Pay Per Use Electric on site.

[TallPaul_S]

We use a site in Dorset that has coin operated meters, easy and stress free as long as you have coins .
I don't wanna be downloading apps.
I can definitely see the difference in usage between our bus and our motorhome.
Bus uses next to nowt .
I'm happy to pay as we go and not just pay a fixed fee.
Too many people take the pee with 'free' lecky.

Coins? Are those the round things that have been rattling about in my cup holder for the last 5000 miles? I thought they were just a decorative item...

 

[rod_vw]

We're Lithium & Solar powered with both gas (Truma) and diesel (Eberspacher) heating plus a bit of gas cooking. Lighting is obviously LED as 99% are nowadays.

When we wander France for five or six weeks using a hook-up is almost never and even when we do there is the occasional Aire that has free EHU and some that charge just a few Euros to use one. Just occasionally we use a pre payment meter but they are so simple to use often with the swipe of a bank card it's no problem.

The other option for site owners would be to include EHU in the price but fit only 6A breakers (a bit less than 1.5kW @ 240v) which would charge batteries and work a fridge but prevent the thoughtless campers trying to heat the neighbourhood.

 

[JumpShip]

i dont carry any cash

You sound like the queen now

They've only been in place a couple of years so they're not too antique.
It's a very small (6 pitches) private site , no reception , check in online so you need to bring the coins.
Nobody stopping next door plugging in while your out , just trust that your fellow campers aren't shysters.

 

[cgtmiles]

You sound like the queen now

They've only been in place a couple of years so they're not too antique.
It's a very small (6 pitches) private site , no reception , check in online so you need to bring the coins.
Nobody stopping next door plugging in while your out , just trust that your fellow campers aren't shysters.

Surely the queen was famous for always having a note in her handbag? Not sure she ever used it mind but I’m sure that was a thing.

I’ve seen many sites with coin operated showers but not come across one with coin operated EHU, I avoid the sites that need the 20p for the showers (mainly due to the inconvenience and not the cost) so I’ll probably avoid the coin EHU too.

A night or 2 with a £5+ surcharge for EHU isn’t too bad but when staying a week etc it soon adds up so financial it would make sense for us to go to sites that are metered but still I think it would put me off

 

[Martinf]

sounds interesting. . and possibly a fairer setup?

can you get loads of pics of the tariff and the EHU post so we can see how it all works.?

@Dellmassive some photos of the set up. Easy to access pay touchscreen on the nearest facilities block. Select your pitch. Then check your power credit and add a payment if needed. Payment is by entering card details, which is like a website purchase. Probably ok but it would be easier if it could be arranged through contactless payment.

The EHU post looks normal although just one outlet per post. This must be where some clever bits resides. Yes in theory @Paul Sussex someone could steal my power but at my maximum of £5 worth I would have bigger security concerns.

It’s sunny now but yesterday evening and last night was hovering around zero. Even with electric heating I’ve only used about 5 units so about £1.25 worth (poptop up with insulated wrap and similar on windscreen). I could probably have avoided using it for the planned two nights but gives convenience and power security.

Site is Deepdale Camping & Rooms in Burnham Deepdale. Nice site, open in the winter but probably very busy in the summer. Much more convenient for local facilities than one might imagine.

 

[Salty Spuds]

Without delving into politics at 25 pence per kilowatt hour we're paying way too much for electric compared to the 6 p per kWh for gas.
For EVs and heat pumps to become the logical clean alternative that 25 pence is the stumbling block.
As for pay as you go electric on camp sites does that mean a £5 per night reduction on the pitch price?

You have to remember that gas is a primary fuel & electricity is a secondary fuel. Electricity is "generally" 100% efficient, whereas gas can be as low as 60%. Much of the UK electricity is produced by burning gas or other primary fuel. So you have to take gas at 6p/kwh, burn it inefficiently, turn it into electricity & transmit it. So in essence, you're taking a raw material, gas, and turning it into a secondary product, electric. Electricity will never be as cheap as gas, the numbers don't stack up.

 

[Ricardo T]

@Dellmassive some photos of the set up. Easy to access pay touchscreen on the nearest facilities block. Select your pitch. Then check your power credit and add a payment if needed. Payment is by entering card details, which is like a website purchase. Probably ok but it would be easier if it could be arranged through contactless payment.

The EHU post looks normal although just one outlet per post. This must be where some clever bits resides. Yes in theory @Paul Sussex someone could steal my power but at my maximum of £5 worth I would have bigger security concerns.

It’s sunny now but yesterday evening and last night was hovering around zero. Even with electric heating I’ve only used about 5 units so about £1.25 worth (poptop up with insulated wrap and similar on windscreen). I could probably have avoided using it for the planned two nights but gives convenience and power security.

Site is Deepdale Camping & Rooms in Burnham Deepdale. Nice site, open in the winter but probably very busy in the summer. Much more convenient for local facilities than one might imagine.

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Love Deepdale...one of our go to's for North Norfolk as its open all year and has great underfloor heated facilities , it does get very very busy in season and can be quite noisy as its a family site. Enjoy the pretty good weather this week, you timed it right!

 

[Stay Frosty]

You're correct @Salty Spuds but given that eventually we're going to be 100% reliant on electricity and that much of that electricity is already produced by harvesting the sun be that wind, tidal or solar panels then electricity being four times more expensive than gas is a stretch.
At the micro level when I'm out in my camper I'm already self sufficient in electric via solar or by driving aimlessly around in circles and while the same doesn't quite apply at home a £20k spend there could see a solar, battery, inverter and heat pump install that would knock a hole in that 25 p per kWh.
I see that 25 pence more as the reality of generating companies raking in the extra profit from being part of a monopoly product.

 

[Salty Spuds]

You're correct @Salty Spuds but given that eventually we're going to be 100% reliant on electricity and that much of that electricity is already produced by harvesting the sun be that wind, tidal or solar panels then electricity being four times more expensive than gas is a stretch.
At the micro level when I'm out in my camper I'm already self sufficient in electric via solar or by driving aimlessly around in circles and while the same doesn't quite apply at home a £20k spend there could see a solar, battery, inverter and heat pump install that would knock a hole in that 25 p per kWh.
I see that 25 pence more as the reality of generating companies raking in the extra profit from being part of a monopoly product.

Just for comparison, most campsites in Austria are metered EHU & charge by the KWH. The minimum rates are 50p/unit, with most around 75-90p/unit and much of their electricity is Hydro.

 

[Sasquatch]

You have to remember that gas is a primary fuel & electricity is a secondary fuel. Electricity is "generally" 100% efficient, whereas gas can be as low as 60%. Much of the UK electricity is produced by burning gas or other primary fuel. So you have to take gas at 6p/kwh, burn it inefficiently, turn it into electricity & transmit it. So in essence, you're taking a raw material, gas, and turning it into a secondary product, electric. Electricity will never be as cheap as gas, the numbers don't stack up.

Although electricity from renewable sources is now the least expensive to produce in the UK. Of course, that doesn't mean it actually costs less to the consumer once it's passed through several trophic levels of distribution (generator, grid, supplier/provider or billing company) taking a coin at each turn.

While electricity commodities are traded on an international market the price the consumer pays will often be unrelated to the cost of generation.

 

[CAB]

We had single nights at a couple of sites in Germany in 2023 where EHUs on pitches were metered but they gave you an allowance before chasrges started kicking in. Even with boiling a small electric kettle and plugging in a small oil-filled radiator (1Kw and 600 or 700W respectively) we didn't get charged any extra at either of them but I suspect some of the giant motorhomes would have done. All in all, I reckon that's a pretty fair policy.

Although, apparently foreign motorhomes don't have electric air/water heating, it's all gas. It's only British built and UK marketed motorhomes that have gas + electric heating.

Apparently due to the lower amps rated EHU on continental sites.

 

[rod_vw]

You have to remember that gas is a primary fuel & electricity is a secondary fuel. Electricity is "generally" 100% efficient, whereas gas can be as low as 60%. Much of the UK electricity is produced by burning gas or other primary fuel. So you have to take gas at 6p/kwh, burn it inefficiently, turn it into electricity & transmit it. So in essence, you're taking a raw material, gas, and turning it into a secondary product, electric. Electricity will never be as cheap as gas, the numbers don't stack up.

Unless you are old enough to remember when gas was generated by 'cooking' coal in a retort using coke to generate the heat.

Gas hasn't always come either form underground of derived from oil.

 

[Salty Spuds]

Unless you are old enough to remember when gas was generated by 'cooking' coal in a retort using coke to generate the heat.

Gas hasn't always come either form underground of derived from oil.

Aye! I can remember the coking/gas plants. That made Town Gas a secondary fuel.

 

[Salty Spuds]

Although, apparently foreign motorhomes don't have electric air/water heating, it's all gas. It's only British built and UK marketed motorhomes that have gas + electric heating.

Apparently due to the lower amps rated EHU on continental sites.

True, we’ve been on Italian sites where the EHU is 2A. The first time we used such a site I was confused when the reception asked if I wanted “lighting”, it turns out that’s what they call low Amp EHU, as lighting is more or less all it’s good for. Luckily for us, it was ample to keep the battery charged, run the electric blanket & the Webasto.

 

[Pedros85]

Probably works out cheaper than the set added cost tbh. I e paid for electric hook up then never really used any. As someone says people take the mick and charge their cars etc

 

[roadtripper]

We had single nights at a couple of sites in Germany in 2023 where EHUs on pitches were metered but they gave you an allowance before chasrges started kicking in. Even with boiling a small electric kettle and plugging in a small oil-filled radiator (1Kw and 600 or 700W respectively) we didn't get charged any extra at either of them but I suspect some of the giant motorhomes would have done. All in all, I reckon that's a pretty fair policy.

I think this would be an excellent approach in all honesty. If you just need a bit to keep batteries charged and lights on it means it's low hassle for user and owner to not be bothering with purchasing, but if you want to run heavier loads it's done fairly.

 

[Martinf]

I think this would be an excellent approach in all honesty. If you just need a bit to keep batteries charged and lights on it means it's low hassle for user and owner to not be bothering with purchasing, but if you want to run heavier loads it's done fairly.

I’m pleased to say that our recent experience in Norfolk (#49 and #65 above) was hassle free. After paying what was effectively a deposit, the refund came through automatically soon after we left the site. No action needed from us other than the initial payment. But it does require the site to invest in the necessary technology and I’m not sure the big organisations are there yet!

 

[Bargy62]

This has been copied from @Green Giant s post in campsite costs "We just booked 5 nights at Pentewan Sands near St Austell in Cornwall, right beside the beach.
Cost £65 for the 5 nights (£13 a night) no electric, mid September, we are going there right after the BUSFEST weekend
I think that’s a great price for the location"

To book the same period with EHU it is £144.50 so electric for 5 nights is £15.90 per night so paying for the electric you use would make perfect sense we stay at a site where you get 8Kw of power per day included ie 3 days 24Kw and even with a heater and induction hobs for cooking we have never used more than 12Kw for the 3 days so i think more sites should offer PAYG electric all the big companies probably charge at least £10 per day for EHU and we would use £3 worth.