Should I be on an economy 7 tariff?

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Bored
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I recently bought a flat which is all electric. It has an immersion heater and hot water cylinder but the heaters are standard electric (non-storage) heaters.

At the moment I have the immersion heater on for an hour in the morning for my shower and an hour in the evening for washing machine and dish washer but I feel the price is a bit high. Would I save money switching to an economy 7 tariff and heating the hot water during the night? Or should I stick with a standard tariff and adjust the immersion heater schedule?

Any other tips to reduce the cost would be appreciated. I'd love to get my bill down below £50 per month.

Thanks in advance :beer:
2023 Mortgage-Free Wannabe #19: £11,675.68/£13,000
Mortgage Overpayment Total: £22,397.1

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  • thorganby
    thorganby Posts: 528 Forumite
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    Washing machines and dishwashers have not had a hot fill for a long time!
  • Bored
    Bored Posts: 389 Forumite
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    thorganby wrote: »
    Washing machines and dishwashers have not had a hot fill for a long time!

    Ohhh, I'm really showing my ignorance here. :rotfl:
    2023 Mortgage-Free Wannabe #19: £11,675.68/£13,000
    Mortgage Overpayment Total: £22,397.1
  • Robin9
    Robin9 Posts: 12,106 Forumite
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    Have you your readings from when you moved in and of today ?

    I presume you did ring the existing supplier when you moved in and then made a guess as to your consumption and switched to a different supplier ?
    Never pay on an estimated bill
  • Bored
    Bored Posts: 389 Forumite
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    Robin9 wrote: »
    Have you your readings from when you moved in and of today ?

    I presume you did ring the existing supplier when you moved in and then made a guess as to your consumption and switched to a different supplier ?

    My meter reading last November was 68457 (a month after I moved in, when I switched to a new supplier), and a fortnight ago it was 70356 (when I had a smart meter installed).
    2023 Mortgage-Free Wannabe #19: £11,675.68/£13,000
    Mortgage Overpayment Total: £22,397.1
  • Bored
    Bored Posts: 389 Forumite
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    Currently, I appear to be using about 8-14 kWh per day, albeit with a small sample of around 14 days since the smart meter was installed.
    2023 Mortgage-Free Wannabe #19: £11,675.68/£13,000
    Mortgage Overpayment Total: £22,397.1
  • mmmmikey
    mmmmikey Posts: 1,643 Forumite
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    Hi - I suspect you'll be much better off staying on a standard tarriff as a cheap E7 night rate means a more expensive E7 day rate for the heaters, which is a real killer. Having said that, I wouldn't be surprised if you hit you £50 per month target anyway by the time we get to the end of the year - you'll probably see your consumption start to go down very quickly now as we go through spring into summer. The beauty of the smart meter is that you'll easily be able to see this happening. HTH Mike.
  • Bored
    Bored Posts: 389 Forumite
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    mmmmikey wrote: »
    Hi - I suspect you'll be much better off staying on a standard tarriff as a cheap E7 night rate means a more expensive E7 day rate for the heaters, which is a real killer. Having said that, I wouldn't be surprised if you hit you £50 per month target anyway by the time we get to the end of the year - you'll probably see your consumption start to go down very quickly now as we go through spring into summer. The beauty of the smart meter is that you'll easily be able to see this happening. HTH Mike.

    Thanks for the advice. Yes, the heaters were my concern too. I tried not to rely on them too much over the winter but I still ended up using them for a few hours or so on really cold days.

    The smart meter has made me more of a scrooge then usual so I'm sure I'll reduce it now I have my new gadget, even if that means washing my dishes by hand. :money:
    2023 Mortgage-Free Wannabe #19: £11,675.68/£13,000
    Mortgage Overpayment Total: £22,397.1
  • mmmmikey
    mmmmikey Posts: 1,643 Forumite
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    Bored wrote: »
    even if that means washing my dishes by hand


    :) the dishwasher was the one appliance I gave up in my energy saving journey. Given that I always used to fill a bowl of water anyway to wipe round the kitchen surfaces and clean the odd thing that wouldn't go in the dishwasher, I've found it's not been a big deal to get in the habit and has made a worthwhile contribution to my savings.

    The in house display is addictive - have fun with it :)
  • macman
    macman Posts: 53,098 Forumite
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    edited 17 April 2019 at 1:23AM
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    A dishwasher (they have always been cold-fill, since they need to be supplied with drinking-quality water off the rising main) will use less energy and water than washing up by hand. Typically, run once a day, it might cost you £1 a week.
    You will undoubtedly reduce your bills by switching to E7, but it could take you several years to recover the capital cost of removing the convectors, installing NSH's, rewiring for them, and changing the meter. So it depends how long you are thinking of living there. I'm assuming that this is a new build or recent build, and the developers have cynically put in a heating system with the lowest capital cost (but the highest running costs).
    No free lunch, and no free laptop ;)
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