UK energy prices and Rolex demand...

[Lewi777]

Originally Posted by brandrea

May I ask, what does your energy bill consist of? Is this for home heating, petrol for your car? Just curious ….

Here in Canada our home energy would be: gas for heating and electric to power the lights and any electric appliances. Our total for last year was:

Gas: $1068
Electric: $ 1968 (this soon to be zero with our solar panel installation and net zero metering.

Car petrol: $780 on my car and $1690 on my wife’s.

Home heating/cooking and hot water (gas) plus lighting/electrics and two electric cars (mostly just local journeys). Electricity is 16,000kWh Gas 68,000kWh. It's the gas which is the killer and that's because of the AGA which (if you don't know) is a huge lump of metal with a permanent gas burner inside. It's a mulit-oven and hob cooker and room heater combined. Very popular in English country houses, they look lovely, dogs love to lay in front of them, people love to lean on them. AGA have more efficient models now but none are really efficient as they let out so much heat into the room and are on 24/7.

If you couldn't go into an AGA showroom and buy one, I swear everyone would be falling over themselves for one and going to the grey market :)

[Lewi777]

Originally Posted by 1665fan

U say 2000k a year OP says 22000k a year

Yes funnily enough not all UK house are exactly the same size. And the fixed rate quote is £16K not £22K. According to Google our house is more than 7 times the size of the UK's average house (which it seems is 729 sq ft). So we're currently paying less per sq ft than average, if the average bill is around £1.2k.

[Lewi777]

Originally Posted by enjoythemusic

Have you considered moving out of the UK, that is a wise move imho.

Many times :)

[Lewi777]

Originally Posted by Soultime

Sort of my area I suppose...... Portfolio management.

Current forecasts are for energy prices to increase 50%-60% when the fuel cap is reviewed in April.

So we've been on a fixed rate that is better than the cap. The new fixed rate deals are x3 what we're paying. But moving to the standard variable rate is about x1.5 I think, soon to go up by 50% as you say and then an estimated 20% in Oct again. I reckon the smart thing to do is just go variable and see what happens, the fix rates I think have a worst case scenario priced in. Martin Lewis from MoneySuperMarket is recommending to not take a fixed rate now as they are all more expensive than the fuel cap.

This is energyforums.com right?!

[Lewi777]

Just to clarify, this thread was just an observation that costs are going up and a wondering as to how that would affect the UK Rolex marker in particular.

I think that as other posters have said there is still a lot of pandemic saved cash here and it will take a while for that to get spent; so still many Rolexes to be sold.

[enjoythemusic]

Originally Posted by Lewi777

Many times :)

It'll never be less costly to leave. And you could then afford more Rolex, if you so choose.

You could be here.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by Lewi777

Home heating/cooking and hot water (gas) plus lighting/electrics and two electric cars (mostly just local journeys). Electricity is 16,000kWh Gas 68,000kWh. It's the gas which is the killer and that's because of the AGA which (if you don't know) is a huge lump of metal with a permanent gas burner inside. It's a mulit-oven and hob cooker and room heater combined. Very popular in English country houses, they look lovely, dogs love to lay in front of them, people love to lean on them. AGA have more efficient models now but none are really efficient as they let out so much heat into the room and are on 24/7.

If you couldn't go into an AGA showroom and buy one, I swear everyone would be falling over themselves for one and going to the grey market :)

That’s an interesting way of measuring gas usage. Ours is charged in cubic meters per day. We average 132 m cubed a day.

[Shadow Play]

Originally Posted by 1665fan

U say 2000k a year OP says 22000k a year

In the UK the average house is very small, with woodchip on the wall........

[malba2366]

Originally Posted by DBlue2018

Not at all

During periods of high inflation people shift to hard assets so watches will go higher as people don’t want money in currency (the bank)

A watch purchased at grey market prices fails to meet the qualification as a "hard asset". The intrinsic value of the watch is the retail price of the watch and not what the next guy will pay for it. Similarly stocks, cryptocurrency etc are not hard assets.

[colpol]

Interesting thread

Over past few years - we’ve managed to cut our prices a few times. First major cut was shopping around & switching suppliers a few years back. Our gas/ electricity Direct Debit dropped by over £40 at end of Nov.

Over past few years we’ve done a lot of small stuff that all adds up. We’ve an open fire in the living room so tend to live there all winter & keep the heating down in the other rooms. Even packing the dishwasher right - we get an extra day/ try to always put our washing outside to dry (lot of windy days in winter) rather than use the drier/ full loads in washing machine/ TVs off standby etc etc. All the small stuff eventually adds up. People need to adjust to rising energy costs & think smarter

[Johny]

Originally Posted by Shadow Play

In the UK the average house is very small, with woodchip on the wall........

Jarvis.... lol

[ganiccus]

Originally Posted by brandrea

That’s an interesting way of measuring gas usage. Ours is charged in cubic meters per day. We average 132 m cubed a day.

Not really fair to compare energy rates between two completely different countries (geography wise) like Canada and the UK. Where I'm from, I pay 6 cents CAD per kWh because hydroelectricity is the bread and butter that powers the whole province and even some states in the US now.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by ganiccus

Not really fair to compare energy rates between two completely different countries (geography wise) like Canada and the UK. Where I'm from, I pay 6 cents CAD per kWh because hydroelectricity is the bread and butter that powers the whole province and even some states in the US now.

Yes I agree. I was only interested to see how the OP was getting to his annual costs

I agree we are spoiled with more natural gas than we know what to do with.

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[SeaDweller50]

Originally Posted by Anton911

Not being funny,what are you heating,The Houses of Parliament or Windsor Castle !

[Smurf_75]

Front page of the local paper.... "Country pile owner downsizes to bedsit in order to feed Rolex addiction"

I would be crying like a baby with 5k a year on utilities, let alone 20 odd..... Mind you, a roast in the Aga is damn good.

[inadeje]

I haven’t lived in my London condo for over two years (save 2 weeks last summer). I have no idea what fuel bills are or would be at the moment. I think I pay something like 22 pounds a month to keep the power turned on.

However, invariably the increase in the cost of utilities, taxes and whatever else comes down the pipe to pay off huge national debt worldwide will erode discretionary spending and with that a reduction in the luxury goods market. Its ABC or 101 of economics.

[SpiritSoul]

Originally Posted by Anton911

Not being funny,what are you heating,The Houses of Parliament or Windsor Castle !

I was going to ask the same... the energy bill figures sound really high and extortionate, even for London.

[SocialMediaUser]

This is one strange thread,or I must be missing something?

OP lives in an 8bedroom house and will be spending USD 22K on heat/power.
He think about changing his cooktop to the tune of USD 7K plus...but the dog likes to lay infront of the old one...
He also has two electric cars.

All of the above might reduce his interest in a new Rolex watch.

Does that sum it up pretty good?

[-Ally-]

When things kick off in Ukraine, burning the collection may be cheaper than putting the gas on.

Buckle up.

[1665fan]

Originally Posted by SocialMediaUser

This is one strange thread,or I must be missing something?

OP lives in an 8bedroom house and will be spending USD 22K on heat/power.
He think about changing his cooktop to the tune of USD 7K plus...but the dog likes to lay infront of the old one...
He also has two electric cars.

All of the above might reduce his interest in a new Rolex watch.

Does that sum it up pretty good?

[ganiccus]

Originally Posted by SocialMediaUser

This is one strange thread,or I must be missing something?

OP lives in an 8bedroom house and will be spending USD 22K on heat/power.
He think about changing his cooktop to the tune of USD 7K plus...but the dog likes to lay infront of the old one...
He also has two electric cars.

All of the above might reduce his interest in a new Rolex watch.

Does that sum it up pretty good?

That's the most ridiculous part in all of this, he owns two electric cars that he recharges with electricity generated by fossil fuels. On top of consuming MASSIVE amounts of it in a very inefficient manner it seems. I would not be surprised if he has bad isolation around the house, I mean how cold does London can get to justify using so much energy to heat his home?

[Rolexatlast]

Originally Posted by johnwigan

Being prepared is the best course of action. Looking at what is coming ahead, rather than in the rear view mirror, is the way to avoid ending up a mangled wreck

How should we prepare? Assuming one has no debts, should one build up a cash reserve (which will be eroded by inflations), buy property (which is likely to drop if mortgage rates increase), buy shares (which could drop in value if the market tanks), or maybe buy assets that immediately double in value (Roles SS watches from an AD).

[SocialMediaUser]

Originally Posted by ganiccus

That's the most ridiculous part in all of this, he owns two electric cars that he recharges with electricity generated by fossil fuels. On top of consuming MASSIVE amounts of it in a very inefficient manner it seems. I would not be surprised if he has bad isolation around the house, I mean how cold does London can get to justify using so much energy to heat his home?

Its been a few years since I was in GB but very many houses are old,at least 100yrs or more.
Built with waterpipes outside the houses as indoor plumbing wasnt available when built.
Heatsource back then was a coal-stove and you heated the room/s you lived in wintertime. Rest of house you closed up to conserve fuel.
Insulation...not much and often built with bricks hence the name "Brownstone" houses

But 50-60yrs or so ago this became unmodern and thats when the AGA-stoves (bascically a cooktop) that also is heatcource for home was a cheaper alternative to totally redoing the heatsystem.
Fuel was cheap and if it was cold outside you just burn more gas.Who cares?

I think the average american homeowner that has a house 7 (seven) times larger then the average home built in the 1920s-1930s and not updated to modern standards are batteling high heating costs too...

And what all of the above has to do with the future demand of Rolex watches I wonder as much of China is still under lockdown and demand is pent up....When the chineese start travel again....

[Nav01L]

Originally Posted by Lewi777

Being on a fixed rate energy tarrif for the last year, the UK energy crisis has largely passed me by, but now I'm coming off that fix I've been offered a renewal. The cheapest new fixed rate for our circa £5k ($7k) energy bill is now £16K ($22K) a year. That's a Rolex a year for the next couple of years at least.

I've been dismissing talk on here of this causing any dent in UK demand, but I do now wonder if this, combined with inflation accross the board might actually be more significant that I'd realised and may very well dampen demand, at least in the short term. I hadn't realised how much energy was going up; a 200+% rise is probably going to cause some here in the UK at least to review that Rolex purchase.

We live in an old, inefficient house with a gas AGA of all things, so we're probably about as bad as it gets in the UK for energy ratings, but I'm thinking of all those big old independent schools that are going to get enormous energy bills, which may very well have to be passed on to those middle-class Rolex buying parents. Pressure is definitely coming to pockets here in the UK and we're told Russia is about to invade the Ukraine - where all the gas flows through to the EU.

Interesting times ...

How would increased cost of living get anyone not to purchase something they can flip for profit? If anything, it may accentuate the demand by adding more folks who try to make ends meet that way.

[Harry-57]

Originally Posted by Shadow Play

By way of clarification for any non UK posters here.

The average annual gas and electricity bill in the UK is said to be £1,250. Come April the price cap is expected to raise the average bill to £2,000 ish. Financial Times today leading with a report that come October it will be raised again to £2,400 ish. That is a big chunk out of the average consumer’s disposable income. Money that would probably otherwise be spent in shops, cafes, leisure activity etc.

From around 1.2k to 2.4k in 12 months? Or for arguments sake, let's say the doubling of a cost that is presently somewhere between £1.2 - 2k. No increase is welcome, but anybody who can't accommodate that kind of increase in a basic utility or would be financially stunned by it, surely wouldn't be buying luxury watches in the £6-12k price range in the first place?

[ChronoHog]

Originally Posted by rambo99

almost 1k pounds bill a month just for gas and electricity?!

Indeed. That is not representative of a normal uk household. Our bill has gone up about £50 a month. Around £160 in total.

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[Nav01L]

Originally Posted by Harry-57

From around 1.2k to 2.4k in 12 months? Or for arguments sake, let's say the doubling of a cost that is presently somewhere between £1.2 - 2k. No increase is welcome, but anybody who can't accommodate that kind of increase in a basic utility or would be financially stunned by it, surely wouldn't be buying luxury watches in the £6-12k price range in the first place?

You mean other than to flip them

[Harry-57]

Originally Posted by Nav01L

You mean other than to flip them

No. I mean being able to buy them.

If there is that much cash available for a speculative purchase, of if that level of short term credit and the risk of a flaky buyer was easily manageable, an extra £1-2k spend on a utility over 12 - 18 months would be insignificant. A buyer of these means won't stop buying Rolex when the gas bill goes up. They might buy more.

[Nav01L]

Originally Posted by Harry-57

No. I mean being able to buy them.

If there is that much cash available for a speculative purchase, of if that level of short term credit and the risk of a flaky buyer was easily manageable, an extra £1-2k spend on a utility over 12 - 18 months would be insignificant. A buyer of these means won't stop buying Rolex when the gas bill goes up. They buy more.

I think we’d be surprised how easily folks can get access to money if they have an good enough opportunity to multiply it, but I see what you mean.

[winst]

There was me worried about going up from £105 a month to £150! In all seriousness though I suggest you get an energy consultant in. I used to sell Aga’s at a kitchen showroom I worked at as a student - sounds like you have an Aga Rayburn that heats up your hot water cylinder.

One possible course of action is to get a new efficient condensing gas system boiler with an unvented cylinder and then if you do a search online there are several firms now that will convert your Aga to electric taking away the cylinder part of it whilst keeping the charm of the Aga and slashing the running costs with just using electric when you need it. I used to love working in the showroom and being by the Aga in the winter but it used to get unbearable in the summer.

As for solar panels, I was fortunate and put our PV ones on in 2011 just before the highest feed in tariff ended - cost me £8k and we get back about £1500 a year currently and about £350 a year of electric savings now - got to be one of the best investments I ever made as we have 14 years of feed in tariff left. For yourself though, I wouldn’t be convinced - the feed in tariff you get now is abysmal. Sort out your heating system and the Aga, look at your windows and doors if you haven’t replaced them for double / triple glazing already and look at insulation measures as well.

Based on how high your bills are currently some of these measures would pay for themselves probably within 5-7 years. Good luck and it was a pleasure to be able to advise you William / Your Majesty - HRH - I look forward to seeing the scaffolding being erected around Kensington Palace over the coming months! PS - you did really well with Catherine - very easy on the eye. If this information has been of any use a future Knighthood would be greatly appreciated. All the best Sire!