Economy 7 advice

FeelingLighterAlready

Hi all,

I am moving into a flat on my own on Friday and have lived on my own in a flat before but never with electric only as there is no boiler (I have always paid for Gas/Central Heating) so its a learning curve for me as I have no idea what is the best times to switch on my hot water (there is only an On/Off switch in the kitchen with a makeshift Econ/7 label sticker on it). Apparently the previous tenant installed a timer next to it, I guess rather than switching it off and on manually. My question is what are the best times for me to time this to go on at to pay the least money? I have my showers at nighttime and would prefer to be able to use hot water throughout the day as and when I need it (as with a boiler)....?

Also any suggestions on the best suppliers to go with for electricity only?

Thank you

FeelingLighterAlready

There are 2 storage heaters in the living room and 1 in the bedroom but I probably wont use them much, not in the summer months anyway as the flat is on the first floor. There is apparently an electric heater than i can use as well. Any recommendations on the best value for money and when to put those on? I haven't looked at them properly yet but will do when I move in on Friday....

House_Martin

Find the night rate on your meter, establish somehow for yourself what time it actually starts and ends and do not go on published figures from the supplier. You can observe the meter moving from day to night by various means on different meters. We are in BST now and all published times are an hour back anyway because the meter sticks to GMT. Night rate can be half price lecky so have showers, dryer if poss, washing machine use, ironing all in the night rate.

matelodave

Most E7 supplies switch to the night rate between about midnight and 7am but as House Martin suugests, you should check your meter to see when it flips.

So the best time to use leccy is during the off-peak times. Set your hot water tank to turn on around 5am and off at 7am so you'll heat it during the off-peak times. A properly insulated tank should keep hot all day - put another insulating jacket over it.

Make sure you are sensible with your use of hot water by not rinsing stuff or your hands in hot water, dont let it run down the sink, always use a bowl when washing up and you should find that there's still enough hot water for a shower before bedtime if you dont stand in it too long. Fit flow restrictors to your taps and shower head to reduce the volume of water will also help.

As said, try to use the washing machine, dryer, or dishwasher during off-peak times - doing the ironing and vaccy cleaning at midnight is a bit excessisve but most big appliances have a delay or timer start function which allows them to be used overnight.

Make sure you sign up with the existing supplier as soon as you move in and give them meter readings (making sure you check carefully the high & low registers) - dont rely on your landlord or letting agent, do it yourself. Then swap yourself onto the best E7 tariff.

Make sure you read the meters at least monthly, give the info to your supplier and keep your own records. Check that bills are accurate and not estimated and that the peak & off peak readings are correct - if not get then corrected.

FeelingLighterAlready

Thanks for your advice guys. I am definitely not going to be getting up to have a shower or do my washing in between 12 & 7, those are the times I will either be sleeping or rushing out the door to work so I guess I shall just have to pay extra...