Advice on prepayment meters and immersion boilers

emabevington

Hello there,

I need some advice on how to save money when using a prepayment meter and an immersion boiler.

Yesterday something in my 2 bed flat seemed to be draining the electricity on the meter, it used about £3 in 3 hours and had used about £6 from 6pm - 2pm the day/night before. On our meter is a red light which flashes faster if your using more electric and when I kept checking it yesterday it was flashing about once every second and it had used something like 20p in 10 minutes. I called the electricity suppler (southern electric) and gave them all the readings, the meter was fine and they said I may have something faulty in the flat. Now I figured out that the timer on the boiler was wrong and it was heating during the day instead of the night on economy 7 but it has been doing this for months so why the sudden burst of electricity usage?

Basically, I know hardly anything at all about electricity usage and how to lower what I use or save money.

My prices are:
22.32 pence per kWh (Day)
7.90 pence per kWh (night)

And apparently I am using around £2 in the day and 42p in the night. I have changed the timer on my boiler and I think it is now heating up in the night, should I switch it off in the day or will that cost more to heat it up? and should I ask my landlord to have the boiler serviced and timer resetting?

I would really appreciate some advice on how I can try and cut my electric spending because I am putting at least £10-15 per week on my meter.

Thanks,
Emma

Wywth

emabevington wrote: »

Hello there,

I need some advice on how to save money when using a prepayment meter and an immersion boiler.

Yesterday something in my 2 bed flat seemed to be draining the electricity on the meter, it used about £3 in 3 hours and had used about £6 from 6pm - 2pm the day/night before. On our meter is a red light which flashes faster if your using more electric and when I kept checking it yesterday it was flashing about once every second and it had used something like 20p in 10 minutes. I called the electricity suppler (southern electric) and gave them all the readings, the meter was fine and they said I may have something faulty in the flat. Now I figured out that the timer on the boiler was wrong and it was heating during the day instead of the night on economy 7 but it has been doing this for months so why the sudden burst of electricity usage?

Basically, I know hardly anything at all about electricity usage and how to lower what I use or save money.

My prices are:
22.32 pence per kWh (Day)
7.90 pence per kWh (night)

And apparently I am using around £2 in the day and 42p in the night. I have changed the timer on my boiler and I think it is now heating up in the night, should I switch it off in the day or will that cost more to heat it up? and should I ask my landlord to have the boiler serviced and timer resetting?

I would really appreciate some advice on how I can try and cut my electric spending because I am putting at least £10-15 per week on my meter.

Thanks,
Emma

Switch supplier today! Even Ebico don't charge those sort of prices.

Use a comparison site to find the best supplier/PPM tariff for you.

In the unlikely event Ebico is best for you, Southern Electric will action a request as a simple tariff switch, meaning you don't have to wait 4-6 weeks it typically takes to switch supplier

Even at the astronomical prices you appear to be currently paying £3 in 3 hours relates to about 5kW.
Your immersion doesn't use that amount. Something like a cooker (including hob) or electric shower may do (but it's unlikley you were running a shower for 3 hours).

Are you sure your findings don't include a standing charge that may have been applied?

Kid_Icarus

Do you have two immersion elements on your hot water tank?

Some flats/houses (particularly those with storage heaters) have TWO elements. One is wired to the night/off-peak supply which is turned on by either a radio teleswitch or the meter itself if you have a newer meter. This element heats your water up overnight for 7 hours using cheap rate power.

The other element is wired to the 24hr/day supply (ie your normal consumer unit) and is meant to be used to 'top up' your tank with hot water if you run out. However it uses full price power (not the cheap night rate). The boost element is usually nearer the top of the tank.

So if the boost or 'top-up' element is on all the time, the tank will be using a LOT of power and could be why you are using a large amount of electricity.

We had the same problem, and to overcome this we got an electrician to add a boost timer. If we run out of hot water, we can boost/top up the tank for 1 or 2 hours and it then automatically turns off the boost element so we don't have to remember to turn it off:

tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/HOE30.html

Pennywise2012

An obvious question that I'm sure you've considered, but given the time of year, you've not just switched your heating on, have you?

I agree that you're paying far too much - unless you're paying off previous debt it shouldn't be that high!

[Deleted User]

hi emabevington, i dont think you are paying too much for an eco 7 prepay at those prices. B.Gas is approx 24 p day and 8 p night set with the meters I see. you have a prepay which is set to take the standing charge as you use the units rather than the usual £1.85 weekly standing charge deducted on most prepays. You can check if there is any debt on the meter on screen "S" ,only viewable with key inserted

Wywth

sacsquacco wrote: »

hi emabevington, i dont think you are paying too much for an eco 7 prepay at those prices. B.Gas is approx 24 p day and 8 p night set with the meters I see. you have a prepay which is set to take the standing charge as you use the units rather than the usual £1.85 weekly standing charge deducted on most prepays. You can check if there is any debt on the meter on screen "S" ,only viewable with key inserted

I don't know which British Gas supplied meters you are seeing, but as an example, a British Gas customer in the East Midlands supply region would only be charged 15.65p/kWh (day) and 7.150p/kWh (night) on the Clear & Simple tariff. An 18.690p/day standing charge would also apply. (i.e. less than £1.31 per week)

I would suggest anyone paying the sort or rates you suggest also consults a comparison site to get themselves a better deal.
No Ebico day rate in any supply region exceeds 20p, they don't apply any standing charges, and may not be the most competitive supplier.

[Deleted User]

sorry, getting mixed up with single rate tariffs on no standing charge prepay, 24p tier one 8 p tier 2, eco 7 prepays are not that common. I will check the rates next time I see one and advise them to try a comp site if they are paying too much