E-on = can you help me with off peak rates please?

Sammi_k1984

Hello
I've just received a new quarterly bill and it was very large! I've now looked into it and realised my timer on the off peak meter was set incorrectly, so the meter was turning my storage heaters on during the day and releasing heat at night.
I've just looked at my heaters (22:48) and they aren't on. I want to make sure everything is set up correctly as can't afford another huge bill, so any help or advice on peak and off peak times would be great!
Thanks

matelodave

Read this for tips on how to optimise your off peak consumption


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


Your seven off peak hours can be any where between around 10pm and 8 am so you need to check your own meter or your supplier to make sure when your meter actually switches - there are regional variations so you'd need to check with your supplier or look at your meter to see exactly when it switches over just to make sure that your heating doesn't switch on or off just before or just after the off peak period and use an hour or so of peak rate electricity.


Sometimes if yours is switched via a local time switch (usually a big round clock type thing near your meter) you can find that it can be several hours out. You'll still get 7 hours off peak rate but not at the times you think it should be - this can be to your advantage as you might find that the times are more convenient but you need to make sure that stuff only comes on at off peak times.


Certainly you need to make sure that storage heaters and your hot water is only switched on at the off-peak times and you should try to use washing machines, tumble dryers and dishwashers at these times as well.

[Deleted User]

Yes you have discovered that the timerswitch, (if its the 24 hr circular one) is doing its own version of when your cheap 7 hours is in use and its definitely not the published times. Not many of these timers are bang on anyway. Its not giving you a "huge bill " as you say, just that the storage heaters are working at a different timeslot. Make better use of the timeslot, with showers/drying etc and it will lower your bill. So far I ve not heard of any supplier who will spend £100 quid or so to send out a contractor from your local DNO to adjust it, only to get another powercut which will upset it again.They will probably replace the whole caboodle with a digital meter with a built in timer clock. Having the cheap 7 hours in a more usable timeslot is an advantage in some ways because at least you can use heavy use appliances away from the dead of night.
I work for 4 of the big 6, inc EON and so far only Scottish Power are interested in what time the 7 hrs is set too. No supplier can guarantee these old 24 hr timerswitches are at the published area times, even many of the built in timers are drifting an hour or so.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Sammi_k1984 wrote: »

Hello
I've just received a new quarterly bill and it was very large! I've now looked into it and realised my timer on the off peak meter was set incorrectly, so the meter was turning my storage heaters on during the day and releasing heat at night.
I've just looked at my heaters (22:48) and they aren't on. I want to make sure everything is set up correctly as can't afford another huge bill, so any help or advice on peak and off peak times would be great!
Thanks

Hi Sammi_k1984 and welcome to the Forums.

I agree with sacsquacco. Certainly looks like the time switch is faulty. If it's more than 2 hours out, we'll need to visit and either repair or replace it. If it's as old as sacsquacco suggests, we may well change the meter itself for a more modern one. There's no charge for this. We won't, though, come out if the time difference is under 2 hours. In these cases, we advise to take the difference into consideration when setting timers and using appliances. If more than 2 hours out, please let us have up to date meter readings as well as the time on the meter. We'll make an appointment for a technician to come out. If they do need to change the meter, it'll be for another Economy 7 but more up to date.

Alternatively, if it's better for you, do as sacsquacco says and use the current time slots to your advantage. Economy 7 meters are often used at all electric properties with storage heaters and electric water immersion heaters. To be cost effective, a significant amount needs to be used during the cheaper off peak times. The actual amount depends on the region, prices and usage. With storage heaters, I suspect you could use enough at night to benefit but, if it turns out you're not, you may be better off with a single rate tariff. You can keep the Economy 7 type of meter. We add the day and night usage together and charge at the one price. If you've registered with our website, tariff changes like this can be done online.

As I say, with Economy 7, it's best to try to use as much as possible during the off peak times. Totally understand, not all these hours are at particularly sociable times. This is where timers come in handy to help you take advantage of the cheaper prices.

On the billing itself, make sure they're based on actual readings. If estimated, please let us have up to date readings and we'll be happy to re-bill to these. If the meter does need replacing, you might want to consider a new free Smart Meter. They're not available everywhere yet but, if they're okay for you, they might be of interest. They automatically send us your readings and help keep billing accurate. There's more information on our website.

Hope this helps Sammi_k1984. Let me know if you need any more advice as happy to help.

Malc