Storage Heating problem?

dazkent_2

Hi

This is my first winter in a rented flat, I have storage heaters in each room and I am on E7 Internet saver 2 rate with EDF.

I have noticed that when I switch on the storage heaters in the afternoon I am getting heat out of them, I also looked at the meter and the red flashing light flashes really quickly so they are definatley drawing day rate electricity. Each storage heater has just one switch.

As far as I can see I am set up correctly for night rate electricity. Could they have been wired in a way not to take advantage of cheap rate in which case I will have to manually switch them on after midnight?

Swipe

Yes, it sounds like they are not wired in correctly. they definitely should not be drawing power during the on peak period unless there is a 'boost' switch. I'd get your landlord to take a look and get him to consult an electrician. Do NOT be palmed off by him otherwise you will pay dearly over winter. It is not acceptable for you to be manually switching them on and off.

dazkent_2

Hi

Thanks for your reply,the only "boost" setting is on the heater itself, The one in the bedroom is slightly different in that it has two switches on the wall, I am guessing that one is peak and one is off peak.

I will contact the Landlord, In the meantime Can I just switch them on after midnight and turn them off when i get up?

Ms_Chocaholic

Could you be on Economy 10 rather than Economy 7 as that works differently in that there is a cheap(er) rate in the afternoon usually

dunloadin

It's highly unlikley the heaters are wired up wrong.

Take a meter read of the normal and low rate, then switch on a heater and see which rate is increasing.

It could be something as simple as the clock being set to the wrong time, particulary if you have an older type clock attached (big circular disk with 'on/off' tabs). Or a faulty or stuck switch and the meter is stuck on low rate.

Might be an idea to get in touch with your supplier and get them to send someone to have a look at it.

If you have a key meter it could be the wrong tariff has been sent to the key and you have a single rate and not E7.....a very rare and very expensive mistake for the customer.

dazkent_2

Thanks for the replies. I have done some further investigating.And would appreciate any help.

I am on a fixed saver V2 E7 tariff so I presume that is Economy 7

I have now just turned all my storage heaters on and it has just gone past midnight,however this time no heat is being produced and the light on the meter is flashing once every 10 secs which is what it normally does when they are not switched on So I am assuming they are not drawing any electricity at this time where as they were at 5pm this evening?

So maybe the switching is occurring at the wrong time?, It is an old type with a big dial even though i have a newish digital actual meter.

I have also noticed on my bill that i am using more units at "night rate" than I am at day rate?

HappyMJ

The switching could be at 12:30am so try again in a bit.

chris1973

Some tariffs may not switch on until 12.30AM or even 1AM, the E7 period varies from area to area.

The storage heater with two spur switches on the wall may be fan assisted, so there is an E7 supply to power the elements and a constant 24 hour supply to power an internal fan which runs throughout the day to help with heat distribution. If one wire going to a socket is a lot thinner than the other, its usually indicitive of a low current fan supply.

Take a look at the timer (the dial) and shine a torch through the face of it. Normally there is a metal bracket standing above the dial with an arrow shaped pointer end, this usually indicates the current time, if you read it now the pointer should be pointing between 12 and 1 on the dial to indicate 12.30 - normally there are moon and sun icons on the dial to indicate day and night, if the timer is set correctly it should currently be between 12 and 1 on the moon portion of the dial. Chances are, its probably running slow or fast.

I have also noticed on my bill that i am using more units at "night rate" than I am at day rate?

In some ways this is doing you a favour as you are able to take advantage of cheaper periods during waking hours when you can utilise it the most, however as you are now actually aware of it, then you really need to inform the utility company who will come out and reset the timer. If you tell them it appears to be switching earlier than the originally designated E7 periods, they will literally fall over themselves to come out and correct it as its not in their favour to give you cheap rate during times when it may actually become useful.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

is it this type of time switch?



As chris1973 has said, you can see the pointer at 18.00, which should show the actual time, this one is set to come on at midnight and off at 6.00 am, with, what looks like a 15 min boost at half 3ish, or maybe off, so this is not set for heating, but might give you an idea of what to look for.

Swipe

If you find that you do have cheap rate electric during peak rate hours I wouldn't be in a rush to let them know.

dazkent_2

hi, I thought I would give you an update.

frugalmacdugal, yes it I had one of those style switches next to my electricity meter. I called EDF and explained the situation to them and they arranged for someone to come out and look at it and sure enough he confirmed that the switch meter was not working correctly. He replaced it with what looks like a black box which uses Radio 4 signal for switching and low and behold my storage heaters now come on at the correct time.:)

So I would like to say thank you to all of you who took time out to help me, It's one less thing to worry about.