British Gas Night Rate Electricy

meta_volante

Hi forummers,

I have a day and night reading digital electricity meter and my bill shows day and night rate electric used. I hardly ever use any night rate electric at all,but now after reading various reports on it being a third cheaper I would like to run my washing machine, dish washer and tumble dryer via night rate, ahh but now the big question - does anybody know what time british gas night rate electricy starts and ends.

Thanks in advance for any replies :beer:

meta

Cardew

Varies depending on where you are in the country, the type of meter you have and how accurate it is. Generally it is a 7 hour period between Midnight and 8am. So if you put them on timers for 2am to 3am you should be safe.

If you want to know accurately, the best way is to stay up late one night(or get up early one morning) and see when it changes by watching your meter.

If you "hardly ever use night rate electricity" you need to examine why you are using Economy 7 electricity at all. Are you aware that you pay considerably more for daytime electricity when on an Economy 7 tariff than a 'normal' tariff?

Without storage heating it is difficult(but not impossible) to make Economy 7 make any savings.
Also putting on Dishwasher/washing machine/tumble dryer in the early hours can cause noise problems. I also found that we were putting the dishwasher on at night when it wasn't full(it still had room for breakfast dishes etc) which is a false economy.

crossleydd42

Remember that even if you don't exploit cheap rate electricity, your background usage will still account for about 20% of total usage. By exploiting it as you suggested above, you can probably get that up to 55%. But you do need to be able to use your machines to full advantage as suggested above. You also need to look at the best rates by use of comparison sites mentioned on this website. I can't vouch for the present, but a few months ago, I found that ebico via Southern electricity had a good rate.

I exploit it to the full with no problems. We even use the oven and slow cooker offpeak, charge mobile phones and rechargeable batteries when practicable! We do have security lights which only work at night as well, of course. We also use the immersion heater on cheap rate, but the gas central heating to top up the temperature when needed during the day. On our last bill, cheap rate accounted for about 62% of total usage.

meta_volante

Thanks cardew for your thoughts. I have only lived in my present property for approx 1 year and the day / night meter was something that came with the house. I have gone back over my years bills for the leckie only to find that I could have maybe made use of the night rate electric

I will make dam certain that if any appliances are to run over night it will not be at a false economy situation. Also you must understand that I am new at this money saving game and I just want to make the best use of what I have available.

regards

meta

meta_volante

crossleydd42 wrote:

Remember that even if you don't exploit cheap rate electricity, your background usage will still account for about 20% of total usage. By exploiting it as you suggested above, you can probably get that up to 55%. But you do need to be able to use your machines to full advantage as suggested above. You also need to look at the best rates by use of comparison sites mentioned on this website. I can't vouch for the present, but a few months ago, I found that ebico via Southern electricity had a good rate.

I exploit it to the full with no problems. We even use the oven and slow cooker offpeak, charge mobile phones and rechargeable batteries when practicable! We do have security lights which oly work at night as well, of course. We also use the immersion heater on cheap rate, but the gas central heating to top up the temperature when needed during the day. On our last bill, cheap rate accounted for about 62% of total usage.

That is excellent news crossley :T , I hope one day I can make similar savings to you.

:beer:

meta

tomstickland

I fitted switches with Red neon lights in them onto my immersion heater supplies so I could see when the Econ7 was on. It seems to be around 12.30am through to 7.30am here.

tripled

Just to let you know if it doesn't work for you the meter doesn't usually need to be changed for you to be billed at the standard tariff.

Cardew

crossleydd42 wrote:

Remember that even if you don't exploit cheap rate electricity, your background usage will still account for about 20% of total usage. By exploiting it as you suggested above, you can probably get that up to 55%. But you do need to be able to use your machines to full advantage as suggested above. You also need to look at the best rates by use of comparison sites mentioned on this website. I can't vouch for the present, but a few months ago, I found that ebico via Southern electricity had a good rate.

I exploit it to the full with no problems. We even use the oven and slow cooker offpeak, charge mobile phones and rechargeable batteries when practicable! We do have security lights which oly work at night as well, of course. We also use the immersion heater on cheap rate, but the gas central heating to top up the temperature when needed during the day. On our last bill, cheap rate accounted for about 62% of total usage.

I still have the Economy 7 meter but reverted to 'normal tariff' as I found it didn't pay.

I use 17% on E7 timings and that includes someone in the house who gets up well before the E7 period ends.

When I was on E7 I found it difficult to get to 30% night usage and that was the 'break even' point at that time. For my consumption the break even point is even higher now.

I would also add that it was then cheaper for me to use gas to heat HW rather than the immersion heater.( I assumed an efficiency of 80% for my boiler). Now E7 electricity would be a little cheaper than gas.

in_my_wellies

I hear a 'click' in the meter cupboard when mine changed from low to high.

crossleydd42

in_my_wellies wrote:

I hear a 'click' in the meter cupboard when mine changed from low to high.
It ends at 7.35 in the winter and 8.35 in the summer so it is easier in the summer.
I do most of the ironing, sometimes some cooking (oven) and of course the shower before it goes off and the hair dryer if I use it. Also to heat the green house for a few weeks in the spring to raise young plants.
Oh, and I boil the kettle for my second cup of tea!

Just wish I could get the rest of the household to shower early too

Good point; the extra hour in the Summer can give you breakfast at E7 rate, cheap use of kettle for tea/coffee, toaster, microwave tor mushrooms/bacon/tomatoes and even an extra wash/tumble on top of the night one!

You just have to think E7!

helen5_2

I an shocked that you have to pay more for your daytime electricity I have had E7 for years now and didnt know.:eek:
How do I work out which is the cheapest way?