Economy 7 tariffs charge different prices for your energy depending on the time of day. While costs at night can be significantly lower than on a regular tariff, rates are much more expensive during the day. 

 

Economy 7 is an electricity tariff that could help you save money on your overnight energy costs. A specially installed meter tracks day and nighttime energy usage separately and charges two different rates, depending on the time of day. 

 

Economy 7 could particularly help keep your costs down if you run electric storage heaters and energy-sapping appliances such as washing machines, dishwashers and slow cookers at night. 

 

The name ‘Economy 7’ comes from the seven-hour off-peak time slot when electricity is cheaper due to lower demand on the National Grid. The major downside to one of these plans is that electricity is a lot more expensive during the daytime. 

 

Economy 7 meters have a special design that lets them measure electricity usage at two or more different rates. If you have an Economy 7 meter, you will see two readouts labelled ‘normal’ and ‘low’ or ‘day rate’ and a button that switches it to ‘night rate’. This is what allows these tariffs to work.