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Automatic switch to night tariff

Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHPs)

Last Post by Jeff 4 years ago

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KundK

(@kundk)

Eminent Member Member

Joined: 5 years ago

Posts: 19

Topic starter 21/11/2021 7:45 pm [#170]

Sorry if it was discussed before.

Technically (electrically) I think it'd be possible to automatically switch a heat pump from all day tariff to night tariff when the latter available. Which obviously save some money.
I don't think a HP would require an uninterrupted switchover, but that's also possible.

But would it legally stand with electricity suppliers?

Has anyone already done it?

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Derek M

(@derek-m)

Illustrious Member Member

Joined: 5 years ago

Posts: 4425

21/11/2021 8:50 pm

Posted by: @kundk

Sorry if it was discussed before.

Technically (electrically) I think it'd be possible to automatically switch a heat pump from all day tariff to night tariff when the latter available. Which obviously save some money.
I don't think a HP would require an uninterrupted switchover, but that's also possible.

But would it legally stand with electricity suppliers?

Has anyone already done it?

Hi KundK,

If you live in the UK and have a Smart meter, you don't have to do anything, the meter records the energy used at different times during the day, and the supplier just bills you for the energy used at different tariff rates.

If my memory serves me well, before Smart meters you had to have a dual tariff meter installed, which would record the usage at different tariffs. If you don't already have a Smart meter or dual tariff meter, then request a Smart meter, they are useful to have even if you don't go down the dual tariff route.

You should not need to switch over your ASHP from one supply to another, it should all be the same supply.

👍

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KundK

(@kundk)

Eminent Member Member

Joined: 5 years ago

Posts: 19

Topic starter 21/11/2021 9:41 pm

Currently we have dual meter. And a separate circuit board for the night tariff which feeds the storage heaters.

Everything else 24/7 on the day tariff.

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Kev M

(@kev-m)

Noble Member Member

Joined: 5 years ago

Posts: 1276

21/11/2021 9:57 pm

Posted by: @kundk

Currently we have dual meter. And a separate circuit board for the night tariff which feeds the storage heaters.

Everything else 24/7 on the day tariff.

That's what I had, controlled by a contactor that came on and off automatically at my area's E7 times. The storage heaters also had their own old fashioned fused circuit breakers, now all switched off and storage heaters removed. The contactor no longer moves. We still have 2 meters and the night one still records E7 usage. I have to read both meters but I now have a single tariff.

EDIT - sorry, I have one meter that is dual tariff, i.e. has two readings but I have a single tariff supply,

This post was modified 4 years ago by Kev M

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Derek M

(@derek-m)

Illustrious Member Member

Joined: 5 years ago

Posts: 4425

21/11/2021 11:49 pm

Posted by: @kundk

Currently we have dual meter. And a separate circuit board for the night tariff which feeds the storage heaters.

Everything else 24/7 on the day tariff.

Is that one meter that does dual tariff, or two single tariff meters?

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KundK

(@kundk)

Eminent Member Member

Joined: 5 years ago

Posts: 19

Topic starter 22/11/2021 11:48 am

@derek-m one meter with dual tariff

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Jeff

(@jeff)

Prominent Member Member

Joined: 5 years ago

Posts: 591

22/11/2021 12:32 pm

Posted by: @kundk

@derek-m one meter with dual tariff

Is it a smart meter (either an earlier SMETS1 meter or a newer SMETS2 meter)?

If so it sounds like a 5 port dual tariff smart meter.

These enable dual tarrifs over 2 separate circuits. One circuit feeds the whole of the house 24x7 the other circuit is just for the Economy 7 (or in some instances Economy 10) for things like storage heaters.

There are different dual rate smart meters with only one circuit. In this case all the electrics including the storage heaters are on the same circuit. The storage heaters in this case are intelligent enough to charge up during the economy 7 hours. With this setup the whole house benefits from economy 7 (e.g. a fridge) during the economy 7 hours.

Best to speak to your current supplier about what meter you have and what features they are able to make use of. Unfortunately different suppliers offer different options...

Of course if you don't have a smart meter you could always get one.

One final thing to add is that tariffs like Octopus Go offer peak and off peak electricity. These work in different ways in that your smart meter sends 30min readings to your supplier and the supplier then works out the split between peak and off peak.

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