Getting the most from Economy 7
National Energy Action is the national charity, helping you with your energy bills. This leaflet gives advice on how Economy 7 works and how to use your controls.
What is Economy 7?
Economy 7 is a type of ‘time-of-use’ electricity tariff, which provides cheaper (off-peak) electricity for
seven hours, usually between midnight and 7am.
At other times electricity is charged at a more expensive peak rate. Economy 7 is usually best for homes with storage heaters. If you have Economy 7, this leaflet will tell you how to get the most out of it. Economy 7 can help you save money. However, it may not be suitable if most of your electricity is used during the day. For Economy 7 to be economical for you, you should be able to use at least 40% of your electricity at night. Check your bills to see how much you are using at night.
How to tell if you’re on Economy 7
You can tell if you are on an Economy 7 tariff because your meter and bills will show either:
- two meter readings
- a low or off-peak rate
- a normal, high or on-peak rate
Or, there will be a button to press to see each rate, if you are on an electronic Economy 7 meter.
Night storage heaters
Many properties use electric storage heaters instead of gas central heating. Storage heaters use Economy 7 or Economy 10 tariffs for cheaper energy at night. This makes heat which can be released into your home the next day.
Economy 10 tariff
Economy 10 is another time-of-use energy tariff that gives a cheaper night rate, but it’s not as widely used as Economy 7.
Economy 10 tariff provides 10 set hours of cheaper off-peak electricity:
- three hours of cheaper electricity in the afternoon
- two hours in the evening and;
- five hours through the night
To get an Economy 10 tariff you must have an Economy 10 meter. These are different to both standard and Economy 7 meters as they have additional capability which enables them to measure the consumption of electricity between the set Economy 10 times specified by the supplier.
Not all suppliers offer tariffs that support Economy 10. There may be a choice of other tariffs that can be used for storage heating, so it is worth asking your supplier.
To make sure you can manage your heating you must set the controls on each storage heater correctly.
- The INPUT or CHARGE control regulates the amount of heat that is stored up during the night. It should be set higher in cold weather and turned down or off in the warmer weather.
- The OUTPUT or BOOST control regulates the rate at which the stored heat is released. It should be left on a low setting during the day and then turned up in the evening if more heat is needed.
Nighttime
| INPUT | OUTPUT |
| Set depending on expected next day temperature | Set to lowest setting or ‘frost control’ symbol |
Daytime
| INPUT | OUTPUT |
| Set depending on expected next day temperature | Set to low unless extra heat is needed |
Evening
| INPUT | OUTPUT |
| Set depending on expected next day temperature | Set to high if needed but set to low again by bedtime |
Hot water cylinder
If your hot water is heated by electricity, you will have an immersion heater inside your hot water cylinder/tank. For those on Economy 7 or 10 tariff, this will likely be a dual or twin immersion heater.
This has an electric immersion heater element at the bottom to heat the whole tank and another to heat a smaller volume of water when it is needed.
If you have a boost switch, this enables you to use this to heat up the extra water needed.
A timer/controller means the immersion heater uses off-peak electricity to heat up a full cylinder of water during the night which is stored for use the following day and evening.
If you need hot water during the day, then use the boost switch. It will heat a smaller volume of water using day-rate electricity. If you do not have a boost switch, then use the on/off switch to turn the heater on for 30 minutes and then switch off.
Check that you have good insulation on your hot water cylinder to make sure the water stays hot until you want to use it.
How to use your controls
This is an example of what your controls may look like:
- Your hot water cylinder may have a timer/clock/controller. This can be used to give you extra control over your water heating.
- A boost switch or dial turns your immersion heater on for an hour to give you some additional hot water if needed throughout the day. Due to the cost of on-peak electricity, don’t use the boost setting except when you really need the extra hot water.
It may be necessary to adjust your timer settings to allow for British Summer Time (BST) and back again to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) when the clocks change in March and October.
TIP
Most electric showers heat up their own water, so you don’t need to switch on the storage heater for this.
If you are still struggling, call National Energy Action’s Energy Advice and Support Service on 0800 304 7159 or go to www.nea.org.uk/get-help.
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