Cheaper in the evenings?

xxx_fox

Is it true what i have heard that electricity is cheaper at certain times in the evening?.. It would explain why the folks upstairs have there tumble dryer running at 2 in the morning

irnbru_2

xxx_fox wrote:

Is it true what i have heard that electricity is cheaper at certain times in the evening?

Only if you have an Economy-type tariff.

Tallymanjohn

Our Economy-7 runs from 01.00 to 08.00 at the moment (00.00 - 07.00 GMT) so we do the same - washing machine, dryer & dishwasher all go on during these times.

Xbigman

My washer/dryer 1200 spin cuts in about 2.45 am. My neighbours love me. Well someone has too.

:iloveyou:
Regards



X

saxonrosecliff

Its a hive of activity in our kitchen first thing in the morning. The washing machine comes on at 2am. My partner goes to work at 4am so he gets the washing out of the washer and starts the tumble dryer, then at 7am the immersion heater heats up the water!

weeMe_3

We've turned ours on to try them out as we've never used one before. I heard that they are REALLY expensive to run. I wonder if it's better to get electric heaters?

I think we will only charge them up on Friday and Saturday night. As during the week, there is hardly anyone at home. Any ideas on how to use these white meter heaters in a money saving way?

beefturnmail

Do you mean storage meters? We have these in our flat - the theory is that they charge up overnight when the electricity is cheaper and store the heat. This is then released throughout the day. You can control the amount of heat released by use of a fan though the always release some heat. The disadvantage is that you have to decide how much you want to charge them the night before so if the weather changes and is colder than expected, you have to turn on the 'boost' heater which is basically a standard electric heater and so expensive to run. Or if the weather turns mild, it releases too much heat and the flat is stifling hot! Personally, I hate them and would get rid of them in a shot, but I'm renting. I've not found them particualry expensive but they are a hassle and nowhere near as good as central heating.

BritishGasWorker

xxx_fox wrote:

Is it true what i have heard that electricity is cheaper at certain times in the evening?.. It would explain why the folks upstairs have there tumble dryer running at 2 in the morning

Economy 7 is the name of a tariff provided by United Kingdom electricity suppliers that uses base load generation to provide cheap night-time electricity.

Electricity is charged at a cheaper rate during the off-peak night time - specifically, a 7-hour period, hence the name. To take advantage of Economy 7, boilers and night storage heaters are often automatically switched on during this period rather than during the day. Additionally, it is cheaper to operate appliances such as washing machines and dishwashers during this period. As an example tariff from October 2006, ecotricity charges 22.03 UK pence per kilowatt hour for the first 728 kilowatt hours of day usage, 12.13 UK pence for subsequent day use and 4.63 UK pence for night time electricity.

A drawback of economy 7 is that the day rate is higher than the standard 24 hour tariff (15.78 pence per kilowatt hour for the first 728 units and 11.47 pence after that). Consequently a house needs to have at least 20% of its consumption at night to save money.

Houses using the Economy 7 tariff require a special electricity meter which provides two different readings - one for the day period and one for the night period. The wiring in the house does not need to be altered. For example, the night storage radiators are not on a special circuit attached only to the night meter, but rather are on the ordinary circuit. Thus to save money the appliances require the intelligence to turn themselves on and off at the right times. Thus an ordinary electric fan heater plugged into a study and run at 6am still gains the savings.

The specific times when Economy 7 applies vary between different regions and at different times of year. The seven-hour period typically starts at around midnight, but may start as early as 10.30pm or as late as 1.30am, and may or may not be continuous. nPower, for example, has the period running from 1am to 8am.

this is only an example and not a true qutoe on prices..since i dont work for the company lol

weeMe_3

beefturnmail wrote:

I've not found them particualry expensive but they are a hassle and nowhere near as good as central heating.

Nothing beats a good gas central heating! These storage heaters are stupid! They heat the house up during the day (while I am out, even I turn the dial to 0!) and by 6pm comes, when I get home, there isnt any heat left for me!!!!!:mad:

Flatmate and I agree that we wont use them unless we are gonna be home more than half a day the next day. At the moment, I'd just put on my electric heater for 20 minutes or so when I am getting ready to bed. I think (and hope) that's cheaper!

BritishGasWorker

weeMe wrote:

Nothing beats a good gas central heating! These storage heaters are stupid! They heat the house up during the day (while I am out, even I turn the dial to 0!) and by 6pm comes, when I get home, there isnt any heat left for me!!!!!:mad:

Flatmate and I agree that we wont use them unless we are gonna be home more than half a day the next day. At the moment, I'd just put on my electric heater for 20 minutes or so when I am getting ready to bed. I think (and hope) that's cheaper!

ARghh nonononononoooo....electric heater = DAM exspensive.....if you use ya white goods after say 12.30am then E7 is for u, storage heaters are good, and you can boost them, however the costs between that and the single heater..hmm thats a challenge...Wheres Gal when u need his expertise.

weeMe_3

BritishGasWorker wrote:

ARghh nonononononoooo....electric heater = DAM exspensive.....if you use ya white goods after say 12.30am then E7 is for u, storage heaters are good, and you can boost them, however the costs between that and the single heater..hmm thats a challenge...Wheres Gal when u need his expertise.

No no no... I won't be having the electric heater on at all time, just for a short while. I tend to make sure I don't get home till late as well, so that I can make use of shop's or friend's 'resources'...