Eco7 vs Comfortplus Control Energy

Frosting3953

Hello all,

I signed up just to ask these questions so if people have any insights please let me know.

So I bought this property almost 1 year ago. It is an all electric flat, From what I know:
- It uses Storage heaters, induction heaters for boiler, basically the generic elements for an electric only property.

When i bought this place, the energy company was EONNext, at first I had a day and night rate, but then after a while they just stopped doing that. I then started to get charged alot more. 100£+ more. I went from 120£ for a 2 bed room flat, that I live by myself in, to 240£ per month. I thought this could be due to the energy crisis but when I switched to Octopus energy and instantly my bill dropped to ~120£ per month. With the government scheme no longer working I now pay around ~160£.

Today I had Octopus attempt to install a smart meter. After a bit of trying to understand with the installer, they realized I did not have an eco10 meter, but Smart Comfort Plus Meter or something to that extent, googling around I find it's called, "Comfortplus Control  (Supply area 18 only)" which makes sense as I am in south of Scotland.

They informed me, that they could install Eco7 smart Meter, but it'd be alot of work and I "may lose some comforts", they suggested that as of right now I can turn on my heater (believe electric storage heater) it will turn on and heat up slowly. They said if I go to Eco7, that'd not be possible.

They also said they would be unsure if it would be even cheaper for me to get it changed, checking in the octopus app I'm only Flexible Octopus, with 2 meters. both 32.91p/kWh and 60.02p/day. One of the tariff meters, has a day and night rate but both values are the same (32.91)

I'm asking for any help I can get, right now I basically just heat myself up, cause I don't want to end up with a huge bill, I work from home 3/5 days a week on average. Looking at working from home fully potentially, I use a desktop computer as I believe this is useful to note.

I'm basically asking for any help or where I can contact, I tried Citizens advice, but they only offer in person it seems? I thinking of reaching out to homeenergyscotland.

If I need to replace elements or what not that has a cost I do not mind, as long as the value of the property doesn't decrease hugely.

Anyone got any ideas what or where I can go? or what I should do next?

Gerry1

Welcome to the forum.

Not having a go at you, but it's important to get the terms correct to avoid any misunderstandings.

* Do you mean a hot tank with an immersion heater (or two)?  Make and model would help.

* Are the storage heaters the old simple Box of Bricks ones or High Heat Retention ones with a built in fan and a clever programmer?

* What are the operating hours of the heating circuit?

* Your DD is not the same as your bill.  It shouldn't be used to make comparisons (unless you are on Variable DD aka Whole Bill Monthly DD).  A Fixed DD is like putting money into a kitty: there no guarantee that there will be enough in the jam jar to pay the bill.

The risk is that your old NSHs may be too small by modern standards and may rely on an afternoon boost or early evening boost.  On E7 you may find the evenings get chilly especially if you are working from home.

These legacy tariffs are being phased out and seldom supported by other companies and smart meters.  If you plan to stay for a reasonable time you should consider changing to HHR NSHs such as Dimplex Quantum or similar using E7.  You will then have a wide choice of supplier and your property will be more attractive and easier to sell when the time comes.

Frosting3953

Thanks for this, don't worry about having a go haha, i'm completely out of my depth so any insight is useful:

- immersion heater I do believe, just one: "ThermTec Ltd, Immersion Heater, 3Kw - 240V" I can see a marking, I can also see the company that installed it. I also have a serial number but do not see a model number anywhere.
- I believe based on how you described it, old simple box of bricks. This place was built in 2010, so that'd could also help refine it.
- I know about DD not being same as bill. I prefer to always be charged the direct amount of the bill. I know that it can be consistent of asking a set amount that covers the bill for the year. However, when I moved in, the amount they asked for was always 100£ more than the bill even during winter months.

Thank you for letting me know about, "HHR NSHs such as Dimplex Quantum" this is useful for future reference.

I would also want to point out, I am unsure when the immersion heater "turns on" from what I can hear it seems like it can turn on as early as 1700.

But like I said before completely out of my depth, if eco7 would be better for future attraticeness this is also good to know as suggested by you.

Gerry1

If you search the forum you'll find lots of useful experience from people such as @EssexHebridean.  A heat pump might not be suitable for a flat, but @matelodave can tell you all about them.

Quantums and suchlike are well regarded and would be a good choice, preferably fed by both 24h and E7 circuits; you're then relatively future-proof and can switch supplier when fixed-rate deals return.  If in doubt go for a larger one to avoid the need to top in the evening if it gets chilly.

Frosting3953

So based on this, then it'd probably be worthwhile getting the Smart Meter that can use Eco7, but instead use a standard scheme, instead of Eco7.

Gerry1

You'll have to establish your usage in kWh from actual meter readings and then do the sums to see whether a good E7 tariff would be cheaper than your existing legacy one.  Note that E7 rates vary much more between suppliers than does the Standard Variable Tariff.

It's possible your existing two-rate meter is all you would need (reset to E7 times) together with some simple wiring changes.  However, they'll probably twist your arm to agree to a smart meter.

If you have storage heaters you'd need E7 in the winter but single rate is likely to be cheaper until then.  Again, keep reading the meters and doing the sums to determine the cheapest option at any given time.

Once you have accurate facts you can then make informed choices.

Frosting3953

Octopus is offering a smart meter Installation that would allow me to get an eco7 taiff but with the way it seems my current system works. The water heater turns on throughout the day it seems, thus a standard tariff is probably better. Just wondering if having the smart meter set up to only have one meter would be better than. This comfort style currenting in place

Gerry1

That sounds as sensible as buying a First Class air ticket and then sitting in Economy.  If you're on E7 you need to have room heating and hot water using the low rate as much as possible: the day rate is higher than the single rate.

Note the smart electricity meter always has just one meter but four registers, two of which wil normally be used if you're on E7.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

Frosting3953 said:

The water heater turns on throughout the day it seems, thus a standard tariff is probably better.

if you have a timer on the heater you should have it set to come on during the cheaper night rate.

Frosting3953

frugalmacdugal said:

Hi,

Frosting3953 said:

The water heater turns on throughout the day it seems, thus a standard tariff is probably better.

if you have a timer on the heater you should have it set to come on during the cheaper night rate.

No timer on the heater, and currently I'm.not on eco7 taiff

Frosting3953

Gerry1 said:

That sounds as sensible as buying a First Class air ticket and then sitting in Economy.  If you're on E7 you need to have room heating and hot water using the low rate as much as possible: the day rate is higher than the single rate.

Note the smart electricity meter always has just one meter but four registers, two of which wil normally be used if you're on E7.

Apologies maybe I didn't give enough info I'm currently on a standard tariff, and switching to eco7 tariff seems like a worse idea,

I'm now wondering it's probably worth while to get the smart meter installed instead of this old method. Would that be wrong to think?