Economy 7 meter - help a confused gal out!

KS

I just moved to a new flat, in Scotland. The meter was broken when we moved in - it’s goosed, but was a pre-paid economy 10 meter run by Octopus. 

They tell me they don’t repair meters, but would swap it for a new smart meter - though it would need to be economy 7. Fine. 

The engineer came today though and told me that if he changes the meter the booster switch I have for my hot water would not work.  (The water is via an old mega flow single tank cylinder). But; I thought the purpose of the boost was to tap into peak tariff power in a pinch. Is moving to E7 AND having this boost function for emergencies possible? Perhaps with another supplier? Or am I being dense and this would be the same everywhere? Not sure if there is a difference in the types of meters that might be installed and am v confused. Anyone with any knowledge of this? Would be hugely appreciated. 

QrizB

Welcome to the forum.

The problem is not directly due to the smart meter, and any other supplier would encounter the same issue.

It's hard to say exactly what changes are required to let your "boost" button work after your meter is changed, but it's likely to be down to the configuration of your electrical circuits within your consumer units.

I would expect it to be a straightforward job for a qualified electrician to reconfigure your wiring and restore the boost function once your meter has been changed.

Graham2

What he probably means is the hot water immersion heater is wired to a circuit which is only live during the "off peak" periods so you would lose any afternoon hot water boost as an E7 meter will only power that circuit during 7 hours at night (often around 00:15am to 07:15 GMT or similar). See the economy10.com site for an explanation of the different three "off peak" periods with economy 10.

I think a more important question is if they change the meter to an economy 7 meter do they also change your tariff to an economy 7 tariff or does it stay on economy 10 ? I presume you have storage heaters. If they are the small compact type you will find they run down quite a bit by evening time when only powered during the 7 hour night time slot instead of getting an afternoon boost with economy 10.

When you say the meter is "goosed" is it charging all usage at the "peak" rate or all at the "off-peak" rate without switching between the two ? If the former then no power is probably getting to the storage heaters so it needs fixing before the cold weather. If it is stuck in the "off peak" setting (very unlikely) then you are benefiting with a lower per unit rate all day and might be worth not changing the meter.

KS

Thanks for your replies. The meter is goosed in that the display is blank and can’t be read. They won’t repair it; only replace it. It’s apparently in ‘failsafe’ mode at the moment. Not sure why repairs are not possible but it appears to be not on the table! I think I will need to switch to an economy 7 tariff. As far as I can see few suppliers offer e10 now, unfortunately, and I haven’t seen one that would put in a new e10 meter. 

I *think* the booster button is available for use in peak hours just now - so not just in the economy 10 windows. I think anyway! I need to test this. 

QrizB

KS said:

I *think* the booster button is available for use in peak hours just now - so not just in the economy 10 windows. I think anyway! I need to test this. 

Yes, some legacy meters have a "boost" button that lets you energise the off-peak circuits during peak periods, at peak rates. You don't get those with E7 meters. Instead you would use an immersion heater controller that provides the same function.

Something like this:

https://www.heatingcontrolsonline.co.uk/horstmann-electronic-economy-7-timer-p-53.html

KS

Ah, now I think we may be talking about the same thing. The ‘boost’ button I mentioned isn’t on the meter itself, it’s a panel on my kitchen. (Photo attached)  

The guy fitting the meter told me this wouldn’t work if he changed the meter from e10 to e7. But I am a bit perplexed by that. Surely this thing would be used for water any time, not just in the off peak hours? 

Fairzo

KS said:

Thanks for your replies. The meter is goosed in that the display is blank and can’t be read. They won’t repair it; only replace it. It’s apparently in ‘failsafe’ mode at the moment. Not sure why repairs are not possible but it appears to be not on the table! I think I will need to switch to an economy 7 tariff. As far as I can see few suppliers offer e10 now, unfortunately, and I haven’t seen one that would put in a new e10 meter. 

I *think* the booster button is available for use in peak hours just now - so not just in the economy 10 windows. I think anyway! I need to test this. 

We were on Economy 10 (with OVO) until about 5 years ago when the meter failed. Had to switch to E7 and, acknowledging that homes and lifestyles are different, it hasn't had a detrimental impact on room or water heating.

Also, at that time, there were better deals to be had for E7 compared to E10. Obviously the market in a different place at present.

KS

Thanks. My question really though is around the meter engineer saying the hot water boost wouldn’t work if we switched to E7. I thought it boosted from the peak tariff supply, not the off-peak, so I’m struggling to understand why it wouldn’t work. And wondering if perhaps he’s wrong! Or maybe all meters are not the same and a different supplier might be worth trying! Basically, I don’t want to lose the ability to boost my hot water if we run out and it seems odd that we would! 

QrizB

I think your boost button should continue to work, so long as it's connected to a permanently live supply.

If it isn't, it's likely to be a quick and simple job for an electrician to remedy.

KS

Ah that’s good to know. I’m a bit clueless on these matters, but if an electrician can remedy it if it doesn’t work that is reassuring!