Economy 7 timer switch advice

coffeehound

Sounds like an email or call to your local Citizens Advice would be worth doing.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/contact-us/contact-us/

Also Age UK may help

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/

If you have to call in an electrician to fix the botched installation, CAB might be able to advise if you can reclaim the cost from presumably BG or something.

Gerry1

hilaryfur said:

My first port of call last Sunday when it failed was the DNO, which is SSE. Not interested unless I have no power at all on the property. If daytime power works, it's not their problem. We are a 'vulnerable household' as my partner is 77 and disabled, I am 71 and rapidly descending into severe stress issues - I have relayed this on every phone call, to no effect. I think my next step is to wake up again in the middle of the night and check the 100A light. Video it perhaps. Then attach BG again in the morning. 
Thank you so much guys for your advice, watch this space.

I trust you are on the Priority Services Register?

hilaryfur

Yes, good suggestion, but we are on the Priority Services Register. Doesn't seem to carry much weight, sadly.

Gerry1

coffeehound said:

If you have to call in an electrician to fix the botched installation, CAB might be able to advise if you can reclaim the cost from presumably BG or something.

If the problem is with the meter or its configuration the electrician will not be able to tamper with it.  You need to get proof positive by observing the (lack of) the 100A light when the meter shows it's cheap rate, then go on the warpath at British Gas.

Contact the Customer Services Director’s dedicated team on 0333 202 980 (if chargeable, call 0800 072 8625 and insist on being transferred).

BG's standards of performance say that if you’ve been disconnected for not paying the charges due, they will reconnect you within 24 hours of your reconnection agreement, or on the next working day.  Obviously you deserve at least the same level of service if they've disconnected your storage heaters because of their incompetence.

Belt and braces may be desirable.  Use the following link for details of how to submit a formal complaint urgently.

https://www.google.com/search?q=ceoemail+"British+Gas+(Customer+Service+and+Complaints)"

When it's all been fixed, remember to insist on compensation and the cost of the work by your electrician.

coffeehound

Gerry1 said:

I'm also intrigued about how the clock is synchronised, given that it's non-smart.  Is it just a glorified digital clock that will slowly drift until a diligent meter reader happens to visit and happens to notice that the time isn't quite correct?

coffeehound said:

Wonder if the long wave switching signal carries any time-of-day info?

Yes apparently the longwave signal includes time and date info.

hilaryfur

Most grateful for all your help. BG at last sent an engineer this afternoon, he was here 2 hours and was somewhat flummoxed. He's going to try and source another meter (not easy apparently as BG only do smart meters and they do not have a smart meter that works with E7) but he has done a workaround which will enable me to have some heating in the meantime - although it will not automatically switch over.  He's connected the heating circuits to a new non-E7 meter so that the storage heaters are always on, but I can control them by turning off the main switches in the heating fuse box. It's a pain as I'll have to get up after 12:30 am to turn it on, and again before 7:00 to turn them off - but I can't afford to run them at the day rate. Anyway, better than no heating.
May I question coffeehound about the long wave switching signal - is this something that tells the meter to switch to the night rate? Is it a radio signal, and what would trigger it to send the signal to my meter or heaters? When BG turn up with the replacement meter (next week after I rejected the first offer of 18 Jan), if it also doesn't switch, how could I check if my meter is receiving the signal?

Gerry1 said:

I'm also intrigued about how the clock is synchronised, given that it's non-smart.  Is it just a glorified digital clock that will slowly drift until a diligent meter reader happens to visit and happens to notice that the time isn't quite correct?

coffeehound said:

Wonder if the long wave switching signal carries any time-of-day info?

Yes apparently the longwave signal includes time and date info.

MWT

hilaryfur said:

May I question coffeehound about the long wave switching signal - is this something that tells the meter to switch to the night rate? Is it a radio signal, and what would trigger it to send the signal to my meter or heaters?

It is a general broadcast signal using the BBC Long-Wave transmitters, so it isn't sent specifically to your meter, it is broadcast to the whole country.

I don't recall seeing a separate radio tele-switch in your photo though so I wouldn't worry about that for now. Even if yours is using a tele-switch it doesn't require the radio signal to work as it stores its schedule locally, but can be updated, resynchronised or directly commanded via the radio signal.

Gerry1

@hilaryfur The radio teleswitch is now a legacy product and I doubt very much that any more are being manufactured or installed.

When it's cheap rate, the red indicator marked 80A drops down.

Your old meter probably just had a built in clock that told it when to switch registers and turn on the cheap rate circuit.

However, I'm baffled by the report that the BG chappie installed a non E7 meter and told you to turn on the storage heaters overnight.  That's fine as far as it goes, you'll have heating but by definition if it's really a non E7 meter then it won't be at cheap rate.  The meter would have only one rate !

In reality, I suspect that it IS an E7 meter, but one with only 4 terminals, i.e. it doesn't have the extra output terminal on the extreme right that's only live at cheap rate times.  (In your photo it's connected to the wire which has three 'L' rings on it.)  He will probably have connected that circuit to the 24h output (terminal 4).  If so, it will bill all overnight usage at the cheap rate, but the storage heater circuit will be live 24 hours.  Probably the same for the immersion heater, so you would need to switch that at the same times as the storage heaters.

You should be able to see when the new meter has switched to cheap rate.  It may display 'R2' during the day and then 'R1' when it's cheap rate (or vice versa).  A photo of the new meter would be helpful.

You don't need to be to worried about the exact time in the morning when you switch off the storage heaters: they are likely to have stopped charging before then.

I trust he filled in a card with the old and new meter readings?  Make sure you read the new meter daily because when it's all done and dusted you'll need to make sure you haven't been overcharged.  The risks are that if some of the start / finish figures are omitted then you may be billed for a few thousand units 'in the middle' that you haven't used. Similarly, make sure that the day and night readings aren't swapped over on the bill.

It would be a good idea to photograph the meter daily and again when you have the final E7 meter installed so that you have an audit trail in the event of any billing errors.

macman

BG do not have a smart meter that works with E7?!

hilaryfur

Correct, BG do not have a smart meter that works with E7, and their policy is to only have smart meters. Hello?