Economy 7 Heating

Sisu8

I am considering renting a flat with an Economy 7 system but I have no experience of it so wondered if anyone could give me an idea of a typical bill I can expect for a one bedroom property (506 sq ft) that is all electric. I don't work from home so shall be out during the daytime and they aren't the latest storage heaters as the block was built at the beginning of 2000.

anselld

What does the EPC say?

There is a lot of hype about "the latest storage heaters"... they are perhaps more easy to control but they would not be significantly more energy-efficient than a 2000 storage heater.  What is more important is the quality of insulation.

ProDave

Check it is on a plain ordinary E7 or E10 tariff.

If instead it's on something like "Total Control" run a mile that's an outdated complicated tariff that only one or 2 suppliers still use, and you won't be able to choose supplier and might end up paying more.

CSI_Yorkshire

How hot do you want to keep the flat?  Big difference in cost between heating to 20C and heating to 25C.

RedFraggle

I'm an E7 all electric flat, albeit a large 2 bed, built around the same time. I'm home all day and don't like the cold. Over the winter it was £250 a month ish. Now it's about £60. 
I have a combination of new and old storage heaters and I keep the living area at 21C all day.

booksandbikes

I'm in a 3 bedroom house (approx 1200 sq ft), electricity only with E7. We pay around £130 per month all year. The storage heaters we have are very old - 1980s I think - and are pretty poor. I mean they heat up, but regulating the release is very difficult and obviously it only heats the rooms they are in. We have 3 in total, but only use 2 and tend to top up with electric fan heaters and oil radiators in winter.

F70

My daughter bought a 90's house with E7 it was useless and expensive, she is a teacher so out all day so no benefit from the heat and had to top up at night. We replaced the lot with WiFi enabled heaters she can control from her phone. Keeps it at 15 degrees during day and she opens the app and boosts it before she gets home. She also has the same for her hot water heater so only heats the water when she needs it.

CSI_Yorkshire

F70 said:

My daughter bought a 90's house with E7 it was useless and expensive, she is a teacher so out all day so no benefit from the heat and had to top up at night. We replaced the lot with WiFi enabled heaters she can control from her phone. Keeps it at 15 degrees during day and she opens the app and boosts it before she gets home. She also has the same for her hot water heater so only heats the water when she needs it.

Just remember - if anyone else removes storage heaters and replaces them with electric panel heaters - peak rate electricity is pretty much the most expensive way to get heating, so make sure you switch to a single-rate tariff.

Angepet

I'm in a two bed flat and pay 170 a month summer and winter for heating and hot water. Old heaters and an immersion tank. Be aware that the signal to switch between high and low use rates may be turned off next year so you may need to update the meter.