Recently moved from THTC 2 meters to Economy 10 with Smart meter in preparation from RTS switch off. How can I tell if my storage heaters charge up only at off peak hours?

I got my THTC set up replaced by a smart meter on Economy 10 last Monday.  You actually hear a click when it is switching between peak and off peak.  Mine does it at the second set of times you quoted (also in Scotland). It also shows up on the IHD and gives you an hour’s warning when the next tariff is due to start.

My only worry is that even although my new meter is already showing up on my account, they haven’t deleted the RTS meter so I’m hoping they aren’t going to double bill me!

I responded to a very similar question this morning from a customer just a few miles away from you, so you may find something useful there:  

An easy way to spot whether your storage heaters are charging up at the right times is to watch the IHD. A few minutes (possibly 30, but more likely around 10) after the start of an offpeak period, you should see its Using now figure jump by a lot, and it’s likely that a red traffic light will come on to show that usage is much higher than average. You should also see a different (lower) tariff during offpeak periods. 

As regards the timings of Economy 10, I’ve yet to get a definitive answer; I’m hoping someone will come along and tell us what actual offpeak times are being observed up there in the Scottish Hydro region. We’re told to expect these:

• 4:30am - 7:30am, 1:30pm - 4:30pm, 8:30pm - 12:30am (GMT)

but Support have sometimes given different times, as you discovered. Please watch (and listen - I can hear when my storage heaters start warming up) carefully between 1 and 2 PM and again between 8 and 9 PM and note the actual switching times, then come back here and tell us - I’d be very grateful 🙂

One last warning - some customers allegedly migrated from THTC to Economy 10 have found that their heaters are in fact switching at Economy 7 times. That isn’t good, but it can easily be remedied remotely if you find that that’s what is happening. To check, though, you’d have to watch and listen for them being turned on between midnight and half-past. Fingers crossed 🤞  

Mo59 wrote

"I got my THTC set up replaced by a smart meter on Economy 10 last Monday.  You actually hear a click when it is switching between peak and off peak.  Mine does it at the second set of times you quoted (also in Scotland). It also shows up on the IHD and gives you an hour’s warning when the next tariff is due to start".

Reply to Mo59

Wow! That's really interesting... I must admit I've never heard a click when it's switching between peak and off peak but I have been listening around the Economy 10 times which OVO notified me of and I think the times they gave me might not be correct!

I was told by OVO in an email that my off peak hours would be 12am to 5am, 1pm to 4pm and 8pm to 10pm. However I don't hear a click when listening at those times. 

What REALLY interests me is that your Econ 10 switches to off peak at 4.30am to 7.30am then 1.30pm to 4.30pm and then 8:30pm to 12.30am. What I was wondering was were you told that these were your Econ 10 off peak times or did you just work it out yourself? And were you told the same times as I was which were 12am to 5am, 1pm to 4pm and 8pm to 10pm?

What is really annoying me is why did OVO send me an email telling me that my off peak hours would be 12am to 5am, 1pm to 4pm and 8pm to 10pm? BUT then I dont seem to be on those off peak timings at all but something entirely different and I have to work it out myself?

What were you advised when you signed up to Economy 10? It should be so much clearer shouldn't it...  Especially because I want to do things like dish washer and washing machine and hoovering during off peak hours but how can i do that confidently when Im not even sure when the off peak hours start and end?

When I phoned up to book my smart meter, the lady I spoke to quoted these times.  

Is your IHD working?  Maybe I have just been lucky but mine connected and displayed correctly right away after the engineer fitted the new meter.  It will inform me at 7.30 that the next tariff will begin at 8.30 and, so far, this has been accurate.  There is quite a distinct click from the meter when it switches and the IHD changes almost immediately to show the higher usage when my storage heaters and hot water come on.

My only concern is that my account is still showing my replaced RTS meter along with the new meter so I’m hoping I’m not going to have problems being billed for the replaced meter.  I emailed about this today.
 

Hey @Mo59 

It can take 6 weeks for new meter details to be updated on the account, are you still within this timeframe?

Yes, I am.  I just found it strange that the new meter showed up right away and seems to be getting readings, yet they didn’t delete the old meter.  Hopefully it’ll sort itself out.

Even after only ten days, I suspect Economy 10 is costing quite a bit more than THTC sadly.

Why do you think that is? Are you perhaps using more power-hungry stuff during peak hours?  Is the offpeak rate higher than you expected, so heating (and hot water) is costing more than it used to?

You may want to consider making some adjustments to your lifestyle if you’re concerned about the increased cost; Economy 10 is a very different arrangement from THTC.

PS I don’t think you need worry about the old meter still showing in your account. Its MPAN is registered on the national database at your address, and it takes time - yes, weeks, sometimes - to get the database updated. OVO will have submitted the update, so now they and you just have to wait for the database management company to spark, I’m afraid. 

The old meter isn’t clocking any usage while it’s in the engineer’s van on its way to be recycled, and you shouldn’t see any standing charge for it after the date it was removed. 

Yes, the off peak is higher than I was hoping.  I’m starting to wish I had opted for Economy 7.  I think it might have been adequate.  
 

This month looks like averaging 750 off peak units compared to 500 this time last year.  Nothing has changed other than heating and hot water being on a bit longer.  At the moment I am only using one storage heater but it’s to turn really cold here next week so I’m dreading putting another heater on.

Right. I don’t know what your arrangement was last year, but some THTC systems had three rates: peak, offpeak and heating. Now the special heating setup is no more, you should be aiming to have as much of the heating at offpeak times as possible. That 50% increase in offpeak usage suggests that this is what’s happening. 

I’m sure you’ve checked, but your storage heaters should only be charging up during offpeak times. They will be using more energy than anything else in the home, so it’s vital to make sure you’re paying the lowest price for it.

The same applies to the water heater. Your three hours overnight may be enough to heat that up, so if there’s a separate timer for it, it may not be necessary for it to be heating up at other times. We’ve seen lots of cases where an immersion heater left on all the time is using prodigious amounts of electricity only to keep the rats in the attic nice and warm.

Keep a close eye on what precise times your offpeak periods start and make sure you don’t have any power-hungry equipment starting up before that time. If your online account is now working as it should, and you’ve opted for the half-hourly reading frequency, the Usage charts should give you a good idea of when you’re using the most.   

Thanks.   Yes, it’s coming on and off at the correct times.  It’s just that I think maybe the ten hours compared to a bit less with the old system is making the difference, especially with the water heater.   I think I’ll stop it coming on as much.