Economy 7

venomx

I think my economy seven switch is faulty as I put it on last night as and had no hot water this morning.


I tried the other switch for 2 hours and then the hot water came out fine so may not be a problem with the boiler ?




My question is, does it cost the same as economy 7 during the night by using the other switch ?



Thanks

Gerry1

If you use any E7 electricity outside the night time period(s) you will be paying the full price day rate.

The meter will probably show you which register is in use at any given time so you will be able to see the units clocking up if the electric boiler / immersion heater is working. There will probably be a flashing red light as well.

venomx

The light switch only comes on during off peak hours with the economy seven ( which I think is now faulty, so have to use the other/main switch )


So regarding the main switch, does it cost the same as E7 during the night ?

Gerry1

I'm not clear about the various switches. But if you have only a dual rate meter on an E7 tariff, you'll always pay full price in the daytime. NO ifs. NO buts.

The meter may control a big switch (contactor) that switches on some circuits during the night rate period. These are usually used for night storage heaters and immersion heaters so that the user doesn't have to worry and can't end up with bill shock because they've messed it up for any reason.

Similarly, your circuits may be wired so that you have the ability to top up during the day (using a separate immersion heater) if you've used too much hot water or left it switched off overnight by mistake.

But whatever your arrangements, if you're using E7 metered electricity outside the night period(s), you'll be paying top whack.

coffeehound

venomx wrote: »

I tried the other switch for 2 hours and then the hot water came out fine so may not be a problem with the boiler ?

My question is, does it cost the same as economy 7 during the night by using the other switch ?

I guess this is the top element switch. For a modern digital meter, the answer is yes this will also be using cheap-rate when used during the off-peak time.

However, this top element only heats the top part of the tank, so you won't get a full tank of hot water.

Does the light in the other switch still come on overnight? If so, then you probably need a new lower element to be fitted.

Gerry1

If you're not relying on circuits controlled by the E7 timer, you need to be sure what the switching times are. For example, mine has a two hour gap: 10:30pm - 12:30am and 2:30am - 7:30am GMT. There is also a +/- 15 minutes tolerance.

So if you switch on the always-live supply at midnight you could be paying full price from 12:15am ! :eek:

venomx

coffeehound wrote: »

I guess this is the top element switch. For a modern digital meter, the answer is yes this will also be using cheap-rate when used during the off-peak time.

However, this top element only heats the top part of the tank, so you won't get a full tank of hot water.

Does the light in the other switch still come on overnight? If so, then you probably need a new lower element to be fitted.

There is one switch which comes on whenever I like. and the E7 one only comes on during the night

matelodave

As said, if you've got a proper E7 setup all your leccy is at the cheap rate during the off-peak period, usually around midnight to 7am.

However as Gerry says, it's worthwhile checking your specific off-peak times, especially if you've got a separate timeswitch rather than a teleswitch(which is remotely controlled by the electricity supplier)

If the lower immersion heater has packed up then it's worthwhile getting it sorted out as soon as possible to ensure that you get a full tank of hot water and so you dont forget to switch the other heater off and end up paying peak rates because it's been left on all day.

It's not ever so expensive to get an immersion heater changed and it should be down to your landlord anyway if you are in rented accommodation.

coffeehound

venomx wrote:

There is one switch which comes on whenever I like. and the E7 one only comes on during the night

Does the light still come on at night in the E7 switch? Perhaps have a look tonight.

Gerry1

If you switch the 'whenever you like' one when the E7 one is off it will cost you a fortune. If the E7 switch is left on, lights up but you doesn't give you any hot water in the morning then you have a faulty immersion heater that needs fixing PDQ.

Provided that the E7 light is on the whole time, as an interim measure you can switch on the 'whenever you like' switch to get a limited amount of hot water for the morning, but beware the possible two hour interruption if your E7 period is split.

Gerry1

Gerry1 wrote: »

The meter will probably show you which register is in use at any given time so you will be able to see the units clocking up if the electric boiler / immersion heater is working. There will probably be a flashing red light as well.

venomx wrote: »

The light switch only comes on during off peak hours with the economy seven?

I was referring to the flashing red light that most modern meters have. It will flash much more frequently when an immersion heater is drawing current.