Revealed! Is Economy 7 right for you? New MSE guide

MSE_Jenny

There are hundreds of thousands of Economy 7 (or 10) users, but their plight is often ignored by comparison sites.

Our big new 'Economy 7: Is It Right For You?' guide sets out to crack whether those with it should stick, and if those without it should switch.

Here's a sneak preview of the new guide - we'd love to hear any thoughts or additional questions that you have.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/economy-7

Thanks for your help
Jenny

HappyMJ

MSE_Jenny wrote: »

There are hundreds of thousands of Economy 7 (or 10) users, but their plight is often ignored by comparison sites.

Our big new 'Economy 7: Is It Right For You?' guide sets out to crack whether those with it should stick, and if those without it should switch.

Here's a sneak preview of the new guide - we'd love to hear any thoughts or additional questions that you have.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/economy-7

Thanks for your help
Jenny

I wouldn't mention anything about looking into Economy 10. It's not worth it. Competitive tariffs are not offered...it's one supplier per region and that's it...and at a high price. It would be cheaper just switching to the 13p standard tariff and using electricity at any time...and if it is better it's more suitable for houses with ground source heat pumps heating underfloor heating at a low background heat rather than storage heating.

Cardew

Rule 1: You need storage heaters - otherwise, forget it

Without storage heating, Economy 7 is not worth it in the vast majority of cases. You can time the heaters to come on for several hours over the cheap night-time period.

There may be few households without storage heating where savings can be made. But these are broadly the exception and require a big, pro-active effort, nearly every day, to use electrical devices through the cheaper hours.

I think that overstates the case.

Many of us - even with Gas CH still have an E7 tariff as it can still be cheaper.

Obviously there is a premium paid on daytime(i.e.17 hours) electricity so it is necessary to calculate the 'break even' point above which an E7 tariff will be cheaper.

On my particular Scottish Power tariff the break even is around 20%. I use approx. 25% without trying too hard.

Putting appliances(dishwasher, w/machine, dryer) on a timer helps. However a big factor is when you get up in the morning. In my area(Midlands) the change from off-peak is 08:30 in summer(BST) and 07:30 in winter(GMT). In my household the en-suite shower is electric, and we can be showered, have breakfast etc well before those times.

Households with a hot water tank can use the immersion overnight and that is certainly cheaper than oil/LPG. In fact even if you have an old low efficiency gas boiler(particularly with a pilot light)) it can be marginally cheaper to use the immersion.

I am not suggesting that it will work for everyone, and the break even point varies between companies. However as said earlier I think the article overstates the case.

Doc_N

There's a further angle to this as yet, I think, unexplored - the impact on the calculations of having solar panels producing 'free' electricity during daylight hours.

It could tip the balance in favour of Economy 7.

iammumtoone

Cardew wrote: »

I think that overstates the case.

Many of us - even with Gas CH still have an E7 tariff as it can still be cheaper.

Obviously there is a premium paid on daytime(i.e.17 hours) electricity so it is necessary to find to calculate the 'break even' point above which an E7 tariff will be cheaper.

On my particular Scottish Power tariff the break even is around 20%. I use approx. 25% without trying too hard.

Putting appliances(dishwasher, w/machine, dryer) on a timer helps. However a big factor is when you get up in the morning. In my area(Midlands) the change from off-peak is 08:30 in summer(BST) and 07:30 in winter(GMT). In my household the en-suite shower is electric, and we can be showered, have breakfast etc well before those times.

Households with a hot water tank can use the immersion overnight and that is certainly cheaper than oil/LPG. In fact even if you have an old low efficiency gas boiler(particularly with a pilot light)) it can be marginally cheaper to use the immersion.

I am not suggesting that it will work for everyone, and the break even point varies between companies. However as said earlier I think the article overstates the case.

I am glad you said that as I read the article and started to get worried. I have EC7 but no storage heaters, I do use it I do my laundry with it and charge all gadgets on it. However I don't have an electric shower. I cook with gas.

I am not sure how to work out which tariff would be better for me?

HappyMJ

iammumtoone wrote: »

I am glad you said that as I read the article and started to get worried. I have EC7 but no storage heaters, I do use it I do my laundry with it and charge all gadgets on it. However I don't have an electric shower. I cook with gas.

I am not sure how to work out which tariff would be better for me?

Work out your annual usage on the day rate and the night rate and add the figures together then go onto a comparison website and enter the sum of the kWh figures and choose standard as your exisiting tariff...don't choose economy 7. Then look at the total (ignore the savings as that won't be accurate) and compare it to your current bill. If it's about the same then save your £50 meter exchange fee and move as much usage as you can to the night. If it looks like you'll save £50 or more a year then exchange the meter. If your current tariff is cheaper then well done you've moved enough...but keep on moving usage to night to save more.

iammumtoone

HappyMJ wrote: »

Work out your annual usage on the day rate and the night rate and add the figures together then go onto a comparison website and enter the sum of the kWh figures and choose standard as your exisiting tariff...don't choose economy 7. Then look at the total (ignore the savings as that won't be accurate) and compare it to your current bill. If it's about the same then save your £50 meter exchange fee and move as much usage as you can to the night. If it looks like you'll save £50 or more a year then exchange the meter. If your current tariff is cheaper then well done you've moved enough...but keep on moving usage to night to save more.

thank you, i will read the meter beginning of mxt month and monitor for the month, how many months do you think i should do this for? I dont want to change on the basis of one months usage.

HappyMJ

iammumtoone wrote: »

thank you, i will read the meter beginning of mxt month and monitor for the month, how many months do you think i should do this for? I dont want to change on the basis of one months usage.

12 months you should have historic readings. Take weekly readings if you really want to keep a close eye on it. With some tariffs you could be better off switching every 6 months (before and after winter) if the supplier you switch to allows aggregated readings (without a meter exchange).

If you use gas and have a cylinder of hot water then set the boiler to heat the water only at night. The boiler uses a small amount of electric pumping the water to and from the cylinder.

iammumtoone

thanks I am on a pre-payment meter so dont get bills but i will ring the supplier they might be able to tell me last 12 mths usage. I would like to keep it and will start to monitor my usage, at least with this I do have a something that I can work with to try to reduce the bills. I dont spend much on electric so not really taken much notice of the spend before but every little helps.

HappyMJ

iammumtoone wrote: »

thanks I am on a pre-payment meter so dont get bills but i will ring the supplier they might be able to tell me last 12 mths usage. I would like to keep it and will start to monitor my usage, at least with this I do have a something that I can work with to try to reduce the bills. I dont spend much on electric so not really taken much notice of the spend before but every little helps.

You should still get an annual statement of usage. If you really want to save then pay to switch to a credit meter and pay by direct debit. If you read the meter weekly and figure out how much you have used each week adding the standing charges and set that much aside it should help budgeting if that is one of your concerns.

2010

Most comparison sites have the average use of econ7 set at 55%, which is certainly NOT my average.
I`m nearer to 30% and I keep weekly records of usage.
Putting the annual usage into a switch site firstly with econ7 and then without will tell you if you are making econ7 pay.
(it gives your annual spend for each)

I have not got electric heating but I am better off with the econ7 tariff.