Do i need to change my economy 7 meter

  • LouiseC's Avatar
    Level 1
    Hi

    Hoping someone can answer my question.
    We currently have a economy 7 meter installed, we have had storage heaters but these have been removed and we have the more energy efficient Haverland electric heaters installed now, our bill is extremely high this past month and the its because of the day rate on the economy meter.
    I am assuming i need the meter changing as we no longer have storage heaters but would just like someone to confirm this for me.

    Thanks in advance

    Louise
  • 1 Reply

  • Best Answer

    meldrewreborn's Avatar
    Level 91
    Best Answer
    I think your Haverland heaters are the problem. You have swapped a lost cost of input heating system (the storage radiators) for a higher cost (but better looking) solution.

    The whole point of storage radiators is that the store heat at night at low cost and release it during the day. All the bumf on the Haverland site is, in my view very misleading. Their statements about convection and radiated heat is in my view designed to mislead. Given that gas fired heating systems nearly always use convection radiators is evidence that they are not "inefficient"

    While older storage heaters can have problems because they are not very responsive to external weather changes - leading to properties being too hot in the day, modern storage radiators are much better at matching output to actual requirements.

    In my view all electric heaters are as efficient as each other. You put in 1 kwH of electricity and over time you eventually get 1 kWh of heat out - simples.

    now if you are talking controllability, responsiveness, comfort then you have obvious advantages to the Haverland heaters. But all that comes at a cost, if you are using daytime power rather than night time power.

    If you are fully committed to the new heaters then you can ask your supplier to switch you to a single rate tariff. Unlike when you move in the other direction (single rate to dual rate Tariff) you do not need a meter change - the supplier can add the two readings together.