logging the electrical supply to my storage radiators

[graham70]

I have recently moved into the house with storage radiators, economy 10 and dynamic teleswitching (DTS) My supplier is nPower (!) I am trying to assertain switch on and off times for the heaters, especially for the extra 3hr boost. Apart from staying up and watching the heaters, is there a simple economic logging system that will give me a 24hr reading? I did think about one of these animal tracking cameras!! Anyone any ideas?
Thanks
Graham

 

[Octopus]

plug in mechanical timer ....that only works when it has power

 

[davesparks]

Get a home energy monitor and track the changes in current draw.

 

[SparkyChick]

Not trying to be a smart a$$ or anything, but have you spoken with your supplier?

One of the things about these tariffs is that you need to know when the off peak times are so you can make best use of them. The times are likely to be fixed for large chunks of the year, having dynamic times makes it's almost impossible to get the most benefit so I would simply ask nPower.

I've googled a bit and most suppliers that mention Economy 10 specify fixed times for the off-peak period.

 

[graham70]

Thanks for the reply - have you ever tried talking to nPower - they are totally hopeless! - the pits! Spent 2 x 2hr sessions on to them ( they have a complex meter team, would you beleive)and got absolutely nowhere! They deny that the DTS unit (which I am sure is faulty)is anything to do with them, they won't send an engineer unless the actual meter(s) is faulty. I have tried changing to another supplier (EG: OVO) but as soon as I mention Economy 10 they don't want to know. I am now contacting Ofgem and have down loaded reports on DTS etc. and it makes depressing reading! I think what I would like is to go to just Economy 7 and ditch 10, but nPower won't even move on that. Thanks anyway for your advice.

 

[suffolkspark]

Often a little sticker on the meter

 

[SparkyChick]

Thanks for the reply - have you ever tried talking to nPower - they are totally hopeless! - the pits! Spent 2 x 2hr sessions on to them ( they have a complex meter team, would you beleive)and got absolutely nowhere! They deny that the DTS unit (which I am sure is faulty)is anything to do with them, they won't send an engineer unless the actual meter(s) is faulty. I have tried changing to another supplier (EG: OVO) but as soon as I mention Economy 10 they don't want to know. I am now contacting Ofgem and have down loaded reports on DTS etc. and it makes depressing reading! I think what I would like is to go to just Economy 7 and ditch 10, but nPower won't even move on that. Thanks anyway for your advice.

Economy 10 is not widely available from suppliers, but Economy 7 is much more widely available.

If nPower are being a pain in the a$$, I would identify an alternative supplier and give nPower one last chance and simply say... "If you can't answer my question regarding the off-peak times or switch me to economy 7, I'm going to switch suppliers today". They won't want to lose your business and so may get off their collectively useless a$$ and get you the information you need or switch your tariff. If they don't, move supplier. I've had a run in with nPower before and yes, they ain't great when it comes to customer service.

The alternative is to use one of the energy supplier switching services and simply switch from nPower without further consultation with them. Particularly if you want to switch to Economy 7.

As for why they are reluctant to move you off Economy 10... depending on your usage, it may be a profitable account for them because on-peak power is billed at a higher rate, so if you're not optimising your usage profile because you can't get the times... it's in their interest NOT to help you.

Personally, I'd just switch to another supplier and leave it at that.

 

[TJ Anderson]

I have recently moved into the house with storage radiators, economy 10 and dynamic teleswitching (DTS) My supplier is nPower (!) I am trying to assertain switch on and off times for the heaters, especially for the extra 3hr boost. Apart from staying up and watching the heaters, is there a simple economic logging system that will give me a 24hr reading? I did think about one of these animal tracking cameras!! Anyone any ideas?
Thanks
Graham

You could wire a mains klaxon off any circuit in the off peak db. You pick, any will do.
Then when it sounds you will know it's on. If you forget the times, then ask any of your neighbours..