Broken clock on electric meter

catjn

Houbara said:

People do get a refund from some suppliers and its worth having a go.If you state that you have been waiting for the cheap night rate to , take a shower, put the washing/drier on etc, only to find out that for years you have been using the pricey day rate , then EDF as one of the more responsible suppliers , will give a goodwill gesture refund . .. Hopefully your Eco 7 night storage heaters would have been only using the cheap night rate where they are linked only to the active night rate .
 Many digital meters do not show any clocks at all to check what time the meter "thinks " it is .You would have   seen it as the meter scrolls round, The active rate is when the 1 or 2 pulses  so the only way you would know which rate was active  would be when rate 1 or 2 started flashing/pulsing ..Virtually no older  Eco 7 digital meters stick to the published times and that is the same for the even older analogue Eco 7 meters which are even wider out of time . Radio Teleswitch meters stick religiously to the published times but smart Eco 7 should also stick exactly to the published times , so that is what EDF will install .Bear in mind it is only "smart " whilst you stay with EDF 

Thanks for the explanation. I remain doubtful whether EDF will be willing to do this. The person I talked to on the 8th was being very stubborn about everything "tallying up". That said, I did have a more positive experience talking to another person on the 6th. Their online agents are also friendlier.

Also, as the Grasslin timer is inside the flat, I guess it's been installed by the landlord, and has nothing to do with EDF?

catjn

I can confirm that the E7 hours are active as of 11:30 pm. There was a blinking "2" next to the night reading, and a static "1" next to the day reading.

Gerry1

catjn said Could you possibly explain in greater detail about what went wrong?

There are basically two scenarios.

Scenario 1 is that when the meter switches to the cheap rate it ALSO livens up special wiring to your immersion and storage heaters and their consumption is ALWAYS recorded on the cheap rate register.

• The heaters on the special circuits can never use expensive electricity, even if the meter's clock is wrong, so for them (and only for them), it's basically Fit and Forget.

• All the other circuits (lighting, cooker and 13A sockets) are live 24/7 and their consumption is recorded on the cheap or expensive registers, as determined by the meter clock.

Scenario 2 is that ALL the wiring is live 24/7.

• All circuits are live 24/7 and their consumption is recorded on the cheap or expensive registers, as determined by the meter clock. If you want cheap rate, it's up to you to switch everything on at the right times (including the immersion and storage heaters), as determined by the meter clock.
• For the washing machine, tumble dryer, cooker etc you just look at your watch before switching them on.  If the meter's clock is wrong, you could be charged the expensive rate at cheap rate times, and vice versa.  You could expect the energy company to send a corrected bill.
• For the immersion and storage heaters it's usually easier to have your own local timeswitch.  In theory, it should shadow the meter's clock, just as you can set a clock radio to wake you up bang on the dot of 7 o'clock with news.  The bad news is that your local timeswitch is almost certainly a cheap motorised clock that stops during a power failure, and thereafter it won't agree with the meter's clock.  You could be charged the expensive rate at cheap rate times, and vice versa.  You can't expect the energy company to send a corrected bill, it's your mistake, just as if you'd overslept if the your alarm clock was a couple of hours slow.

Conclusion / Update

I wrote the above before seeing your latest posts.  You have Scenario 2.  I've left the original text for explanation.

• Your storage heater timeswitch is probably rubbish. Try switching off the mains for an hour: if it's then an hour slow, then you'll forever to watch it like a hawk to make sure it's always showing the correct GMT time, or replace it with one that has battery backup.

• Your immersion heater timeswitch seems OK because it has battery backup, although it's your problem if the clock is wrong.  The good news is that if you use the boost switch if the water goes cold in the afternoon or evening, you can't leave it permanently on.  Use the boost switch sparingly, increase the overnight time if the hot water doesn't last long enough.

kinnera123

catjn said:

Hi, I am with EDF energy on an economy 7 tariff. I did my meter readings a few days ago, and was shocked to see my day usage had more than doubled, while the night rate increased only minimally. I am barely in the flat during the day, and have a storage heater which charges over night. My consumption pattern has stayed the same since I moved into the flat last September.

I called EDF; they were adamant that the meter is not faulty, and that my meter reading "tallies up" with my consumption patterns. I felt this was a blatant lie as you can obviously notice the huge contrast with the previous bills. My landlord had an electrician come over, and he was able to determine that the clock on the meter was six hours off. This means my storage heater must have been charging at the day rate for weeks. I am assuming the clock was altered/damaged when there was a power cut in my area a few weeks ago, and UK Power Networks came in for repairs. They did work outside the building, pulling up the pavements and restricting access for a week.

Now, I am saddled with a bill that's double of what I normally pay. I would appreciate any advice on my options. Can I make a complaint to UK power networks? Whose responsibility was this? According to the landlord, my neighbour on the 1st floor was also complaining about the meter.

we can again make a clock by using some arudino techniques

[Deleted User]

catjn said:

I can confirm that the E7 hours are active as of 11:30 pm. There was a blinking "2" next to the night reading, and a static "1" next to the day reading.

If the night rate is active   (flashing 2 ) at 11.45 pm then the meters built in timer clock is not 6 hours adrift but more or less accurate , and a bit early if anything. If the day rate is static then that would mean that all your circuits are  on the night rate only. Any other timer clocks associated with your night storage are nothing to do with any supplier..Double check by observing if the day rate increases at all whilst the night rate is active

catjn

Houbara said:

catjn said:

I can confirm that the E7 hours are active as of 11:30 pm. There was a blinking "2" next to the night reading, and a static "1" next to the day reading.

If the night rate is active   (flashing 2 ) at 11.45 pm then the meters built in timer clock is not 6 hours adrift but more or less accurate , and a bit early if anything. If the day rate is static then that would mean that all your circuits are  on the night rate only. Any other timer clocks associated with your night storage are nothing to do with any supplier..Double check by observing if the day rate increases at all whilst the night rate is active

My E7 times are supposed to be 11:30pm to 6:30am. This seems correct to me. The '1" next to the day rate is not static during daytime. Last night, the "2" started blinking next to the nigh reading around 11:30pm. I am assuming blinking indicates whether the day rate or the night rate is on.

I mentioned this before; yes, the day rate increased over night while I was taking photographs from the 5th to the 8th. Now, it has stopped doing so since the landlord got the electrician to come over.

catjn

Gerry1 said:

catjn said Could you possibly explain in greater detail about what went wrong?

There are basically two scenarios.

Scenario 1 is that when the meter switches to the cheap rate it ALSO livens up special wiring to your immersion and storage heaters and their consumption is ALWAYS recorded on the cheap rate register.

• The heaters on the special circuits can never use expensive electricity, even if the meter's clock is wrong, so for them (and only for them), it's basically Fit and Forget.

• All the other circuits (lighting, cooker and 13A sockets) are live 24/7 and their consumption is recorded on the cheap or expensive registers, as determined by the meter clock.

Scenario 2 is that ALL the wiring is live 24/7.

• All circuits are live 24/7 and their consumption is recorded on the cheap or expensive registers, as determined by the meter clock. If you want cheap rate, it's up to you to switch everything on at the right times (including the immersion and storage heaters), as determined by the meter clock.
• For the washing machine, tumble dryer, cooker etc you just look at your watch before switching them on.  If the meter's clock is wrong, you could be charged the expensive rate at cheap rate times, and vice versa.  You could expect the energy company to send a corrected bill.
• For the immersion and storage heaters it's usually easier to have your own local timeswitch.  In theory, it should shadow the meter's clock, just as you can set a clock radio to wake you up bang on the dot of 7 o'clock with news.  The bad news is that your local timeswitch is almost certainly a cheap motorised clock that stops during a power failure, and thereafter it won't agree with the meter's clock.  You could be charged the expensive rate at cheap rate times, and vice versa.  You can't expect the energy company to send a corrected bill, it's your mistake, just as if you'd overslept if the your alarm clock was a couple of hours slow.

Conclusion / Update

I wrote the above before seeing your latest posts.  You have Scenario 2.  I've left the original text for explanation.

• Your storage heater timeswitch is probably rubbish. Try switching off the mains for an hour: if it's then an hour slow, then you'll forever to watch it like a hawk to make sure it's always showing the correct GMT time, or replace it with one that has battery backup.

• Your immersion heater timeswitch seems OK because it has battery backup, although it's your problem if the clock is wrong.  The good news is that if you use the boost switch if the water goes cold in the afternoon or evening, you can't leave it permanently on.  Use the boost switch sparingly, increase the overnight time if the hot water doesn't last long enough.

Thank you so much for explaining. The timeswitch probably stopped working and drifted off during the powercuts. I guess this means that the storage heater must have come on during peak hours. In this case, it is as you say, EDF would not have an obligation to send a corrected bill. However, I hope they will understand and make a gesture out of goodwill.