What is Economy 7, and is it still worth having in 2026?
Economy 7 is an electricity tariff that gives you seven hours of cheaper overnight electricity in exchange for a higher rate during the day. It’s been around for decades, originally built around night storage heaters, and it still exists on plenty of supplier price lists today.
Whether Economy 7 is worth it comes down to one number: how much of your electricity you actually use in that cheap overnight window. As a rough guide, you generally need to shift at least a third of your usage into the off peak hours before Economy 7 beats a normal single rate tariff.
Get that split wrong and Economy 7 works against you. A household using only around 10% of its electricity overnight can end up roughly £140 a year worse off than staying on a standard tariff, since the daytime rate is higher across the other 17 hours.
Is Economy 7 worth it? The quick test
- Night storage heaters, an immersion tank, an EV or a home battery? Economy 7 is usually worth checking.
- Mostly daytime usage, working from home, no big overnight loads? Probably not for you.
- National average is around 42% of electricity used overnight, worth roughly £63 a year saved.
- Below a third overnight usage, and the maths tends to flip against you.
Does Economy 7 make sense if you have an electric car?
This is where Economy 7 earns its keep for a lot of households. Charging an EV overnight, when electricity is cheapest, is exactly the kind of shiftable load the tariff was built for, and it’s often the single biggest overnight user in a home that has one.
That said, dedicated EV tariffs have become more common and sometimes beat a general Economy 7 rate for charging specifically, since they’re built around exactly that use case. It’s worth comparing both rather than assuming Economy 7 is automatically the cheapest EV option.
Do I need a special meter for Economy 7?
Not any more. Economy 7 used to require its own dedicated meter with two separate readings, but a smart meter can now run time of use tariffs like Economy 7 without any extra hardware. If you’ve already got a smart meter, switching onto or off Economy 7 is just a tariff change with your supplier, not an engineer visit.
If you’re still on an old style dial meter with no smart meter installed, it’s worth getting one fitted anyway. It makes comparing tariffs, including Economy 7, a lot easier to get right rather than estimating from old bills.
How much could Economy 7 actually save you?
According to Ofgem’s own Economy 7 guidance, savings depend entirely on your usage pattern, so treat any headline figure as an estimate rather than a promise. Based on the national average night usage of around 42%, Economy 7 can save a typical household somewhere in the region of £63 a year compared with standard price cap rates, though this shifts a lot with how much you actually use overnight.
The households that do best out of Economy 7 tend to run their washing machine, tumble dryer and dishwasher on timers overnight, on top of any EV charging or storage heating. It’s a bit of a lifestyle change, setting appliances going before bed rather than after breakfast, but it’s the kind of change that pays for itself quietly.
Making the switch without getting it wrong
Before switching, add up roughly what proportion of your usage happens between the typical off peak hours (commonly midnight to 7am, though the exact window varies by supplier and region). Most suppliers or your smart meter’s app can show you this breakdown if you ask.
It’s also worth asking your current supplier whether they even offer Economy 7 before you go shopping around, since not every tariff on the market includes it. Some suppliers have quietly scaled back Economy 7 options in favour of newer time of use tariffs with different peak windows, so double check you’re comparing like for like.
A quick reality check before you commit: run the numbers on a full year, not just a cold snap. Economy 7 can look brilliant in January when the storage heaters are working hard, and much less exciting come July when overnight usage drops right off.
If Economy 7 doesn’t suit your usage but you’re still keen on cutting your bill, a straightforward switch to a cheaper single rate deal often does more for you than forcing a lifestyle change around off peak hours.
Roo’s advice here is blunt but fair: don’t switch to Economy 7 because it sounds thrifty. Switch because you’ve actually checked your night time usage and the numbers back it up. Otherwise you’re just paying more for the privilege of a fancier sounding tariff.
If you’re weighing this up alongside other ways to cut your bill, our guide on smart meters for households covers getting one fitted, and our piece on heat pump running costs is worth a read if you’re weighing up overnight heating options too.
Frequently asked questions about Economy 7
- What time does the cheap Economy 7 rate start?
- It varies by supplier and region, but a common window is midnight to 7am. Check your specific tariff, since some suppliers run slightly different hours.
- Can I switch off Economy 7 if it’s not saving me money?
- Yes, you can switch back to a single rate tariff with your supplier, usually without any extra hardware needed if you have a smart meter.
- Is Economy 7 the same as Economy 10?
- No. Economy 10 gives ten cheaper hours instead of seven, usually split across the night and a couple of afternoon hours, and suits a slightly different usage pattern.
- Does Economy 7 work with solar panels?
- It can, though the daytime export from solar reduces how much you’d normally save from a cheap overnight rate, so run the numbers for your specific setup.
- Is Economy 7 cheaper than a standard variable tariff overall?
- Only if enough of your usage happens overnight. If it doesn’t, the higher daytime rate on Economy 7 usually outweighs the overnight saving.
Economy 7 rewards households that can shift real usage into the night. Everyone else is usually better off on a plain single rate deal.
