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I'm thinking of installing an Air Source Heating Pump which obviously will increase my electricity usage but massively decrease my gas usage. At the moment, I have a Farmhouse cooker (came with the house when I moved in) and I very rarely use the ovens or grill as I have an Air Fryer. I do, however use the gas hob, not much though as I live alone and tend to make curries, stews etc. in a huge pot and then freeze it so I'm probably lucky if I turn a gas ring on once a week.  Anyway, if I get a Heat Pump, I'm going to be forking out roughly £100 a year for a gas standing charge while probably only using about £50, or less, in gas. I could get rid of my cooker and buy a completely electric cooker but, A; that's an additional expense I don't need and B; unless I bought another Farmhouse cooker (much more expensive than the size of cooker I actually need), I'm going to have a huge space in my kitchen next to a smaller cooker. So, finally, my question is, do OVO have a tariff that charges more per gas unit but does away with the Standing Charge altogether? 

You can check yourself @Gillarms 

https://plans.ovoenergy.com/

but I don’t think they do 

iirc there’s barely any zero standing charge tariff these days either to be honest.

Utilita is the most well know supplier with zero standing charges but as a result higher unit rates.

You could for example look into having your electricity from ovo and gas from utilita. 

You would need to phone up utilita for a quote as they won't quote for gas only on their website. The website tells people to phone up for gas only quotes. 

https://utilita.co.uk/

Obviously that adds complexity and it may not save you money due to the higher unit rates. 

Great unbiased advice for you here, @Gillarms.


We’d love to hear more from you about your considerations of a heat pump. We have lots of heat pump members here as well, in case you had any specific questions around that.

 

Here’s a few topics already set up that you might find useful:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m in that very position of having just a gas hob and an hp so v low gas usage. I decided to just cough up the £100 annual standing charge and try to forget about it. With a well installed heat pump you should have lower bills overall so focus on that! Some OVO customers who have had their gas meter removed have reported great agro trying to get OVO to recognise the fact, and are still being billed the standing charge. So on balance you’ll have a quieter life enjoying the tiny amount of gas you use and thinking of it as a luxury!!

I guess the good thing about having a gas hob is I can still cook and heat water in a power cut. Unfortunately I live in a village that lost power for almost a week after Storm Arwen and then again after the next two big storms. At least I could heat up water to have a sink wash instead of relying on my electric shower. You're right, juliamc, leaving my gas supply as it is might be the better choice. Who knows, the standing charge might come down in price at some point.

 

@Gillarms what energy tariff did you choose in the end?

I'm still waiting for the appointment to see if I can even get an Air Source Heat Pump. If I do decide to get one, I'm just going to stick with Ovo's standard Dual Fuel tariff (for now). It's all just a case of wait and see at the moment.

Hi

I am wondering if I can take a payment  break while my property is being renovated & empty.

This will be for around 1 year and would only affect the standing charge.

Thanks 

Vamatex

 

 

Hi @Vamatex ,

This one’s best for the Support Team! Try https://ovoenergy.com/help and they’ll see what’s possible.

I am going round in circles re 2 Ovo concerns.

  1. My cottage on Skye is vacant but for a few weeks every couple of years so I have been paying a ‘standing charge’ of £29 each month. That’s tough enough, but now Ovo has informed me that charges are going to be increased to £92 per month. A problem with communicating with Ovo is that I live in Canada. A kind Skye neighbour has tried telephoning Ovo on my behalf, but just gets recordings, and for some reason, when  I try to set up an on-line account with Ovo, they keep saying my information is awry. What can I do? Cancel my account and get a generator?
  2. My neighbour said that my meter reading is 18.609 and my estimate is 19,117 so I appear to be being overcharged by 508 units.

The cottage has been family-owned since the early 1950s and we have never been late paying a hydro account. I am prepared to give Ovo a deposit (rather than pay huge monthly payments) to prove that I will not run off without settling my account!

 

*edited by moderator*

 

Many thanks,

James

…………………………..

 

 

Hi @hydroskye 

I don't work for ovo, I am just a customer like you.

If you are struggling to submit a reading you can do it via the chat function. That may help

You don't need to phone up or access your account.

https://www.ovoenergy.com/help#contact_us_container

You could enquire about getting a smart meter if you haven't already. Obviously I don't know if that property is suitable. Then you won't get an issue with estimated readings.

I recommend submitting readings at least once a month.

It is best not to include personal information on the forum else you risk being spammed by other people. I have flagged the moderators to delete the personal information to protect you.

 

Jan. 15th 2024.

 

Hello Jeffus,

 

Very many thanks for the helpful and very speedy response! I am very grateful. I will try doing as you say;

the cottage’s location is remote, so ‘m not sure if smart meters are in use there.

Thank you again.

James.

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