Cost of removing storage heater cable

Likestowrite

I've had my one electric storage heater taken out and am having gas central heating fitted. The electricity supplier says that I will have to continue paying £2.90 per month standing charge for the meter that supplied my storage heater. (I have nothing at all running off this meter now the storage heater has gone.)

If I want to avoid the monthly standing charge I need to pay them £60 to have the meter taken out and then I need to get an electrician to remove the storage heater cable so there is no longer a storage heater supply going into the property.

Could anyone tell me approximately how much I'd have to pay an electrician to do this? Thanks.

[Deleted User]

well £60 is 20 months at 2.90 plus the electricians cost may = 30 months
might be worth NOT doing

dogshome

Seperate meter for Storage Heater ?
Really old ECO7 systems that supply 'cheap' overnight energy for Storage Heaters & Hot Water did have 2 meters with the overnight one being coloured White, but so far Service Charges were concerned the system was billed as just one meter.

ECO7 Elec billing charges a premium price for power used during the day, so with a gas system now supplying both Heat & Hot Water, you really need to change to a 'Standard' meter and tariff - Some supliers will make the change for free, whilst others will charge

ic

When my dad switched from storage heaters to central heating, the existing runs of cable for the storage heaters were wired into the main fuse box, and then plug sockets installed where the heaters had been.

Ken68

ic wrote: »

When my dad switched from storage heaters to central heating, the existing runs of cable for the storage heaters were wired into the main fuse box, and then plug sockets installed where the heaters had been.

Yes, same here though the old meter was removed by SSE.for free.

Wywth

Likestowrite wrote: »

I've had my one electric storage heater taken out and am having gas central heating fitted. The electricity supplier says that I will have to continue paying £2.90 per month standing charge for the meter that supplied my storage heater. (I have nothing at all running off this meter now the storage heater has gone.)

If I want to avoid the monthly standing charge I need to pay them £60 to have the meter taken out and then I need to get an electrician to remove the storage heater cable so there is no longer a storage heater supply going into the property.

Could anyone tell me approximately how much I'd have to pay an electrician to do this? Thanks.

How much it'll cost to remove the cable will depend how long it'll take, which will depend on how long it is and how difficult it is to access. e.g. do carpets need to be removed to access the cabling under floorboards? Is the cabling chased into a wall?

You don't have to actually have the cabling removed at all.
When the meter is removed, the supplier can either leave the circuit dead (unconnected) or could possibly add it to the remaining meter if your would prefer.

Richie-from-the-Boro

Water Heater

- a run of cable from the CU through the walls to the upstairs ? to a Water Controller then to the two elements, did the gas installers take out the cable / switch for this ?

Storage Heater

- a run of cable from the CU through the wall to the outlet switch and on to the storage rad

What you call your fusebox or Consumer Unit - you would usually have two separate rather than a dual or split board. Two sets of tails come in from your leccy meter one going to each separate 100A units. The sparky will have to remove the tails going to the [E7] second smaller CU and write this change to the certification. Then pull the cable upstairs and down and remove the Water Controller.

As Wywth and others have said its a piece of string question, one which you need to see the job. Example the CU wiring may already be isolated & certificated, and the gas installers may / may not have removed the Water Controller and associated wiring, additionally the E7 wiring may be 'skirted' instead of underfloor - pricing such a job needs eyes & boots in the house to even guess a price.

NB. Other odds & sodds to be wary of if the original install was long-long ago in the dual-rate white meter days, the E7 would supply only the water & night store, the more recent 'teleswitch' installs allowed all electrical use to be E7.

Likestowrite

Thank you. That's making things a lot clearer now.

There was no water heater running off the storage heater meter--just storage heaters. Originally the house (built around 1967) had 4 of them. There were 3 when we moved in 25 years ago. We took out two when they stopped working and I had the last one taken out yesterday. I was told by the electrical supply company that an electrician would need to remove the storage heater cable so there is no longer a supply going into the property. (All the time there's a supply, even if the meter has been taken out I have to pay the standing charge.)

So it looks like this actually means he'd have to take out 4 seperate lengths of cable going from the meter to each of the sockets the storage heaters were wired into? (I in living room, one in hall, one on landing and one in main bedroom) I didn't think to tell them I have 4 electric points that had storage heaters connected to them. Maybe this is a more complicated job than I first thought.
I don't think I have an E7 meter as I got 15 and a half hours of cheap rate heat. The timer switched the storage heaters on from 7.30pm to 8am and then again from 1pm until 4pm. Nothing else ran off this meter and the power cuts off when the timed period has ended. My main meter is on a standard tarrif.
Would I be able to switch providers if I wanted to later if I keep the redundant storage heater meter and pay the standing charge?

AndyPK

It probably not worth removing the cables.
However it is probably worth paying your supplier to change the meter as you could well be paying a higher tariff for your daytime electricity.

Likestowrite

ic wrote: »

When my dad switched from storage heaters to central heating, the existing runs of cable for the storage heaters were wired into the main fuse box, and then plug sockets installed where the heaters had been.

That sounds a great solution. I wonder if I could have that done instead of having the cable taken out. Would I have to ask the electric company to do it? If they did that and took the fuse box out they'd have no reason to ask me to pay a standing charge on the old storage heater cables.

Richie-from-the-Boro

Likestowrite wrote: »

That sounds a great solution. I wonder if I could have that done instead of having the cable taken out. Would I have to ask the electric company to do it? If they did that and took the fuse box out they'd have no reason to ask me to pay a standing charge on the old storage heater cables.

Sorry Likestowrite, everything your side of their meter is your responsibility and your costs, your electricity supplier will not even discuss it with you. Whether you change your supplier meter to a standard single tariff or not you will still need an electrician to make safe / isolate and certificate the old E10 supply.

As AndyPK said you don't need to take any cables out, once the storage heater and its supply cable is removed [4 screws] from the wall you will just be left with the dead & isolated 20A switched outlet once the electrician has removed the E10 tails from your consumer unit.

Why don't you just get a couple of electricians round for an estimate, it costs nowt and you will have some idea what's involved and what the costs are.

BTW you were on an E10 tariff not E7.