Should I leave Economy 7?

beardosh

I have been on economy 7 ever since moving into my property over 4 years ago but have recently thought whether I would be better off changing onto a standard day rate. Im with E.ON Energy Saver E7 and wondering what is the best way to work out my percentage of electricity usage overnight?

Can anyone offer any advice?

Thank you in advance.

Cardew

To find out the percentage - look at your bills, read your meters or ask the company.

You need to have the consumption over a 12 month period and then it really is very easy to work out if E7 is worthwhile.

Bear in mind that with the off peak rates having increased dramatically on many tariffs(far more than 'normal'( 24/7) tariffs) the 'break even point' for E7 has increased a great deal - in many cases it is 50%-60% night consumption instead of the 20%-30% that was normal a year or two ago.

paceinternet

In our area, E.on has become more expensive than other service providers for E7.
So when you have your numbers as descibed by Cardew, put them into one of the switching comparison sites.
Then add normal and night units together and do it again for a "single" tariff comparison.
You may find from this forum that some service providers (particularly E.on) want to change your meter and some also want to charge you to change from E7 to a single tariff.
British Gas seem prepared to add the 2 readings together if you want a single tariff, and for me, are currently the lowest cost.

tomstickland

I've done the sums for my flat. You must have reliable usage figures available.
For my provider then the break even point was something like 65% night time usage.

beardosh

Ok, I have got my bill information from the last 4 quarters. It breaks down as follows:

Day Primary units: 848 (19%)
Day Secondary units: 2636 (59%)
Night units: 983 (22%)

Total Units: 4467


In conclusion and from comments above, does this indicate that it would be beneficial if I changed my plan?

tomstickland

Those are very low night usage figures. Do you actually use any E7 storage heating?

beardosh

I dont have any storage heating - just a combi boiler. The only thing that runs during the E7 period is the washing machine and/or dishwasher and that obviously is not every night. My rates are 19.36p/11.84p During the day and 5.70p at night which is fixed until next October.

tomstickland

What are the non E7 rates?

Magentasue

beardosh wrote: »

I dont have any storage heating - just a combi boiler. The only thing that runs during the E7 period is the washing machine and/or dishwasher and that obviously is not every night. My rates are 19.36p/11.84p During the day and 5.70p at night which is fixed until next October.

Ditch the Economy 7 - it's primarily for homes with storage heaters.

Raksha

Not all Economy 7 users are using storage heaters. We're with Scottish Power, we use an average of 30 units a day summer and winter, running tumble drier, washing machine and dishwasher just about every night (and sometimes a second run during the day too). I've just checked my tariffs on USwitch, and every single alternative I'm offered is an Economy 7 tariff, which would save me a max of about £28 a year if I switched from Scottish Power. funnily enough, if I left SP dual fuel tariff, I could save more.....

paceinternet

If you are using the switching sites and on an E7 tariff, you have to enter (pretend) that you have a single tariff (not an E7) to get a single tariff comparison. You will not get any single tariffs if you enter that you have an E7 tariff.

You then use the best single tariff total annual cost and compare with your E7 version to decide which method is best.