EON heatwise and switching to economy 7

Keith_b_2

Hi, just had a very confusing conversion with EON and wondering if anyone on here can help.

I'm currently on a heatwise meter (economy 10 by an older name) and this meter controls when the storage heaters take on a charge and the water heater comes on.

The meters are being phased out and they want to change the meter so they offered a normal unrestricted meter (no use as I'm on electric heating and can't have gas installed) an economy 10 or economy 7.

Now the confusing bit, currently the heating and hot water is on a separate circuit that is controlled by the meter, but the way the person at eon explained the economy 7 is that it doesn't actually switch the heating on it all the electricity is just cheaper from 12:30 to 7:30, but I'm sure that when we had ecomony 7 when I lived at home it was all controlled by the meter.

At the moment I'd like to swap to economy 7 because it means there are more options to swap to different suppliers and tariffs, but don't really want the hassle of getting extra wiring/timers fitted.

Has anyone done similar or actually know for sure how the economy 7 meters work, the person at EON did go away to speak to someone but I wasn't exactly convinced that they actually understood what they were saying.

CashStrapped

To clarify, do they just want to update your meter to a digital one?

With a digital one, rather then separate meters, you have the two readings on one meter that you can switch the display to show.

So, are they talking about just updating the meter? If so, that should not be an issue. They should not change your tarifff ust doing this.

With regard to Economy 7/10 switching. I think it depends on the set up. The economy 7 set up I have encountered in the past worked on a mechanical type timer switch. The ensured that the storage heaters and main water tank element could only activate when the economy 7 became active. A single digital meter may not operate in the same way.

Keith_b_2

We already have digital meters but they say they are phasing them out (heatwise is an old east midlands electricity tariff) I'm just thinking that I'll take the opportunity while they're offering to change the meter for free to go to economy 7 (I've upgraded the heaters and water so pretty certain I can mange without the afternoon boosts), but can't really get any good info from EON, best they've offered is wait till the electrician comes to change the meter then ask them, but think that's just a good way to p off an electrician. Looking in the meter box it appears that 3 wires leave the meter (I assume a normal live, a heatwise live and a neutral), got some time to find out they don't have any of the economy 10 ones in stock anyway.

lvf

Hi Keith, a bit of clarification. If the Heatwise meter currently controls the hot water or heating, you will (should) only be offered the E10. If you wish to switch to E7, you would need a qualified electrician to inspect the metering system and if required carry out any work before an E7 can be fitted, but this unfortunately is at your own expense. This is to ensure you won't have any issues should this meter go in.

You have been given wrong information by the E.ON advisor, and this would only have caused issues when the appointment was actually going ahead.

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Helena

Morning Keith_b and welcome to the forum,

I'm sorry we couldn't help you on the phone, let me try and give you a bit of information.

Heatwise meters were designed mainly for all electric properties with storage heaters and electric water immersion heaters. They’re designed to give 10 hours of cheaper off peak electricity for heating and water heating purposes. This is spilt into 3 time slots during the afternoon, in the evening and at night.

When switched on, Heatwise will automatically turn the heating on during the off peak period and off again afterwards. To do this, the meter will be wired into the heating/water heating circuits at the property.

During the Heatwise times, all electricity used for heating/water heating that goes through these dedicated circuits will be charged at lower off peak rates.

Heatwise is nearing the end of its life and we’re gradually phasing them out. We’ll be replacing them with a two rate Economy 10 meter. This will still let you have cheaper rates three times a day for heating/hot water. It also gives 10 hours of cheaper off peak electricity for all usage.

You’ll also be given the option of having a single rate or Economy 7 meter. These, though, may not suit your current heating set up and I’d recommend talking to a qualified electrician before going down this route. There may some remedial work needed to make sure there’s no adverse effects on your heating. Although the meter exchange will still be free, the costs of the electrician will be down to you.

Like Heatwise, we’ve only the one tariff for an Economy 10 meter. There’s more tariffs available for a single rate or Economy 7 meter. If you do change to an Economy 7 meter, you would need to set timers for your appliances to come on when the off peak times kick in, the meter will not do this automatically.

Multi rate meters, like Heatwise and Economy 10, are only cost effective if a good proportion of electricity is used during the off peak times. This is because day usage is charged at a premium rate. Wherever possible, it’s best to use as much electricity as you can during off peak times.

I hope this explains a little.

Thank you

Keith_b_2

OK thanks that clarifies things so the heatwise and economy 10 are smart meters that actually switch the heating on the economy 7 is dumb and just records the electricity between certain times as off peak, so what I need an electrician to do is wire the storage heaters into a timed circuit.

Benhoss

How did you get on Keith ??, we are in similar position at the mo looking at switching from Eco 10 to Eco 7.

BlueIsTheColour

I did this a few years ago as I wanted to save money & be able to switch. Eon came & changed the meter, I didn't have to make any wiring changes. Essentially I just left the storage heaters & the water heater on all the time but they only became active ie heated up during the E7 times.

Being honest, I don't think it saved me much money but it did make my flat a lot colder as the E7 times meant my storage heaters were pretty much cold by the evening. There were many times when I wished I'd stayed with Heatwise but I'd changed supplier & there was no option to return.

As has been said, if you use mainly off peak electricity, they can be great, my flat was all electric, built in 2005 with 2 separate circuits, a day rate circuit & a night rate one.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Benhoss wrote: »

How did you get on Keith ??, we are in similar position at the mo looking at switching from Eco 10 to Eco 7.

Hi Benhoss

I've posted a reply to similar questions on another thread. It's at the link below. Post number 346.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/69597753#Comment_69597753

As BlueIsTheColour says, you need to look out for the storage heaters cooling down early. Although your new more modern ones may be better in this respect?

Also, your off peak usage will probably change as you'll lose 3 hours with Economy 7. This might balance out with the availability of more tariffs both with us and with the other suppliers. As with most multi-rate meters, to be cost effective, a significant amount needs to be used during the cheaper off peak hours. The actual amount will depend on the region, prices and usage.

Hope this helps Benhoss.

Malc

BlueIsTheColour wrote: »

I did this a few years ago as I wanted to save money & be able to switch. Eon came & changed the meter, I didn't have to make any wiring changes. Essentially I just left the storage heaters & the water heater on all the time but they only became active ie heated up during the E7 times.

Being honest, I don't think it saved me much money but it did make my flat a lot colder as the E7 times meant my storage heaters were pretty much cold by the evening. There were many times when I wished I'd stayed with Heatwise but I'd changed supplier & there was no option to return.

As has been said, if you use mainly off peak electricity, they can be great, my flat was all electric, built in 2005 with 2 separate circuits, a day rate circuit & a night rate one.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

BlueIsTheColour wrote: »

I did this a few years ago as I wanted to save money & be able to switch. Eon came & changed the meter, I didn't have to make any wiring changes. Essentially I just left the storage heaters & the water heater on all the time but they only became active ie heated up during the E7 times.

Being honest, I don't think it saved me much money but it did make my flat a lot colder as the E7 times meant my storage heaters were pretty much cold by the evening. There were many times when I wished I'd stayed with Heatwise but I'd changed supplier & there was no option to return.

As has been said, if you use mainly off peak electricity, they can be great, my flat was all electric, built in 2005 with 2 separate circuits, a day rate circuit & a night rate one.

Spot on BlueIsTheColour. A particular characteristic of multi-rate meters like Heatwise and Economy 10 is the afternoon and evening top ups. Helps properties stay warm throughout the day after the initial night charge wears off.

You're right, too, about the need to use as much as possible during the off peak times. Otherwise they won't be cost effective. The drawback, of course, is tariffs are very limited.

Malc

Wolf3

From my understanding ,they don't manufacture the Heatwise meters, or many non - standard types any longer, so the meters will have to be replaced anyway at some point in the near future. Especially if it develops a fault and they cant replace like for like. So it is possibly worthwhile looking at having it changed or at last get some advice from an electrician if you need any work doing