The energy crisis

[SnoopZ]

Originally Posted by mrmistoffelees

I know Hive supports it but unsure if the Tado does but take a look and see if it supports 'heat by' which will have your house to the temperature you want by the time you want. no more having to do it manually !

That is a good feature of Tado too but i have to pay monthly for that feature which is a waste of money for me, my phone notifies me when it detects I'm not at home so forgetting isn't a problem I just have to remember to switch it on a few hours before arriving home, not bad for a total cost of £99 self install and I don't need smart radiator thermostats luckily for only a 2 bed house which would bump the cost alot more.

Originally Posted by mrmistoffelees

IIRC Hive also has frost protection and it kicks in automatically at either 5c or 8c can't remember

By default its 8C, although I changed mine to 10C.

[tweetiepooh]

Ready by is a nice idea if your house can actually warm up. Essentially it turns the heating on up to an hour before your ready by time so if it's warmer it turns on later. But if the thermostat room doesn't get up to the set temperature ...

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by tweetiepooh

Ready by is a nice idea if your house can actually warm up. Essentially it turns the heating on up to an hour before your ready by time so if it's warmer it turns on later. But if the thermostat room doesn't get up to the set temperature ...

...then you probably have to turn up the temperature on your boiler if you can.

[Jaymoss]

Octopus apparently are allowing people to sign up to their tracker tariff again which in December at least was up to 10 per kwh cheaper than the fix leccy and 4p cheaper gas

[SnoopZ]

Originally Posted by Jaymoss

Octopus apparently are allowing people to sign up to their tracker tariff again which in December at least was up to 10 per kwh cheaper than the fix leccy and 4p cheaper gas

Sounds good for people on Octopus, what's the catch?

Well in theory, I'll be on Octopus at some point in 2023, not heard anything yet though.

[SnoopZ]

Originally Posted by Paul

Well in theory, I'll be on Octopus at some point in 2023, not heard anything yet though.

Same here, heard nothing

[Jaymoss]

Originally Posted by SnoopZ

Sounds good for people on Octopus, what's the catch?

well you will need to keep a daily eye on prices to ensure they are not peaking higher than standard. You are allowed apparently to switch through the website back to standard if needed

[Chrysalis]

Originally Posted by SnoopZ

Sounds good for people on Octopus, what's the catch?

I am on Agile and Gas tracker.

The catch is the cap on the tariff is very high. On my tariff its low but I signed up to a much older version.

The current trackers have a cap about triple the EPG.

However..

Since start of October, gas has been below EPG rates the vast majority of the time, it was about 30% of EPG rate for most of October and November, and is currently about 60% EPG today (6.4p unit).

On Agile today my electric unit rates got as low as 17p, the average is 27p. Back in October and November it was really cheap and some days Octopus paid me to use electric. Electric has peaked at only 37p since then (on the higher capped trackers).

If you jump on the tracker, you can leave whenever you want penalty free, so if things get rough you can get out of town quickly, so basically just keep an eye on things. If you dont like the idea of risk and keeping track, then its not for you.

For reference my Agile is capped at 33.02p (EPG rate) and my gas also capped at EPG rate but I am on much older tariffs.

This site shows wind generation which affects daily prices. Those on SVR and normal fixed dont benefit from this.

https://winderful.uk/

[Mr K]

Ofgem, the energy regulator, is launching an urgent investigation into British Gas following allegations the company sent debt collectors who broke into customers' homes to install prepayment meters.

It follows an investigation by The Times that alleged a company used by British Gas to pursue debts, Arvato Financial Solutions, had forced their way into homes to fit the devices, despite signs children and disabled people were living there.

"These are extremely serious allegations from The Times. We are launching an urgent investigation into British Gas and we won't hesitate to take firm enforcement action," an Ofgem spokesperson said.

https://news.sky.com/story/british-g...merge-12801126

And what will Ofgem do? Tell them to stop being naughty? Another toothless regulator.
Also amazes me how BG engineers can shut down folks boilers, on spurious grounds, and are then on commission to sell new boilers at inflated prices. Another scam..

"spurious grounds"?

Do you mean telling people that the boilers are unsafe or there aren’t parts for them any more?

I’m sure you’d be amongst the first to condemn them if they left unsafe equipment in place and people died because it was faulty…

Unsafe might be grounds to shut down a boiler, lack of parts is not.

[pip08456]

Originally Posted by Paul

Unsafe might be grounds to shut down a boiler, lack of parts is not.

To be fair if parts are no longer available to repair a boiler then it has shut down due to end of life. That said independant Gas Safe engineers may be able to access parts.

Also since the report.

British Gas halts forced prepayment meter installation after report

https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/bri...ts-2023-02-02/

Originally Posted by pip08456

To be fair if parts are no longer available to repair a boiler then it has shut down due to end of life.

As long as its running, a lack of parts doesnt matter.
You simply have to be prepared to replace it when it does die.

My last boiler ran for many many years after parts stopped being available.
I eventually took the decision to replace it before it was forced on me by failure.