Night saver meter

Luckylow10 · 16-06-2019 10:01pm #1

Due to recent EV purchase im looking at changing to a NightSaver meter which I’m aware is free . However I understand there is a charge of approx €190 if I ever want to go back to standard 24 meter.

Is this correct? Why would this be the case as surely the units showing on the meter for day and night are just totaled up on the bill?

I’m with Energia at the moment they seem to be the cheapest..

NIMAN · 16-06-2019 10:05pm

Yeah its free to change over, and you are charged to change back.

Not sure why you are charged to go back? Maybe to recoup the money they spent sending a guy out to change the meter?

Only thing I can think of.

unkel · 16-06-2019 10:06pm

There's no need to ever go back to a standard meter. In fact all current meters will be replaced in the next few years by smart meters.

Luckylow10 · 16-06-2019 10:10pm

unkel wrote: »

There's no need to ever go back to a standard meter. In fact all current meters will be replaced in the next few years by smart meters.

Actually I did read about that so I suppose there is no real risk for me if I ever did want to change back down the line, I suppose I’m just curious as to why they would have to charge you. Is it because they have to change the meter back to a standard one as I can’t see why they would have to do that.. ?

Does anyone know roughly how long the process of getting new night meter installed takes?

Mickeroo · 16-06-2019 10:12pm

Luckylow10 wrote: »

Actually I did read about that so I suppose there is no real risk for me if I ever did want to change back down the line, I suppose I’m just curious as to why they would have to charge you. Is it because they have to change the meter back to a standard one as I can’t see why they would have to do that.. ?

Does anyone know roughly how long the process of getting new night meter installed takes?

They shoukd have someone out to you within a week of asking.

Luckylow10 · 16-06-2019 10:13pm

Mickeroo wrote: »

They shoukd have someone out to you within a week of asking.

Oh I was expecting a couple of months! That’s great to hear.

JPA · 16-06-2019 10:23pm

I changed to night saver and they installed a smart meter.

€50 to change back seemingly. But considering they won't have to change anything maybe that will be abolished.

n97 mini · 16-06-2019 10:42pm

There is no charge to change back as they don't change the meter, just how you're billed.

I've changed over and back a few times and have been told I'd be charged. The ESBN lad comes around, looks at the meter and notes on the system that the billing is 24 hour. It's usually accompanied by a "they told you that you'd have to pay to change back?" followed by a rolleyes.

KCross · 16-06-2019 10:42pm

Luckylow10 wrote: »

However I understand there is a charge of approx €190 if I ever want to go back to standard 24 meter.

Is this correct? Why would this be the case as surely the units showing on the meter for day and night are just totaled up on the bill?.

My educated guess is that it’s nothing to do with it costing them money to change you back, they just want to ensure people are not changing every 6 months because it would be advantageous to do so, in some circumstances.

Basically pick the plan that suits you and stick with it. That’s what they want you to do.

NIMAN · 17-06-2019 12:22am

unkel wrote: »

There's no need to ever go back to a standard meter. In fact all current meters will be replaced in the next few years by smart meters.

But the OP wouldn't physically be 'going back' to an old meter, I think they would likely charge you to move back off the night saver tariff to go back to your original tariff.

Zenith74 · 17-06-2019 8:58am

JPA wrote: »

I changed to night saver and they installed a smart meter.

Was it a smart meter, or just a digital one maybe? Did they leave your existing meter and add an additional meter, or did they take out the existing one and just leave you with the new one?

I know they are ramping up towards piloting the new smart meters, would be exciting if they were rolling some out already! Any photos?

FOTW · 17-06-2019 10:53am

I was told by Energia I can change the way I'm metered for free once every six months over that and it would be a €50 admin fee to change. When I signed up with them I was on just standard metering, once I had switched over to them I called up a week later and switched to day/night metering. I think the engineer was out about 4 days later. All went fairly seamlessly.

Luckylow10 · 17-06-2019 2:32pm

I called Energia and the meter is being installed this Friday.. They said either your existing meter will be adjusted or a new one installed. They never once mentioned costs to change back or anything like that. I have looked at other suppliers and Energia seem to be by far the cheapest.

There is a cap of usage , I can use with the new tariff -bi mnthly 3000 units day and 2000 night..

unkel · 17-06-2019 2:49pm

Luckylow10 wrote: »

There is a cap of usage , I can use with the new tariff -bi mnthly 3000 units day and 2000 night..

That's (3000 + 2000) * 6 bills = 30000kWh per year

The average Irish household uses about one tenth of that, so you'll be grand

kevin16w · 21-06-2019 9:48am

I cant figure out what is going on. But i am with supplier A and rang to get a price for moving to day/night rate. They advised rate and also said that it would be €270 to change the meter to day/night meter.
Supplier A advised ring ESB and they might do for free for my house. So i called ESB and they advised the request needs to come from supplier not myself. ESB also advised they would never be charging me, just supplier and its up to them if they charge me.

So then called supplier B, requested rate. Got rate. They also advised me that there would be a charge to change meter to day/night meter and it would be €192 for that change. I advised that i was told it would be free. They asked where i had heard that. I said it was all over boards.

I left it at that. Now i am none the wiser as to what to do.

Please help. i really did not expect to be paying for this change. Especially seeing that the smart meters would be rolling out in the near (ish) future.

Batesy · 21-06-2019 9:51am

Why are you not referring to the suppliers by name?

kevin16w · 21-06-2019 10:10am

Batesy wrote: »

Why are you not referring to the suppliers by name?

Not sure. Just old i guess. Supplier A is BGE who i am with. Supplier B was Engergia and they were the ones everyone is recommending as cheapest.

Energia rang me back advising it would not be a charge. But i would need to switch over to them first and get setup as standard 24 hour rate then move to day/night rate.

thos · 21-06-2019 10:15am

I'm with Bord Gais, just switched to Night Saver, for free. They checked my MPRN, and asked if there had been any Night Saver before, and noted there was a charge for subsequent changes but first change was free.
So if your MPRN registered that there was previously a night rate, or someone changing back and forth, they may have wanted to enforce the rate.

ESB were out to me within a week, I had digital meter already, they just double checked and were on their way.

kevin16w · 21-06-2019 10:22am

thos wrote: »

I'm with Bord Gais, just switched to Night Saver, for free. They checked my MPRN, and asked if there had been any Night Saver before, and noted there was a charge for subsequent changes but first change was free.
So if your MPRN registered that there was previously a night rate, or someone changing back and forth, they may have wanted to enforce the rate.

ESB were out to me within a week, I had digital meter already, they just double checked and were on their way.

Hi Thos,

Are you happy with BGE. When i was chatting to them, the rate just seemed so much higher than Energia. And they then told me to ring ESB and request.
It seems to be a strange one for me that on both calls, neither myself or the sales person had a clue.

Alkers · 21-06-2019 10:35am

kevin16w wrote: »

Energia rang me back advising it would not be a charge. But i would need to switch over to them first and get setup as standard 24 hour rate then move to day/night rate.

That's fairly standard, go with that.

thos · 21-06-2019 10:46am

kevin16w wrote: »

Hi Thos,

Are you happy with BGE. When i was chatting to them, the rate just seemed so much higher than Energia. And they then told me to ring ESB and request.
It seems to be a strange one for me that on both calls, neither myself or the sales person had a clue.

They've been fine, no issues, 6 months with them.

unkel · 21-06-2019 11:35am

kevin16w wrote: »

it would be €270 to change the meter to day/night meter.

kevin16w wrote: »

They also advised me that there would be a charge to change meter to day/night meter and it would be €192 for that change.

Very strange. Looks like the staff you were talking about had been instructed to pull a fast one. Glad you checked here first rather than pay up

It's free. Ring your supplier, demand a night rate meter. They will then contact ESB networks who will contact you about coming out to do the install. Should all be done within a few working days. It's free. Nobody gets any bill.

kevin16w · 21-06-2019 11:39am

unkel wrote: »

Very strange. Looks like the staff you were talking about had been instructed to pull a fast one. Glad you checked here first rather than pay up

It's free. Ring your supplier, demand a night rate meter. They will then contact ESB networks who will contact you about coming out to do the install. Should all be done within a few working days. It's free. Nobody gets any bill.

I am going to move from BGE to Energia and get them to sort out the meter. So do both at the same time. It might take a little longer but wont be an issue.

What was strange was the difference in the charge that both were advising. Made no sense, ESB would charge them a set charge so must be an admin charge on top of that.

FaganJr · 21-06-2019 12:39pm

Just checked with Airtricity and its also free once you haven't changed
meter in previous 12 months

Luckylow10 · 21-06-2019 3:50pm

ESB came and installed new meter, It’s a digital meter and he said there is a 24 hour setting also on it so there will be no need to ever get another meter installed if I wanted to change back. Also said smart meter will be here in autumn and I can request to be prioritized for one. Also he said they are doing 3-4 nightsaver meter installs a wk due to EVs..

ethernet · 01-07-2019 1:56pm

Just a heads-up: called Energia to switch over to day-night (for the first time) so was expecting it to be free. But they made a booboo and ended up charging €170 for a "meter configuration change". Got it sorted with a phone call. Just be sure to look at the bill breakdown after requesting the change.

D Dastardly · 02-07-2019 10:31pm

I work days and nights 50/50 would it be worth it for me to go onto a night meter?

n97 mini · 03-07-2019 12:03am

D Dastardly wrote: »

I work days and nights 50/50 would it be worth it for me to go onto a night meter?

Do you have an EV? Can you charge it at night at least once a week? If so, then yes.

D Dastardly · 03-07-2019 12:30am

Yes i have a 30kwh leaf and my home charging usage is a 50/50 split between days and nights, i use 16kwh a day for my commute to work.

ltd440 · 03-07-2019 6:38pm

Somebody else has done the maths on changing over to night rate, and I think it was if you can do approx 3 kwh per night on the night rate it works out cheaper

04-07-2019 4:37pm

I charge the EV about once or twice a week and usually not full charges. Work charging eliminates most of my need to charge at home now except on Holidays , some days off or if I go off on my days off shift. I use the Carlow DC sometimes too.

We're still using 50-60% of our electricity at night.

I got a couple of SDR radio's online 24x7 , NAS, Sat TV Box, Old Laptop I'm using as a server for my Ham radio for remote operation etc etc, all adds up. These can all run at the cheaper rate at night, oh, and the immersion is used during the warmer months too, all on night electricity.

Washing machine , Dryer or one or the other because you can't have the washing machine on and wait up for it to finish etc. Usually not the dishwasher because it has no delay timer oddly enough.

n97 mini · 04-07-2019 7:24pm

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I charge the EV about once or twice a week and usually not full charges. Work charging eliminates most of my need to charge at home now except on Holidays , some days off or if I go off on my days off shift. I use the Carlow DC sometimes too.

We're still using 50-60% of our electricity at night.

I got a couple of SDR radio's online 24x7 , NAS, Sat TV Box, Old Laptop I'm using as a server for my Ham radio for remote operation etc etc, all adds up. These can all run at the cheaper rate at night, oh, and the immersion is used during the warmer months too, all on night electricity.

Washing machine , Dryer or one or the other because you can't have the washing machine on and wait up for it to finish etc. Usually not the dishwasher because it has no delay timer oddly enough.

Night rate finishes at 9am so you could put the dish washer on in the morning?

We needed a new washing machine a couple of years ago so we bought a washer-dryer. I was reluctant (based experience I had 25 years earlier) but it's worked out great. A full wash and dry cycle can be about 4 hours, but it senses when the clothes are dry, so it stops when it needs to. It's also condensing, so no need for an external flue. The condensate goes out the regular waste water pipe.

Calahonda52 · 05-07-2019 7:40am

ltd440 wrote: »

Somebody else has done the maths on changing over to night rate, and I think it was if you can do approx 3 kwh per night on the night rate it works out cheaper

https://www.electricireland.ie/news/article/all-you-need-to-know-about-the-nightsaver-meter

Is NightSaver for you?
As a rule of thumb, to make a saving with the day/night meter, roughly a quarter of your usage would need to be concentrated during the night-rate period - this would equate to around 3 units with average usage of 11 units per day (or 4,200kWh annually).

chewed · 15-07-2020 10:46am

I've recently got a car charger installed into the house. I'm with Energia on standard plan, but wondering is it worth moving to the nightsaver plan? We'll be charging car possibly twice a week (not to full charge). Other than that we may only use the dishwasher at night. Both of us will now be working from home a lot more so will be using a bit more power during daytime than we would have before.

Black_Knight · 15-07-2020 10:58am

chewed wrote: »

I've recently got a car charger installed into the house. I'm with Energia on standard plan, but wondering is it worth moving to the nightsaver plan? We'll be charging car possibly twice a week (not to full charge). Other than that we may only use the dishwasher at night. Both of us will now be working from home a lot more so will be using a bit more power during daytime than we would have before.

What size battery are you going to be charging twice a week?

Generally, yes, it's cheaper to go nightrate. The day rate increase is pretty negligible (usually 1 cent extra per kWh), the night rate is about half (usually around 9c/kWh). Dishwasher, washing machine, and dryer at night can all add up to eat into the additional expense of the night rate standing order.

In my last 30 days i've used 45.4kWh at night for washing/drying and dishwasher. Over the year (dryer would be used more in winter months) that adds up to about the extra €50 the standing order is costing. I charge about once a week these days, and it's still worth having the night rate meter.

Edit: in the last 6 weeks I've use 339kWh at night and only 226 in the day. Both WFH.

chewed · 15-07-2020 12:52pm

Black_Knight wrote: »

What size battery are you going to be charging twice a week?

Generally, yes, it's cheaper to go nightrate. The day rate increase is pretty negligible (usually 1 cent extra per kWh), the night rate is about half (usually around 9c/kWh). Dishwasher, washing machine, and dryer at night can all add up to eat into the additional expense of the night rate standing order.

In my last 30 days i've used 45.4kWh at night for washing/drying and dishwasher. Over the year (dryer would be used more in winter months) that adds up to about the extra €50 the standing order is costing. I charge about once a week these days, and it's still worth having the night rate meter.

Edit: in the last 6 weeks I've use 339kWh at night and only 226 in the day. Both WFH.

Thanks for info Black Knight. We have a 64KW battery (Kia Niro), but would only be charging to 80% (usually from around 30 or 40%).

We don't have a dryer, so Dishwasher and possibly washing machine could be used at night (including the car).

Black_Knight · 15-07-2020 2:55pm

chewed wrote: »

Thanks for info Black Knight. We have a 64KW battery (Kia Niro), but would only be charging to 80% (usually from around 30 or 40%).

We don't have a dryer, so Dishwasher and possibly washing machine could be used at night (including the car).

Well my numbers above are pretty much excluding the dryer, given the fine weather of late.

64kW eNiro, about 40-50% each time you charge, so about 32kWh (there'll be loses to heat etc) twice a week (~400km a week?). 64kWh * 52 weeks of the year. If night rate saves you 9cent/kWh, that's about €300 saved by charging the car at night. €50 for the extra standing order, and maybe €50 extra a year for the more expensive day rate (3k kWh of day usage per year @ 1 cent extra/kWh = €30).

So somewhere between €200 and €250 cheaper to go to a night rate. All vague maths, but given what you've said it very much seems like a night rate will suit you.

chewed · 15-07-2020 6:40pm

Black_Knight wrote: »

Well my numbers above are pretty much excluding the dryer, given the fine weather of late.

64kW eNiro, about 40-50% each time you charge, so about 32kWh (there'll be loses to heat etc) twice a week (~400km a week?). 64kWh * 52 weeks of the year. If night rate saves you 9cent/kWh, that's about €300 saved by charging the car at night. €50 for the extra standing order, and maybe €50 extra a year for the more expensive day rate (3k kWh of day usage per year @ 1 cent extra/kWh = €30).

So somewhere between €200 and €250 cheaper to go to a night rate. All vague maths, but given what you've said it very much seems like a night rate will suit you.

Wow! Very impressed with your "vague" maths! :-) Thanks for the breakdown.

It definitely seems like a better option overall. What we might do is figure out exactly how much KWh we end up using on the car over a month (sometimes we'll charge in public places) and see if it's worth our while to switch over.

I'll have a chat with Energia as well to see what deal they have.

Thanks again.

Black_Knight · 15-07-2020 9:24pm

Esb gonna start charging for charging soon. So those free top ups will be in shorter supply soon.

As for connecting energia, if you want to switch to a night meter that's free, just ask energia, they'll flip you onto the night rate no bother.

If you're out of contract, guestimate your usage and use bonkers to get the best deal. Staying with your provider is 99% of the time not the best value for money.

Black_Knight · 17-07-2020 10:34pm

Just came across these guys. Glowpower.ie
Seems great value. Even the 24hour rate is pretty damn good.

Day/Night:
Day:(17.3201 cent incl. VAT)
Night:(8.9892 cent incl. VAT)
Standing order: (€103.57 incl. VAT)

24Hour:
Unit price: 14.7096 cent incl. VAT
Standing order: (€95.28 incl. VAT)

unkel · 17-07-2020 11:53pm

Black_Knight wrote: »

Just came across these guys. Glowpower.ie
Seems great value. Even the 24hour rate is pretty damn good.

Day/Night:
Day:(17.3201 cent incl. VAT)
Night:(8.9892 cent incl. VAT)
Standing order: (€103.57 incl. VAT)

24Hour:
Unit price: 14.7096 cent incl. VAT
Standing order: (€95.28 incl. VAT)

Do you work for them or something

A quick look on bonkers.ie shows their night rate is not even in the top 10 of best night rates

rx8 · 18-07-2020 12:51am

I'll be changing from Energia in the next few weeks and as far as I can see it'll be Bord Gais that have the best rates for me. Energia offering 10% and 11% to stay, and when pushed they will go to 20 and 21% plus a free boiler service. Ehhh, no thanks!! (BGE are 38% gas and 29% electricity,plus good night rate)

Black_Knight · 18-07-2020 6:52am

unkel wrote: »

Do you work for them or something

A quick look on bonkers.ie shows their night rate is not even in the top 10 of best night rates

Not like their night rate is bad by any stretch, and the day rate is very good (best I've seen from memory). If a different provider can save me 1c on those night rates, but day rates cost 2c more I'd be better if with these. Nevermind the significantly cheaper standing order.
Night rate isn't everything for ev drivers, especially in this WFH climate.

graememk · 18-07-2020 8:02am

Black_Knight wrote: »

Just came across these guys. Glowpower.ie
Seems great value. Even the 24hour rate is pretty damn good.

Day/Night:
Day:(17.3201 cent incl. VAT)
Night:(8.9892 cent incl. VAT)
Standing order: (€103.57 incl. VAT)

24Hour:
Unit price: 14.7096 cent incl. VAT
Standing order: (€95.28 incl. VAT)

Just went to their website, thought the standing charge was really cheap..
It's showing the urban standing charge as
€207.14 for nightsaver

If it was 100 odd euro you would have to use a lot of electricity to make up the difference in unit prices at 1 or 2 c difference

18-07-2020 10:09am

I cancelled my Energia account yesterday and herself signed up in her name so two fingers to Energia for not looking after their existing customers, especially high energy users like EV owners.

Anyway, we will now pay.

14.22 c/Kwh Day

6.83 Night.

jspuds · 18-07-2020 10:22am

Deleted User wrote: »

I cancelled my Energia account yesterday and herself signed up in her name so two fingers to Energia for not looking after their existing customers, especially high energy users like EV owners.

Anyway, we will now pay.

14.22 c/Kwh Day

6.83 Night.

That night rate seems very cheap, is that inc VAT and if so who is it with?

18-07-2020 10:36am

jspuds wrote: »

That night rate seems very cheap, is that inc VAT and if so who is it with?

It's with Energia and yes including VAT.

I don't know what the Affinity code discount is though ? think when you register online you get this discount but not sure yet have to wait until we get the welcome pack in the post.

18-07-2020 10:38am

I really wish boards.ie would update their site to display high res images properly, I'm sick and tired having to change pics to 1024x768 for them to display properly, in this day and age.......

Black_Knight · 18-07-2020 11:26am

graememk wrote: »

Just went to their website, thought the standing charge was really cheap..
It's showing the urban standing charge as
€207.14 for nightsaver

If it was 100 odd euro you would have to use a lot of electricity to make up the difference in unit prices at 1 or 2 c difference

It's only cheaper on comparison sites. Through their own site you don't get this deal. Dunno why

Black_Knight · 18-07-2020 11:32am

[Deleted User] wrote: »

It's with Energia and yes including VAT.

I don't know what the Affinity code discount is though ? think when you register online you get this discount but not sure yet have to wait until we get the welcome pack in the post.

Tis a great rate to be fair. The €200 cash back from electric Ireland swung me in their favour when I was switching, but I'd say there's not much in it against those rates.

18-07-2020 6:06pm

See here the prices, but they will not give it to existing customers which is why I cancelled and got my Partner to set it up, we're not married obviously so the different name causes no suspicion.

Couldn't set it up with the Joint account either because they wanted both names and they might have spotted that so she has to pay it from her account.

According to my previous Bill I was paying this per Kwh Day/Night , they were fleecing me, this what they do, fleece existing customers.

0.219 C/Kwh Day
0.105 C/Kwh Night

Then at the bottom is + Vat so it looks as though those prices per Kwh were excluding vat and the real cost would be

0.219 C/Kwh Day = 29.565 c/Kwh Inc VAT
0.105 c/Kwh Night = 11.197 c/Kwh Inc VAT.

Or am I reading that wrong ? Damn robbers if they were, it went up a lot for me then.

Night saver meter

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