Is it cheaper to run things at night?

FAITH_3

Hi guys and gals,
Just wodered if its cheaper to used washing machines/tumble dryers/dishwashers at night? If so, after what time? we havent got eco7 or anything.
Cheers

aardvark0

If you don't have an economy 7 tariff then your electricity is the same price at all times and there is no advantage to be gained running these appliances at night (unless you are an insomniac).

Nicholas

FAITH wrote:

Hi guys and gals,
Just wodered if its cheaper to used washing machines/tumble dryers/dishwashers at night? If so, after what time? we havent got eco7 or anything.
Cheers

I expect you are thinking hyphothetically. But don't lose sight of social as well as economic issues, for example, what about neighbours etc. Unless you are in a large detached property your actions do affect those around you.:think: :shhh:

Lib572

We were on econ 7, and a powergen rep said that actually it wd be cheaper to scrap it and pay all our elec on day rates, ( cos of our type of useage). ON econ 7 tho it is cheaper in the night it is more expensive inthe day and cos of our life style - as there is a limit of how much activity you can get up to between midnight and 7 am!
She said we cd ring into another powergen place and they wd work it out but I cd do it myself so we swapped!

Iffy_Wallet

Faith - if you are on a single electric tariff, you can run things more cheaply at night, if you can get a power cable out of next door's lounge, through an open window and into your kitchen. However, there is a risk of fire, social inflagration, imprisonment and press coverage if anybody finds out !!

gravitytolls

Just a quick question to all those seemingly in the know.

If I were to buy timers for tumbler, washer, disher etc., would it save me enough money to warrant staying with eco 7, bearing in mind that we heat water, watch tv, use lights and occasionally heating during the day?

Or shoudl we just ditch eco7?

beany

gravitytolls wrote:

Just a quick question to all those seemingly in the know.

If I were to buy timers for tumbler, washer, disher etc., would it save me enough money to warrant staying with eco 7, bearing in mind that we heat water, watch tv, use lights and occasionally heating during the day?

Or shoudl we just ditch eco7?

I'm no expert, but just say from my own experience.
I have eco 7, I have time clocks on the washing machine,dishwasher and immersion water heater(only use this in summer when not using central heating)
In the summer eco 7 is from 23.30 hrs to 01.30hrs then 03.30hrs to 08.30hrs ,don't forget this changes when we alter the clocks.
As I get up early I also use my oven, if possible, on eco 7. Roast chicken in the morning, chicken salad for dinner in the evening, or I use slow cooker at night and just reheat in the evening.(gas hob)
I use about 40% of my electric on eco 7 and find it's worth having, hope this helps.

angelatgraceland

I used to do all of these things but found that running machines at night was too noisy for us and ended up not doing it every so often. I then worked out what it would cost to just have single meter, as when you have E7, your daily rate is higher! Worked out that it was about the same, maybe even cheaper, as we were using so much in the day. After about 6 years on E7 I changed back to single meter. Now Im wondering-should I go back to E7, as my bill is getting too big. what it comes down to, is that our habits do change over the years, different houses, growing families etc. What suits us now, may not suit us in a few years time. Im going to read my meter over a week-just before midnight and about 8 am and roughly calculate whether or not it is worth changing back-I doubt it is realy. what I blame my bills on is the 3 kids each having a tv in their room and running 2 computers, at the same time. Remember never to leave anything on standby-you may as well leave it on-it swallows electric. I am trying! :eek:

Newbird

On another thread they reckon if you use 20% or more of your elec at night eco7 will save you dosh. I use d/washer, washer and immersion heater at night. Both machines have their own timers and are quiet to run. I'm with Npower and eco7 is a third the cost of daytime rate.

Eco7 time is 12.30am-7.30am in winter and 1.30-8.30 summer time. Think Beany looked at immersion timer, which is not the same, just that it is programmed to come on twice at night during the low tariff.

Times do vary tho, eg. mine is actually eco8, cuz the engineer couldn't count when he set it up! Useful guy You will hear a loud click from your meter when it changes from one to the other, if you care to be around it at the time to check, but you should also see the time pointers on it, to get your actual changeover times.

Joto_2

After a mix up where we haven't been billed for 2 yrs - thats another story have a look at my other thread if you're interested. I discovered we were on economy 7 and apparently we have saved over £100 a year. The CS said economy 7 can start any where between 8.30 and midnight. We use 30% of our electricity in the evening and I'm not too sure why. We don't have storage heaters and don't go out of our way to use more in the evening. The dishwasher goes on after tea, washing machine sometimes late at night, but generally it's the usual TV, lights,computer etc. Myself and other half both work from home 3/5 days and are generally in bed before 11pm. Children are in bed by 9pm.

MarkyMarkD

Apart from the financial consequences, it is more environmentally friendly to use electricity at non-peak times.

Peak electricity is generated from less efficient, marginal, power stations which are not cost effective to run all the time. Base load electricity is generated from the most efficient stations which are consequently more environmentally sound.

Most people could reduce the peak environmental impact of electricity generation if they made an effort to shift their non-time sensitive usage off peak.