Economy 7 or Standard

holisitic22

Hi, I live in a flat with Economy 7 for over 10 years now. 
As I am now working from home many days and using more electricity during the day is it better to switch to a standard tariff to avoid higher prices during the day?  
Should I discuss this with my energy supplier?  

[Deleted User]

You'll have to do some maths to work out what would be better 

Compare what you are spending on E7 with what it would cost on single rate.

dunstonh

As I am now working from home many days and using more electricity during the day is it better to switch to a standard tariff to avoid higher prices during the day

What is your ratio of day and night use?

There is a wide spread between the suppliers of Eco7 which allows you to move between them to a supplier that is best for your ratio.   It may be that your ratio now favours single pricing but we cannot tell as you have given no data.

Working from home doesn't necessarily increase your electricity use by as much as you think.  I have an office on site with three desks with three computers and 6 monitors.   The running rate is 70w per desk.   So, if you are home alone working, then bar a few watts in a light bulb and around 70w for equipment, you are not likely to be using that much energy unless you have poor energy efficiency.

Should I discuss this with my energy supplier?  

I wouldn't start that conversation without getting some facts first.  i.e. your ratio to peak/off peak.   We can help if you post it here

macman

Basics: how is the property heated and hot watered? Do you have NSH's and an immersion heater, which are the usual reasons for being on E7?
If you do, then you are still using most of your power on cheap rate E7 overnight to charge the NSH's and heat the hot water tank. merely WFH during the day won't use any more power other than lighting etc.
If you are WFH, then E7 is generally ideal, as you benefit from the heat released from the NSH's for most of the day.
Post your annual kWh usage on each register from your bill or annual statement so we can see what the percentage split is.
If you do NOT have NSH's or an immersion heater, then it is likely that you have been on the wrong tariff for ten years, though there are some exceptions to this. 

EssexHebridean

We're E7 too - and since 2020 my OH has been working from home more than in the office - so not daily, but usually 3 days a week. We're currently managing to maintain a roughly 85/15% split night/day use -  so it really does very much depend "how" much extra the WFH situation means you use through the day. In our case - relatively little, and certainly not enough that we would be better off on a single rate.

holisitic22

macman said:

Basics: how is the property heated and hot watered? Do you have NSH's and an immersion heater, which are the usual reasons for being on E7?
If you do, then you are still using most of your power on cheap rate E7 overnight to charge the NSH's and heat the hot water tank. merely WFH during the day won't use any more power other than lighting etc.
If you are WFH, then E7 is generally ideal, as you benefit from the heat released from the NSH's for most of the day.
Post your annual kWh usage on each register from your bill or annual statement so we can see what the percentage split is.
If you do NOT have NSH's or an immersion heater, then it is likely that you have been on the wrong tariff for ten years, though there are some exceptions to this. 

Is NSH - night storage heater?  Yes I have one in hallway, bedroom and living room.  hot water tank too, with fan heater in kitchen and heated towel radiator in the bathroom.  
My estimated annual cost over the next 12 months is: £1560.70 as per my bill. 
So Flex - Electricity - 2 Rate
Unit Rate (Day) 36.9238p/kWh Unit Rate (Night) 23.1143p/kWh Standing Charge 31.66p/day(£115.55/year)
Estimated Annual Usage 4,307kWh 

and this is from my current bill:
Energy Used (Day) 266.0 kWh @ 36.9238 p/kWh £98.22 28 Oct 2022 24250.0
29 Nov 2022 24277.0 Customer Read
Energy Used (Night) 27.0 kWh @ 23.1143 p/kWh £6.24
Standing Charge (32 days @ 31.6571 p/day) £10.13
Total Electricity Charges £114.59

EssexHebridean

There is something wrong there somewhere. The NSH's and immersion should all be heating up on the night rate - but those figures don't suggest that is what is happening. I don't suppose your two readings have got transposed have they, so that the day reading you give to the supplier is being billed as the night one? Can you give us the night readings from that bill, too please? 

macman

What we really need is the day/night split for a whole year, not just one month. Recheck your annual statement or estimate for this percentage split. Typically you need to be using 33% annually on night rate to make E7 pay. On your last bill, it's 9%.
4,307kWh for an all-electric flat is incredibly low.
As pointed out above, almost all your usage is being charged on day rate. Did you have the NSH's and immersion on during the billing period you've quoted?
Either the readings are being logged against the wrong register, or there is a problem with the way your E7 circuit has been wired. What sort of meter do you have: clockwork switched, tele-switched, smart meter?
Don't make the mistake of thinking that register 1 is day and register 2 is night, it's often the other way around.
NB: you've been there a decade, so do your older bills reflect the same imbalance towards daytime consumption? If so, I'm afraid you have potentially wasted thousands in bills, unless it's a read error.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

even if readings are transposed, 27 day units for 31 days is really low, unless previous readings were estimates.

Slinky

We're trying to get rid of our terrible E7 tarriff with EDF, have a complaint with Resolver at the moment. They promised I could go onto single rate billing if I moved to them, but have not implemented this.

Anyway, I've just received an email from EDF that from January the day rate is approx 55p, night rate 7p. This has  changed from current 47/12p split.

If your usage benefits from E7, EDF may be a better option. If it doesn't benefit from E7 rates, stear well clear.

dunstonh

We're trying to get rid of our terrible E7 tarriff with EDF, have a complaint with Resolver at the moment. They promised I could go onto single rate billing if I moved to them, but have not implemented this.

EDF have one of the best E7 tariffs.  I am close to moving to them as its so good.