New meter-very different readings.

[Brian Lacey]

I just don't know if this is worth following up or not.
Back in 2006 we had our electric from Brit Gas, using the dial meter that had been in the house for about 20 yrs , with night time Economy Seven. BG for a good few yrs.
We used a comparison site and switched to E'On based on the dial meter figures. Shortly after switching E'On replaced the dial meter with a digital one, still Economy Seven.
We have come to realise that the figures are very different.
2006 daytime 6986 econ 7 2527

After switching/new meter

2008 daytime 2483 econ 7 5999

Our lifestyle /usage hasn't changed dramatically but the readings are so different.

Is it worth following this up at all, if so who with, or is it water under the bridge and too long ago ?

Cheers

Brian

 

[bongos]

2006 daytime 6986 econ 7 2527

After switching/new meter

2008 daytime 2483 econ 7 5999

If this is the case then your bills will be alot cheaper than they were. I know whether i'd follow it up or not...

If you're refering to chasing up the old bills because you believe you were overcharged then you'll need some luck! It'll probably be difficult to prove anyway, especially now 2+ years has passed and the old meter is long gone.

I'm assuming you have night storage heaters? OOI is it normal to use much more eco7 that standard rate (don't have them myself that's why I ask).

You could also check that the tariffs switch over when they are supposed to by keeping an observation on the meter at changeover time.

 

[holmslaw]

..

 

[rebuke]

At a guess from those readings, it would appear that either previously, or currently, you have daytime and economy 7 switched around.

I don't know quite how that is possible, as even if you have separate CUs (e.g. one for night storage heaters), at the point at which the night rates kick in, everything should be on eco7, not just the storage heaters, and you'd probably have noticed if your storage heaters were coming on all day / your main electrics going off during the day...

What sort of timeswitch did you have and do you have now - I guess if you had an analogue one before it's possible that someone mis-configured it so you were paying day rates when you should have been paying night rates or vice versa. Presumably now you have a modern radio switched one, which should be accurate.

I'd suggest checking carefully on your current set up that it is charging you eco7 units when you expect it to be, and day units when you expect, just to make sure it's correct now. If something was wrong before, then technically you're entitled to a refund of any overpayment, the problem being that now the old equipment has (presumably) been taken away, proving it could be quite tricky...

 

[Brian Lacey]

Thanks for the instant replies.
We don't have storage heaters -- we run a small boarding cattery plus our own breeding and show cats ( all tax declared etc) and all the outdoor units have infra red heat lamps in them. Winter use is heavy , esp' at night, hence the Econ 7. All from the house meter, all wired by a qualified electrician.
The old dial meter changed via a radio signal I believe and the day disc was spinning during the day so I assume that this meter was working OK but possibly not recording properly. You could hear the click in the morning as it changed.
Haven't actually stood and looked at the new digital meter to see if day is day recording, will do that very soon to double check.
Never crossed my mind that the meter could be cross wired ! Didn't think that would be possible.

You have made me think now .

Cheers

Brian

 

[rebuke]

It's unlikely, as normally the way these things work is the timeswitch will give a signal to the meter to go in to 'night' mode at night, and at all other times it will be on day mode. As far as I know, the switches can't give an inverse output (although I've never worked on them, so don't know for sure).

If the day disc was spinning during the day, then that implies your old meter was set up correctly. If your new meter is recording wrong, then legally you should inform your supplier ASAP, as if you know it's recording the readings wrong, but don't tell them, then that's fraud (however, playing devils advocate, they'd have a hard time proving you knew, so it may be in your interest to just hope they don't notice - but bear in mind if/when they do, they'll probably want to charge you the difference for the extra units you've used since you've been with them).

 

[^neo^]

Wasn't there something on watchdog about new and old meters reading in metric / imperial or something (maybe i was dreaming it ) and the companies screwing up the readings between the 2?

 

[rebuke]

That was gas meters reading either cubic feet or cubic metres, electricity meters (as far as I know) all read kilowatt hours (kwh).

 

[Taylortwocities]

Correct. It was gas . See here http://www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/consumer_advice/latest_meters_pic.shtml

 

[ColJack]

of course Eco7 night usage will be bigger than daytime..

you have the lights on for a start, and a couple of hours where you have 5 or 6 2-3KW heaters on.. as opposed to half an hour doing tea and about an hour average in the shower, which also may be at night depending on what time you grab your showers..

 

[securespark]

show cats ( all tax declared etc)

Do they use less electricity if they are tax-declared?

 

[Brian Lacey]

show cats ( all tax declared etc)

Do they use less electricity if they are tax-declared?

Oh yes much less

Just to add that the new meter is running correctly in so much as day units are added on the day display. I suspect that the old dial meter was out and running a little quick in the day and slow on the night time but probably too late now to do anything, just too much hassle for too little gain.

Thanks for all the comments and info'.

Brian