Economy 7 Storage Heaters

[philjack82]

Hi,

I have storage heaters which run on the dual tariff economy 7 system. I was with SEE and everything was fine. But then I switched to British Gas and suddenly the storage heaters stopped working. An electrician came out and tested the heaters (by switching them onto the main day time supply I think he said) and they were working, so no problem with the actual heaters.

It turns out British Gas had put me on a single tariff instead of economy 7. They refused to change it as they claimed they weren't offering economy 7 anymore (untrue I think, the agent was clueless). I presume this is why the heaters weren't kicking in overnight.

I have now switched to EON and I am getting the two day and night tariffs (I've checked this on the meter). However the storage heaters are still not coming on. Does anyone know why this could be? Did the electrician possibly not connect them back properly to the night supply? Any suggestions I could try myself would be much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Agent_zed]

Let's try the simple things first

Do they come on with the day time connection? If so they weren't switched back.

Is there a mcb/trip switch that controls their supply in the fuse box (consumer unit if you want to be technical)? Is that switched on?

 

[philjack82]

Let's try the simple things first

Do they come on with the day time connection? If so they weren't switched back.

Is there a mcb/trip switch that controls their supply in the fuse box (consumer unit if you want to be technical)? Is that switched on?

No they don't come on in the day either.

There is no specific fuse for the storage heaters. I presume the "downstairs sockets" is the fuse for them. (Both storage heaters are downstairs).

 

[RogerS]

Did British Gas change the meter ? Did they come into your house and do anything ?

 

[philjack82]

Did British Gas change the meter ? Did they come into your house and do anything ?

No they did nothing. Just changed the supply their end. Nobody visited at all.

 

[Agent_zed]

do you have a single meter or 2 separate meters?

 

[philjack82]

Single 2 rate meter

 

[Bingy man]

do you have a single meter or 2 separate meters?

If no one has entered the property then it’s most likely still on a single meter . And agent _zed is on the right track .. contact eon to update meter’s or find a supplier that does economy 7

 

[Bingy man]

Meter readings would ( should ) of been recorded when you switched from b gas to eon . If your nite rate meter reading hasn’t changed then it’s not connected or wired as double rate meter hence the storage heaters not working ..

 

[Phil Pascoe]

There is no specific fuse for the storage heaters. I presume the "downstairs sockets" is the fuse for them. (Both storage heaters are downstairs).

All five of mine (before I ripped them out) were on their own supplies.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Meter readings would ( should ) of been recorded when you switched from b gas to eon . If your nite rate meter reading hasn’t changed then it’s not connected or wired as double rate meter hence the storage heaters not working ..

They're not coming on in the daytime either.

 

[Agent_zed]

There is no specific fuse for the storage heaters. I presume the "downstairs sockets" is the fuse for them. (Both storage heaters are downstairs).

If it were on the same ringmain as the downstairs sockets then they would also not be working. I would guess they are on their own circuit unless they have a timer somewhere

 

[Spectric]

The storage heaters will all be on there own distribution board, it will often be fed from a timer but some meters will provide the economy 7 supply and it sounds like they are either not connected or connected but the meter is not changing over to the lower rate but is a job for an electrician who can advise where the fault lies. You could take some pictures which might help with the type of installation.

 

[Bingy man]

They're not coming on in the daytime either.

I’m assuming the sparky would have left them as found -wired them back to the nite time supply . Deffo sounds like the nite time rate is the issue . When I worked for b gas we would often sign up customers from eon and n power etc to us . One of the 1st questions was are they currently on e 7 . If yes they weren’t suitable to switch but this could have changed in 2 years of course ..

 

[Tris]

If you had an old fashioned 'spinning disc' meter wasn't there some sort of radio switch to shift to night rate? If that's the set up here perhaps the signal is no longer available


Just checked and it looks like radio teleswitching is being turned off this month

 

[seanf]

wasn't there some sort of radio switch to shift to night rate?

Came here to say the same thing, although I believe it is in the phase out period and will be switched off completely 31st March

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/informatio...leswitch-electricity-meters-consumer-guidance
Sean

 

[Silfi]

Came here to say the same thing, although I believe it is in the phase out period and will be switched off completely 31st March

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/informatio...leswitch-electricity-meters-consumer-guidance
Sean

 

[Silfi]

I have storage heaters on Economy 7 tariff with EDF. There is only one meter which has 2 displays ---one shows daytime usage, the other cheaper night rate usage. It is an old meter (not smart).
The heaters are connected to the ordinary ring mains for the house sockets. They do not come on during the day. Cheap rate is midnight till 7:00 am only. The meter contains a timeclock which switches the usage from one tariff to the other. I have changed supplier several times and meter has never been altered.

 

[seanf]

The meter contains a timeclock which switches the usage from one tariff to the other

Is there a large box connected to it that looks something like this?

Sean