To keep Economy 7 Meter or not?

mrsmsebastian

Hi All,
We will have Gas Central Heating and Combi-boiler installed next week to replace Night storage heaters. We have Economy 7 meter and I am thinking wether to keep it or not, as the night rate is only around 9-10p per kwh, maybe I can save money if I do the laundry, tumble drying and charging of some devices during those times. What are your thoughts about it? has anyone done the same thing?
Your response will be greatly appreciated

tim_p

I think the only way it would be a good idea might be if you had an EV, otherwise the higher cost of the peak rate units would offset any gains on the night use. EV and a low peak rate use *might* add up. Personally I doubt it. 

Robin9

@mrsmsebastian Try till the end of the year - reading your meter daily.

mrsmsebastian

tim_p said:

I think the only way it would be a good idea might be if you had an EV, otherwise the higher cost of the peak rate units would offset any gains on the night use. EV and a low peak rate use *might* add up. Personally I doubt it. 

What is EV please? 
I have started doing the laundry, tumble drying and charging electronics during night rate since November 07 (first day after I submitted my monthly read) I am due to submit my monthly read on December 7 and once I receive the bill for it I will compare the data from last month bill to see if what you think is true. If you are, then I will decide if I will have to start looking for a single rate tariff but I will only switch if the single rate tariff is much lower than my date rate on E7 which currently charge me around 17p per unit and a standing charge of around 24p. The last time I tried getting a qoute for a single tariff  most energy companies offer aroung 16p per unit and the cheapest is Symbio which I nearly fell for but cancelled in the end due to bad customer reviews.
My point...is it really worth going for a single rate if the difference isn't that massive whilst having E7 would give you a chance to have a lower night rate per unit if you know when to use that opportunity?

Mister_G

EV = Electric Vehicle

matelodave

You really have to do your sums to see how you can optimise your peak/off peak consumption against a single rate tariff.
Do as Robin says and record your peak/off peak consumption for a month or two after you have your heating installed. You can then work out the cost for the E7 tariff and then add them together to see how much it would have cost you on a single rate tariff.

17p for peak sounds like a lot (I am now with Neon Reef, previously with Symbio) and I'm paying 12.25p/kwh and 15p s/c which is quite a bit less than your 17p rate but more than your off-peak so it nearly balances out and you'd have the advantage of not having to do you chores during the night.

You really need to trawl the comparisons site because there are plenty of single rate tariffs that are less than 16p/kwh

 

mrsmsebastian

matelodave said:

You really have to do your sums to see how you can optimise your peak/off peak consumption against a single rate tariff.
Do as Robin says and record your peak/off peak consumption for a month or two after you have your heating installed. You can then work out the cost for the E7 tariff and then add them together to see how much it would have cost you on a single rate tariff.

17p for peak sounds like a lot (I am now with Neon Reef, previously with Symbio) and I'm paying 12.25p/kwh and 15p s/c which is quite a bit less than your 17p rate but more than your off-peak so it nearly balances out and you'd have the advantage of not having to do you chores during the night.

You really need to trawl the comparisons site because there are plenty of single rate tariffs that are less than 16p/kwh

 

Thanks I will do as advised.
 You said you moved from Symbio to Neon, how was the switch and the customer service please?
I must admit EDF customer service is excellent for me, they once messed up my bill and they offered me a £20 compensation and they made sure never make the same mistakes again. I am hoping for the same level of service wherein I can talk to someone almost immediately if I have issues 

Gerry1

I've found Neon Reef absolutely fine, you can't phone them but the email replies were lightning fast.  Not as cheap as they used to be for new customers because the variable Aqua 1 tariff has been withdrawn.

They're also quite happy with single rate on an E7 meter so you don't have to burn your bridges by changing the meter.  Some unhelpful companies don't offer this, e.g. Bulb, but they're not cheap anyway.

mrsmsebastian

Gerry1 said:

I've found Neon Reef absolutely fine, you can't phone them but the email replies were lightning fast.  Not as cheap as they used to be for new customers because the variable Aqua 1 tariff has been withdrawn.

They're also quite happy with single rate on an E7 meter so you don't have to burn your bridges by changing the meter.  Some unhelpful companies don't offer this, e.g. Bulb, but they're not cheap anyway.

Ok thanks, I will definitely be looking into that once I got my figures and calculations done.

matelodave

I'm more than happy so far - only been with them since 1st October. easy to enter meter readings and the first bill was accurate. What more can you ask?