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bihoraire meter for electricity
Following the installation of an electric immersion heater, we are now trying to work out if switching to a day/night tariff would be beneficial. Looking at the electrabel site, it seems to say that the low/night tariff is applicable during the weekend - does anyone know if that is correct? Or did I read it wrong? Our heating is gas and we are out at work during the day so could anyone advise if we would benefit from switching? Also how much does it cost roughly to install a new meter? Thanks for any help.
From our experience it is very worthwhile having two electric meters, one of which operates on a reduced rate tariff. You should call your supplier of electricity to get the exact hours. With our provider any electricity used between 2200 and 0700 and any time during the weekend is at the reduced rate. For all of last year we used almost as much electricity on the reduced rate as we did on the daytime rate. This reduced our total electrical bill considerably as the reduced rate is just a bit more than half of the regular rate. We use our washing machine, dryer and dishwasher only after 2200. They are the big consumers of electricity. What might be important for you is whether or not the new immersion heater is set up to only heat water during the night or any time. It would be most advantageous if it heated water at night which you could then use during the day. Sorry I can't help with an installation estimate. We had ours installed when the house was built. Electrabel should be able to give you an estimate.
If you can put your water heater on a timer and heat water only at night/weekends, then it should be worthwhile. We do that - no problems ever of running out of hot water during the day. Our water heater is connected to a timer in the fuse box.
Washing machines and dishwashers usually have a delayed start function, so you can set them to run at night.
I'm not sure about the cost for the bihoraire meter, but 350 euros sticks out in my mind. This may not include the cost to install it which likely has to be done by the electric company.
If running out of hot water is a realistic option (for us it would only happen if we all took a bath and cleaned the house, did dishes, etc on the same day), then you might want to leave it wired normally, try to shower/bathe before 7h or after 22h, or manually flip the breaker switch in the evening and morning when it is convenient.
Hot water is likely your biggest consumer of electricity.
Be aware that the daytime electricity rate is around 10% higher than the regular electricity rate, so the night-time rate is not nearly half of the regular rate. Still, it should work out in your favor if you'll live in your home for some years.
I have timers on everything. Where I live, the night tariff starts at 9 pm, so I can even run more than 1 machine per night if I wanted to. It stops at 6 am. It's on all weekend. For hot water, it makes a huge difference. I had an electrical hot water boiler when I was living in Brussels. My electrician explained that unless you put a timer on it, the boiler works most of the day, heating water that is already hot to keep it so hot. So even without night tariff, it made a difference to time it for a few hours in the morning and a few hours in the evening. (ask your electrician how long it takes to heat up the water). As Rico said, it is quite unlikely to run out of hot water with normal use. But you can always switch it on manually in case of an emergency.
To add to my comment above, and the cost of electricity with two meters, on my bill for last year the price for “heures pleines” or daytime hours is 9.88918 cEUR/kWh and the price for “heures creuses” or nighttime hours is 5.68545 cEUR/kWh. Our supplier is eni. I said that night hours were about half of day hours. This isn’t quite true, but there is still a significant difference and it’s worthwhile having a night meter. The beginning and ending time may vary from one supplier to another.
