Can anything help us manage energy costs?

ACCORDING to a recent Money Mail article, the reason behind the push for people to have smart meters installed is to encourage more of us to take up ‘time-of-use’ tariffs’, which encourage customers to use energy at off-peak hours by charging lower prices. But surely that would clobber the energy companies’ profits. I reckon, instead, they will jack up prices for peak-time usage and our bills will be even higher.

eRIC WATeRS, Lancing, W. Sussex. ThE Government is pushing domestic users to heat their homes with heat pumps, which would be financial suicide and an environmental disaster. home heating is required at the peak of electricity demand. Replacing all home gas boilers with heat pumps would drive winter peak demand for electricity to more than five times its present level, which would be impossible to meet using sustainable sources. Those who have enthusiastically changed from gas to heat pumps, spending tens of thousands of pounds, will find this method of heating less efficient and more expensive at the times it is most needed.

Why not consider an option with a lower capital cost and one third of the operating cost, that would not require additional power-generating plants and so would benefit the environment? a night storage heating system costs, on average, about £2,500 to install.

DAVe OAKLeY, Westhoughton, Gtr Manchester. MY ENERGY provider has sent me a new price tariff and projected cost for the next year. All projected by a computer. Readers may wish to work these out themselves, using actual usage in the past year against the new tariff. Mine was much less than my energy firm’s estimate. It might make you feel a little easier and budget better.

RICHARD ROBeRTS, Lowestoft, Suffolk.