Storage heaters economy 7 questions

gaz_the_mod

Hi everyone,

I need some advice about switching to economy 7

I bought a flat last year that had 3 dimplex storage heaters in it and an electric towel rail in the bathroom. I have just received my first electricity bill from npower and for 5 months i have been charged £663!! I checked the meter reading and it matches the reading on the bill.

I have read a couple of threads on this site and realised that I should be on an economy 7 tariff but on my bill it says I am on a standard rate and my meter has no offpeak reading on it, so the person who I bought the flat off must have installed the heaters without switching to economy 7.

What is the process involved in switching? Will it cost anything? and will the storage heaters work properly if they were not installed using and economy 7 supply?

Thanks for your help

Cardew

Firstly are you absolutely sure that they are dimplex storage heaters and not dimplex oill filled radiators? What are the controls on them?

I have never heard of storage heaters installed using a standard tariff.

If they are storage heaters they will still work as electricity is electricity! All that will happen is they will heat up at whatever time they are set to receive heat, and disperse that heat over the time(and at the rate) you have set them to release the heat.


Switching to Economy 7 is just a case of contacting your supplier and they will install a new meter - most won't charge to do this; some will.

But firstly check that they are indeed storage heaters.

gaz_the_mod

Hi, thanks for the quick reply

The storage heaters are these ones: http://www.dimplex.co.uk/products/domestic_heating/installed_heating/duoheat_radiator/duoheat_radiator/index.htm

I, like you, expected my electricity to be E7 as there were storage heaters but obviously the person who we bought the place off installed them but never got round to changing the tariff/meter, so part my fault I guess for not checking

The power to the heaters is controlled via a timer near the main fuse board, so does this mean that when I get E7 meter put in i should just adjust the timer to come on overnight and the electricity coming in will automatically change to the lower rate?

I will try again to contact npower this morning, but this info is very helpful, thanks

beer_tins

It sounds like it was economy 7 before, as they have the meters etc. The seller could have mentioned it to you... Obviously you weren't sure what they were so you've had to learn the hard way! You should have got an economy 7 tariff in the first place, but hindsight is a wonderful thing! The good news is your supplier should be able to switch you to economy 7 easily, as the meters are already in place.

Cardew

The heaters you have are the modern 'dual' heaters that combine the 'traditional' storage heating function with conventional heating during the day to supplement the stored heat output.

So they will need both the Economy 7 and conventional supplies connected. I hope the wiring for this is already in place!

Fortunately the link you gave provides all the instructions for fitting and operating.

gaz_the_mod

Thanks again for the replies.

Cardew, There are defo 2 supplies going into the storage heaters as there are 2 sockets, one that I turn on for instant heat and the other that comes on when the timer at the main fuse board turns on. All wires are going into the same fuse board.

Is this set-up going to work when the E7 meter is installed? I took it that an E7 meter would just switch to the cheaper rate overnight and all electricity used during these hours (not just the heaters) would be at this cheaper rate? is this correct?

Thanks again this is really helping, now if only I could get through to npower....

Cardew

gaz_the_mod wrote: »

Thanks again for the replies.

Cardew, There are defo 2 supplies going into the storage heaters as there are 2 sockets, one that I turn on for instant heat and the other that comes on when the timer at the main fuse board turns on. All wires are going into the same fuse board.

Is this set-up going to work when the E7 meter is installed? I took it that an E7 meter would just switch to the cheaper rate overnight and all electricity used during these hours (not just the heaters) would be at this cheaper rate? is this correct?

Thanks again this is really helping, now if only I could get through to npower....

When I had Economy 7 the supply was exactly the same, just that the E7 meter recorded all electricity consumption for the whole house during the 7 hours. However I didn't have storage heaters. If I switched on any appliance before(or after the 7 hours) I was charged at daytime rates.

Storage Heaters and Immersion heaters are often wired so they only receive power when the 7 hours start.

So provided your supply goes through a timer you will be OK either way.

Incidentally the prices for E7 night rate tariffs vary tremendously, do not assume that if company x are cheap on normal tariffs, they will be cheap on an E7 tariff. So after NPower have switched you, look carefully at all other tariffs from other companies

Obviously you will need to work on geting your ratio of E7 to day units as high as possible - washing machines on at night/very early morning etc(if noise is not a problem). You should try to get E7 consumption above 60% of total if possible.

gaz_the_mod

fantastic, thanks very much

gaz_the_mod

I have spoken to npower and they said they would put in an E7 meter but I need to have a 'certificate of appliance (or compliance, i may have misheard)' and that i need to get an electrician in to do this

Is this correct and how much do you think it would cost?

thanks

Cardew

gaz_the_mod wrote: »

I have spoken to npower and they said they would put in an E7 meter but I need to have a 'certificate of appliance (or compliance, i may have misheard)' and that i need to get an electrician in to do this

Is this correct and how much do you think it would cost?

thanks

It is compliance!

These days you can hardly change a 13 amp plug yourself. However to be fair you are dealing with lots of power with storage heating.

If it is just an inspection required I guess £50 or so. However if there is work required????

gaz_the_mod

Thanks for all the advice Cardew. Last question I promise

I am thinking I need to get all the electrics in my flat checked as I never received any electrical certificates for the storage heaters or anything else and I can tell a fair bit of work was done before I bought the flat (the previous owner died and i bought the flat off her son who lives abroad)

I take it that a full inspection at this stage will test all my electrics, including the storage heaters, after which I can get E7 meter installed? No doubt there will be some work needed to get the certificate of compliance, but I have to get it done