Heatwise meter means I can't change supplie.

Weelywoo

We moved into our house 10 years ago and every house in the street has a Heatwise meter. We don't have storage heaters or gas but have oil fired central heating so the electricity is only used for the usual things. I'm very frustrated that I cannot change suppliers because nobody will take on this meter and I would have to pay to have the meter changed in order to change supplier. How are E.O.N. allowed to get away with this? Has anyone else experienced this?

macman

Heatwise/E10 is supported by very few suppliers, so Eon aren't 'getting away' with anything. The developers would have specified the original install, and the supplier neither knows nor cares less how the property is heated or hot watered. If you've been paying a premium rate for most of your peak rate usage for the last ten years, the one-off £60-odd cost of a meter change would probably be recouped in a single year.
Alternatively, talk to another supplier with an attractive single rate tariff and ask them for a free meter change in return for your business. Nothing to lose.
PS: last time I checked, EDF also supported Heatwise/E10 metering.

Weelywoo

Is it really only £60 odd pounds to change your meter? I thought it went into the thousands. Thanks for the EDF tip too. I'll get on to it!

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi Weelywoo and welcome to the Forums.

Don't worry, you don't have to pay to have Heatwise meters changed. Thought it might help if I give you a bit of information about this meter and what the future holds.

Heatwise meters were designed mainly for all electric properties with storage heaters and electric water immersion heaters. They give 10 hours of cheaper off peak electric in every 24 hours for heating/water heating purposes. This is split into three separate periods during the afternoon, in the evening and at night. To work, the meter will be wired directly into the heating/water heating circuits at the property.

As you've oil fired heating, you may not be fully benefiting from this arrangement. Although, if you've a water immersion heater, there might be benefits here.

Heatwise is nearing the end of its life and we're gradually phasing them out. In the near future, we'll send a letter offering a choice of a two rate Economy 10 or the more conventional Economy 7 or single rate meters. There's no need to wait for the letter. You can contact us at any time to ask for the meter to be changed. We'll be happy to fit any of the above options. Whichever you prefer.

Economy 10 meters are fitted in a similar way to the existing Heatwise meter. It would be wired into the relevant circuits as now. There's still 10 hours at off peak prices in each 24 hour period as above but this is for all usage. Unlike Heatwise, there's no hot water boost available if this is something you use.

As you say, we've only the one tariff available for Heatwise meters and it's the same for Economy 10. There's more tariff options available with single rate and Economy 7, both with us and with the other suppliers. These meters will be connected a little differently to now so you might want to check with a qualified electrician that all's ok before going down this route. Particularly if your water is heated through Heatwise. Changing meters can sometimes have an impact on the heating/water heating so best to check.

I'd check out the ongoing usage. See where you're using the most electricity and at what times. Day rates with both Economy 10 and Economy 7 are higher than with single rate tariffs so you need to make sure you're using enough at the off peak times to benefit from the cheaper prices. The actual amount needed to benefit depends on the region, meter and tariff.

If you go for a two rate meter, see if there are any changes that can be made, like maybe using timers on high load appliances, to help transfer some usage from peak to off peak times. Our website might be able to help with a few more tips to help save money by saving energy too. Have a look at the 'Saving Energy' section in particular.

Although the meter exchange is free any other costs, like for an electrician or any remedial work that might be necessary, will be down to you.

Hope this helps give you a few more choices Weelywoo. Let me know if you need any more information as happy to help.

Malc

shaunt

Hi Malc,
thats interesting reading regards the heatwise meters. Can you shed anymore light as to when our meters would be changed over? With the new meter am i right in saying that the 10 hours cheap electric for the storage heaters would also include everything else in the house?
Where can i find out details about the new meters and their rates please.
Kind Regards
shaun

macman

Who told you that a meter change costs thousands? It was presumed that you had spoken to E.ON before you posted your complaint about them.
What you get on the E10 rate will depend how the property has been wired, some older systems will have the NSH's and immersion heater only wired to the cheap rate side. Again, this is nothing to do with the supplier-any rewiring downstream of the meter is the responsibility of the property owner.
PS: I suggest you delete your email address from your last post unless you want lots of sp*m.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

shaunt wrote: »

Hi Malc,
thats interesting reading regards the heatwise meters. Can you shed anymore light as to when our meters would be changed over? With the new meter am i right in saying that the 10 hours cheap electric for the storage heaters would also include everything else in the house?
Where can i find out details about the new meters and their rates please.
Kind Regards
shaun
ps-Please feel free to contact me direct on

Hi Shaun

We started replacing Heatwise meters last November. There's several thousand to do so we're sending out the letters in stages. Likewise with the work, it'll be done gradually over a period of time. As I mentioned to Weelywoo, you don't have to wait for the letter. You can arrange for the changeover at any time.

With Economy 10, the 10 off peak hours will cover all usage and not just the heating/water heating.

Metering set ups vary depending on the circumstances so, if you drop an email with your details to the address in my Profile, I'll be happy to give you more information about both the Heatwise meter and the proposed alternatives.

Agree with macman, I'd be safe and delete your email address from a public forum and use the one in my Profile.

Hope this helps and look forward to hearing from you Shaun.

Malc

shaunt

Hi Malc,
thanks for the info i cant find a pm section in your profile am i looking in the right place
cheers
shaun

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi Shaun

It's [EMAIL="WebForumAdvisors@eonenergy.co"]WebForumAdvisors@eonenergy.co[/EMAIL].

Look forward to hearing from you.

Malc

Weelywoo

macman wrote: »

Who told you that a meter change costs thousands? It was presumed that you had spoken to E.ON before you posted your complaint about them.
What you get on the E10 rate will depend how the property has been wired, some older systems will have the NSH's and immersion heater only wired to the cheap rate side. Again, this is nothing to do with the supplier-any rewiring downstream of the meter is the responsibility of the property owner.
PS: I suggest you delete your email address from your last post unless you want lots of sp*m.

Hi Macman,
Please bear with me as this is the first time I have ever used this or any other forum. An electrician told me about the cost of changing the meter (obviously incorrectly) and I wasn't really complaining as such, just asking the question in the hope that someone else may have a similar issue. Obviously my question has been answered. Many thanks.

Weelywoo

Weelywoo wrote: »

Hi Macman,
Please bear with me as this is the first time I have ever used this or any other forum. An electrician told me about the cost of changing the meter (obviously incorrectly) and I wasn't really complaining as such, just asking the question in the hope that someone else may have a similar issue. Obviously my question has been answered. Many thanks.

P.s. Can't see where my email address appears? Like I said, I'm new.