Economy 7 - Switching from prepaid meter to pay monthly - worth it?

jl1996

*Getting advice on another thread about E7 in general but wanted to avoid putting too many queries onto one!*
So I've recently moved into a one bed flat on my own which is run on Economy 7 energy (immersion heater and storage heaters). I have both on the lowest setting possible (and still tinkering with it from the advice on another thread) but it is still costing me a fortune! I am out of the flat from 8am to 6pm Mon-Fri and only use hot water for a shower and dishes once a day. My storage heaters are on an input of 2 constantly and my output is on 1 during the day. I did a test and turned my water completely off and without my water and with my heaters set to such a low input it is still charging me £3 during the course of the night!

I spoke to my landlord and they have consented to me changing from a prepaid meter to a pay monthly credit meter which I am inclined to do. 

When I look on comparison sites for my property and energy type, and also in general looking at pros and cons of prepaid meters vs pay monthly - it seems like I would get a better deal with switching to pay monthly. For example, I am being quoted between £40-55 a month on a fixed tariff pay monthly deal, whereas it is costing me about £5 a day on a prepaid meter (£circa £140 a month). I would have to pay an admin fee for them to change my meter but I would rather splurge out £100 one time to save £100 each month. I've also read that getting a smart meter in conjunction with having the pre-paid meter is not worth it so I have not ventured any further into looking at doing that.

But before I explore this option further - has anyone else on Economy 7 made the switch from prepaid to pay monthly? Was it worth it?

I know the circumstances will vary from household to household but I would just like to know what everyone who has done this' experience is of it. 

Gerry1

jl1996 said:

For example, I am being quoted between £40-55 a month on a fixed tariff pay monthly deal, whereas it is costing me about £5 a day on a prepaid meter (£circa £140 a month).

Don't make the classic mistake of comparing monthly DD amounts: by the summer you'll be back here complaining that your 'fixed DD' has suddenly been put up to £100 per month !

It's only a contribution to a kitty, and what's in the jam jar may on may not prove to be sufficient to pay the bills.  All that's fixed is the price per kWh and the daily charge, it's not All You Can Eat tariff.  You won't know your annual consumption figure, which is what the monthly DD amount will be based upon, so your DD figure will only be as good as your guesstimate (or that used by the comparison site, which won't know your lifestyle, whether you like it temperate or tropical, whether your showers last 60 seconds or 10 minutes, how well the property is insulated, etc, etc.).

Start comparing using Citizens Advice and 'Switch with Which?'.  Compare the annual cost and ignore all projections and claims about savings.  Use 4200kWh as a guesstimate if you don't have any info, and make sure you always send monthly readings.

jl1996 said:

I would have to pay an admin fee for them to change my meter but I would rather splurge out £100 one time to save £100 each month.

Switch to one of the Big 6 who will then change you to a pay monthly meter free of charge.  You can then switch to a cheaper supplier, but check whether there are any exit fees and / or a minimum period before you can leave.

me1000uk

jl1996 said:

*Getting advice on another thread about E7 in general but wanted to avoid putting too many queries onto one!*
So I've recently moved into a one bed flat on my own which is run on Economy 7 energy (immersion heater and storage heaters). I have both on the lowest setting possible (and still tinkering with it from the advice on another thread) but it is still costing me a fortune! I am out of the flat from 8am to 6pm Mon-Fri and only use hot water for a shower and dishes once a day. My storage heaters are on an input of 2 constantly and my output is on 1 during the day. I did a test and turned my water completely off and without my water and with my heaters set to such a low input it is still charging me £3 during the course of the night!

I spoke to my landlord and they have consented to me changing from a prepaid meter to a pay monthly credit meter which I am inclined to do. 

When I look on comparison sites for my property and energy type, and also in general looking at pros and cons of prepaid meters vs pay monthly - it seems like I would get a better deal with switching to pay monthly. For example, I am being quoted between £40-55 a month on a fixed tariff pay monthly deal, whereas it is costing me about £5 a day on a prepaid meter (£circa £140 a month). I would have to pay an admin fee for them to change my meter but I would rather splurge out £100 one time to save £100 each month. I've also read that getting a smart meter in conjunction with having the pre-paid meter is not worth it so I have not ventured any further into looking at doing that.

But before I explore this option further - has anyone else on Economy 7 made the switch from prepaid to pay monthly? Was it worth it?

I know the circumstances will vary from household to household but I would just like to know what everyone who has done this' experience is of it. 

Not sure how nifty you are with spreadsheets but that was how I calculated my usage.
I'm on a different tariff altogether but was considering switching to Economy 7, but based on my usage and lifestyle it made no sense, but I did do the Economy 7 research. 

You're charged a day rate per unit and an off-peak rate. 

First thing is to work out your usage (the meter readings ). Remember storage heaters and water are 2-3KW per hour each. Say for arguments sake because they don't run all the time and you can fiddle with the settings, you're looking at 20 units plus a night in winter (depending on how many heaters etc, both a heater and the water tank can use 3 units an hour each until they reach the desired temp). So you can always multiply 20 by 30 days by the off-peak rate to get a rough idea of numbers. (can easily be 30 units plus dependent on your usage). 

Also check your shower rating. If that's a 10KW shower, you're looking at 2.5 units a day for a 15 min shower, or 75units a month. Now multiply 75 by your off-peak or peak rate and you'll know what that shower is costing a month.
These are the biggest drains imo for an electric household. Summertime is different.

So if XYZ power is charging 20p peak and 10p off-peak, using the above calculations (20 units overnight) low heating use will cost £60 a month, and a 15 minute relaxing shower costs an extra £7.50 a month off-peak and £15 a month peak. If you're using 3quid a day that wouldn't be crazy as if it's more than one storage heater they use energy like anything.

If you're using a mixer shower or other system then you'll just be paying the hot water rate rather than electric shower (one with a switch outside your bathroom). Note if you're using an electric shower (which uses cold water) then you may not need to heat your water tank all the time. A half an hour day boost could cover your needs and whilst it's double the price it's a fraction of the time. (equivalent to an hour overnight rather than the few hours it normally is in action).

There is a standing charge daily but that's a couple of quid a month potentially dependent on supplier and obviously if the rate is much different then that is worth looking at. (I didn't find it a crazy amount but it all makes a difference).

Not sure how much the above will help you, but it's just I was going through a lot of figures and ultimately your usage and lifestyle should give you a figure, and that figure should dictate who you switch to.

Obviously you can scrap all I've typed above and just check the rates. If the rates are 10% cheaper all round then you'll save 10% a month without changing a thing. 

Incidentally I switched from prepaid to pay monthly when I moved to a new place immediately because the pay monthly rates were cheaper and it made it much easier to compare suppliers. A no brainer really and it was free to switch. I also had no desire to add 'topping up' to my already overworked brain.

When you're trying to cut costs numbers are your friend.

me1000uk

Switch to one of the Big 6 who will then change you to a pay monthly meter free of charge.  You can then switch to a cheaper supplier, but check whether there are any exit fees and / or a minimum period before you can leave.

This is super advice too.

Gerry1

me1000uk said:

Remember storage heaters and water are 2-3KW per hour each.

Nope.  A 3kW heater is a 3kW heater, full stop.  It doesn't vary with time.  A 3kW heater will use 3kWh per hour.

me1000uk said:
There is a standing charge daily but that's a couple of quid a month potentially dependent on supplier and obviously if the rate is much different then that is worth looking at.

7p daily charge?  You'll be lucky !

tim_p

Depending on when you use that hot water, there might be some benefit in either getting a timer installed so it runs on E7 but only for a couple of hours nearer the morning (our 2.7kW immersion will have heated the water to our chosen temp (55ish) in less than an hour). You might even find that if you’ve got a dual element system just the top boost element might give you enough hot water until the next day. As I said, it depends on when you use that water. Do some research by reading and recording the meters daily or twice daily to get a clear handle on what’s going on. 

Talldave

What consumption figures did you use to get quotes of £40-55 a month for an all electric property? Unless someone's offering electricity at 5p, it looks very optimistic.