Night meter and Economy 7

cootel

Hi there,
I bought a house with a day and night meter that was heated with night storage and electric heaters. I removed the heaters and got gas central heating installed. However, there are still units clocking up on the night meter. I was wondering what could possibly be using the night rate electricity now there are no storage heaters? I'm also puzzled by a trip switch in my fuse box that is labelled Economy 7. From what I've read it seems to be a Northern Ireland tariff so what could it be in a house in Dublin?
Thanks for your help.

meercat

Are there 2 meters or 1 meter with 2 readings

Generally,Any electricity that is used in your house at off peak times is charged at the lower rate.

Your economy 7 clock may be switching in at night to avail of reduced rates

punisher5112

Use washing machine, dryer and dishwasher on the night rate as much as possible as it will save you money.

Also if you were thinking of an ev car it's ideal to have the night rate.

amcalester

You'll still be using power at night, the fridge/freezer for example, so this is why your night meter is still ticking over.

cootel

There are two meters - day and night. The storage heaters were running off the night meter and afaik nothing else was so I can't understand what is using the units now.

The economy 7 thing is just a hand written label under one of the trip switches in the fuse box and I was wondering what it was.

amcalester

Everything draws power from both, it just alternates between them depending on the time of day/night.

cootel

amcalester wrote: »

Everything draws power from both, it just alternates between them depending on the time of day/night.

No, it's 2 separate circuits. The night circuit is only live at night and the other is live at all times. You're thinking of a night saver meter which is not what I have

Kelvinwhalley

Are they digital or dial type meters?

Separate meter is usually only night storage

Del2005

cootel wrote: »

No, it's 2 separate circuits. The night circuit is only live at night and the other is live at all times. You're thinking of a night saver meter which is not what I have

That sounds like a dodgy setup. My night meter runs from 23:00 to 08:00 and then the day meter kicks in. If yours is wired as you say and you've removed the only things on it yet its still spinning call a sparks.

A quick check would be to trip the breaker for the night rate meter and see what stops working, if nothing stops you are back to calling a sparks.

Tenshot

The night meter has a night-only output, used to provide power to storage heaters only at night-time. But it also counts units for ALL usage during the night-rate period.

So your normal house load (fridges, etc) will spin the night meter rather than the day meter after 11pm.

To confirm, start boiling a kettle around midnight and look at your two meters - you should see the night meter moving, and the day meter staying still.

furry87

The economy 7 is your immersion heater

antoinolachtnai

Check your bill. Top right corner. Does it say 'MCC03' or 'MCC02' (or something else)?

'Economy 7' is just a shorthand for the night-time rate.