I understand broadly how the tariff works, or the more elusive Economy 10 for that matter.
Looking around at available info., it seems that you're stuck with whether your supplier does it or not, and I assume once they do an install you're stuck with them for a while.
I've no idea if they charge for installation or if you can have one done privately and then drift around the various suppliers for the most lucrative tariff.
I spoke to one supplier who said they have differing Winter and Summer Economy 7 tariffs which sounds interesting, but the guy was new to the job.

Does anyone have first hand knowledge of a recent install with costs etc., and how it works?

Thanks.

Thanks Dave,
I'd thought of a smart meter but on checking my supplier I was told they couldn't fit one to my property, I'm guessing it's either a meter supply or fitter problem.
They seemed to think an Economy 7 meter would be possible however, so I'm awaiting info on the implication of that.
It's interesting that the fitting of an economy 7 meter doesn't bar you from changing back to standard tariffs should circumstances change.

I have done a bit of experimentation with Economy 10 and Economy 7. These are both relatively rare these days, but there also seems to be a lot of confusion about them too. The main thing to appreciate is that fundamentally Economy 7 and Economy 10 are simply two rate meters rather than the standard single rate meters that most electricity customers have.

In order to get an Economy 7 or an Economy 10 meter installed, you need to switch to a supplier that offers tariffs using them and then simply switch to a tariff which uses one of these meters. An economy 10 meter will record off peak usage during three periods totalling ten hours per day. Economy 7 meters simply record off-peak usage during 7 hours during the night. Once you have a two rate meter you can still switch to any supplier that you like.

You can then switch to any tariff you like. If you chose a single rate tariff you will be charged the same for units used both peak and off-peak. If you switch to a two rate tariff, Economy 7 or Economy 10 you will pay the respective Peak and Off-peak rates. If you have an economy 10 meter you can switch to other Economy 7 tariffs, as they are just a two rate tariff. The supplier will have no real way to distinguish this and plenty of people have used this method for years. There are far more Economy 7 tariffs around than Economy 10 tariffs, so you get achieve better peak and off-peak rates by switching to an Economy 7 tariff.

The time periods are however always controlled by the meter, so you will have 10 off-peak hours, even by using an Economy 7 tariff.

I have done this myself for a few years now.

Thanks all, for your comments. I'm in the process of weighing up the relative costs of straight night time immersion charges against the costs of an A2W heat pump used as a thermal store recharging device. Pros and cons on both sides, no surprise there.
I'm on a standard meter at the moment so getting a smart meter and opting for an Agile type tariff, is very dependant on the meter availability and suppliers willingness to fit them. I thought economy 7 may be a quicker fix until the smart stuff becomes more readily available.

I don't know tony, is the short answer. I thought one of the ideas of Smart meters was their ability to have infinitely variable tariffs which I guess would be lower at night, but I assume that depends on the suppliers willingness to operate such a charging regime, and that seems unclear. Octopus, Agile is one I know of, there may be others I don't know.

Owlman
I guess you will have to ask Octopus Energy the question - If you are on Agile tariff how do you switch on selected appliances when the price drops below a set level

Posted By: Peter_in_HungaryOwlman
I guess you will have to ask Octopus Energy the question - If you are on Agile tariff how do you switch on selected appliances when the price drops below a set level

Trying to speak to them is a bit like pulling teeth, painful. As for switching on appliances, I suppose you'd just look at the average dark hours prices, and then just "SWAG it" for a few hours on a time-switch.

There are eg https://octopus.energy/ifttt/

Posted By: John WalshAnyone else on E7 willing to share their October tariffs? Bit of a shock to see our night rate going down to 6.9p/kWh (was 13.4p). The day rate is going up to 47.31p (was 35.28p) but with decent size batteries there's no need to use any of that. I'm hoping the 6.9p tariff isn't a mistake - seems too good to be true. Supplier is EDF

We're on E7 with Coop/Octopus our night rate is 20.717p and is going down to 14.893p. Day rate is 32.099p and is going up to 44.347p. Standing charge is going from 37.737p down to 37.385p. So your night rate sounds enviably low both before and after Whether it's correct or not I have no idea

I recently went to E7 with PowerNI. I have a 10kWh battery system with a small 3kw solar array. So far the E7 is working ok. Dishwasher and washing machine put on delay timers to run at night as well as charging the batteries.

In terms of the EDF tariff the reason for such low rates at night may be due to the way wind farms generate peak electricity at night in autumn and winter when there is relatively little load on the network. Electricity companies may be encouraging use at these times to ease the strain on the grid at night. Just a guess here.

Not mine, but a relative on E7 with Bulb has been quoted:
day 36.460p / kWh (was 31.367p)
night 23.504p / kWh (was 20.221p)
standing 52.732p / day (was 51.711p)

Sounds like I should tell them to talk to EDF. Or Coop/Octopus. Or anyone.