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

Economy 7 is a dual-rate electricity tariff: seven hours of cheaper units at night, and a higher price for the other 17 hours of the day¹. The cheap window falls somewhere between 11.00pm and 8.00am, with the exact start set by the supplier and the regional network operator rather than by the household³. The tariff is electricity only; it is not possible to get an Economy 7 meter for a gas supply¹.

The rates differ sharply either side of that boundary. Figures used in independent heating cost work for 2026 assume 34.38p per kWh on-peak and 15.43p per kWh off-peak, with consumption split 58:42 between the two⁴. In Northern Ireland, tariffs listed on 18 September 2026 ranged from a night unit rate of 17.291p per kWh on the Click Energy Economy 7 tariff to 19.641p on Budget Energy Keypad Economy 7, with day rates of 39.771p and 42.912p on the two Budget Energy and Click tariffs listed⁵. Some Economy 7 tariffs charge almost double the night rate during the day, and the daytime rate is usually higher than on a single-rate tariff¹.

That trade is the whole question. Economy 7 rewards a household that can move a large share of its consumption after midnight, typically one heating with night storage heaters or an immersion heater on a timer⁶. It penalises a household that cannot. Guidance disagrees on where the line sits: at least 30 per cent of electricity used at night, more than 35 per cent, or at least 40 per cent⁸.

A dual-rate tariff with seven cheap hours at night

Economy 7 charges two different prices for the electricity used, depending on the time of use¹⁰. The cheaper off-peak rate applies for seven hours out of every 24, usually at night, and the on-peak rate applies the rest of the time⁶. The tariff has been on the market long enough that it is now described as one of the older types of time-of-use tariff, using fixed cheaper periods where newer electric vehicle and tracker tariffs are more dynamic⁶.

Mechanically, nothing about the tariff is clever. It does not respond to wholesale prices, to grid conditions or to what the home is doing. The supplier sets two numbers, the meter counts units into two registers, and the boundary between them never moves. That simplicity is also why the tariff survives: a household needs no app, no internet connection and no controllable appliance to use it, only a clock and a habit.

Variations exist. Some tariffs offer 8.5 or 10 hours rather than seven, and some suppliers add extra hours during winter¹¹. Economy 10, the closest relative, splits its off-peak time into seven hours at night and three during the day, most likely in the afternoon or evening¹². The difference between the two matters mainly to homes whose heating needs a daytime top-up.

In Scotland, Economy 7 meters are widely known as white meters, because the meters supplied by energy companies were white¹⁰. The tariff itself is the same. More detail on regional differences sits on the pages for tariffs in Scotland and tariffs in Northern Ireland.

How the rates work, and what the gap between them is worth

The saving on Economy 7 is not the night rate. It is the gap between the night rate and what the same units would have cost otherwise, minus the extra paid on every daytime unit. Independent heating cost work for 2026 uses 34.38p per kWh on-peak against 15.43p per kWh off-peak, roughly a 19p spread⁴. Storage heater running cost comparisons published in January 2026 used the same 15.43p per kWh as the average Economy 7 off-peak rate¹³.

For context on the single-rate alternative, the price cap unit rate for electricity was 27.69p per kWh for 1 January to 31 March 2026, alongside a 54.75p daily standing charge¹⁴. In one South Wales region, most suppliers were charging around 26.3p per kWh on single-rate standard variable tariffs in September 2026³. A household paying 34.38p for daytime units is therefore paying a clear premium for every kettle boiled at lunchtime⁴.

Northern Ireland has its own published comparison of Economy 7 tariffs, with annual costs calculated on a typical annual consumption of 3,200kWh, based on unit rate and standing charge where applicable and including VAT at 5 per cent⁵.

Comparison tables are correct only on the day they are read, and are updated when a price change takes effect rather than when it is announced¹⁵. Newer flexible tariffs open a wider gap: one dual-rate arrangement studied by Energy Systems Catapult charged 7.5p/kWh between 23.30 and 05.30 against 31.5p/kWh for the rest of the day, and a Cosy-style tariff ran a 29.73p day rate, low rates of 17.84p from 04.00 to 07.00 and 13.00 to 16.00, and a 47.56p high rate from 16.00 to 19.00¹⁶.

When the off-peak hours fall

The seven cheap hours are not a national standard. The cheaper period runs for a seven-hour block at some point between 11.00pm and 8.00am, with the regional network operator defining a window of between seven and nine hours within which the supplier sets the exact times³. Midnight to 7am is the most commonly quoted pattern, but precise timings vary by supplier¹. Some descriptions place the night period between 12am and 7am as standard¹⁷. Others give narrower or later blocks, such as 12.30am to 7.30am, or an example window of 11pm to 6am, so two homes in different regions on the same tariff name can be charged the night rate at different hours.

Two practical consequences follow. First, the times must be confirmed with the supplier before appliances are timed, because setting a washing machine for 11.30pm on a tariff whose cheap rate starts at midnight buys peak units. Because Economy 7 has a cheap and a more expensive rate, knowing exactly when the on-peak and off-peak hours fall is what makes the tariff work¹⁸. Second, clocks on older meters do not always follow British Summer Time, so the window can shift by an hour relative to the kitchen clock.

The fixed nature of the window is the tariff's defining limitation for independence. The household does not choose when its cheap electricity arrives; the supplier and the network operator do. Where more control is wanted, the time-of-use and agile and dynamic pages cover tariffs whose pricing moves with the grid.

Who Economy 7 suits

The tariff was built around night storage heaters, and that remains its core market. Economy 7 and Economy 10 are mainly intended for homes that run an electric heating system and use storage heaters⁷. Storage heaters draw cheap off-peak electricity overnight to heat high thermal capacity bricks, releasing that heat through the following day¹⁹. They are described as designed to work with Economy 7, where night-time electricity is much cheaper, typically about half the price, and daytime electricity is more expensive¹⁸. Guidance is blunt that they should always be used on an Economy 7 tariff⁴.

Beyond heating, three groups can make the numbers work:

• Homes with an immersion heater and a hot water cylinder, where a timer can bring the immersion on overnight²⁰.
• Households with an electric vehicle charged at home. Some Economy 7 tariffs are tailored to EV owners, and many dedicated EV tariffs work similarly, with a lower unit rate for seven hours during the night¹.
• Homes with a battery alone and no other flexible load, for which independent guidance points to either a dynamic tariff or Economy 7²³.

The tariff suits homes that use only electricity, or use a very large amount of it, and it does not fit every household⁶. It is typically used with electric storage heaters but is available to anyone²³. Where the home also has a heat pump, the same guidance points instead to a heat pump tariff, since an EV-shaped cheap window cannot supply much of the heat pump's demand²³. Dynamic storage heaters do not work with Economy 7 at all, which is part of why their running costs stay higher than night storage heaters⁴.

In Northern Ireland the tariff intersects with public schemes. The Affordable Warmth Scheme lists replacing Economy 7 with natural gas or oil central heating, and converting Economy 7 to a high efficiency electrical storage system where gas and oil are unavailable, among its heating measures²⁴. Under the Northern Ireland Sustainable Energy Programme, properties with Economy 7 at the time of application are provided with replacement electric high heat retention storage heaters²⁵. The Northern Ireland decent homes standard counts electric storage heaters on an off-peak or Economy 7 tariff as efficient heating²⁶.

The 40% rule, and the range around it

There is no single published threshold. Three independent bodies give three answers, and a household comparing them should treat the spread as genuine uncertainty rather than choose the most flattering figure.

One guide puts the same point the other way round: a household would have to use more than 40 per cent of its electricity during the night for switching to be worthwhile¹. Consumer guidance warns that using less than 30 per cent of electricity during the cheaper night-time hours could mean paying less on a single-rate tariff²⁷.

The reason the thresholds differ is that the break-even point is not a constant. It moves with the size of the gap between the two rates and with the level of the day rate against the single-rate alternative. On a tariff where the day rate is almost double the night rate, a larger night share is needed to break even¹. Where the spread is only 7p, the tariff has less to give in either direction²⁸. The 58:42 peak-to-off-peak split assumed in 2026 heating cost work is a modelling assumption about storage-heated homes, not a measurement of any particular household⁴.

The practical test is the household's own two meter readings over a full billing period, compared against the two unit rates on the bill. That is the only figure that reflects the actual home. The comparing energy tariffs page covers how annual cost projections are built.

Where Economy 7 falls short

Three limits recur. The first is the day rate: it will usually be higher than on a normal tariff, and on some Economy 7 tariffs it is close to double the night rate¹. Every daytime hour of a 17-hour peak period is charged at that premium³. A home that switches to Economy 7 and then fails to move its consumption pays more, not less, and does so quietly, month after month.

The second is the fixed window. Seven hours in the middle of the night suit a storage heater and an immersion timer. They suit a dishwasher on a delay start. They do not suit a household at home during the day, an electrically heated home with poor fabric that needs a daytime top-up, or a heat pump running a steady low-temperature output. Because the timing is set by supplier and network operator, there is no way to move it³.

The third is price movement. Economy 7 customers are not insulated from increases. An earlier analysis flagged a 7.6 per cent increase affecting electricity-only Economy 7 tariffs, and later commentary identified those on Economy 7 tariffs as a group continuing to lose out on standing charge arrangements³⁰. Default Economy 7 customers are covered by the energy price cap: Ofgem lists the cap as applying to default tariff customers paying by standard credit, Direct Debit, prepayment meter or Economy 7 meter³². The cap limits unit rates and standing charges, not the bill, and it does not make a badly matched tariff cheap.

A fourth, structural point sits behind all of these. Economy 7 does not reduce dependence on a supplier; it restructures it. The household still buys every unit from the grid, at prices it does not set, in hours it does not choose. What it gains is a cheaper price for behaviour it was arguably going to adopt anyway. The tariffs and household energy independence page sets out how tariff choice fits alongside generation and storage.

The Economy 7 meter: two readings

Economy 7 requires a special multi-rate meter installed at the property³³. A household without one will need the chosen supplier to install a new meter before the tariff can start¹. Electricity unit rates are either a single unit rate or a dual rate, which provides two meter readings and is usually called Economy 7³⁴. The meter records peak and off-peak usage separately, offering a two-tier system where day and night are charged at different rates⁷.

Identifying one is straightforward:

1. Check the bill for two different rates charged for day and night, or for a tariff named Economy 7 or Economy 10³⁶.
2. Look at the meter for two sets of numbers. One is for on-peak hours, marked normal or day, and one for off-peak hours, marked low or night; they may instead appear as Rate 1 and Rate 2, or R1 and R2³⁷.
3. On an electronic meter, look for a button to press to see each rate². Some meters show a single figure marked "day rate" with a red button that reveals the night rate¹.

When reading it, the daytime or on-peak figure is usually the top one, marked normal or day, or shown by default; the night or off-peak figure is the bottom one, marked low or night³⁸. On digital and prepayment meters each reading is reached by pressing a button on the meter³⁸. On some smart meters, pressing 6 repeatedly until "IMP R02" appears followed by eight digits gives what is usually the peak or normal reading³⁹. On an import and export meter in Northern Ireland, the blue button is pressed repeatedly until a small "1" appears in the corner of the display for the normal day rate⁴⁰.

Smart meters and Economy 7

All smart meters can support tariffs charging different prices at different times through the day and night, and Economy 10 meters are also available⁴³. A household on Economy 7 or Economy 10 can get a smart meter, but not all suppliers can offer this, and one listed reason for a household being unable to get one is having storage heaters on Economy 7 or 10 where the supplier does not yet offer a compatible smart meter⁴⁴. Smart meters are compatible with Economy 7 and fixed-rate tariffs and allow tariff switching without changing the meter; a traditional Economy 7 meter is compatible only with Economy 7 tariffs⁷. Some time-of-use tariffs such as Economy 7 do not require a smart meter, but access to the growing range of newer smart tariffs relies on a functioning smart meter, and some cheaper tariffs are available only to smart meter households⁴⁵. See also which tariffs your meter allows.

Using the cheap hours well

Storage heaters are the original case: they use cheap off-peak electricity available with an Economy 7 tariff to heat high thermal capacity bricks, releasing the heat the following day¹⁹. They are sometimes simply called Economy 7 heaters⁷. Independent advice is that night storage heaters are a cheap form of electric heating provided the controls are understood, the settings are updated regularly to match the heat needed, and the household is on the Economy 7 tariff⁴⁷. The input and output controls matter more than the tariff: a heater charged full on a mild night wastes cheap units, and a heater charged too little needs expensive daytime boost.

Hot water is the second lever. Where a home has a time-of-use tariff such as Economy 7, the immersion heater can be set to switch on when electricity is cheaper²⁰. A timer is particularly useful on an Economy 7 supply because it allows the cylinder to be heated on overnight cheap electricity²¹. The same principle applies to an immersion tank generally: making sure it only comes on at night is what captures the off-peak rate⁴⁷.

Beyond heat, the candidates are appliances with delay timers and any battery or vehicle charging. EV tariffs commonly mirror the Economy 7 shape, charging a lower unit rate for seven hours during the night²². Households running several of these together should note that the seven hours are shared: a storage heater bank, a cylinder and a car all drawing between midnight and 7am compete for the same window, and the last load to finish may spill into peak hours. Practical sequencing is covered on the page about shifting electricity use to cheap-rate periods.

Availability and the direction of travel

Economy 7 remains on offer as a tariff from most energy suppliers³. It is not, on that evidence, being withdrawn as a product. What is changing underneath is the metering: these older time-of-use tariffs are becoming less common as the legacy meters that support them are phased out⁴². The tariff's long history is visible in policy modelling too: a 2014 impact analysis assumed a 20 per cent take-up of static time-of-use tariffs in Great Britain from 2016, counting existing Economy 7 customers within that figure⁴⁸.

Northern Ireland is the one part of the UK with a regularly published, named comparison of Economy 7 tariffs, issued by the Consumer Council and correct on the day of comparison¹⁵. In Great Britain, Economy 7 rates sit within the standard price cap framework for default tariffs³².

For households, the sensible reading is that Economy 7 is a stable, unambitious tariff whose value depends entirely on the shape of the home's demand. It remains the right structure for a storage-heated home with a working clock, and the wrong one for a home that uses most of its electricity in daylight. Beyond switching supplier, a household does not control the tariff its supplier sets; what it controls is how and when it uses energy⁴⁹.