Economy 7 or Not?

tpickering

Hey i've move into my first flat, which has an economy 7 meter installed, and i am being billed on an economy 7 tariff.

My quarterly bill reads like this:
Night: Use = 651Kwh Costs = first 651@4.87p = £31.70
Day: Use = 1019 Costs =1st 222@25.53p (£56.68) & 797@14.670 = (£116.92)

Total day = £31.70 Total Night = £172.60 (excluding vat@5%)

My question is would i better of on a 2 band tariff, or stay on economy 7.

I live in a studio flat with an electric heater on the wall, with no gas.

Thanks in advance

Premier_2

You need to know the cost of the non-E7 units to do an accurate comparison.

Simply multiply your total usage (651 + 1019) by the unit charge to work out the cost on non-E7 tariff
You'll need to split this into tier1 and tier 2 if its a nsc tariff.

You really should do this over a year, rather than take a specific quarter as usage profile may vary through the year.

tpickering

i only have a quarterly bill, i've only been in the flat since september so thats all i can compare sorry.

Thanks for the advice though

paceinternet

Total use is 651 + 1019 = 1670 kwh
As Premier says, you need to consider the whole year and compare with the unit costs for a normal tariff.
Your % age of E7 night units at the moment will probably work out slightly cheaper than a normal tariff. It is about 7 units a night. Can you guess how many that will become for April to September by judging what will and will not be on during the night, and any changes that will happen outside the E7 period?

HappyMJ

You really need to use more at night than you do in the day to be worthwhile to stay on Economy 7. It is a very complex mathemathical equation that a spreadsheet would help with. Or do several comparisons with and without E7 on the comparison websites.

Premier_2

HappyMJ wrote: »

You really need to use more at night than you do in the day to be worthwhile to stay on Economy 7. It is a very complex mathemathical equation that a spreadsheet would help with. Or do several comparisons with and without E7 on the comparison websites.

No you don't. I use about 30% of total consumption at low rate and just about break even (although the actual amount will vary by supplier/tariff)

You don't need a spreadsheet. A simple calculation as outlined above will tell anyone whether they would be better off on E7 or not.

Premier_2

paceinternet wrote: »

Total use is 651 + 1019 = 1670 kwh..

Whoops, your right.
I've now corrected my earlier post accordingly

Fire_Fox

I use approx 40% of my electricity overnight and pretty much break even too. Rather than switching tariffs - many suppliers insist on a new meter - try using more of your night rate over the next quarter, timer plugs on washing machine/ dishwasher/ tumble dryer and overnight heating of your hot water. Then make a decision well in advance of next winter which way to jump.

lucybel_2

if you have a storage heater and immersion heater for your water chances are that you are best off on an E7 tariff that it what is was designed for. on general if you use a third on your night rate you will be saving - id recommend you to contact your supplier & ask them to do the calculation - its what they are there for & they should be able to give you an answer fairly quickly.

tpickering

Do you guys and girls know if it is possible to move over to a standard tariff if you have the economy 7 meter?

BexTech

tpickering wrote: »

Do you guys and girls know if it is possible to move over to a standard tariff if you have the economy 7 meter?

Yes, you can move over to standard tariff.