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Is Economy 7 worth it for you?

Cheap electricity while you sleep sounds like a no-brainer. It isn’t — for plenty of homes Economy 7 quietly costs more. The whole thing turns on one question: when do you actually use your power?

• How it works. Two rates on one meter — a low rate for about seven hours overnight (roughly midnight to 7am, depends on the supplier), and a higher one all day. You only win if you genuinely shift use into that cheap window.
• When it’s brilliant. Storage heaters, an EV charging overnight, a heat pump, or just the discipline to put the dishwasher and washing on a timer for 2am. Lots of cheap-window use — big savings.
• When it stings. A typical 9-to-5 home does most of its living — cooking, telly, lights — in the evening peak. On Economy 7 you’d be buying your busiest hours at the dearer daytime rate, and paying more than a flat tariff.
• The simple test. It comes down to the share of your electricity used overnight. Above roughly a third, it’s worth pricing up properly; below that, a single-rate deal usually wins. More on choosing a tariff →

No guru can answer this for you — only your own half-hourly shape can. Connect your meter and Joulely prices Economy 7 (and every other tariff type) against how you really use power, so you get the actual £ answer for your home.