should i change meters

Legacy_user

Hi all, well its finally happened i can no longer afford to heat my home i am all electric on economy 7 (live in multi story so no gas) cant even use a callor gas heater.

I will not be able to use my storage heaters next winter as i dont have the money to use them, i am just managing day electric, i am wondering if i should ask my electric company if they will take my economy 7 meter out and install a normal single rate.

I will have to use one of those infa red panel on the 400watt setting next winter.

I do have an electric shower so i will be able to use that instead of bath.

Has any one else had theres removed and how did you cope with the winter.

I do know the council are renewing the heating eventually with comunal heating but when i any ones guess

footyguy

mackemps3 wrote: »

Hi all, well its finally happened i can no longer afford to heat my home i am all electric on economy 7 (live in multi story so no gas) cant even use a callor gas heater.

I will not be able to use my storage heaters next winter as i dont have the money to use them, i am just managing day electric, i am wondering if i should ask my electric company if they will take my economy 7 meter out and install a normal single rate.

I will have to use one of those infa red panel on the 400watt setting next winter.

I do have an electric shower so i will be able to use that instead of bath.

Has any one else had theres removed and how did you cope with the winter.

I do know the council are renewing the heating eventually with comunal heating but when i any ones guess

400W isn't going to keep you very warm and the heater can only be in one room at a time (so what happnes when you move about) and the heater you describe heats the person more than the space, so you may find you suffer not just from the cold but from damp too! :eek:

But you miss the point. E7 provides you with low rate electricity, typically saving you 50%-70% on the normal rate.

So without E7 you will be paying 2-3 times more for your heating. (and any other electricity you use during the low rate period)

So better just to turn your storage heaters down if you can't continue to afford to run them at the level you have been, rather than pay 2-3 times more for your heating.

lstar337

Any chance you can insulate more to keep your heat in?

If you can keep the heat in, the storage heaters will cost less to run.

Can you move any of your day usage to night when it will be significantly cheaper?

How many heaters do you have, where are they located, what size are they, and do you have any other forms of heat?

Peak time electric showers will probably cost more than the E7 heated hot water.

macman

Can you really exist with less than a third of the heat of your NSH's?
And all your hot water will also be on Standard rate not E7 cheaper rate.
Plus the £60 or so for a meter change, and possibly charges for any rewiring required on your own circuits?

System

lstar337 wrote: »

Any chance you can insulate more to keep your heat in?

If you can keep the heat in, the storage heaters will cost less to run.

Can you move any of your day usage to night when it will be significantly cheaper?

How many heaters do you have, where are they located, what size are they, and do you have any other forms of heat?

Peak time electric showers will probably cost more than the E7 heated hot water.

I live in multi story so i cant do any insulation unless there is major work done on the building and the council does it.

I am a low user on day electric normally bout £60 (3 month).

I have 4 storage heaters 2 in lounge both are 2.5kw due to the room been large sitting/dinning room. and 2 1.5kw 1 in bedroom and 1 in hall all turned off.

I was wanting to change to a normal single rate meter, (single rate meter is cheaper day rate and standing charge) as i will not be using the heaters or the hot water and just using the shower.

System

macman wrote: »

Can you really exist with less than a third of the heat of your NSH's?
And all your hot water will also be on Standard rate not E7 cheaper rate.
Plus the £60 or so for a meter change, and possibly charges for any rewiring required on your own circuits?

Am not sure m8 but i do no i cant use the storage heaters any more, and the hot water will never be turned on

macman

What are you currently spending on E7 in a year and what is your kWh usage on each register?

System

£840 yr but i also had to make couple extra payments in winter. just done this bill is, £269.10 that's 103 days 3181 night units and 514 day units

Bark01

Some suppliers don’t charge for a meter change and some suppliers will just accept you day and night reads and bill them at the standard rate (known as a totaliser), so switching to standard may not cost you anything.

You currently only use 14% of you total usage on the night rate, this is really low. It’s likely you can swap to a standard meter and still use your heating at the same level as last year and still save. Changes to regulations brought in by Ofgem under RMR, will mean suppliers have to tell you if you would save money by swapping from a time of use tariffs to a standard meter. Changes came into effect on the 31st of March 2014 and you should be told of any saving you could make on any bill received after that date