Tariff/supplier switch but keep timer/times

danrv

Hi
I’m on Economy 10 with Eon but it’s really expensive. The property has electric warm air heating which I think I may change to storage heaters/electric rads.
In the meantime, I’d save money by switching to a cheaper dual rate tariff but would still like to keep my E10 hours and the timer.
Or would it be better to switch when I change the heating system?
Any help appreciated.

Gerry1

You'll have to make do with E7 I'm afraid, but at least you'll be able to choose any supplier.

The name of the game these days is Demand Side Response, which is GovSpeak for 'you'll use electricity when it suits the industry, not when it suits you'.  It's a sort of Congestion Charge (which will be encouraged/enforced by smart meters) because insufficient investment in new generating capacity means that meeting the peak demand is increasingly problematic as old power stations reach the end of their lives and are not replaced.

Instead of power stations waiting in the wings and being switched on to supply your E10 afternoon boost, you'll have to switch off instead.  That's why legacy tariffs such as E10 are being phased out by making them increasingly unattractive and unavailable, hence no-one is likely to offer you E7 prices with E10 hours.

If you choose storage heaters because oil, GSHP/ASHP and LPG aren't options, you'll need to make sure they're correctly dimensioned for E7 otherwise they'll become cool by the evening and you'll have to top up on the day rate (which will be even more expensive than single rate).

danrv

Gerry1 said:

The name of the game these days is Demand Side Response, which is GovSpeak for 'you'll use electricity when it suits the industry, not when it suits you'.  

Got it, thanks. Best wait then until I fit new storage heaters.
Was just looking to switch after the recent announcement of energy price increases.
Day rate with Eon is 20.408p and if that goes up it will be ridiculous. With the warm air heater on, off peak/peak use is about 80/20 so not too bad I suppose with off peak rate at 12.969p.

Gerry1

Don't forget that your wonky timer will be replaced or reset !

Those E.On rates are crazy, you should be able to do better than that.  My 24h single rate is cheaper than your off peak rate, admittedly on a tariff that's no longer available for new supply.

Gerry1

Remember that high heat retention NSHs also require a 24h supply for the fan.  Dimplex Quantum (and possibly others) are content with a 24h supply which can make things easier, but it's critically important to ensure that they are programmed to match the meter's off peak times, especially if there's a two hour gap in the early hours of the morning. The switching times can also vary by +/- 15 minutes with a Radio Teleswitch.

If you operate any NSHs on a 24h supply to avoid running extra cables, it could be worth fitting one E7 outlet with a neon indicator so that you can see at a glance exactly when the E7 off peak rate starts.

Phones4Chris

danrv said:

Hi
I’m on Economy 10 with Eon but it’s really expensive. The property has electric warm air heating which I think I may change to storage heaters/electric rads.
In the meantime, I’d save money by switching to a cheaper dual rate tariff but would still like to keep my E10 hours and the timer.
Or would it be better to switch when I change the heating system?
Any help appreciated.

What sort of time switch do you have with the E10 tariff, is it a large electro-mechanical one that actually directly switches the supply to the heating? If so and if you move to an E7 tariff there's a good chance they might want to change the meter, so it might be possible to persuade the chap(ess) that comes to change the meter etc., to leave you with the old time switch so you could have a degree of flexibility in what time the heating comes on, but of course you'll have to watch the E7 rates with your chosen supplier as using much day rate might make that uneconomical.

Gerry1

Phones4Chris said:

danrv said:

Hi
I’m on Economy 10 with Eon but it’s really expensive. The property has electric warm air heating which I think I may change to storage heaters/electric rads.
In the meantime, I’d save money by switching to a cheaper dual rate tariff but would still like to keep my E10 hours and the timer.
Or would it be better to switch when I change the heating system?
Any help appreciated.

What sort of time switch do you have with the E10 tariff, is it a large electro-mechanical one that actually directly switches the supply to the heating?

IIRC it's a 1980s rotating disc type that's drifted to Outer Mongolian time and is supplying Cheap(er) Rate during the day, so that benefit won't remain with E7 !

danrv

Gerry1 said:

IIRC it's a 1980s rotating disc type that's drifted to Outer Mongolian time and is supplying Cheap(er) Rate during the day

Recalled correctly!

danrv

Gerry1 said:

Those E.On rates are crazy, you should be able to do better than that. 

I’d like to if I can get a switch without altering the electrics.

Phones4Chris

danrv said:

Gerry1 said:

IIRC it's a 1980s rotating disc type that's drifted to Outer Mongolian time and is supplying Cheap(er) Rate during the day

Recalled correctly!

It's a shame that picture doesn't show us all the cabling that's below the meter and time switch, it'd give us a better idea of what's going on with the wiring, but from what I can see, that thought I had, is possibly a non-starter.
Is the warm air heating simply controlled by thermostats with no time restrictions?
Also, it's not what I would call a conventional E10 tariff where you would usually have 7 at night and 3 in the afternoon, it's set to give all 10 91/2 from 9.15pm to 6.45am!
And if that picture was taken this evening, it looks like it has drifted to Outer Mongolian time

danrv said:

Gerry1 said:

Those E.On rates are crazy, you should be able to do better than that. 

I’d like to if I can get a switch without altering the electrics.

That may be possible, but that could depend seeing the current wiring below the meter and timeswitch

danrv

Phones4Chris said:

That may be possible, but that could depend seeing the current wiring below the meter and timeswitch

Another pic.