Confusing times

dimidola

Hello all,

I am new to this country and its energy supply system, as you will realize as soon as you read my questions:

I know that there is an off-peak period sometime at night. Is it true that the weekends are 24h off-peak?

Now the hard question: In the kitchen, next to my boiler (useless info?) there are two timers. One of them is like an analogue kitchen timer with numbers 0-23 and two rows of holes. I can turn it around, presumably to the right time? I have also figured out that if I put a pin in the inside hole of 01 and a pin in the outside hole of 07 a little on/off switch goes "on" when the timer shows 01 and "off" when it shows 07. My guess is that that should turn something on during the off-peak times.
The second timer is digital and it seems to control the boiler. There is a switch for off/timed, a "cancel" button and a "boost" button. So far so good. BUT the clock shows a random time! It says 7:00 at 14:00. Does this mean I need to set the right time? How would I do that? (I tried the obvious pressing each/both buttons for a long time)
I haven't witnessed it yet, but there is hot water in the morning if I set my digital timer to "timed" which I guess turns the boiler on when the analogue timer is "on".:idea:

Also, the flat has storage heaters. How do they "know" what time to charge?

All these questions are a result of a £200 bill from EON. I only use the boiler once or twice per week, I do my laundry (wash and dry) during the weekend and I hardly ever cook.

Any help will be appreciated!

dimidola

OK, I'm very proud for myself. The boiler was supposed to be on, but it wasn't. I was staring at the digital timer for 5' and decided to pull it. Turns out there is a cover with a bunch of buttons hidden underneath. I used them to set it to the right time. Now the boiler is on!

jd87

There are many different systems in different households. Some people have off-peak electricity systems, other people just have a single rate all day long. I've never heard of a system that gives you off-peak 24 hours at weekends.

Let's start with the basics:

1. Do you have electricity and gas, or is the property electricity-only?
2. What does your electricity meter look like? Are there any buttons on it? Does it have more that one reading showing?
3. This boiler in your kitchen - is it gas or electric?
4. What controls are there on your storage heaters?

HappyMJ

We don't have smart metering as standard so we don't have any all weekend cheap rate suppliers as yet.

penrhyn

OP says boiler , I wonder if they mean an immersion heater?

macman

No, weekends are certainly not off-peak. The only common dual rate tariff is Economy 7, this gives you 7 hours cheap rate between midnight and 8am (exact times depend on your region), the downside is that you then pay a premium rate for all usage outside those 7 hours. If you have storage heaters and an electric immersion heater (which is what you are calling a boiler) then you should be on an E7 tariff.
If not, you should probably be on a single rate tariff, which charges the same price 24/7.
There is a variant known as E10, but this is relatively uncommon.
The 'boost' button enables you to heat the water outside the cheap rate hours if required, but of course this costs much more.
Gas prices do not vary by time or day of the week, it's a fixed unit price 24/7.
Your bill should clearly show which tariff you are on.

Ich_2

The only common dual rate tariff is Economy 7, this gives you 7 hours cheap rate between midnight and 8am (exact times depend on your region)

In some it is 10:30 until midnight & then 5 hours somewhere between mid-night and 07:00. For those on radio switches the times can be varied