Mel
Moderator
Surely if you are not using the cooling side then the unit is just a fan heater, possibly with filtration.
John
Most sites will be rated as commercial properties and thus the domestic price cap will not apply to them, therefore the increased costs will affect all sites. not just Cl's.
Ultimately it's unlikely CL's will have a disproportionately higher increase cost compared to other sites. but smaller businesses like CL's might find they have to raise prices sooner as they might have less spare cash to stave off increases.
Caravanners will have to get used to the idea of increased sites fees at all sites.
Ultimately it's unlikely CL's will have a disproportionately higher increase cost compared to other sites. but smaller businesses like CL's might find they have to raise prices sooner as they might have less spare cash to stave off increases.
Caravanners will have to get used to the idea of increased sites fees at all sites.
I have put up with 6 amp pitchs in summer sites in France, but in the UK, sorry not really acceptable, I would rather pay another £5 for 10 amps.
I don't want to go to just a field with low power and nothing nearby for £20.
I will take less trips away and spend more on pitches, nearer to places. ie pubs. But thats just us.
I don't want to go to just a field with low power and nothing nearby for £20.
I will take less trips away and spend more on pitches, nearer to places. ie pubs. But thats just us.
Mel
Moderator
To be fair, this was £20 a night for a fully serviced pitch with a pub and shops within walking distance and we went in high summer, ( actually 32 degrees so hotter than France) so ehu wasn’t a problem. Not sure we would have gone in winter though.
mel
However in France if the site has only 6amp you woudl probably only be paying £12 a night. If it had 16amp probably well under £20 a night for all facilities if an ACSI member.
Its reasonable for a site to increase their fees, if one of the services they offer has increased in price by as much as Electricity has done so. Caravanners have no right to expect a site to run at a loss, and it does seem that the increase in energy costs may well have exceeded any flexibility site operators may have.
Caravanning is not zero cost hobby, and if you want a choice of sites into the future you are going to have to get used to higher site fees.
Caravanning is not zero cost hobby, and if you want a choice of sites into the future you are going to have to get used to higher site fees.
These type of payg meters are easily installed nest to the EHU and offer everyone flexibility and control of their electricity costs. Two of my pet CLs use them very successfully. The site owner will soon recover the capital cost and be able to have some certainty on his own costs of running the site. Win win all round👏👏
TBH we would avoid sites with those sort of meters as the customer generally loses i.e. you need to top up the meter on the morning before you leave and do not use up what you paid for and no way of getting a refund. Secondly not every one carries a bunch of coins with them to constantly top up a meter. Thirdly these meters should be checked annually and also calibrated at the same time. It will take a long time for them to recoup the outlay for fitting the sub meters.
We use a commercial site where you pay a fixed rate of £3.50 a day. If at the end of your stay you are in credit, this is refunded back to your card. Excellent way of dealing with increases in electric and if they can do it, why can't other sites do it.
No objection to paying the extra for electric, but wary about the way some go about it to charge the extra.
You mentioned calibration of site meters annually in a previous post too. Who does the calibration?
As they are sub-meters it would normally be done by a electrician that the owner employs. By law calibration does not have to be done as the sub meters have nothing to with the MOP or supplier as after the main meter it is the responsiblity of the property owner. If they are not calibrated, then readings can be challenged and the site owner given a hard time by a customer.
I am unsure if by law they need to be checked like a rental property to make sure that are safe etc but it is probably advisable that a site owner has the checked regularly to avoid any issues.
If you book for 7 days surely you pay for seven days of electric hook up. Why would you be in credit? How can the site refund any credit you have if they don't meter it?
£3.50 per day seems a very keen price for a 16A hookup In theory that means you could take 3.5kW for 24h a day that would be 84kWh per day and that would equate to £0.04 per kWh. I think I'll move there if power is that cheap!
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Prof
That doesn’t really answer my question re calibration of meters installed at a pitch. Who does it, how often and where is the periodicity stipulated. My domestic meters are specified for 10 years, but in this house and my previous I don’t recall anything other than a minimal look over fir the gas meter and nothing for electric.
One site Strawberry Hill installed electric meters to their 40 pitches and overall consumption halved in the first full year of installation compared to the previous year of unmetered usage. If that is typical then metering must be the way to go. It’s fairer to the site owner, doesn’t penalise those who use electric frugally and it’s environmentally beneficial. Win win all around.
That doesn’t really answer my question re calibration of meters installed at a pitch. Who does it, how often and where is the periodicity stipulated. My domestic meters are specified for 10 years, but in this house and my previous I don’t recall anything other than a minimal look over fir the gas meter and nothing for electric.
One site Strawberry Hill installed electric meters to their 40 pitches and overall consumption halved in the first full year of installation compared to the previous year of unmetered usage. If that is typical then metering must be the way to go. It’s fairer to the site owner, doesn’t penalise those who use electric frugally and it’s environmentally beneficial. Win win all around.
If you book for 7 days surely you pay for seven days of electric hook up. Why would you be in credit? How can the site refund any credit you have if they don't meter it?
£3.50 per day seems a very keen price for a 16A hookup In theory that means you could take 3.5kW for 24h a day that would be 84kWh per day and that would equate to £0.04 per kWh. I think I'll move there if power is that cheap!
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You would pay 7 days upfront and the pitch is metered. At the end of your stay if you have any credit they will refund it even if it is £0.01p however if it is a low amount they do ask if you would like to donate the amount to charity. Last year we were refunded about £12, but this year it was less than £1 so donated to charity.
Remember that the £3.50 was in June this year which is why the refund was a lot lower than the previous year. From 1st of Sept they now charge £4 per day which is still quite reasonable.
A domestic meter is a meter owned by the distribution MOP i.e. Eon. A meter on a pitch is owned by the site owner and not the distribution company as it would be a sub meter to the distribution company. As said there is no obligation, but it is wise to check calibration to avoid any arguments.
This seems at odd with your previous post where you declared you would not use a site where it had prepay meters not only becasue you might pay for some power you might not use, which I agree is different to the £3.50 a day site, But your other objection was how meters could be calibrated.
As both sites use metering you must hold the same concerns about your £3.50 per day charge.
What happens if you use more power than the £3.50? If the have metering they could theoretically ask you to pay for it.
It just seems inconsistent when the same errors could still be present.
Not sure what you want me to say so preferable I just shut up and let you get on with it?
Parksy
Moderator
Amazing! My experience and wallet last winter tell me £5,00 a 24 hour period with credit left is a good deal for uninterrupted 16 amp supply with everything full on.
The solid state payg meters are pretty accurate. When was anyone on here domestic meter ever recalibrated?
Come on boys , we are getting into the realms of fantasy and missing the bigger picture😜
I just read a claim online that the Caravan and Motorhome Club‘s annual electricity bill has gone from £2 to £12 million this year , whether this is true I don’t know but if so it gives an idea of the scale of the problem. I think more solar and decent gas cylinders as the norm would be the right direction in the caravan world,
Steve
Steve
Unlike domestic tariffs business tariffs are not capped so even if the claim is a bit out there will certainly be a very big increase. Their lpg costs will also have risen significantly too. It will reflect on pitch charges and possibly some changes to what facilities are provided and when.
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