go up.
Bob Rathbone
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If Russian gas is boycotted, the global shortfall will have to be made up from other suppliers. In our money led economy, as demand increases, so does the cost. Germany will be completing in the market that we buy our gas from, highest bidder gets the gas.
quasar9
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Bob Rathbone
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As we all feared, Russia has invaded it's neighbor. None of us will benefit from this act of aggression, but we are powerless to stop it. The whole of Europe has adequately funded Russia's economy with short sighted energy policies, now we are about to pay the price. Sorry to be pessimistic, but it don't look good.