Economy 7 not working after smart meter install

Sadly, you’re not the first to end up in this situation. The solution shouldn’t be too difficult, but some suppliers seem to struggle with it. Who is yours? And, more importantly, where are you? The first part of the postcode is usually enough to identify your DNO.

Thank you for the pictures. We also need to see what’s underneath the meter, below the shelf it’s sitting on so we can see what cables are coming from it. We also need to see any other equipment connected to it; in particular, if there’s a contactor box somewhere at the end of a thinner cable coming out of the bottom of the meter. It would also be helpful to see the Consumer Unit(s) (CUs) in your flat, with the lids propped open and clear enough for us to see any labels on the breakers inside it. While you’re there, please make sure that none of the breakers for heating equipment have tripped; if they have, you have your answer!

You say you don’t have an In-House Display (IHD) because the meter’s too far from the flat. This shouldn’t be a problem, and there are ways of making an IHD work in this situation. One of them - AltHAN - is specifically intended for flats, but your supplier is required to provide a working IHD and has to work out how to do it. Tell them!

Here's some photos of below the meter and consumer unit, although I feel I may have answered my own question. Found a setting on the meter to test ALCS, upon doing this the heaters and water heater on the economy 7 system do indeed fire up. So hoping it's just a configuration issue with EDF!

That’s great, thanks. I’d really like to know where these two little red cables end up - somewhere in your flat, perhaps? They are supposed to carry a little signal to turn on the switched circuit (the one powering the heating equipment). There are lots of heaters, so I’d expect to see a 100A contactor somewhere at the end of those cables. It will probably make a noise when it switches, so listen out.

Well spotted! If you’d like to learn more about that intricated bit of kit that is your smart meter, there’s a technical user manual here: 
https://www.smartme.co.uk/docs/D000058620%20E470%20Series3%20SMETS2%20User%20Manual%20and%20Functional%20Description%20ISSUE%201_2.pdf
 

When you get on to EDF support, tell them that the heating’s not working, so they probably have to send the ECAUL request to the meter to configure its ALCS, with timings to match the timings your tariff promises and (with any luck) the meter’s registers are following. The registers (1 for peak and 2 for offpeak) should switch a few minutes after the advertised times, and so should the ALCS (this is to prevent a situation where every storage heater in town suddenly fires up at the same instant, which would probably blow up the National Grid). 

Don’t forget to mention that you didn’t get an IHD, so could you please have one and whatever extra kit needed to make it work. See if you can pin them down to a date when this will all be fixed; they mustn’t leave you with no heating for more than another day or two.

Good luck!
  

Yes the red wires must go up to the flat, the consumer unit usually does make a clunk when the eco 7 is activated and deactivated. 

Managed to speak to the bloke that installed my meter this evening and he said rarely it can take 24 hours for the meter to get the settings so should work tonight, and if not contact EDF to sort it.

Many thanks for your reply 

OK, that’s fine. I’m not familiar with those old-style devices in your CU, so I guess the one labelled control economy is a switch for all the offpeak stuff. Contactors are otherwise often pretty bulky beasts.

You’re on the right track - I hope you soon get warm. Don’t forget the magic words ECAUL and ALCS. (ECAUL means Electricity Configure Auxiliary Load. You’ve probably worked out that ALCS is the Auxiliary Load Control Switch).

PS a few moments later: I just noticed that your old meter has the timings on it, so that’s also something to tell EDF Support - you’re supposed to be on SSC 0151 (offpeak 00:30 - 07:30 GMT), and that it’s vital that the peak register tier is the first on your new meter (Rate 01). Offpeak will probably then be Rate 02.

Thanks for all your great help here as always ​@Firedog!

​@Neizt I’m glad you’ve made progress on this. Let us know how you get on with EDF!