Economy 7 Tariffs: Rates, Night Hours and Who They Suit

Economy 7 is a time-of-use electricity tariff that charges two different prices for electricity depending on when you use it: a cheap rate for seven hours at night, and a more expensive rate for the other 17 hours of the day¹. It is one of the oldest and simplest ways a household can pay less for electricity, and it is still offered by most energy suppliers⁴.

The trade-off is the whole story of whether Economy 7 is worth it. The night rate is far cheaper than a standard single rate, but the day rate is higher than on a normal tariff, and on some deals almost double the night rate¹. Whether you win or lose therefore depends on how much of your electricity you can genuinely move into the overnight window. The usual rule of thumb is that more than 40% of your electricity needs to be used at night for the tariff to pay off, though some guidance puts the threshold at 30% to 35%¹.

Economy 7: two prices, seven cheap hours

Economy 7 is a dual-rate tariff: one price for electricity used during the day, and a cheaper price for electricity used during a seven-hour overnight period¹. The "7" in the name is simply the number of cheap hours. The cheaper off-peak rate applies for 7 hours out of every 24, usually at night, and at all other times electricity is charged at a more expensive peak rate⁶. The meter tracks the two periods separately, which is why an Economy 7 bill shows two sets of units rather than one.

The tariff belongs to a family of older time-of-use tariffs that need a compatible meter, unlike newer flexible tariffs that typically work through a smart meter⁸. Its closest relative is Economy 10, which gives ten cheaper hours split between night and daytime periods, and some variations on the same idea offer 8.5 or 10 hours rather than seven⁹. In Scotland, Economy 7 meters are known as "white meters" because the meters supplied by energy companies are white¹¹.

For a household thinking about energy independence, Economy 7 is a modest but real step. It rewards you for shifting consumption to hours when the grid is under less strain, which is the same principle behind every newer smart tariff, and it needs no technology beyond a two-rate meter. What it does not do is free you from the grid or from your supplier: the cheap hours are fixed by the supplier, the rates are set by the supplier, and the price cap still governs what can be charged¹. It is a tariff for using the grid more cleverly, not for using it less.

The rates: 15p at night, 34p by day

The size of the gap between the two rates is what makes or breaks an Economy 7 household. Independent guidance on electric heating assumes Economy 7 tariffs charge 34.38p per kWh on-peak and 15.43p per kWh off-peak, with a 58:42 split between day and night consumption⁷. The 15.43p figure is also cited as the average cost of an Economy 7 off-peak rate in January 2026⁶. Against that, the energy price cap for the period 1 January to 31 March 2026 set a typical electricity unit rate of 27.69p per kWh on a single-rate tariff in Wales¹², and most suppliers charge around 26.3p per kWh on their single-rate standard variable tariffs in the South Wales region⁴. So the night rate sits roughly 10p below a standard rate, while the day rate sits roughly 8p above it.

In Northern Ireland, where the market is separate, the Consumer Council's price comparison shows the same shape. Budget Energy's Bill Pay Economy 7 tariff charges 18.138p per kWh at night and 42.912p per kWh by day, and Click Energy's Economy 7 tariff charges 17.291p at night and 39.771p by day¹³.

Two things follow from these numbers. First, the day rate is the price you pay for the night rate: on some tariffs it approaches double the night rate¹. Second, the spread is not enormous. Analysis for the Vehicle-to-Grid Britain project notes that the Economy 7 price spread is only 7p in the case it examined, and that a simple Economy 7 tariff would nonetheless unlock most of the value achievable with a responsive half-hourly tariff¹⁴. For comparison, a dual-rate tariff in a household flexibility trial offered 7.5p per kWh overnight (23.30 to 05.30) and 31.5p per kWh for the rest of the day, a much wider gap¹⁵. Economy 7 customers on default tariffs are covered by the Ofgem energy price cap, which explicitly includes those paying on an Economy 7 meter¹⁶.

Off-peak times explained

The seven cheap hours are not the same in every home. The cheaper period usually runs between midnight and 7am, but this varies across suppliers³. The wider boundaries are firmer: the cheaper Economy 7 period runs for a seven-hour window at some point between 11.00pm and 8.00am⁴. Your regional network operator, the company responsible for physically supplying electricity to your property, has a say in where that window sits, and the off-peak period can be between 7 and 9 hours depending on the region⁴.

This matters more than it sounds. A window that starts at 11.30pm is easy to work with; one that runs from, say, 1am to 8am is not, unless your appliances are on timers. Because the hours are fixed rather than dynamic, a household cannot chase the cheapest half-hours the way it could on a modern agile tariff: the window is the window, every night, whatever the grid is doing⁸. Some energy companies also offer extra hours during winter, when overnight heating demand is highest³.

The practical step is to find out your exact window before planning anything around it. Your supplier sets the precise timings, and they vary depending on who supplies you¹. If you are timing a storage heater charge, an immersion heater or an EV charger, an hour of guesswork either side of the boundary means paying the day rate for electricity you assumed was cheap.

Is Economy 7 right for you?

Economy 7 tariffs are typically used with electric storage heaters, but they are available to anyone¹⁸. They are mainly intended for homes that run on an electric heating system and use storage heaters, because those heaters can be charged overnight on the cheap rate and left to give off heat the following day¹⁹. Storage heaters work by using cheaper off-peak night-time electricity to create and store heat, which is why they are sometimes called Economy 7 heaters¹⁹.

The tariff is associated with homes that only use electricity, or use a very large amount of it⁸. Which? states the eligibility position bluntly: Economy 7 is only available for electricity-heated homes and not those with a gas supply³. It is not possible to get an Economy 7 meter for a gas supply at all, since gas is charged at a single rate whatever the hour¹.

Beyond storage heating, three groups benefit. Households with a hot water cylinder heated by an immersion heater can heat the tank overnight on the cheap rate. Some Economy 7 tariffs are tailored to people who own electric vehicles, which can charge in the cheap window¹. And homes with a battery can charge it at night, with guidance on tariffs for renewable technology noting that a battery-only home is best off with either a dynamic tariff or Economy 7¹⁸.

Two cautions sit alongside this. Dynamic storage heaters, a newer type of electric heater, do not work with Economy 7, and their running costs are higher than night storage heaters as a result⁷. And in Northern Ireland, the Affordable Warmth Scheme treats Economy 7 as something to be replaced: its Priority 2 heating measures include replacing solid fuel, LPG or Economy 7 heating with natural gas or oil central heating, or converting Economy 7 to a high efficiency electrical storage system where gas and oil are not available²¹. That is a grant scheme's view of fuel poverty, not a verdict on the tariff, but it shows Economy 7 is not assumed to be the cheapest way to heat every home.

The 40% rule

The single most useful number on this page is the share of electricity used at night. National Energy Action puts it at 40%: for Economy 7 to be economical, at least 40% of a household's electricity needs to be used at night⁵. Energyhelpline's guidance agrees, stating that more than 40% of electricity would have to be used during the night for switching to be worthwhile¹.

Other guidance sets the bar lower. Uswitch's rule of thumb is that you would need to use more than 35% of your electricity at night to make Economy 7 cost-effective⁴. Which? says you will need to use at least 30% of your electricity during the cheaper night-time hours, and its meter guidance adds that using less than 30% during those hours could mean you would pay less on a single-rate tariff³.

The differences are not a contradiction so much as different rates assumed. The threshold depends entirely on the gap between your two rates and on your standing charge: the wider the spread, the less night usage you need to break even. The 58:42 split used in official-style assumptions about Economy 7 homes reflects the reality that most Economy 7 households are storage-heated and genuinely do use well over 40% of their power overnight⁷. A household that only runs a washing machine and a dishwasher at night will sit far below that, and for it the higher day rate will eat the savings.

The honest test is arithmetic on your own bill: add up your night units and day units, price each at the rates you would actually be charged, and compare the total with a single-rate tariff. If the split is not there, the tariff is not either.

Drawbacks of the Economy 7 tariff

The limitations are structural, and buying a different supplier's version of Economy 7 does not fix them.

• The daytime rate is higher than on a normal tariff. Your daytime rate will usually be higher than on a normal single-rate tariff, and on some Economy 7 tariffs it is almost double the night rate¹.
• The cheap window is fixed. Economy 7 and Economy 10 use fixed cheaper periods, while newer EV and tracker tariffs can be more dynamic and usually work best with a smart meter⁸. You cannot follow the cheapest hours; you get the same seven every night.
• Only seven hours. Economy 7 tariffs give you 7 off-peak hours in which you get cheaper usage rates, and no more¹⁰.
• The spread can be thin. In the Vehicle-to-Grid Britain analysis, the Economy 7 price spread was only 7p, which limits how much can be saved even with perfect shifting¹⁴.
• It does not suit heat pumps. A heat pump runs in the day and evening at the peak rate, and guidance on renewable-technology tariffs points heat pump owners towards a dedicated heat pump tariff instead¹⁸.
• It needs the right meter. Economy 7 and Economy 10 are older time-of-use tariffs that rely on having a specific type of electricity meter, and they are becoming less common as those legacy meters are phased out²³.

How the Economy 7 meter records usage twice

Economy 7 requires a special multi-rate meter to be installed at your home²⁴. The Economy 7 meter includes two different readings: the daytime or on-peak reading is usually the top one, marked 'normal' or 'day', or is the default display, and the night-time or off-peak reading is the bottom one, marked 'low' or 'night'²⁵. On digital and prepayment meters you can access each reading by pressing a button on the meter, sometimes marked Rate 1 and Rate 2²⁵.

The Centre for Sustainable Energy describes the same layout: one reading for on-peak hours, which could be marked 'normal' or 'day', and one for off-peak hours, 'low' or 'night', possibly shown as Rate 1 and Rate 2, or R1 and R2²⁶. Some meters instead show a number marked "day rate" alongside a red button that you push to get your night rate¹. Because Economy 7 has a cheap and a more expensive rate, it is important to make sure the on-peak and off-peak readings are submitted to the right registers²⁶.

To tell whether you are on Economy 7, look for two meter readings, a low or off-peak rate, a normal, high or on-peak rate, or a button to press to see each rate on an electronic meter⁵. A dedicated Economy 7 meter is only compatible with Economy 7 tariffs, and records peak and off-peak usage separately¹⁹. If you do not already have one and want the tariff, your chosen supplier will need to install a new meter¹.

Smart meters change this picture. Smart meters are compatible with Economy 7 tariffs and fixed rate tariffs, and can also enable newer time-of-use tariffs, so a household with a smart meter can change tariff without changing meter¹⁹. You can get a smart meter if you are on an Economy 7 tariff, but not all suppliers can offer this⁴. The Energy Ombudsman confirms that all smart meters can support tariffs which charge different prices at different times throughout the day and night²⁸.

Making the most of cheaper electricity periods

Economy 7 only pays if the cheap hours are actually filled, and the classic way to fill them is storage heating. For energy customers who have electric storage heaters, the Economy 7 tariff is an ideal option, as the heaters can be heated overnight and used to give off heat the following day¹. Storage heaters use Economy 7 or Economy 10 tariffs for cheaper energy at night, and the Centre for Sustainable Energy's advice is that they should always be used on an Economy 7 tariff to take advantage of cheaper overnight electricity⁵. The heaters use that cheap off-peak electricity to heat high thermal capacity bricks, which release the heat the next day²⁰.

Hot water is the second natural fit. Guidance on energy-saving myths is direct about immersion heaters: make sure your electric immersion tank only comes on at night when you are getting electricity at a much cheaper, off-peak rate²⁹. A cylinder heated overnight on the night rate holds its heat through the day, which is why Economy 7 has long been paired with immersion systems in electrically heated homes.

Beyond heating, anything with a timer can be moved: washing machines, dishwashers, tumble dryers and EV chargers. The official Decent Homes Standard consultation for Northern Ireland lists electric storage heaters on an off-peak or Economy 7 tariff as a form of efficient heating, which is the clearest official statement of where the tariff belongs³⁰. The one habit that undoes all of it is leaving storage heater controls alone: night storage heaters are a cheap form of electric heating only if you understand the controls and regularly update the settings to match the amount of heat you need²⁹. A heater charged flat-out every night on mild days is simply an expensive heater on a cheap tariff.

Availability and where Economy 7 is heading

Economy 7 is not being phased out: it remains on offer as a tariff from most energy suppliers⁴. But the direction of travel around it is clear. Time-of-use tariffs like Economy 7 and Economy 10 are becoming less common as the legacy meters that support them are phased out²³. Smart Energy GB confirms that Economy 7 and Economy 10 customers can get a smart meter, though it also notes that some customers with storage heaters on Economy 7 or 10 may find their supplier does not yet offer smart meters that work with those tariffs²⁷.

The long-term policy expectation has been in place for some years. DECC's 2014 impact analysis assumed that, including existing Economy 7 customers, there would be a 20% take up of static time-of-use tariffs starting from 2016³¹. The successors to those static tariffs are the dynamic ones: half-hourly and flexible tariffs that need a smart meter, and which reward shifting with finer-grained prices than a fixed seven-hour block⁸. Declining a smart meter carries a cost of its own, since it excludes a household from cheaper tariffs which are only available with one³².

For the household, the practical position is this. Economy 7 still works, is still sold, and still cuts the cost of overnight electricity for homes that can genuinely shift their use. It is protected by the price cap¹. But it is a fixed, supplier-set window in a market moving towards tariffs that follow the grid in real time, and its value analysis already shows a simple Economy 7 tariff unlocking most, though not all, of what a responsive half-hourly tariff can offer¹⁴. Homes planning storage heaters, a battery or an EV charger today are choosing a tariff landscape that will look different in ten years, and a smart meter keeps every option open¹⁹.