Meter readings

EssexHebridean

So question 1 from this point for me is how exactly is the immersion heater used for the water? Is it on all the time for example, just topping up the temperature on a constant basis? Or do you run it overnight on thr off peak rate, on a timer? 

EssexHebridean

So as the OP is too new to the forums to allow posting of photos into threads they have very sensibly DM’d me a photo of the immersion heater timer - 

@QuantumCactus42 the first question here for me is what time was that picture taken? If it was taken directly before you DM’d it to me last night, then there is a good chance that the timing is out on it which could be causing the water to heat on peak rates - not ideal. Do you know exactly when the off peak rate begins and ends? 

Second question I guess is do you understand exactly how this timer works? If not, ask and we can explain it! 

Robin9

OP  -just gently wind the dial around till "Winter Time" lines up with the number on the dial.

Note the adjustment to Summer Time is manual


PS This does look old - I had a similar unit back in the 80's and replaced it with an electronic one.  But as long as it works ...........

QuantumCactus42

EssexHebridean said:

So as the OP is too new to the forums to allow posting of photos into threads they have very sensibly DM’d me a photo of the immersion heater timer - 

@QuantumCactus42 the first question here for me is what time was that picture taken? If it was taken directly before you DM’d it to me last night, then there is a good chance that the timing is out on it which could be causing the water to heat on peak rates - not ideal. Do you know exactly when the off peak rate begins and ends? 

Second question I guess is do you understand exactly how this timer works? If not, ask and we can explain it! 

This picture was taken at 9:05am 2 days ago. I literally have 0 idea what any of those dials mean. Ive tried to make sense of it but cant. Im also not too sure when the off peak begins and ends. Ive read online that its potential between midnight and 8am but i could be wrong. Im very new and clueless to all of these things so feel free to assume that I literally do not know anything about anything as youd probably be correct!

QuantumCactus42

Robin9 said:

OP  -just gently wind the dial around till "Winter Time" lines up with the number on the dial.

Note the adjustment to Summer Time is manual


PS This does look old - I had a similar unit back in the 80's and replaced it with an electronic one.  But as long as it works ...........

Which number on the dial does winter time have to line up with? I see that its lined up with the number 19 or is this not the number you are talking about?

QrizB

QuantumCactus42 said:

Which number on the dial does winter time have to line up with? I see that its lined up with the number 19 or is this not the number you are talking about?

You're setting a clock.

So if you're doing this at half past six in the evening, turn the dial so that "winter time" points to 1830, the tick in-between 18 and 19.

Robin9

Adjust as per @QrizB   Is the offpeak light now OFF ?

The off peak light should come on at the start of the off peak hours  i.e. midnight   and go out at 0700

It all looks rather old and it may be that the OP has mechanical time switch which is several hours out.

Gerry1

The bad news:-

• this ancient device is clunky and inflexible, the equivalent of a Trabant
• it seems to be programmed incorrectly (shouldn't be switching on at 7pm)

The good news:-

• With a correctly operating device your bills will go down.

https://free-instruction-manuals.com/pdf/p3133739.pdf

Quick summary

If you have two immersion heaters (one at the bottom, one in the middle) the idea is that the lower one comes on during the night and heats the whole tank at cheap rate.  You leave the Timed switch ON unless you’re away from home.

If you run out of hot water during the day, you use the Boost control.  This uses the upper immersion heater to give you half a tank of  hot water charged at day rate which is even more expensive than the single rate.  Emergency use only !

The on/off times need to be corrected but it's not a user friendly job.  You would need to isolate the unit from the mains supply, so there's a danger of death by electrocution.  If you're not knowledgable about safe working with electricity, best to get an electrician to replace it with a modern electronic unit.

Before you start, you need to be certain of your exact E7 times.  Do any of your E7 circuits have a neon indicator on an outlet? That's the best way to be sure.  Don't rely on published times or what anyone tells you, all that matters is what your meter really does. Otherwise, post a photo of your meter (with serial number and barcodes redacted) and someone will be along to advise.

vic_sf49

QuantumCactus42 said:

EssexHebridean said:

QuantumCactus42 said:

vic_sf49 said:

QuantumCactus42 said:

vic_sf49 said:

What makes you think they're the wrong way around?

For example, Reading 1 might be the day reading, or it might be night; there seems to be no convention as to how all the different meters are configured.

If you look at the meter, it should show you which rate is currently active, somehow or other, but errrr, there's far more clever folk on here, if you need help with that.

My meter has a "low" and "normal" number. They also show on the app which has the word night next to low and day next to normal. However, for some reason my parents have been putting the low into the normal and the normal into the low so it looks like were using way more energy at night than during the day. Im really not sure how this has happened.

The point of Economy 7 for example, is to have 7 hours of cheaper electricity, through the night, athough exact timings may vary.

It's a tariff designed for people with storage heaters, that heat up on that cheaper rate at night, and discharge the heat during the day.

If the majority of their usage is at night, and they're on Economy 7, then that's excellent, and is how it is intended to be used. 

Edited to add, sorry @Keep_pedalling, I mostly just repeated what you said. 

Sorry dont mean to sound rude but not sure howelse to phrase it but what does the heating have to do with the initial post?

As explained above - most commonly Economy 7 meters, so those that have a peak (daytime) and off-peak (night-time) rate are used by those who use night storage heaters for their heating. For example where I used to live we had that heating - that mean that of our roughly 4500 kWh annual electricity use, around 75% of this was used at night because that was when our heaters and out water tank heated up ready for the day ahead. 

An example:
If someone used 100kWh a week - that might mean that they were using 25 of those units at the peak rate (let's say 20p for arguments sake) and 75 at night - 10p. That will see a weekly bill of £5 for daytime use, and £7.50 for night time. Total bill = £12.50 
If the readings were entered the wrong way round, that would mean the person would be charged for 75 at daytime = £15.00, and 25 at night-time = £2.50. Total bill = £17.50  This is why the general assumption that if E7 readings are entered back to front, it will mean money back to the customer, not additional payments being needed. 

How do your parents heat their home?
How do they heat their water?

Ahh I see. Thank you for your explanation! We dont actually heat the flat. The heaters are permanently off to save on costs. We live in a 2 bedroom flat, everyone is out of the house all day, everything is off on the plug and we dont have any radiators on and use extra blankets instead. We still somehow spend around 4000kWh annually. I believe we have a water tank which heats the water.

You don't heat the flat, but use 4000kwh per year? Is that figure correct?

Are the meters in a communal cupboard, somewhere in the building? Are you being billed for the correct meter / usage? If it's within your flat, it's less likely to be mixed up, but not impossible.

Does the serial number on the meter, match what is on the bills?

tim_p

QuantumCactus42 said:

 I believe we have a water tank which heats the water.

I think as part of this process you need to understand exactly how the property works and what uses what. 

The switching of the peak/off-peak readings needs sorting but going forward some basic understanding is also needed.