Economy 7 (electric) - how much could we save?

wellsie82

Hi,

My partner and I have recently brought our first house together and both the Leccy and Gas are unfortunately with British Gas at the moment.

We'll be looking to change supplier once the market evens out a bit but in the meantime I'd like to know how much we could save if we got economy 7 into our house.

Also, would this cause problems when switching supplier or not?

The only things I can think of that would be guzzling up leccy during the early hours are the fridge-freezer, chest freezer, and we could get a timer to put a washing machine and dishwasher on too.

Haven't got a clue how this system works so any help is appreicated!

Cheers

irnbru_2

wellsie82 wrote:

The only things I can think of that would be guzzling up leccy during the early hours are the fridge-freezer, chest freezer, and we could get a timer to put a washing machine and dishwasher on too.

Here's what to do then ........

Take the reading at 0700 and 2300. The short period is your night time usage and the longer the day time.

Now multiply that by 365. That's you got your yearly usage of electricty in each period.

Use those values in the comparison service.

According to this board anything between 20-40% usage is required before it becomes economical.

wellsie82 wrote:

Haven't got a clue how this system works so any help is appreicated!

E7 works by charging a day rate and a night rate. It works by having two meters with a (mechanical or radio) switch to control which meter is in use.

For someone with GCH the benefits of E7 are limited. You spend more time trying save money than enjoying yourself.

Invest in insulating your house.

masonic

irnbru wrote:

Take the reading at 0700 and 2300.

Wouldn't that be E8? :rotfl:

My current E7 night slot runs from 0100 - 0800 BST.

Bullshine_2

E8??? I thought that was total control elec?

in_my_wellies

I pay bit more for the standing charge on E7 so to make it worthwhile you do have to work hard at it. Always use the washer, dishwasher at night. I do the ironing early morning and hovering. Sometimes I do the baking early morning too.
I heat 2 greenhouses at night during winter/spring. If I didn't need to do this I think it would be difficult to make it pay.

masonic

Bullshine wrote:

E8??? I thought that was total control elec?

How many hours are there between 23:00 and 07:00?
Perhaps I set the bar too high.

Cardew

The tariifs change so often, as well as different rates in different parts of the country, so it is difficult to be certain what the 'break even' point is for any one customer.

Last time there was a long thread on this the break even point for the same company varied between 15% and 40% of E7 use.

Mine was 30%(BG in Midlands) some while ago and it just wasn't worth the bother. I found the dishwasher and washing machine were being put on without a full load to take advantage of E7 rates - a false economy.

Also some properties have a noise problem with appliances switching on in the early hours

Gal

If you have GCH I wouldn't bother with E7. Its main usage really is for properties that have Storage heaters or large usage between the early hours of the morning.

By going onto E7 you pay more for day units then the standard Tariffs.

wellsie82

Gal wrote:

If you have GCH I wouldn't bother with E7. Its main usage really is for properties that have Storage heaters or large usage between the early hours of the morning.

By going onto E7 you pay more for day units then the standard Tariffs.

that's a very good point, i can see how having E7 would benefit if you were charging the heaters up during the 7 hour period

i wasn't aware there was a standing charge/extra charge for the normal rate so i may just leave it as it is, we'll be switching in the near future anyway so we'll be making a big saving there im sure

thanks for your help everyone :T