Underfloor heating from Permanently connected radio meter.

Hey ​@Confused358 ,

Based on what you’re saying… I think you’ve got a THTC (Total Heat Total Control) setup - with this type, certain heating sources are allowed to run 24/7/365 at a reduced rate. This is not a recommended option if you no longer have Storage Heaters and Immersion Heaters - it’s probably costing you more than it should.

You will need to swap for a Smart Meter to resolve this. Support for ALL RTS Meters are being phased out over the next couple of years and the shutdown process has already started - some areas of the country have already had RTS Services disabled for example.

I’d suggest having a word with OVO about this and see what other tariff options might be more suitable for you. But before you do that, can you post some photos of the meter setup real quick? If you can, I might be able to give more accurate advice.

Thanks!

Hello Blastoise186, Thank you for the information. I will try and put some photos on when I get out of hospital. I am 87 and not very good with the modern technology but I will give it a try, Thank you once again.

Sorry for being a bit slow to get back to you - I had to catch up on a few other things which needed my attention.

Please, by all means feel free to focus on your recovery first - your health is more important and I’m OK with waiting until you’re back home before picking this back up again. If you do struggle to get the photos up, please don’t panic as they’re not crucial. I think I’ve got a pretty good idea of how the setup works even without them - the photos would have just made it a little easier to be sure.

Based on what you’ve said though, I’m definitely pretty confident you do have an RTS (Radio Teleswitch) Meter of some kind so I’ll do some digging through my notes I have on them and see if I can get a lock on the exact type based on what you’ve shared.

If you feel comfortable replying to this thread, please feel free to do so at your convenience. I’ll be here when you feel ready to talk again.

I hope you get well soon.

Hey ​@Confused358,

Just wanted to check in and see how you're doing. If you’re out of the hospital, that’s great to hear. If not, make sure to take care of yourself and focus on getting better. We’ve got your back and will be here to support you whenever you’re ready to get back on your feet.

It seems like you have an old off-peak / radio teleswitch setup originally installed to operate storage heating. If the underfloor heating and hot water are working correctly, the system may not be an issue, although I would advise you to check with your supplier if the tariff is still active and would need in terms of 1 or 2 smart meters.

Hey ​@Confused358, 

I just wanted to let you know that I checked our email inbox and noticed you replied to the email instead of the post. No worries! I’ve gone ahead and moved it over to your thread, and I've included the screenshots for you below.

“Hello Everybody, Thank you for the kind words, I am now home and ok. I have put on pictures of my bill and the new one for when my two meters will be removed and a smart meter put in on the 18th of this month. Please send any comments if I have managed to do this. I am not good with technology so if the pictures are not there I will write them out and post them. Thank you all once again.”

Thank you, I do not really know what I am doing, that is why I am confused.

​@Confused358 You’re welcome, you’ll find we’re a very supportive community and we know everyone's here to learn at their own pace 🙂

Hello ​@Confused358. I was glad to hear that you’re back home and OK.

The bill you shared shows that yes, you are currently on a tariff that charges one rate for heating and another higher rate for everything else. This will have been quite economical for you as 83% of your electricity consumption goes towards heating.

This will now change radically when you get your new smart meter. Instead of having cheap-rate heating all day, you’ll only get it for 9 hours a day - hence the designation Economy 9. There’s no way of telling how well this works with your underfloor heating (UFH), and it will come down to experiments and observations, I’m afraid. So long as the RTS box is close to the existing meter, I expect the meter engineer will arrange it pretty much as it is now, so that the UFH and water heater run off one feed from the meter and everything else from a separate one.

The heating feed will only be active during the nine offpeak hours. It’s quite possible that this isn’t enough for the UFH to keep you comfortable during the winter, so you may have to supplement with extra heating equipment like panel or fan heaters, again to be run only during offpeak hours. If you do find that this is necessary, please be very careful when deciding what appliances to go for. There are many unscrupulous salesmen out there who would try to convince you that their heaters are more efficient than everyone else’s, but that is nonsense - all electric heaters are 100% efficient, because every single unit of electricity they consume is converted to heat. I would personally go for fan heaters - instant gratification when you switch one on, and easily controlled by smart plugs manually or automatically (e.g. to come on for a couple of hours every day at 8.30 pm).  

Water heating is slightly different. Unless you use a lot of hot water (e.g. two hot baths a day), you would only need the water heater to come on for one of the three-hour slots, e.g. the 4-7 am one. This might involve having a separate timer installed, depending on what sort of hot water cylinder you have. Boosting the temperature of the hot water during the evening is for many people a complete waste - it will only cool down again overnight while keeping the starlings in the loft nice and warm.

There are plenty more nuances to be considered, but luckily we’re about to enjoy warmer weather for the next few months, so you will have time to fine-tune your system for maximum comfort at minimum cost. 

I hope this wasn’t too confusing - please let us know your reaction.   

Thanks for this detail ​@Firedog - great stuff.

​@Confused358 I hope this all makes sense and, hopefully, with the Economy 9 setup you won’t see too much of a difference in costs. I’d recommend that, where possible, you try and use the majority of your electricity usage in the off-peak hours. For example, do the washing and drying between 1pm and 4pm, when you’ll be charged the cheaper rate. 

When the smart meter is installed, you’ll be offered an In Home Display (IHD) screen, which will display how much electricity you’re using, and how much its costing. The IHD will display the rate you’re being charged, so you’ll know whether you’re in the peak or off-peak periods. This guide will show you more information about how your IHD will work:

You can also find out more Economy 9 information on our website here. 

Please keep in touch if you need any more info - that’s what we’re here for 😊.