EDF economy 7, timings

Ibblackberry

EDF economy 7 - whats the situation when the clocks move from BST to GMT

Hi, 

Recently got a solar and tesla battery set up to hopefully curb heat and light costs.

Units have been high the first month after installation, in part to the heating coming on now its winter.

However peak time units are high.

My question, which seems slightly tricky to get a definite answer is, the off peak tariff is 0:30am to 7:30am, but i think/believe when BST ends and GMT is in place then the 'non smart' meter does not adjust the times, it simply starts and stops and hour earlier, i.e at 6:30 am now.

This would go someway to explaining my higher than expected peak usage.

Anyone got any knowledge of this.

Thanks

Ps i have today changed the battery to come on at 6:30 instead of 7:30.

gambleruk

I am with Eon Next on an old fashioned meter and mine change when the clocks change even though Eon say they shouldn't so my cheap rate ends at 6:30am in the Winter and 7:30am in the Summer, you are doing the right thing by making your own checks.

MultiFuelBurner

With a non smart meter I have read the best thing to do is one night wait up and watch the meter switch over and it's 7 hours from that point.

On a side not with Solar and the battery aren't you missing out not having a smart meter? Or do you have a meter that goes backwards when sunny.

Ibblackberry

MultiFuelBurner said:

With a non smart meter I have read the best thing to do is one night wait up and watch the meter switch over and it's 7 hours from that point.

On a side not with Solar and the battery aren't you missing out not having a smart meter? Or do you have a meter that goes backwards when sunny.

Not got a smart meter, ive just manually changed the battery to fill up off peak at night and come in peak time, although as per my OP i think i have mucked up my timings because of GMT, checked on monday and used no peak energy but i have the battery coming on at 6:30am.

Its quite annoying as i have a shower and get ready after 6:30, but before 7:30 so have to use peak or battery in winter.

Swipe

E7 is normally the same GMT times all year round, so the daylight saving time changes need +1/-1 hour compensation

SAC2334

After watching thousands of digital dumb meters for years at changeover days  as a meter reader, they do not change and remain in whatever setting they were originally set by the installer . The cheap rate would end at around 8.30 am instead of 7.30 am. Their clocks  do drift out of correct time too by several hours in  the older ones. I ve been in large meter rooms with 50 digital , mostly Ampy type Eco 7 s and they were switching over from night to day rate at 10 pm onwards with many of them. 
Its a case of buyer beware and each occupier should DYOR .
The older analogues with the old 24 hr timer clocks attached  means the cheap rate could be anywhere within the 24 hrs .Cheap rate comong on at 2 pm in the afternoon etc is not uncommon with the occupier having no idea at all and still doing their washing etc after midnight totally unaware.
Suppliers do not concern themselves much about this and only Scottish Power asked us to notify on our hand held computers if they were more than 2 hrs adrift.
Radio Teleswitch controlled timer switches should switch between GMT and BST as they are under control by outside sources.
I don t know much about smart meter Eco 7 s as they were just coming in when I retired  with Scottish Power smart meters switching between GMT and BST as I expected . BG never got round to even fitting them for Eco 7 s for some odd reason 

Keep_pedalling

Ibblackberry said:

MultiFuelBurner said:

With a non smart meter I have read the best thing to do is one night wait up and watch the meter switch over and it's 7 hours from that point.

On a side not with Solar and the battery aren't you missing out not having a smart meter? Or do you have a meter that goes backwards when sunny.

Not got a smart meter, ive just manually changed the battery to fill up off peak at night and come in peak time, although as per my OP i think i have mucked up my timings because of GMT, checked on monday and used no peak energy but i have the battery coming on at 6:30am.

Its quite annoying as i have a shower and get ready after 6:30, but before 7:30 so have to use peak or battery in winter.

You really should get one before Spring comes round and you start to generate significant energy from your SPs. A SM will open up smart tariffs that could save you significant money, both through lowering the cost of your grid usage and getting paid significant rates to export. 

dunstonh

EDF economy 7 - whats the situation when the clocks move from BST to GMT

E7 tariffs are based on GMT and do not change for BST.   

My question, which seems slightly tricky to get a definite answer is, the off peak tariff is 0:30am to 7:30am, but i think/believe when BST ends and GMT is in place then the 'non smart' meter does not adjust the times, it simply starts and stops and hour earlier, i.e at 6:30 am now.

During summer, you would be 1.30am to 8.30am and in winter you would be 12.30 to 7.30 

Not got a smart meter,

Is it an analogue meter or a convention, non-smart, digital meter?

It is always worth checking your changeover time as they can drift.  Non-smart digital meters were extremely prone to shifting times.  A digital meter will have the meter time on it and that can give an indication of how far out you are from the actual time.

Also, don't assume you are 12.30 to 7.30.  The actual times are regional but they can also be either side of that depending on supplier.

TheElectricCow

Most reliable way to determine your timings is to observe the meter at your expected switchover times and take note of exactly when the change happens.

There’s a lot of variation in E7 timings and that’s before even considering the potential for drifting of the meter’s clock (for some with older equipment it may have drifted so far that their off-peak runs throughout the day rather than at night).

Even if your timings are advised as 00:30 to 07:30, the actual times could be something like 00:35 to 07:35 - this is intentional to stagger the load and ensure everyone’s E7 connected circuits aren’t powering on/off at exactly the same time. It’s best to check yourself instead of relying on info that may or may not be applicable to your specific meter and potentially doing something high power on peak without realising.

Generally speaking, E7 times don’t change with the clocks and remain on GMT, so separately time controlled appliances will need to be adjusted to compensate.

dunstonh

(for some with older equipment it may have drifted so far that their off-peak runs throughout the day rather than at night).

I miss those days.   At one point I was late morning to early evening.     Unfortunately, the smart meter we now have doesn't drift (or at least, hasn't yet)

I used to check the meter time once a month and it drifted about 2-3 times a year.  Often the jumps in time would be a number of hours. I still check the time but no drift yet.

Generally speaking, E7 times don’t change with the clocks and remain on GMT, so separately time controlled appliances will need to be adjusted to compensate.

Although, if you leave the timer on the time-controlled devices set to GMT, then you shouldnt need to adjust them. i.e. don't change the clock on the timer to BST.

dealyboy

My neighbour doesn't want to change her analogue meter despite my attempts to persuade her. I suspected she had time drift but no she told me it's because her disc sticks in cold weather ... she laughed.