Economy 7 Talexus Meter and Economy 10

hldomster

Hi,

I have moved into a property with the Talexus Economy 7 prepayment key meter. My fuseboard has two circuits, one has the storage heaters etc on it the other has everything else. Obviously all the storage heaters and hot water tank come on when the economy 7 hours kick in cos they are on the separate fuseboard. This begs the question, do I still get economy 7 prices for everything connected to the other fuseboard during the economy 7 hours. I put my washing machine to come on overnight to take advantage of this but I'm not even sure if it is being charged at the cheaper rate as it is on the fuseboard that is on all the time, not just during economy 7 hours.

The other thing I'm thinking of is switching to Economy 10, because I am worried about my storage heaters running out later on in the evening/night. Does anyone have experience with this? I am a student so am not out during the day neccessarily. The problem is Economy 10 could be overkill, it means 10 hours of heating storage radiators and hot water instead of 7, although obviously I would make some savings by having my other devices on the cheaper tariff for more of the day (that is providing my earlier point is shown to be that all devices get the cheaper rate during the off-peak hours, not just the items on the second fuseboard).

Please help me out.

[Deleted User]

Maybe you can check the units going round by seeing if screen "H " -day rate or screen "J " - night rate advances during the eco 7 hours which are approx 1.30 am to 8.30 am ( varies around the UK )

lstar337

hldomster wrote: »

Hi,

I have moved into a property with the Talexus Economy 7 prepayment key meter. My fuseboard has two circuits, one has the storage heaters etc on it the other has everything else. Obviously all the storage heaters and hot water tank come on when the economy 7 hours kick in cos they are on the separate fuseboard. This begs the question, do I still get economy 7 prices for everything connected to the other fuseboard during the economy 7 hours. I put my washing machine to come on overnight to take advantage of this but I'm not even sure if it is being charged at the cheaper rate as it is on the fuseboard that is on all the time, not just during economy 7 hours.

I have two fuse boards too. When the meter switches, I get both lots on E7. I assume it will be the same for you.

It works like this:

Meter 8:00 - 1:00

Rate 1 = active
Fuse board 1 = active
Fuse board 2 = innactive


Meter 1:00 - 8:00

Rate 2 = active
Fuse board 1 = active
Fuse board 2 = active

hldomster wrote: »

The other thing I'm thinking of is switching to Economy 10, because I am worried about my storage heaters running out later on in the evening/night. Does anyone have experience with this? I am a student so am not out during the day neccessarily. The problem is Economy 10 could be overkill, it means 10 hours of heating storage radiators and hot water instead of 7, although obviously I would make some savings by having my other devices on the cheaper tariff for more of the day (that is providing my earlier point is shown to be that all devices get the cheaper rate during the off-peak hours, not just the items on the second fuseboard).

Please help me out.

IF, your storage heaters are properly rated for your room sizes, they should do fine on E7.

Remember to close the damper overnight (I always leave them closed), and set the input correctly.

In the manual for mine, it says to set the input to the following:

Set at full for first night, on the second night wait untill the temperature is most comfortable, then reduce the input until you hear a click.

I simply shift the input up and down a little to match the weather patterns.

hldomster

I have Vent Axia Storage Heaters VASH18A. I think I read in the manual that they automatically close the damper at night (whatever this means I'm not sure). It's the automatic version of these heaters.

In the end I went for Economy 7 with EDF Blue + Price Promise 2014

spiro

For E10 you wont be able to have a PPM because most E10 setups have an afternoon boost, its not all at night. In some instances you can end up with 2 meters.
Also with E10 (historically) the day (more expensive) rate used to be about 15% more than E7. Also not all suppliers offer an E10 tariff.

Wywth

hldomster wrote: »

I have Vent Axia Storage Heaters VASH18A. I think I read in the manual that they automatically close the damper at night (whatever this means I'm not sure). It's the automatic version of these heaters.

In the end I went for Economy 7 with EDF Blue + Price Promise 2014

Storage heaters have a damper (a shield) that controls the amount of heat the NSH gives out.
Usually it is manually operated. The idea being to c;lose the damper at night whilst the unit is heating upp and keep it closed. If by the following evening, you start to feel cold (as people do in the evening) then you can open the damper to allow more heat to escape quicker.

Yours you say are automatic, rather than manually operated.

lstar337

The automatic dampers are not that great.

They are a basic bi-metalic strip, so if you leave it open it will close overnight to take the charge, but in the morning if it is cold it will open all the way again.

I find it best to leave the damper well alone, and only use it if you really have to, and always close it at night. Otherwise you are just throwing heat away.

hldomster

Well on mine despite being automatic I still have an input and output control. Does the output control the damper?

lstar337

hldomster wrote: »

Well on mine despite being automatic I still have an input and output control. Does the output control the damper?

Yes. Set it to closed at night.

Automatic (bi-metalic strip) dampers are slow to open and close, so you will lose a load of heat this way. Just open it when you need it, and close it the rest of the time.

annyssong

Hi to all you stalwarts on this subject, and thanks for your contributions.

I've just survived a long call to SSE, having spent a couple of days on this forum and others researching the subject, and have made the opposite decision (that is, to stay with its Superdeal rather than "downgrade" to E7). Twenty years ago when the flat was built, it was designed to have E10 as there is no gas nearby. My two storage heaters and water heating are on one circuit, everything else on another. It all works fine and as far as I can see compared to a conventional dual-fuel deal is about half the average cost as quoted, largely owing to the insulation built in and the two flats below - my floor must be uninsulated! :j

It seems that SSE's Superdeal is a legacy tariff, which is why the Cheap Energy Club can't give me accurate comparisons. Although other suppliers' timing may vary, this gives me (at present) expensive "day" rate from 7am to midnight, 5 hours' "stored heat" (the cheapest of the three metered rates) variable between midnight and 7am when the storage heaters and water charge, and two extra hours some time in the afternoon when they might charge if needed, this "night" rate being instigated by a tele-signal. (?) Only the storage heaters and water can ever use the cheaper rate in the afternoon, just about everything else is on the day rate always, as it would be pretty antisocial to run a washing machine etc at night. I think that fridge and freezer do run on the storage rate during the night time, though, and an early breakfast in summer is fine by me. Less so in winter as I'm no longer a wage slave.

I've just received SSE's official notification of the new rates: the standing charge is unchanged, the day rate will go up by just over half a percent, the night rate by 11.5ish and the stored rate by over 16%! Curiously, with my particular usage this does amount to around 8.2% overall, so perhaps the proportions are pretty average.

SSE's estimate of usage on my last quarterly bill on 29 Sept (I actually pay by monthly DD, scoring a £40 discount on the standing charge) was before the announcement, and so was exactly what I had paid in the past year (£685.44 including VAT). However, on the new tariff announcement it was actually LESS (£625.45). This was because as I had had to have a new meter fitted in May 2012 and as they average the estimate based on the two previous years' usage, they could not give an accurate figure. If I'd been a bit quicker off the mark I could have fixed for a year at the old rate, but I can't fix on that tariff now, although once it's effective I may. To switch to E7 would mean I had to have a new meter, although a forecast could be made by adding my two cheaper-rated usages to make one night rate. The new E7 rates are 17.35p day, 8.09p night, the standing charge unchanged (and the same as on my Superdeal). This would amount to £673.69 for the year ahead, compared to £742.86 on my existing tariff. I was told that I wouldn't be charged for the new meter, but 6 November is the earliest it could be fitted. If subsequently I decided I wanted to revert to Superdeal I could, but would need yet another new meter, with the unspoken possibility that I might have to pay for it ... .

On the E7 SSE tariff, there are 25 cheaper deals available at present, the best being £142 cheaper (than today's prices) which would certainly be worth doing on the saving:hassle-of-changing-to-untried-supplier factor but on balance I'm thinking of leaving it for another year, given that last winter was so cold. This is slightly because I will shortly be recycling and not replacing my ancient freezer, mainly because the other Big 5 suppliers seem to have almost universally poor reviews, and slightly because the smaller ones may not be particularly financially stable. The standard consumer watchdog has just published a survey of customer satifaction with power suppliers, and they provided the top five; SSE came 8th out of 16.

We should compare notes in a year's time!

System

The night rate seems a little expensive i would rather change to E7 tariff they can be from as little as 5.5p and thats on a fixed price, i would shop around.

At times like this i would rather have cheaper electric than a company that has an extra star to its name.