UW and Economy 7 - still worth it?

lilac_dawn

Very helpful people on here last year so am hoping for the same again: it's time to look at fixing. I Am currently with UW after somone pointing me in their direction last year. I have 2 quantums that can be manually timed so not necessarily dependent on ALCs I think and 2 others that can't be manually set. Had a few ups and downs with UW during the year as they managed to switch my tariff even though I had fixed with them but managed to get it all sorted and generally things are OK. I can't switch my BB to them - or couldn't last year as there was no capacity at the cabinet - so is UW still the best option, generally? I have used the comparison tool and IUW is still coming out on top but just wondering if I am missing anything - EDF used to have times when I could get free electriciy for example, although it was harder and harder to save any. My BB is out of contract with BT but as there was no capacity at the cabinet last year, and no sign of full fibre, I am assuing my habds are tied there and I can't switch to anyone? I am looking at taking out a monthly rolling sim with UW as that might help.

Scot_39

iirc uw abandoned their ultra low c6p off peak e7 deals to nearer 9p / 10p rates in cheaper regions (*).

they were still lower off peak than other big 6 for e7 though.

which it true puts them near Snug Octopus off peak territory if you have a reliably communicating smets2 compatible meter. You get 6 min - sometimes 8 or 9 when activate off peak early at night, plus 1 hr boost mid afternoon.

(*) From a few posts saying bills were going to be up despite govt budget £130 savings on svt etc in April.

lilac_dawn

Yes - currently quoting 9.55 and 38.75 for day.
I should add I make good use of the UW cashback card too to try to lower the bill each month.

I will have a look at snug. I do like the idea of an hour of offpeak but I suppose the hour I'd really like is just before bed to warm up the bedroom and sadly that won't be the case! Perhaps I shoudl look again at swapping out the panel heater for a quantum to solve that problem.

Scot_39

snug does sometime advance before the core 0030. And not sure snug charges as much on day as e7.

It just quoted in em region

9p and 26.04p unit rates, 51.06p sc

That 26p day rate much cheaper then your uw 38.7p day rate if avail in your region

Vs their EM region e7 (note a much flatter balance than your uw)

13.69, 30.7 and 49.76p sc.

This thread shows examples e.g. 1130, 1100 for half hour and 11 for full hour.

But its a complex control and one user in that thread is no longer on snug as didnt always work on his meter.

But it appears can change daily - so you wouldnt be guaranteed a cheap bedtime period - i suspect like plunge pricing - depending on renewables generation at a high level (wind at that time of night)

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81362059#Comment_81362059

One user on another thread claimed got 8 or 9 hrs off peak overnight at times, not just core 6 (0030 0630), but didnt produce an app chart for tge 9, but did for tge 8, kicking in at 1030 solid to 0630. But wouldnt be guaranteed. Still c30p better than c38p for bedrom panel if was only core 6.

Not sure about uw card type savings or tied deal costs for sim vs other cheap carriers.

Perhaps others using uw can comment.

Swipe

If I hadn't managed to get a sub 7p fix with UW back in April I would definitely be trying Octopus Snug as it would save me 10p on my current day rate and match UW's current night rate. I'd definitely miss the later morning off peak hour I get with standard E7 though as, in the depths of winter, I use that later hour to top up my living room temps with the fan heater. If I was sometimes only getting a minimum of 6 hours overnight charge I'm not sure that would be enough for my undersized 3.4KW box of bricks. That's probably not an issue for you if you have adequately sized Quantums.

lohr500

Do you have, or are you planning on getting an electric vehicle anytime soon ?

If so, EDF's GoElectric tariff seems very competitive. Unlike many EV tariffs, you get a full 7 hours off-peak.

And unlike the UW Eco 7 tariff, the daytime rate isn't as heavily loaded.

In our region (Yorkshire) the EDF rate is 30.46p day, 6.99p 11pm to 6am, 64.38p standing charge.

I don't know if they can program the ALCS timings to align with the off-peak rate timings.

I switched to the GoElectric tariff last year and got a fix to October 2027 at 5.48p.
At the time we didn't have an EV. I called them to ask if it was OK to move to GoElectric without an EV and the agent said it wasn't a problem! Since then we have bought an EV so no worries on this front.

If the tariff is of interest, you could alway call or message them yourself and ask if an EV is a requirement.

Scot_39

Yes its important if reliant on ALCS that that is front of mind when considering any tariff / supplier changes.

As it probably wont be with online processes or even many customer service agents (who might not - if like my experience with EOn 10 yrs ago - even know what a restricted / ALCS controlled meter output means). And many on E7 have no such circuit - it's just a timed tariff.

Its not entirely clear if their is any consistent approach to clearing or re-setting ALCS when switch suppliers or to smart TOU.

QrizB

@Scot_39 if you end up on a ToU tariff that doesn't include ALCS switching it's relatively straightforward to emulate it with an external contactor (something like a Proteus EHC1) and a time switch.

Granted it would be better all round to have a working ALCS!

Scot_39

Wasn't really thinking about it for myself right now.

And know others have used smart timers to automate their switching.

I have thought about that - as I currently have one (belongs to "EOn" I guess) - but suspect that will disappear with my probably quite imminent smets1 meter upgrade (its c8 years old already - and age or 4g upgrade likely to need a new - I guess 5 port meter).

I did have a brief chat to electrician I used to fix a tripping NSH (turned out was MCB not heater in end) - but didn't seem very keen at the time as currently everything is secure tagged by EOn in the meter cabinet (they took out the old tail isolator switches to fit in the Proteus ironically).

Scot_39

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82112266#Comment_82112266

On a midnight to 7am or 0030 to 0730 GMT ALCS system - that 11am to 6am (is that GMT or live clock) might not work out too bad. Having cheap rate 11am to 6am - albeit not risk free.

Over a typical winters day (not a sub zero period) I only consume about 15-17 kWh for space heating - thats less than 3 hours charging across my 3 heaters (total charge ratings about 7kWh - and tends to be the smaller hall heaters I use to also heat kitchen and 2 bedrooms that take the much longer charges when needed).

Maybe I need to talk to Octopus again about Snug - and see what they say about meter availability and compatibility.

lilac_dawn

Thanks all. No electric car here - or in the future.
I am assuming - but aren't certain - that I can't have Snug due to 2 of the quantums not being on the E7 circuit so I have to input the times manually for them to charge, to match the ALCs times. If Snug move the times around then I don't think I am eligible for it.