Save money on your utilities

Woodlands

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Also I meant to say about water too ..

Water
We had a water meter fitted 3 months ago. It won't be compulsory for us to be billed using the water meter for another 2 years but they are going to send a comparison bill every 3 months to show what we are being billed and what we would have been billed based on our water usage.

Even though we are quite good with water, I was a bit nervous about this, as we are a family of 5 so I assumed our water usage would be more than we are currently paying for. However, we had our 1st comparison bill in and we would actually have paid £30 less based on our usage.

I'm going to see what the next comparison bill is like and we might opt to switch to the water meter early. On our water companies (Thames) website they have quite a few water saving devices that they'll send out for free (4min shower timer, water efficient shower head, etc.) so I've ordered them and I'm going to try and make sure we're not wasting water.

We changed to a water meter a few years ago at our old house. Monthly bill went down from £75 to £20 :)

Where we live now in South Wales, there was already a water meter fitted. We have converted one of our toilets so that it uses rainwater collected in water butts to flush the loo. There is 400 litres available directly, but if they need topping up we can transfer rain water from the water butt for the shed.

Water & Sewage Treatment charges are higher in Wales, but our bill is now just £15 a month.
 

katykicker

I am a work from home Mum from Essex.
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We changed to a water meter a few years ago at our old house. Monthly bill went down from £75 to £20 :)

Where we live now in South Wales, there was already a water meter fitted. We have converted one of our toilets so that it uses rainwater collected in water butts to flush the loo. There is 400 litres available directly, but if they need topping up we can transfer rain water from the water butt for the shed.

Water & Sewage Treatment charges are higher in Wales, but our bill is now just £15 a month.
That is brilliant!!
 

Jon

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We're at a bit of a crossroads with our utility companies. Well mainly homeserve

our 13 year old boiler broke this week. We call out homeserve and they fix it for us as 1 of the circuit boards had blown.

They then write to us today to say our premium is going up to £24 from £18 which is a right piss take and we don't want to pay that much.

So do we

Pay it

or

Buy a new boiler, cancel homeserve as then it would be in warranty but we would be in a payment plan for the boiler which would probably be around £24 a month regardless!!
 

The Reverend

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We're at a bit of a crossroads with our utility companies. Well mainly homeserve

our 13 year old boiler broke this week. We call out homeserve and they fix it for us as 1 of the circuit boards had blown.

They then write to us today to say our premium is going up to £24 from £18 which is a right piss take and we don't want to pay that much.

So do we

Pay it

or

Buy a new boiler, cancel homeserve as then it would be in warranty but we would be in a payment plan for the boiler which would probably be around £24 a month regardless!!
New boiler will be (hopefully) more efficient.

But if Homeserve have fixed it, then cancel homeserve and put £24 a month into a savings account and when your boiler breaks again, treat yourself to a new boiler!
 

katykicker

I am a work from home Mum from Essex.
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Does the policy cover them replacing it when it completely packs up? If so I'd keep paying.

If not I'd cancel it, get a new boiler and get a new policy when the warranty is up.
 

Jon

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Does the policy cover them replacing it when it completely packs up? If so I'd keep paying.

If not I'd cancel it, get a new boiler and get a new policy when the warranty is up.
It covers then replacing it if it goes bang but they can’t guarantee the make I would get and I would have to pay for labour
 

lyns86

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What happens when you change utility bills with smart meter? We are with EDF at the moment and i liked them because their app was easiest to use but now we have smart meter for gas and electric i never use the app and just look at the smart meter. So thinking of doing comparison site and changing if needed but then would i have to pay a charge for the smart meter? How does it work?
 

Jon

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What happens when you change utility bills with smart meter? We are with EDF at the moment and i liked them because their app was easiest to use but now we have smart meter for gas and electric i never use the app and just look at the smart meter. So thinking of doing comparison site and changing if needed but then would i have to pay a charge for the smart meter? How does it work?
Are the smart meters not universal?

I 'Thought' that the SM sends your numbers to the energy provider automatically no matter who that is
 

lyns86

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Are the smart meters not universal?

I 'Thought' that the SM sends your numbers to the energy provider automatically no matter who that is
Oh really, i thought each company had their own, so i wont get charged for the smart meter if i switch as i got mine free from EDF?
 

Jon

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Thanks! Hmm doing meter readings for a few months puts me off moving.. Will try find out which companies can still use EDF meters. It may be a case of ringing EDF and asking to be put on a better tariff perhaps

I hear that!

Our gas meter is in the outside shed door thing with the lawnmower etc and it was a right palarva having to move that all the time let alone the leccy one in the kitchen which was behind the fridge freezer!
 

lyns86

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I hear that!

Our gas meter is in the outside shed door thing with the lawnmower etc and it was a right palarva having to move that all the time let alone the leccy one in the kitchen which was behind the fridge freezer!

Our gas is under our sink and the shelf has been cut around it, once the smart meter was fitted you cant actually see the readings, so i would need to cut out some more of the shelf to be able to read it. Electric is in cupboard under stairs so not too bad. I've got used to not doing the meter readings that it would become a pain to start it again plus i like seeing daily what i've spent now
 

Topaz

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We changed providers last year and went dual fuel, which has saved us some money. At the time, they did say that we could have a smart meter, but we're still waiting for them to get around to fitting it.
My daughter has one and I admit to watching it to see what happens when she switches on the oven/boils a kettle etc.
It has taught them how much heating costs though - £4 a day! So they are a bit more frugal now that they can see the cost. It's all about putting on a extra jumper, rather than switching on the boiler.
 

Woodlands

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It is worth taking a look at this link before agreeing to one of the current so called "Smart" meters.

Most smart meters will become dumb if you want to change supplier and if you already have one, most suppliers will be reluctant to provide you with a new one, because it won't count against their targets.

It is one of the worst implemented & managed technology projects ever, that we the customer are paying for by increased charges.

The adverts for them are very misleading, as they are not "free" or "at no extra cost" as each supplier is adding their cost to tariffs over the next 10 years.
 
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Woodlands

Money Making Megastar!
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It covers then replacing it if it goes bang but they can’t guarantee the make I would get and I would have to pay for labour

From others experience, I would be very warry of them not being able to tell you what make you would get and having to pay the labour charges to install it. The labour charges could be extortinate and you could end up with a poor quality boiler.

Although it may be more efficient, the savings are likely to take ages to cover the cost.

We recently had our 20+ year old boiler serviced and the plumber said most new boilers only last 7-10 years so it is not worth changing, as long as the parts are available.
 

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