Economy 7 or Zone 7 electricity -- ??

Is there anyone out there who can give me a good lowdown on the Economy 7 or Zone 7 electricity - as I have alternately heard them called? I just can't get good answers on the subject from anyone I know 'round here.

For one thing, a couple of my heaters have both 'daytime' and 'nighttime (economy 7)' outlets, as does my hot-water storage heater (a creature I thought I'd never encounter in the UK), and I cannot figure out the specifics of how they will work most optimally.

Does anyone know of any resources, such as books or websites that I can consult on this? I am really wishing there exists a book called 'Everything You Need to Know About Electrical Service in Britain!'

Similarly, I buy my electricity pre-paid with a little black and blue key I take to the local Gupta store to get charged up. Neither my landlord nor the people who sell me the power can give me a reasonable explanation of how the rates work, how Zone 7 works, or what time at night the rates become cheaper...

I also would like to know, if anyone has an answer, if I can go to other merchants with my 'electricity key' and get a better rate, or can I can another key from a different company and pay a different rate?

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(Oddly enough, my electric meter was made by Schlumberger, a company that anyone from Houston, Texas should be aware of, and one that is linked with the Kennedy assassination in the film 'JFK.' Also, they built the finest museums Houston has to offer -- just oddly noting how Texas seems to reach everywhere you go!)

Jim, first read this because it will answer your questions about when Economy 7 rates are (basically at night). Ignore the bits about my specific heaters as they are a bizarre experiment my landlord installed and not typical storage heaters.

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=8560.0

To answer your question about the key... we used to have that. I suspect that you cannot just change stores to get a better rate. Your key is linked to a power company - you just need to find out who it is. Once you have that, you can check out something like Uswitch.com to find out if someone else would be cheaper. There's a phone number you can call to find out who you are linked to. I'll try to locate that for you.

In theory, economy 7 is pretty cool because it charges your heaters and heats your water when electricity is cheapest. In practice, if they aren't installed correctly or are being used incorrectly, they can be very expensive.

I know this doesn't answer all your questions but hope it gives you a start!

Hey, thanks for that information! I know I have some sort of problem going on somewhere because we are going through a whole lot of power, not really doing anything unusual. We've come to a weird point where one of us will rush out and check the meter every hour or so when we are home--but we're finding it not ticking down at all when we have three hobs and the oven, fan, kitchen lights and radio on all at once for an hour or more, and then crashing incredibly fast when we're sitting around reading by window-light with only the radio on. Sometimes at night it goes down up to about £4 worth, sometimes only 60p, though we think we're doing the same thing every time! I wonder if we have the same type of heaters? You're doing the thing with the key as well, I have a little giggle every time I 'charge' it up.

When I first moved in in October, £5 lasted about five days.

I'm beginning to think there is something up with the Zone 7 hot water heater, and that I am going to turn it off and see what happens.

Thanks for that info on the key, I will try and see if I can get a better rate from a different company. I'll have to do it from somewhere other than the library, because the Council have blocked those websites you and the person on the other post listed that show competing rates from these computers! Ain't that odd?

thanks again!

We have something called CredaNet which are storage heaters with fans. Basically, they charge overnight like storage heaters but then they blow heat out when you program them to. The big problem with them is they have to maintain a minimum temp which is why they were costing us to much. We have an estate agent as our property manager and she is so fed up with this heating system, she's trying to talk the owners into oil fired central heat.

If you have credanet, beware. They cannot be run efficiently. If your meter is acting weird, track it as much as possible in writing and phone the power company.

I feel your pain!