Official MSE Economy 7 Guide discussion
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Hi,
We are on Npower's Heatwise 2 plan. We only have Electric and have 2 x storage heaters plus 2 x electric heaters (ex army house and original 1970's installation I believe).
Eon have advised us to ask Npower to change our meter to an Economy 7 one before we can switch to them, however neighbours (with same meters) have reported being told by Npower that is isn't possible without a rewiring of the hot water system.
Apparently EON also have said that by around now (early Sept), the Heatwise tariff will be defunct and we'll pay the same price for electric around the clock, so switching to Economy 7 is definitely our best option.
Can anyone advise how best for us to approach this please before we start a potential merry dance of frustrating communications with NPower? Past history doesn't bode well for a satisfactory outcome with them.
Thanks in advance.0 -
I am in the process of switching to OneSelect, as recommended by the CEC calculator on MSE. When I moved to this house, I inherited an Economy 7 meter but I decided I would look to change the tariff as I don't meet most of the criteria for having Economy 7, as per the MSE advice, namely:
- You have storage heaters and preferably a hot water tank too
- You need to use as much electricity as possible at night (at least 40%)
Well, I don't have storage heaters or a hot water tank and the only things I make sure I always do at night (even though I'd rather not) are washing/drying and using the dishwasher so it's not surprising my night-time usage is only 25-26%. So I thought it was a no-brainer to switch out of Economy 7 and OneSelect say they can add night and day readings together if you switch. However, I compared costs for Economy 7 and non-Economy 7 and, to the surprise also of the helpful guy at OneSelect who also did a comparison, sticking with it is actually at least £30 a year cheaper. I know that's not a lot but it just goes to show it's not cut and dried.
I'll check again next time I do a comparison but for now I'm sticking with Economy 7 despite my low night-time electricity consumption. It's probably not the same for everyone or with all other suppliers but please do check carefully first before moving from an Economy 7 tariff even if, like me, you use relatively little night-time electricity.0 -
I'll check again next time I do a comparison but for now I'm sticking with Economy 7 despite my low night-time electricity consumption. It's probably not the same for everyone or with all other suppliers but please do check carefully first before moving from an Economy 7 tariff even if, like me, you use relatively little night-time electricity.
This has been discussed many times over the years.
The guideline used to be 30% of the total consumption at off-peak to make E7 cheaper.
However that has varied by company, tariff and geographic area from as high as 50% to 0%*
* there was a situation with a company where their E7 tariff had daytime rates lower than on their 24/7 tariff.0 -
This has been discussed many times over the years.
The guideline used to be 30% of the total consumption at off-peak to make E7 cheaper.
However that has varied by company, tariff and geographic area from as high as 50% to 0%*
* there was a situation with a company where their E7 tariff had daytime rates lower than on their 24/7 tariff.
Oh ok, thanks. I googled it and checked a few recent pages here but couldn't find anything. I just thought people should be reminded you definitely don't need 40% night-time usage to be better off on E7 as that seems to be common advice - apologies if I was repeating what is already known. Cheers.0 -
Oh ok, thanks. I googled it and checked a few recent pages here but couldn't find anything. I just thought people should be reminded you definitely don't need 40% night-time usage to be better off on E7 as that seems to be common advice - apologies if I was repeating what is already known. Cheers.
No need for an apology, it was good advice for new people reading the forum; and the situation changes regularly.
Another factor is lifestyle. Some people get up early and can shower, have breakfast etc whilst property is still using off-peak.0 -
No need for an apology, it was good advice for new people reading the forum; and the situation changes regularly.
Another factor is lifestyle. Some people get up early and can shower, have breakfast etc whilst property is still using off-peak.
Absolutely true about lifestyle. Sadly, although I am usually up late, I am unlikely to be using any/much electricity at 1.30am, which is when my E7 kicks in during the summer, so I was looking forward to being free of it and to not having to remember to put the dishwasher on before 7.00am, for example (it's wired in at the wall, so I can't use a plug-in timer). I'll keep an eye on it anyway as things may change.0 -
Hi,
We had no experience of Economy 7 when we moved to our current home, so I chose a standard tariff as usual, from NPower online, paying monthly by direct debit. They allowed us to use this in spite of our E7 meter and didn't require us to change our meter. We were advised to report both the peak and off peak readings, and the results were simply added together to calculate our charge.
Over a year later I now find that we use only 15% of our energy at night, so I'd fortunately made the right decision! I therefore moved to Engie on an "online only" offer at a standard tariff by unclicking the auto populated button (based on my address) that said I wanted an E7 tariff.
My quote showed the total payment I was expecting, but it still showed that I wanted an E7 tariff. The numbers didn't add up, so I then rang the supplier to query this. I was told that I could have the standard tariff on offer online, but that their technical team would need to tweak my online account so I could submit my dual readings. I am told that this will take two weeks but that it shouldn't affect my bill, as long as it the work had been completed before I receive my first "bill" in 3 months time.
To date Engie haven't asked me to change my meter either.
So it seems that you can ask suppliers to give you a standard tariff in spite of having and Economy 7 meter. They don't advertise this and it appears that it's a bit of work for them, but as long as you discuss your needs immediately after signing up (within the 14 day cooling off period) so, to date, I'd say it may be worth trying this if you don't wish to change your meter but don't expect to gain from Economy 7.
Its a bit of work for some companies, some companies already have everything in place to combine the readings (presumably they just create an 'e7' tariff that has the same rates for both day and night)
From my own personal experience E.ON and Iresa do it, among others.3.6 kW PV in the Midlands - 9x Sharp 400W black panels - 6x facing SE and 3x facing SW, Solaredge Optimisers and Inverter. 400W Derril Water (one day). Octopus Flux0 -
Before I look more into Economy 7, I wanted to try and see how I got on with a timer. Can anyone recommend a good one? I think I saw one on Toolstation?0
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Use an indicator type switch on a storage heater if it is connected to Economy 7 so you know EXACTLY when it comes on and goes off0
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I love having Economy 7. The house is warm all day and so is the hot water.
I recon it's probably cheaper too when you take everything in to account. No expensive central heating system to have installed, no boiler to replace, no annual servicing required.
Also there's no gas or carbon monoxide to worry about and no pipes that could freeze. Just make sure your storage heaters are not the old style ones which were poorly insulated so gone cold by evening. It's best to get them sized up for your property professionally. I use two to heat the whole house and run them on input 2.5 and output 1. I'm never cold.0
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