Economy 7 rip off if you heat by gas

smjxm09

Warning to E7 customers with gas heating.

Something I have been aware of for years is having an economy 7 duel meter which actually increases electricity bills by up to 30% when the homeowner does not have night storage heaters and is heated by gas.

Using myself as an example I will show you my calculations using a British Gas Click 6 tariff with VAT applied at 5%

Average 24 hour usage 13kW
Average midnight to 7am usage 3kW

British Gas has two tier pricing which is 19.682p per kW for the first 500 kW per year and then 8.511p for the remaining units. This is equivalent to a daily standing charge of just over 15p per day with all electricity being charged at the tier 2 rate.

19.682 - 8.511 x 500 / 365 = 15.303p per day standing charge.

13kw at 8.511p + standing charge = £1.26 per day for electricity.

Using their economy 7 tariffs they have 3 rates which are 31.751p per kW for the first 500kW, a day rate of 11.674p and a night rate of 5.441

31.751 – 11.674 x 500 / 365 = 27.502p per day standing charge.
10kw at 11.674 = 116.74 day
3kw at 5.441 = 16.323 night

116.74 day + 16.323 night + 27.502 standing charge = £ 1.61 per day for electric.

That means in my case as a British Gas Eastern region customer if I had an economy 7 meter I would be paying an extra 27% or £127.50 per year. :eek: That’s why I had the meter replaced around 15 years ago in my then new build house.

In those days the meter could be changed for nothing but I don't know if that is still the case.

spiro

You dont need to have the meter changed if you no longer need E7, most suppliers just add the two reading together.

Also if you have a house with E7 heating and you replace it with GSH you should advise your supplier.

You will see numerous threads about when to have or not have E7.

KimYeovil

It's not a rip off and it has little to do with storage heaters or gas heating.

It's none of your supplier's business whether or not you choose to use an Economy 7 tariff. You are correct that in the two set-ups you suggest a householder is unlikely to benefit from a white meter tariff. But they can if they are so inclined and it is completely down to the householder's choice.

I do wish the Chicken Lickens would cease with their libelous "rip off" hyperbole.

smjxm09

The problem is how many people actualy take the time to look into this and go for a single reading?
How many people actually know they pay a higher standing charge and day rate just to get 7 hours of discounted electricity?

Do new build gas heated houses still come with economy 7?

KimYeovil

I know, I know, I just have a pathetic bugbear about people screaming "Rip Off!!!" If you'd just titled the thread "Economy 7 Alert" or "Warning to E7 customers with gas heating" or anything without the 'rip off' trigger...

jimexbox

smjxm09 wrote: »

The problem is how many people actualy take the time to look into this and go for a single reading?

I did, and saved a considerable amount of money in the process. I don't blame the energy suppliers at all, you and I choose our tariff, not them. If folk put as much effort into their own energy accounts as they do watching TV for example, maybe there wouldn't be as many 'help £1000 in debt' posts?

I rang my supplier up 2 days ago to increase my electricity DD amount. How many people do that? Not enough.....

Cardew

Your point is taken that many people are unaware of the premium for daytime electricity, however, as Kim above states, it isn't a rip-off.

The varying tariffs with different companies make the break-even point(i.e. percentage of total electricity on E7) variable from a few percent to 40%+.

There are plenty of people with gas ch who report on this forum that they make E7 pay.
People get up early and use all the major electrical appliances(washer, dryer, dishwasher, cooker,) during E7 hours.

Some switch off their gas CH during summer months and heat HW at E7 rates instead of at tier 1 gas rates.

I think we would agree that the majority of people(with gas) should not be on E7 - but not all.

Premier_2

It all varies with individual supplier/tariff how much night time usage you need to break even with E7. I'm on E7 because it's cheaper than the comparable single rate tariff based on my peak/off-peak consumptions and I have gas heating.

Sometimes E7 can be cheaper than the comparable non E7 tariff no matter how little off peak electricity you use.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1207887

keithadams

not a rip off at all

if you can tell me how the electric companys know you dont have storage heaters then i will agree, however they dont only people that know that are the people in the property.

smjxm09

OK, point taken that the title was a poor choice and which can't be changed but there are many people here that will read the post and could make a £100 saving by coming off E7. I have never seen an E7 tariff that doesn't penalize the day time tariff.

Valli

KimYeovil wrote: »

I do wish the Chicken Lickens would cease with their libelous "rip off" hyperbole.

:T:T:T
I have E7 and I heat by gas...
So I still have gas to pay
BUT by judicious use of electricity I do save, overall, on elect consumption.
It's not a rip-off
it's my choice!