Electricity meters
Hi
Our current property has electric heaters and a water tank for the hot water. The current electricity meter we have is an Economy 7 one.
I've been doing some reading up on these and found that it's best to have if you have storage heaters and/or a water tank (the heaters aren't storage, you just switch them on and heat comes out).
I work from home so I have electricity on most of the day and in the evening, some is used after the 11pm or whatever the start time is for the cheap rate so I was thinking of changing to a normal meter instead of an Economy 7 one. However, because I have a water tank I'm unsure whether this is right or not? Can anyone advise? There is a timer thing in the kitchen which has a booster for hot water and switch saying "water heater" with the options of "off" and "timed" - it's on timed at the moment and has a red light - I don't know what the actual timings are for the hot water and don't really know what this means - it's just been left on "timed" since we moved in.
Is it worth changing to a normal meter if I have a hot water tank?
Thanks for any help!!
bab
x
Our current property has electric heaters and a water tank for the hot water. The current electricity meter we have is an Economy 7 one.
I've been doing some reading up on these and found that it's best to have if you have storage heaters and/or a water tank (the heaters aren't storage, you just switch them on and heat comes out).
I work from home so I have electricity on most of the day and in the evening, some is used after the 11pm or whatever the start time is for the cheap rate so I was thinking of changing to a normal meter instead of an Economy 7 one. However, because I have a water tank I'm unsure whether this is right or not? Can anyone advise? There is a timer thing in the kitchen which has a booster for hot water and switch saying "water heater" with the options of "off" and "timed" - it's on timed at the moment and has a red light - I don't know what the actual timings are for the hot water and don't really know what this means - it's just been left on "timed" since we moved in.
Is it worth changing to a normal meter if I have a hot water tank?
Thanks for any help!!
bab
x
0
Comments
Then, from your bills, work out your total kWh over 12 months and try a switching service so you can compare different suppliers costs to see if you can save money: http://www.which.co.uk/switch/
You need to get a grip of yourself and find out exactly when the heater is on or off and what the light means, and at what times exactly (not 'whatever') the electricity unit charges are.
The current electricity meter we have is an Economy 7 one.
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My mum has a economy 7 meter, but she is not on a Economy 7 tariff. They just take the night and day reading and add them together and apply that to the standard tariff she is on.
Suggest you call you supplier and discuss the best tariff for your need.
If it uses an electric heating element, then it could be heated up overnight on the cheaper tariff.
But arranging it so that the bulk of the heating is done at night can be awkward (if you prefer baths in the evening rather than the morning for example).
If the cheaper rate isn't being made use of, then it might be better to use a normal tariff, which might cost less than the day tariff of the Economy 7. (At least that's what I found in the 1980s. Things may have changed ...)
excuse me?? want to be any more rude??
the only way for me to find out is to stand for 24 hours and watch the on/off light for when the timer is on. Unfortunately there is no other way for me to get a bloody grip and find out.
And the reason I asked about the water tank is because when researching E7 tariffs it says it's for those with storage heaters and/or water tanks - I'm in the or water tank section
that would be good - thanks
I'm not sure how to tell when its set to heat up unfortunately
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/78423983/DSC_0926.jpg
I spoke to my friendly electrician who sorted it out for me.
Do you know an electrician who could help you ? and maybe you could speak to your supplier.
Like all of us you want to be on the cheapest tariff possible.
I don't know an electrician but I'm happy to speak to my supplier - I've just changed with them (on an E7 tariff) and apparently I need to wait a few weeks after the start date with them before I can change to a standard tariff if that is what would be better for me - it's just making sure they'll not benefit as you say, I want to be on the cheapest possible and it's not about them mis-selling but I want to make sure that E7 is going to be more expensive than standard, I'll try and do the sums to see what units are being used and get the rates for the standard tariff.
At the moment your water is heating during the preset hours of the Econ 7 meter .I would expect your supplier to be able to tell you when these hours are .
In terms of the water heater assuming it is large enough and properly insulated then there should be plenty of water for a bath in the evening from the cheaper overnight heating. I used to live in a house with such an arrangement and I never had to use the boost in 8 years. It was cheaper for me to use the Economy 7 even though the space heating was gas and it may be for you as well - it depends on your usage.
I moved into a property that has storage heaters and a hot water tank from having a gas combi and was dreading it (I thought they'd be a right pain) but I actually find them brilliant. I have the storage heaters on 3 or 4 out of 6 and leave the output closed, and the house is toasty morning and night. They're pretty old heaters, look early 90s vintage Credas so they have probably improved a bit since then too. I bet those heaters are costing quite a bit.
I somehow manage to use more electricity during the day than at night... I only really have a broadband router, cordless phone and a DVR on, the TV is on maybe 2 hours a day if that. My fridge freezer was knackered though and in overdrive mode 24/7 so I'm expecting the bill to come down a bit this month as it has been replaced!
Thanks, I never use the knob marked 2 hours, I've only turned it round once to see what it did lol.
I wasn't sure when it was being heated up but if it's during the E7 hours I guess I could work out how much it'll be on a standard tariff. If I had to change meters would the times the water tank heat still stay the same?
Also, in an evening there is enough hot water left for a bath. We rent the house so can't change the heaters, if I didn't work during the day I wouldn't bother so much but if it's cold I have the heater on which will ne using electric that I wouldn't be if out
Thanks for your replies and help
They are very good and fairly cheap to run.
In my present property I keep one in the conservatory although I have a rad in there, I like to sit in there in the morning and it can get cold.
Also how about one of those small heat pads like a mini electric blanket, now they really are cheap to run and if you are sitting still for a period of time they really do keep you warm, got mine on against my back at the moment as the heating not due to come on until 7pm.
Just a couple of ideas to try and keep bills down.
Is it worth me staying on E7 then if it's heating all my water at night?
When do you use th most electricity?
Take some readings over some days and nights.
If your peak use is days get off economy seven.
When mum had it she had the washing machine on a timer so it came on during the night on the cheap rate.
I'll have a look at the link. Ta!
Yeah, I noticed that too when I was looking to change tariffs and I think I do use more than 40 as the hours for night rate are like between 11pm and 6am and nothing is on but the usual - fridge etc nit I didn't know about the water tank and when that heated up. What I'll do is keep an eye on the units used and see what the standard rate is.