Official MSE Economy 7 Guide discussion

John_Pierpoint

JBerger wrote: »

Did a test last night to see how long the E7 was coming on for. It came on at just before 11pm, turned off at just before 1 and did not come back on again (i set my alarm to go off evey hour so I could check during the night) so it seems that for some reason we are not getting our full 7 hours and therefore storage heaters and water not heating up.

...:(

If you can find a picture of your meter(s) on Google images and access the original web site to which it refers and then post the site address here as dodgyoldmeter (dot) co (dot) uk, I will see if I can put the photo on here for you.

While you are at ity you might ve able to find pictures of your storge radiators too.

Have you turned the storage radiators up to maximum input too, or is it just possible that they have been left on minimum setting an after an hour or two they are up to temperature and turn themselves off?

The clock part of my system died about 18 months ago. As I remember it, I got in touch with my DNO - the Hong Kong Electricity company thinly disguised - and was told I had to go through my electricity supplier.

boysim34

Just as a matter of interest, should elec storage heaters be serviced. we live in a 2 bed council flat, all electric. the storage heaters were in place before we moved in , nearly 13 years ago, can they degrade insulation wise I mean over time. at the moment they are costing a absolute fortune to run, £5.00 to £6.20 a day in total for day and night?

Cardew

They don't need 'servicing' as such - like any electrical wiring in a property it should be checked to see if it is a safe condition. There are loads of 30+ year old storage heaters still working.

Leaving out the possibility of a fault, the performance(efficiency) of a storage heater does not 'degrade' over time. They consist essentially of electrical heating of a pile of bricks. Any fault would make them use less electricity not more.

lstar337

boysim34 wrote: »

Just as a matter of interest, should elec storage heaters be serviced. we live in a 2 bed council flat, all electric. the storage heaters were in place before we moved in , nearly 13 years ago, can they degrade insulation wise I mean over time?

There isn't much to service.

They are only a heating element, some iron bricks, and a metal box. If the insulation does degrade, all it will do is heat the room more. Are they out of heat in the evening?

boysim34 wrote: »

at the moment they are costing a absolute fortune to run, £5.00 to £6.20 a day in total for day and night?

Sounds about normal. If they are automatic charge control, you will benefit from keeping the heat in the rooms. Look into thick curtains, and draught excluding.

John_Pierpoint

Yes they are not terribly portable for PAT certification.
I think the poster should be more interested in thinking about his "consumer unit" (formerly fuse box) and what wires go where.
Is the earth continuity ok ? Do the MCBs & RCDc work ok.
[Not wanting to pay a fortune every few years for an electrician to inspect my wiring, I devised a set of probes to run a current through a light bulb.
The low watt LED does not trigger the RCD but the miniature fluorescent does.]

Assuming the windows are already draught proofed and double glazing has been fitted then here are some suggestions for improving the heat retention during the cold hours of night.

http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/thermal-windows.pdf

Upwind

lstar337 wrote: »

• Eastern = 23:00 - 07:00am
• East Midlands = 23:00 - 07:00am
• London Electric = 23:00 - 07:00am
• Manweb = 00:00 - 08:00am
• MEB (mechanical meter) = Summer time - 01:00 - 08:00am Winter time - 00:00 - 07:00am (Radio teleswitch meter) = Summer time - 01:30 - 08:30am Winter time - 22:30 - 00:30am and - 02:30 - 07:30am
• Northern = 00:30 - 07:30am
• Norweb = 00:30 - 07:30am
• Scottish Hydro = ( All meters have different settings)
• ScottishPower = 22:00 - 08:30am
• Seeboard = 22:30 - 00:30 and 02:30 - 07:30am
• Southern = 23:30 - 06:30am
• SWALEC = (All meters have different settings)
• SWEB = (All meters have different settings)
• Yorkshire = 00:30 - 07:30am

http://scottishpower.metafaq.com/help/sp-service-standards/off_peak

You may have an hour in the middle where it is peak again, and look out for mechanical timers which are often out of sync with time.

Having largely ignored my bills over the years (I know, I know!), I have recently been paying more attention to them and have been tracking when my E7 comes on and goes off.

I have a multirate Single Phase Watt Hour Meter (digital display) that shows the Regular rate and E7 rate - differentiating between the two by showing a flashing 1 or 2 when the particular rate is being applied. It also has a clock dial underneath that also has tabs on it to indicate when the E7 comes On and goes Off.

The perculiar thing is that whilst I have been monitoring I have noticed that my E7 comes on at strange times. For instance, when I got home last night (just after 5pm) it was on E7 and had a further 4 hours to go before it was due off. As a consequence I banged on my washing and put the majority of it through tumble dryer also, whilst on the lower rate.

The further strange thing is that this time isn't consistent and I will go home tonight and it could well be on the Regular rate and the E7 will come on at 7pm - so it is a bit hit and miss.

BTW I don't have storage heaters and have gas central heating - I should probably have switched to single rate previously anyway. I currently use about 30% on E7, although this could be because I have been using it whilst it was on E7 and I wasn't aware. I also used to set timers for washing etc during the night - but unbeknown to me I could have been paying the Regular rate.

I'm not sure if I should say anything, or just enjoy the 'benefit' whilst I can........... what do you guys/galls think?

lstar337

Upwind wrote: »

Having largely ignored my bills over the years (I know, I know!), I have recently been paying more attention to them and have been tracking when my E7 comes on and goes off.

I have a multirate Single Phase Watt Hour Meter (digital display) that shows the Regular rate and E7 rate - differentiating between the two by showing a flashing 1 or 2 when the particular rate is being applied. It also has a clock dial underneath that also has tabs on it to indicate when the E7 comes On and goes Off.

The perculiar thing is that whilst I have been monitoring I have noticed that my E7 comes on at strange times. For instance, when I got home last night (just after 5pm) it was on E7 and had a further 4 hours to go before it was due off. As a consequence I banged on my washing and put the majority of it through tumble dryer also, whilst on the lower rate.

The further strange thing is that this time isn't consistent and I will go home tonight and it could well be on the Regular rate and the E7 will come on at 7pm - so it is a bit hit and miss.

BTW I don't have storage heaters and have gas central heating - I should probably have switched to single rate previously anyway. I currently use about 30% on E7, although this could be because I have been using it whilst it was on E7 and I wasn't aware. I also used to set timers for washing etc during the night - but unbeknown to me I could have been paying the Regular rate.

I'm not sure if I should say anything, or just enjoy the 'benefit' whilst I can........... what do you guys/galls think?

At 30% (without really trying) you are probably doing ok with most suppliers.

If the 7 hours are coming up during sociable times, I would take advantage of it.

harryhound

lstar337 wrote: »

• Eastern = 23:00 - 07:00am Economy-8 ?
• East Midlands = 23:00 - 07:00am Economy-8 ?
• London Electric = 23:00 - 07:00am Economy-8 ?
• Manweb = 00:00 - 08:00am Economy-8 ?
• MEB (mechanical meter) = Summer time - 01:00 - 08:00am Winter time - 00:00 - 07:00am (Radio teleswitch meter) = Summer time - 01:30 - 08:30am Winter time - 22:30 - 00:30am and - 02:30 - 07:30am
• Northern = 00:30 - 07:30am
• Norweb = 00:30 - 07:30am
• Scottish Hydro = ( All meters have different settings)
• ScottishPower = 22:00 - 08:30am Economy-8.5 ?
• Seeboard = 22:30 - 00:30 and 02:30 - 07:30am
• Southern = 23:30 - 06:30am
• SWALEC = (All meters have different settings)
• SWEB = (All meters have different settings)
• Yorkshire = 00:30 - 07:30am

http://scottishpower.metafaq.com/help/sp-service-standards/off_peak

You may have an hour in the middle where it is peak again, and look out for mechanical timers which are often out of sync with time.

Economy-8 or do you mean 7 hours somewhere within these limits in GMT.?

Upwind wrote: »

I have a multirate Single Phase Watt Hour Meter (digital display) that shows the Regular rate and E7 rate - differentiating between the two by showing a flashing 1 or 2 when the particular rate is being applied. It also has a clock dial underneath that also has tabs on it to indicate when the E7 comes On and goes Off.

The peculiar thing is that whilst I have been monitoring I have noticed that my E7 comes on at strange times.

Does 1 mean cheap rate?
Is the clock mechanical and does it give off a rattling noise as it ticks over?
Presumably it has 4 tabs, but these are set to turn on and off only once per day?.

Beware the clock might be on its last legs and each day it slips a little or a lot. The upside is that it will be cheap at more sociable times of day; the downside is that you could be doing something using a lot of electricity, thinking you are within the cheap rate, when you are not.
Beware of meter readers reading the meter the wrong way round.
When the the clock eventually dies you might be able to revive it with a good slap, especially as the odds are that it will die on full rate electricity.

Richie-from-the-Boro

Upwind sounds like E10 not E7 !

Bollinge

We recently switched to EDF and telephoned them to ask when exactly the seven hours were.

I was astonished to be told "We cannot be certain, but it's somewhere between 11 pm and 8.30 am." I could not believe what I was hearing.

I checked on this forum and someone said there is a pointer on the meter itself to show which tariff is running. We have an old analogue meter, and after grovelling in the bogey hole and removing a mountain of laundry awaiting ironing, yes, there was the red arrow.

We are in the former East Midlands Electricity Board area, and our meter is connected to a radio-controlled clock box next to it, which is accurate and switches when the clocks change. I now know our Economy 7 hours are 1am to 8am year-round.

Many thanks MSE, no thanks to EDF!