With the cost of running a house at an absurd high amid the cost-of-living crisis, Manchester Evening News reporter Harriet Morphy-Morris looked into the various ways to cut down your energy bills. Doing things such as turning off standby appliances, running the washing machine during off-peak hours and turning the thermostat down by one degree, were a few of the methods she attempted as she attempted to slash her costs.
Harriet was concerned her and her partner's direct debit payments were continuing to rise despite taking these measures, as they desperately tried to work out why they were overspending. The couple are on a standard variable tariff with EDF, so expected inconsistent prices considering the economic climate, but they remained concerned as they simply could not understand why their monthly bill exceeded the average amount for a family-of-four.
When there was a small leak repaired they realised that their immersion heater had compiled an expensive bill. After seeing it the plumber asked them if they had issues with their boiler. After saying no, and insisting there were no problems with their boiler, they realised they had racked up the bills by using their immersion daily.
An immersion heater heats water using electricity, regardless of if you have gas central heating or not. It's been called 'insufficient' by Which? experts, as it constantly uses electricity and is more expensive than using gas.
After this they did all they could to keep the bill down leading into the winter. Since turning off the immersion heater, they've accumulated £372 in bill credit.
The immersion heater can be turned on as a back up to use electricity to provide 'emergency' hot water for showers and radiators should the boiler malfunction. It is connected to the mains electricity through a cable, and doesn't make a 'firing up' noise like a gas boiler.
Harriet found hers behind a deep cupboard, and advise people to check if it is on, as it can be the catalyst for an expensive bill. Immersion heaters can heat large quantities of water in seconds, and are expensive to run. Best Heating's research shows they use an average of three kilowatts of electricity per hour, which adds up to around 50p per hour.
Since October Harriet and her partner have racked up £372 in credit by turning off the immersion heater. If you pay your bills via direct debit your supplier may end up owing you credit, like they did in Harriet's case.
After turning off the immersion heater, the only way to find out how much money is saved is by enquiring, which can be done in three different ways: wait for your review letter (every six months), chat with an adviser via EDF's WhatsApp or reach out to the call desk.
Harriet went for the third option, and despite a hefty wait, she said that the call desk was very helpful. She said: "By looking at the small amount of credit we had before October and comparing to now, we figured out (with the help of the EDF call handler) that majority of the £372 credit was from reduced electricity usage."
Energy companies have different policies when it comes to credit or requesting refunds. An EDF spokesperson told Manchester Evening News what customers should do if they want a credit refund: "Anything over £150 at the end of their Direct Debit cycle is refunded back to the customer. If a customer wants a refund and has been billed up to date, they are welcome to request one.
"Direct Debit monthly payments will be recalculated following this as the credit would usually be used to offset seasonal spikes. EDF was one of 4 suppliers to be assessed by Ofgem as having ‘no significant issues’ with the way it manages its customers’ Direct Debit calculations earlier this year.
"This means our customers can be reassured that our Direct Debit process is robust. We’ll continue to work closely with Ofgem to make sure we’re following industry best practice for our customers."
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