The meter's clock might need further checks every few months in case its drift has changed (it normally falls further behind, but running ahead is possible). Either work out how this translates to 'real' clock time, or find it emperically by listening for the "click" of the relay in the meter cabinet (not so easy when two or more flats share a cabinet), or by monitoring which rate the meter is displaying and/or whether a storage heater draws power when turned on at maximum input-if you can't watch it closely enough to log the exact time of change, you might at least be able to sample it frequently enough to know it within narrow error bars. Also, check the meter's clock and note how far out it is (again, power companies generally don't mind some inaccuracy)-the cheap period for you starts and ends when that clock shows that meter's preset times. Some are set for 12:30-7:30 or even odd times like 12:38-7:38 it can vary even in the same region with the same supplier-after all they wouldn't want the grid to have to cope with everyone's storage heaters beginning their charges at exactly the same time-and the supplier's call centre is unlikely to be equipped to tell you exactly when your cheap period is, although they might give you a general idea. Not all meters are set for 12:00-7:00 GMT. Know what your personal cheap period is.If you do it right, you might be able to put over 70% of your annual use into the cheap period (in which case watch out for meter readers swapping the figures!) Many people have Economy 7 but do not use it effectively. But if your meter's timer is not remotely controlled, read on. If your installation has a Teleswitch or Smart Meter, it can be remotely controlled by your supplier and you have no way of knowing the exact times it'll switch in and out of Economy 7-they have the right to vary it from night to night to even-out the grid, and they can even give you one or more peak-rate "gaps" during the off-peak period-which means most of the optimisations on this page won't apply and all you can do is let the supplier look after your storage heaters. This page is applicable only to dwellings whose Economy 7 meters are controlled by an offline timer.
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