Welcome to the Wales / Cymru community group

[Paul]

Welcome to the new home of the Wales and Cymru area. 

In here, there'll be the normal ongoing thread about the weather and everyone's daily lives in the region, but there is now the option for multiple threads (for instance for weather events, stats, model chat or whatever else), there's a photo gallery available, and also a member map.

To post into the group, you will need to join, but that's a one-click process and everyone is welcome. Please let us know how you find it, and if you have any ideas for improving the group. 

[Sky Full]

On 07/03/2022 at 19:03, snefnug said:

Two shocks today. I’m down to two bars on my oil reader, so 200 litres left, which is normally refill time, except that most of the local oil providers haven’t got any stocks, irrespective of the sky high price.

…………..

Shock 2.  Trying to sort out my brothers electric bill.  He lives on his own, doesn’t use the electric radiators, works outdoors all day, heats part of house with wood burner and his leccy bill is averaging £120 a month.  Only thing on All day is fridge freezer, under sink water heater, radio to keep dog company.  Realistically £120 month is about £4.00 a day which is not horrendous but still….

 

 

Hi snefnug.   Your brothers electricity bill sounds very high if he is single and not heating the house very much.  Electric heating can be extremely expensive when used to heat a whole house so that’s the first place to look.   The electric radiators (storage heaters?) should not be taking electricity during the day (charging usually happens between midnight and 7:00am) so check the electric meter to see if it’s still spinning fast during the day.    I would next check the daily standing charge which he is paying because some tariffs can be cheaper on the price of electricity but expensive on the amount charged every day whether you use electric or not.   Not sure what choice of other tariffs would be available now, though.

I managed to get some oil last week at .72p a litre plus VAT - that’s a huge increase on the last delivery but at least it’ll last until the winter, I hope!

Edited March 10, 2022 by Sky Full

[snefnug]

1 hour ago, Sky Full said:

On 07/03/2022 at 19:03, snefnug said:

Two shocks today. I’m down to two bars on my oil reader, so 200 litres left, which is normally refill time, except that most of the local oil providers haven’t got any stocks, irrespective of the sky high price.

…………..

Shock 2.  Trying to sort out my brothers electric bill.  He lives on his own, doesn’t use the electric radiators, works outdoors all day, heats part of house with wood burner and his leccy bill is averaging £120 a month.  Only thing on All day is fridge freezer, under sink water heater, radio to keep dog company.  Realistically £120 month is about £4.00 a day which is not horrendous but still….

 

 

Hi snefnug.   Your brothers electricity bill sounds very high if he is single and not heating the house very much.  Electric heating can be extremely expensive when used to heat a whole house so that’s the first place to look.   The electric radiators (storage heaters?) should not be taking electricity during the day (charging usually happens between midnight and 7:00am) so check the electric meter to see if it’s still spinning fast during the day.    I would next check the daily standing charge which he is paying because some tariffs can be cheaper on the price of electricity but expensive on the amount charged every day whether you use electric or not.   Not sure what choice of other tariffs would be available now, though.

I managed to get some oil last week at .72p a litre plus VAT - that’s a huge increase on the last delivery but at least it’ll last until the winter, I hope!

He’s on a smart meter. The radiators are electric (not night storage) but fisher eco ones, quite complicated to set up ( we had the installed when it was a holiday let).  , but he had been plugging in oil radiators on low overnight  (duh).  He’s on a good tariff deal til 2023.   Bathing is electric shower. Small under sink water heaters in bathroom and kitchen.  When we did up the house as holiday let it was to ensure minimum wastage of power which had to be all electric (no room for immersion heater, no ability for oil or gas fired wet central heating.  He does drink shed loads of tea when he is home and not working, but that can’t account for it.  Can only think that he had been using outside sockets for installing wood fencing etc, which may account for higher costs, other than the massive electricity price increase.  Am going round Friday to plug in little meter app thingy so he can see usage.

Spoke to our oil suppliers today.  Two week waiting list, limited to 500 litres and price quoted on day of delivery.  We’ll be fine til then but when that oil comes in I’m going to have a boiling hot two hour bath I tell you!

[Sky Full]

1 hour ago, snefnug said:

He’s on a smart meter. The radiators are electric (not night storage) but fisher eco ones, quite complicated to set up ( we had the installed when it was a holiday let).  , but he had been plugging in oil radiators on low overnight  (duh).  He’s on a good tariff deal til 2023.   Bathing is electric shower. Small under sink water heaters in bathroom and kitchen.  When we did up the house as holiday let it was to ensure minimum wastage of power which had to be all electric (no room for immersion heater, no ability for oil or gas fired wet central heating.  He does drink shed loads of tea when he is home and not working, but that can’t account for it.  Can only think that he had been using outside sockets for installing wood fencing etc, which may account for higher costs, other than the massive electricity price increase.  Am going round Friday to plug in little meter app thingy so he can see usage.

Spoke to our oil suppliers today.  Two week waiting list, limited to 500 litres and price quoted on day of delivery.  We’ll be fine til then but when that oil comes in I’m going to have a boiling hot two hour bath I tell you!

Sounds like you’ve done all you can.  All electric water heating might account for much of the expense but electric showers are generally pretty efficient for low water usage and so less heating needed.  Guess you also had the insulation put in when the house was done up?   Good luck with the bills - hope he can find a way to get them down a a bit,  Anyway, I’m hoping that the weathers going to warm up pretty soon because I want to turn the heating off!   We haven’t really had one warm day this year yet - it’s been mostly cold wind and rain.   We have a couple of solar water heating panels in the roof which normally provide all the hot water we need in the summer months but they’re useless when it’s cloudy.   Heating oil has certainly gone through the roof recently but it’s not just oil - we cook with a gas hob and so we have a couple of gas bottles outside - just had two 47kg bottles delivered and the price was £40 each!  Used to pay that for 90kg.   

[Sky Full]

2 minutes to go.  Please don’t let Austria score in injury time……..

[Sky Full]

Wales have beaten Austria in the World Cup play offs!   Now they must wait until June to see who wins the game between Scotland and …..Ukraine!   

[snefnug]

Oh fardling carp!  Mod thread hinting at v v cold conditions and poss snow from 30th March.  Blinkin last thing we need round here as lambing time in the valley and memories still very strong of the sheep carnage of March 2017.

Another glorious day here, but temperature dropped from 16 to 10 in the space of an hour when sun went behind hill.