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Does anyone know the most economical use Joule hot water cylinder

(16 Posts)
Toula Sun 17-Oct-21 13:12:10

Moved into rented accommodation a year ago. A new property with no previous tenant. Even had trouble getting utilities connected. There is definitely something wrong with (a) British Gas as a supplier, and (b) the monthly bills which are now up from £35 pm to £125! Stunned to say the least. I haven't changed the way I use anything. BG just don't want to know. I can only put cost down to the Joule hot water tank. Or can it be the combi boiler? Does anyone know the most economical way to use either? Many thanks for any response.

Blossoming Sun 17-Oct-21 13:18:49

Combi boilers don’t use a hot water tank. They provide heating and just heat water when you need it. That’s why they’re called combi. I’ve never heard of a joule cylinder so can’t really help there.

Peasblossom Sun 17-Oct-21 13:32:53

The cylinder will be heated by electric, won’t it? It will just be there as a backup to the combi boiler, so that if that fails you still have hot water. I think that’s a requirement in new builds.

£35 a month is very low. Are they recouping an underpayment?

Peasblossom Sun 17-Oct-21 13:47:56

Oh righ, it’s an air pump cylinder.

All I can tell you is that on the new estate where I lived all the housing association houses had air pumps installed. After two years they had to remove them and put in gas boilers because peoples bills were around the £2000 mark.

Aldom Sun 17-Oct-21 13:57:02

Hello Toula
I haven't heard of the Joules hot water cylinder so Googled it. Lots of information there. As you also have a Combi boiler can you turn off the Joules? I'd be interested in knowing the size of your home, as the cost of heating is reflected in this. As someone up thread mentioned, £35 is very low.

Toula Sun 17-Oct-21 19:37:55

Things falling into place reading comments. Many thanks all. Have sent an email to the developer to ask for help. It may be that I have to turn this Joule system off. Will google system, too. Two matters that jump out. Yes, I think BG trying to get monies back. I am also beginning to wonder if BG buys from various countries and that is why helpline people have English but no comprehension. All they want are bank details for direct debit payments with the threat that if prices rise then payment can automatically be taken from bank.

Blossoming Sun 17-Oct-21 20:21:37

Glad it’s helped, good luck with your enquiries.

Aldom Sun 17-Oct-21 21:36:04

Good luck. Please let us know how you get on.

Grammaretto Sun 17-Oct-21 21:49:09

Yes please give us an update.
I have recently contacted Home Energy Scotland to ask an independent assessor it's a government site to see how I can heat my home and cook meals in a cheaper, greener way.
I am a bit sceptical but we'll see,

Katie59 Mon 18-Oct-21 08:18:01

A Joules is an unvented cylinder with immersion heater(s) you can use as a backup if your combi fails they would normally be switched off.
An unvented cylinder is very expensive because it works at mains pressure and looses heat in the same way a conventional cylinder would. I don’t see the point in a combi system if you have a cylinder, there are no savings.

Toula Mon 18-Oct-21 10:33:42

Hello Aldom. I don't use heating - yet! I use single gas ring to cook/heat food. Candles/torches for warmth and lighting now that days are getting shorter. The latest bill is £125 for the month - and told that I am also currently in debit by £80 for this month! Everytime I telephone BG to complain about bill, it seems to go up even though I am on cheapest tariff. Been a problem with BG from the start really. Could be that I was first tenant to pay anything in new house. New build 3-bed semi - not sure of sq ft. Reading responses to the post, I am not even sure now if the cylinder in the kitchen is combi. The landlord and agent were no help. Looking to buy a small property within radius of Knaresborough/York before all my budget gets spent here. Just waiting for customer service at developer to get back to me re heating system.

Many thanks all for comments. PS Is there a forum for the over 70s? I feel a bit of a fraud when I see GNs for the over 50s. grin

Toula Mon 18-Oct-21 10:38:29

Hello Aldom. I don't use heating - yet! I use single gas ring to cook/heat food. Candles/torches for warmth and lighting now that days are getting shorter. The latest bill is £125 for the month - and told that I am also currently in debit by £80 for this month! Everytime I telephone BG to complain about bill, it seems to go up even though I am on cheapest tariff. Been a problem with BG from the start really. Could be that I was first tenant to pay anything in new house. New build 3-bed semi - not sure of sq ft. Reading responses to the post, I am not even sure now if the cylinder in the kitchen is combi. The landlord and agent were no help. Looking to buy a small property within radius of Knaresborough/York before all my budget gets spent here. Just waiting for customer service at developer to get back to me re heating system.

Many thanks all for comments. PS Is there a forum for the over 70s? I feel a bit of a fraud when I see GNs for the over 50s. grin

Toula Mon 18-Oct-21 10:38:30

Hello Aldom. I don't use heating - yet! I use single gas ring to cook/heat food. Candles/torches for warmth and lighting now that days are getting shorter. The latest bill is £125 for the month - and told that I am also currently in debit by £80 for this month! Everytime I telephone BG to complain about bill, it seems to go up even though I am on cheapest tariff. Been a problem with BG from the start really. Could be that I was first tenant to pay anything in new house. New build 3-bed semi - not sure of sq ft. Reading responses to the post, I am not even sure now if the cylinder in the kitchen is combi. The landlord and agent were no help. Looking to buy a small property within radius of Knaresborough/York before all my budget gets spent here. Just waiting for customer service at developer to get back to me re heating system.

Many thanks all for comments. PS Is there a forum for the over 70s? I feel a bit of a fraud when I see GNs for the over 50s. grin

Toula Mon 18-Oct-21 10:38:31

Hello Aldom. I don't use heating - yet! I use single gas ring to cook/heat food. Candles/torches for warmth and lighting now that days are getting shorter. The latest bill is £125 for the month - and told that I am also currently in debit by £80 for this month! Everytime I telephone BG to complain about bill, it seems to go up even though I am on cheapest tariff. Been a problem with BG from the start really. Could be that I was first tenant to pay anything in new house. New build 3-bed semi - not sure of sq ft. Reading responses to the post, I am not even sure now if the cylinder in the kitchen is combi. The landlord and agent were no help. Looking to buy a small property within radius of Knaresborough/York before all my budget gets spent here. Just waiting for customer service at developer to get back to me re heating system.

Many thanks all for comments. PS Is there a forum for the over 70s? I feel a bit of a fraud when I see GNs for the over 50s. grin

Toula Fri 29-Oct-21 18:40:20

Thanks to all for replies. FYI. When I eventually got through to BG call centre in South Africa (!), after my bills were coming through daily with demand for last payment of £250 (!!!) the wonderful woman at the Call Centre realised there was a problem with the meter. Fingers crossed - a new meter is on its way on Monday. In the meantime, the meter has been re-set to 0. I will ask the BG engineer about the system. Have a nice Friday evening everyone.

Nandalot Fri 29-Oct-21 19:09:31

That’s good news. Hope the new bills are more accurate!