I have a smart meter with Economy 7 will RTS affect my set up?

Good afternoon @Disabled darlo ,

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I have a smart meter, the smets2 from 2020 i think, motability ev charger, solar panels and solar feed in tariff meter linked to smart meter to give accurate readings on generated and exported. My current fix rate ends June. I am looking at making heating electric and do that through solar panel in sunshine and economy 7 in autumn/winter. I am just unsure if ovo are going to re start economy 7 or 10. 

Hi @Disabled darlo , if you’re looking to make best use of your solar, then batteries are a good addition. Especially as you mention, with the reduced vat retrofit offer. 
During winter months, your solar panels will give lower generation of course and there is unlikely to be enough (even with batteries) to cover your typical usage. You will therefore need to understand your usage pattern and maximum kw draw to get the best set up. 
What some do is to charge batteries overnight (at a cheaper rate) but that might not be best for the rest of the year. So, take a complete look at your heating system and appliance usage if you want to look at options

I have looked and i have been recommend economy 7 but ovo don't seem to be doing new economy 7 at moment. Is anyone else.

I got smart multi plugs, halogen oven, slow cooker, air fryer, led bulbs, house c epc. Just is ovo, not doing economy 7 at moment an ovo thing or a general market thing. 

Don’t get so hooked on Economy 7. What heating system are you planning on anyway?

Oh didn't see your reply there. Was looking at some infared panel radiators they seem very effcient. This is why for autumn and winter I had Economy 7 recommended to charge up infa red when solar not as good and reduce costs. Ovo don't seem to be doing economy 7 at mo.

Economy 7 is not suitable for Infrared Heaters. It’s designed for Storage Heaters that take all night to charge - not Infrared Heaters that charge up in under five minutes.

The suggestion I was given was solar battery working in spring and summer to help with household going electric, helping to significantly lower electric bills. Then use battery storage in autumn and winter powered by economy 7 to heat house with infared heaters as they seem quite efficient. As Economy 7 plus a little solar in autumn winter would lower bills rather then using all fully peak rates to heat electric radiators whivh be more than gas. Be cheaper not to bother going electric with heating if don't at same time get cheapest electricity would it not.

Is Economy 7 with infared radiators not best way to heat house with infared radiator in winter powered by off peak Economy 7. 

Is solar battery storage a good idea. 

If you going to do it, do you not need to go all the way.

Disabled household bills on average 20% higher then Non Disabled as in house all day.

Thanks for your replies and time. My disability is brain injury impacting on reasoning and judgement So I am aware I might be wrong on this. Any help most appreciated.

If you have solar PV and FIT, then battery storage is a good extra step as most do not utilise all their solar generation, especially during summer months. 
You could use an off peak tariff to charge the batteries during winter months to help reduce peak costs but you need to be aware that you would probably still use some peak energy at times. 
I’m not sure who are offering Economy 7 currently - OVO have a problem with billing if you want to change from standard to E7 tariffs, but others do offer it once you’re convinced it will save money. 

Oh OK that seems important so lets check this, so sounds like advice was wrong.

 If I went for these cheaper new electric retention storage heaters rather then the more expensive effcient infared heaters. Economy 7 might be OK as the storage heaters take longer to charge. 

But if I get more expensive effcient infared heaters they charge up so quickly making it cheaper to avoid Economy 7 and stick with a normal fixed rate and hope solar helps the infared heaters out a little, along with house epc c, plus lower time to charge infared costing less then longer to charge storage heaters. 

Would you go infared heaters if you have solar panels which Get feed in tariff, house epc c,.

Would you get a VAT free solar battery storage. Or am I over thinking my higher bills caused by disability and people trying to get me to spend money.

Personally… I’d steer well clear of Storage Heaters no matter what. I’ll say that much.

A couple of words about night storage heaters (NSH) running on an Economy 7 tariff:

• They are not particularly good as the sole heat source for someone who is at home all day, particularly if you need to stay warm. They may get good and hot overnight, but in my experience they’ve run out of steam before sunset if they’re pumping out heat all day. Modern, well-insulated NSH might be better at saving up the heat for use after getting home from work than my old ones, but I’m not convinced they would provide adequate heating even then.
• Any additional heating required - e.g. radiant or convector heaters - would gobble electricity at the higher tariff. This extra cost could well outweigh any saving achieved by charging the NSH at the lower tariff. 
• While solar panels and batteries would mitigate these shortcomings some of the time, it’s the rest of the time - the coldest part of the year when the sun’s not providing the energy you need - when you would see the higher costs.
• If you have gas, this might still be the best heating option for you.
    

I’m also at home all day, but I’ve managed to survive this winter not heating the house at all during the day, but wrapping up really warm and using an electric blanket when necessary - ‘heat the human, not the house’ as some wise man said. To misquote Pooh, Nobody knows how cold my nose is growing, but my toes are nice and warm!

I’m enjoying reading everyone's contributions to this topic. I know this will help visitors to the Forum with similar questions gain insight into the best path for them. 

We have a beneficial article that details some good information about Economy 7 tariffs. 

• Everything you need to know about an Economy 7 (Eco 7) energy plan F.A.Q.

Keep us updated on your progress and the engaging conversations