Meter speeds up then slows down

BallandChain

I've just moved into a new home and it's all electric. The meter runs fast when the heating is on then it slows down, then speeds up. We've turned all the other appliances off so we know it's not them (in fact we checked the meter on individual appliances like fridge, computer etc with no problems).

We have these electric radiators (not sure what they are called) with controllable dials at the side but the landlord said this type of heating is efficient. Hmmm, electric and efficient don't seem to go together! The boiler is a Trianco Aztec electric boiler and seems pretty new. Not sure if the heating system is acting up or the meter is supposed to speed up/slow down. Any ideas?

espresso

The meter will run faster when a heavier current is being drawn e.g. when heating appliances are on.

tomstickland

Meter speed is proportional to the current being drawn at any instant.

BexTech

The meter will speed up and slow down for the heating and hot water as the thermostat will be controlling when to turn on and off the heating etc.

Though if you have storage heaters then they should be drinking during your 7 hour cheap rate.

BallandChain

Thanks for the replies. I'm not sure what system it is as I've only had ordinary gas radiators in the past. I've had economy storage 7 heaters and they were the old type so not sure if these are the newer type. They have a grill on the top for warm air to come out of and come on when turned on. They can be turned up or down any time of day (though leaving them off for as long as poss since the last bill.)

We only have the one meter and when I had economy 7 heaters before it was a digital meter. We don't have the hot water on at the same time as we make sure it's on in the early hours to take advantage of off peak.

BexTech

BallandChain wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. I'm not sure what system it is as I've only had ordinary gas radiators in the past. I've had economy storage 7 heaters and they were the old type so not sure if these are the newer type. They have a grill on the top for warm air to come out of and come on when turned on. They can be turned up or down any time of day (though leaving them off for as long as poss since the last bill.)

We only have the one meter and when I had economy 7 heaters before it was a digital meter. We don't have the hot water on at the same time as we make sure it's on in the early hours to take advantage of off peak.

If you don't have Economy 7 then you won't have an off-peak rate, so doesn't matter what time you put your hot water on.

(When we had E7 it was dial meters - so having digital or dial meters is no indication - though we did have two meters - one for night-rate and one for day-rate).

BallandChain

That's strange as I thought everyone was on cheaper rate at night?My bill shows usage for day and night. I'm on the White Meter Electricity Tariff with EDF. We have the one meter but have to give 2 readings.Sorry I forgot to mention that.Does this mean the system we have is Economy 7?

BexTech

BallandChain wrote: »

That's strange as I thought everyone was on cheaper rate at night?My bill shows usage for day and night. I'm on the White Meter Electricity Tariff with EDF. We have the one meter but have to give 2 readings.Sorry I forgot to mention that.Does this mean the system we have is Economy 7?

People only have cheaper night rate if they are on Economy 7 (or similar). E7 does however make the daytime rate dearer than if you are on a general single rate meter.

White meter is economy 7, so yes you will have a cheaper night rate to your day rate and a slightly dearer day rate than you would if you wasn't on E7.

whatatwit

Has the landlord left you with a copy of the instructions for these heaters?

Also, do they look new, maybe he has replaced storage heaters with these electric instant heat radiators.
If they are not a storage type of rad, then economy 7 may not be the best option as the day rate is often more expensive than a single rate.
Do you have your water heater on at night and then use the stored water during the day/evening?

BallandChain

Thanks BexTech for your help. Whatatwit, the landlord didn't leave instructions for the heaters only the manual on how to install the boiler! (Which is already installed.) The radiators look new and the water is turned on at the off peak rate at 5 am. I'm hoping it's off peak as I haven't rung EDF to find the off peak times. I can't find anywhere on their website that tells you that info.

BallandChain

I telephoned EDF and they told me I have continuous 9 hours off peak on the white meter tariff from 10.30 pm to 7.30 am (Winter) and 11.30 pm to 8.30 am (Summer). I thought I'd start doing my washing late at night to take advantage of the cheaper tariff. I've got so careful with the electric that I took a reading before I switched the washing machine on. This was at 11.40 pm so I was well past the 11.30 pm start for cheaper rate!

Imagine my surprise when the washing had finished and I went to check the meter. Instead of the reading going up on the night (low) reading the meter had registered for the daytime (normal) tariff!

I telephoned EDF again today who confirmed that yes my night time cheaper rates are continuous from 11.30 pm to 8.30 am. So I explained what happened and the guy told me it sounds as if either I have a faulty meter or the clock on the meter hasn't been adjusted correctly. A guy from EDF is coming out next week to check the meter. I was told there won't be a charge for this so watch this space!

Edited to say that if the meter is proven to be faulty I should be able to get some kind of refund. I hope so as it makes me wonder how long has this been registering incorrectly and I'm sure the last tenant must have been totally oblivious. Please people check that your night time (low) meter is registering at the times it is supposed to. I always thought that meters rarely go wrong but it just goes to show they can.