I've moved into a flat with storage heaters. What tariff should I be on?

• ✓A fact sheet on Stroud District Council's website explains that night storage heaters store heat from cheaper night-time electricity in a core of clay or ceramic bricks, then release it gradually the next day.
• ✓The input dial, sometimes called overnight charge, sets how much heat is stored. The fact sheet suggests high in winter and medium in autumn and spring, or leaving an automatic input to adjust itself.
• ✓The output dial, sometimes labelled room temperature, sets how fast the heat comes out. Keeping it at minimum overnight saves the stored heat for when you need it.
• ✓Boost uses more expensive peak-rate electricity, so keep it for when the stored heat has run out. The fact sheet says turning up the input is better than adding plug-in heaters.
• ✓Citizens Advice warns that storage heaters which are not set up properly can cost you more money.

Sources: Stroud District Council: a guide to using electric storage heaters (Severn Wye fact sheet) (read 15 October 2026); Citizens Advice: choosing your energy tariff (read 15 October 2026)

• ✓Citizens Advice says you can charge storage heaters on a standard variable or fixed tariff, but a time-of-use tariff such as Economy 7 or Economy 10 usually works out cheaper.
• ✓Economy 7 usually gives 7 off-peak hours in one block overnight, and Economy 10 usually gives 10 hours, which can be split across the day. You can usually get either with a two-rate meter or a smart meter.
• ✓Citizens Advice adds that time-of-use tariffs with short cheap blocks of a couple of hours might not work well for charging storage heaters.
• ✓Check your own off-peak hours. British Gas says the night rate on its Economy 7 tariffs runs for 7 hours between midnight and 8am, and that your tariff details give the exact times.
• ✓British Gas's rule of thumb is that Economy 7 works out cheaper if you use 40% or more of your electricity overnight. Ofgem's typical Economy 7 home uses 42% at night.

Sources: Citizens Advice: choosing your energy tariff (read 15 October 2026); British Gas: Economy 7 tariffs explained (read 15 October 2026); Ofgem: review of typical domestic consumption values, decision (27 May 2026) (read 15 October 2026)

• ✓Ofgem describes a single-rate tariff as one where you pay the same unit rate all day, so the overnight charging your heaters rely on gets no discount.
• ✓Some homes have the heating wired to a separate off-peak meter or circuit that only runs at certain times. The Competition and Markets Authority found that moving these homes to a single-rate tariff could mean changing or reprogramming the meter, sometimes with rewiring, and that the supplier or the customer might pay, depending on the supplier.
• ✓With a standard Economy 7 meter, EDF says you can ask it to totalise your rates, giving you one rate without changing the meter, or switch a smart meter out of Economy 7 mode.
• ✓Before you agree to any change, ask the supplier in writing what will happen to the heater circuit and its timings, and whether you can go back to Economy 7 later.

Sources: Ofgem: energy price cap unit rates and standing charges, 1 October to 31 December 2026 (read 15 October 2026); Competition and Markets Authority: restricted meters, energy market investigation (2016) (read 15 October 2026); EDF: Economy 7, what it is and how to change it (read 15 October 2026)

• ✓Citizens Advice says that if you pay your energy supplier directly, you can switch supplier or tariff. If your landlord pays the supplier, you cannot, though you can ask them to.
• ✓Check your tenancy agreement first. Ofgem suggests looking for a list of suppliers you must choose from, whether you need to tell your landlord or letting agent, and a clause requiring you to switch the supply back when you leave.
• ✓Ask your landlord in writing before any change to the meter. Citizens Advice warns that a landlord might try to keep some of your deposit if you changed a meter they did not want changed.
• ✓Faulty heaters are your landlord's to fix. GOV.UK says your landlord is always responsible for repairs to heating and hot water and to electrical wiring, and that you should only carry out repairs if your tenancy agreement says you can.
• ✓In England, landlords must have the electrics checked at least every 5 years by a qualified person and give tenants proof. If repairs are not done, GOV.UK says to contact your council's environmental health team, and notes that Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own housing standards and procedures.

Sources: Citizens Advice: switching energy supplier or tariff if you're renting (read 15 October 2026); Ofgem: switch your home energy supplier (read 15 October 2026); GOV.UK: private renting, repairs (read 15 October 2026); GOV.UK: electrical safety standards in the private and social rented sectors (England) (read 15 October 2026)

• ✓E.ON Next's pilot tariff, Next Lower Daily Fixed 24m v43, includes an Eco 7 electricity version. Ofgem let E.ON offer it only to existing customers signing up between 1 June 2026 and 31 May 2027.
• ✓Pilot tariffs swap a lower standing charge for higher unit rates. Ofgem says customers on them could pay more for the energy they use, depending on how much they use.
• ✓Use varies a lot between multi-rate homes: Ofgem's typical values run from 1,900 to 6,100 kWh a year. Price a full year on your own day and night use before you take a pilot tariff.
• ✓Our standing charges guide sets out each supplier's pilot terms and the break-even arithmetic.

Sources: Ofgem: E.ON Next derogation for lower standing charge pilot tariffs (26 June 2026) (read 15 October 2026); Ofgem: lower standing charge tariffs, next steps (updated 22 June 2026) (read 15 October 2026); Ofgem: review of typical domestic consumption values, decision (27 May 2026) (read 15 October 2026)

• ✓Ofgem says support for Radio Teleswitch meters has now ended, and one still in place may no longer work as expected. Contact your supplier to arrange a new smart meter.
• ✓Energy UK, the suppliers' trade body, says the phase-out was completed on 30 June 2026, and that a smart meter can be programmed to give a similar service.
• ✓Signs you might have one, according to Energy UK: a separate switch box near the meter with a Radio Teleswitch label, electric or storage heating, no gas supply, and a tariff such as Economy 7, Economy 10 or Total Heat Total Control.
• ✓Without a replacement, Energy UK says heating or hot water can stay on or off or charge at the wrong time, and your costs could be much higher.
• ✓Ofgem says suppliers owe £40 per fuel per meter point if they miss the guaranteed standards for booking a meter appointment.

Sources: Ofgem: get help with your smart meter (read 15 October 2026); Energy UK: the Radio Teleswitch Service switch-off (read 15 October 2026); Ofgem: Radio Teleswitch policy decision and phase-out update (March 2026) (read 15 October 2026)

• ✓Ofgem opened a call for input on updating the price cap's time-of-use methodology on 12 October 2026. It closes on 20 November 2026.
• ✓Ofgem says the move to market-wide half-hourly settlement makes it an appropriate time to review how the multi-rate cap level is set, and it sets out three options.
• ✓Its May 2026 consumption review kept the Economy 7 split at 58% day and 42% night, saying any change should come in that wider assessment.
• ✓A call for input is not a decision, so Economy 7 bills this winter are capped under the current approach.

Sources: Ofgem: energy price cap, updating the time-of-use methodology (call for input) (read 15 October 2026); Ofgem: review of typical domestic consumption values, decision (27 May 2026) (read 15 October 2026)

• ✓Add your new address and move-in date, and Taupia tells you which supplier already serves the property, so you know who to ask about the meter and tariff.
• ✓It keeps your energy, broadband, mobile and water bills in one place and, in a shared flat, splits them and tracks who has paid without moving any money.
• ✓It compares energy deals and switches only once your household approves. Check that any new tariff works with your meter and heaters before you leave Economy 7.
• ✓Taupia is free.

• ✓From 1 July 2026, Ofgem's typical yearly use for a multi-rate meter is 1,900 kWh for low use, 3,400 kWh for medium and 6,100 kWh for high, down from 2,200, 3,900 and 6,700 kWh.
• ✓Ofgem assumes 58% of Economy 7 use happens in the day and 42% at night, a split it left unchanged in May 2026.
• ✓For 1 October to 31 December 2026, Ofgem's typical Economy 7 bill by Direct Debit is £1,046 a year, at 3,400 kWh.
• ✓The cap does not set day and night rates separately. Ofgem says the two together cannot be more than the cap, which for 1 October to 31 December 2026 averages 24.90p per kWh with a 54.62p daily standing charge by Direct Debit.
• ✓There is no VAT on domestic electricity in Great Britain from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027, and Ofgem said households that do not use gas would see a rise of less than 1% this October.
• ✓These are Great Britain figures. In Northern Ireland the Utility Regulator regulates electricity, and domestic electricity keeps its 5% VAT.

Sources: Ofgem: review of typical domestic consumption values, decision (27 May 2026) (read 15 October 2026); Ofgem: summary of changes to the energy price cap, 1 October to 31 December 2026 (read 15 October 2026); Ofgem: energy price cap unit rates and standing charges, 1 October to 31 December 2026 (read 15 October 2026); GOV.UK: temporary zero rate of VAT on domestic electricity in Great Britain (read 15 October 2026); Ofgem: energy price cap will rise by 4% from October 2026 (read 15 October 2026); Utility Regulator: regulating electricity, gas and water in Northern Ireland (read 15 October 2026)