Scottish power economy 7

momof2girls

Hi all been lurking for a while but now have a burning question.
I have been looking at ways to reduce our power usage and thought to myself econ 7 would be good for me as i use most of my appliances overnight. When i called Scottish power to enquire i was told sorry you can have econ 7 if you have storage heaters but not central heating. Now to me that seems just plain daft. Has anyone else heard of this or is it time i switched. Thanks.

John_3:16

We have Econ 7 with no storage heaters. Been with scottish power 2 years.Is your meter capable of econ7?

momof2girls

Hi
To be honest i wouldnt know if it was or not. It is a new meter so i would of thought it should be.

whomy5

Hi, I would check your meter as it needs to have a day time & night time reading facility...I only know this as I recently moved to a flat where there is only electric and uses storage heating and its all on economy 7 and the meter is completely different to my old electric meter. I have a feeling you may be charged to put in a new meter? Good Luck!

digimate

momof2girls wrote: »

Hi all been lurking for a while but now have a burning question.
I have been looking at ways to reduce our power usage and thought to myself econ 7 would be good for me as i use most of my appliances overnight. When i called Scottish power to enquire i was told sorry you can have econ 7 if you have storage heaters but not central heating. Now to me that seems just plain daft. Has anyone else heard of this or is it time i switched. Thanks.

Hiya

If i were you, i would hone my supplier and ask them to change my meter from a 1 rate meter to a 2 rate meter - normally if its for the same time of meter, there is no charge - you can always ask!!:o

tfspark

Not sure if this is of any use but i've been trying to go the other way.

I have an economy 7 meter but it is far cheaper for me to have a non economy 7 tariff. (only 20% usage overnight)

Out of all of the suppliers that I have spoken to E.ON is the only one prepared to give me a non E7 tariff on an E7 meter. All the others have said that I need a meter change first. So I have switched from Scottish Power to E.ON.

Obviously if you don't physically have an E7 meter then it will need to be changed.

derosasteve

I agree with with tfspark, Im with Eon and have had economy 7 for years thinking It was saving me money, even with getting up early to put appliances on Im only using 15-20% E7, having finally getting round to changing to a non E7 tarriff Eon tell me that if you use less than 30% of your elec on E7 (ie at night) it is costing you money, I think its cost me in the region of £100 per year.

Also I tried changing to EDF as they were cheaper but as stated you have to have your meter changed first, EDF claim its against the law to use an E7 meter for standard elec, I just think they cant add the two together.

I think as a rule of thumb if you dont have elec storage heaters, or have a gas supply / heating you will struggle to make E7 pay for you, if Im wrong let me know before I pay to have my meter changed

pattycake

I am with Scottish Power on Economy 7. We do not have storage heaters but heat our hot water overnight on a timer. I have gas central heating but it does not heat the water. This was a system installed by the previous owners of our house. We have a high pressure hot water system.

I use timers on my washer and my dishwasher to take advantage of the cheap electricity overnight.

nesssie1702

I'm with Scottish Power as well on Econ 7. We don't have storage heaters but oil fired central heating. I've got 2 meters though, rather than just 1

Like pattycake, I use the timers on the disher and washing machine to have them come on during the night. Not sure if I'm saving or not though.

Have been thinking of switching, as I got a card from SP saying that they're going to extend my fixed price deal through to March 2010. Can't remember where I read it, but if I want to come out of this, I'll have to pay an exit fee after the end of Sept 09?

abcde12345_3

You would definitely need a specific economy 7 meter as this counts the units used during the day and the cheap night time separately so you can be billed correctly. Some suppliers may charge you to exchange the meter, some don't but if you choose to switch it can take a couple of months and then you may have to be with them for a set period eg 28 days before they will exchange your meter.
I would carefully calculate how much you are using at night as the standard day rate is so much more expensive than standard tariffs. It does save some people money though, it just depends on your own consumption.

momof2girls

Thanks for everyones advice. I think i will monitor usage over the next few weeks and see if it is worth it. Still cant believe they said they dont do econ 7 with gas central heating though.