I have saved over $1000 in 6 months with the free hour. I didn't know there was now a choice, I thought everyone got the free hour?

mattwnz:

I have saved over $1000 in 6 months with the free hour. I didn't know there was now a choice, I thought everyone got the free hour?

I've joined up recently to try them out. I also recommend Flick Electric on their Fixie plan as another cheap option for you.

There is also $50 free credit if you join using a referral code. I'm actually a little against this as the person referring you also gets $50 which means some people recommend EK as the perfect provider for everyone and we have banned people on here for doing just this without really contributing to the forums (or disclosing they're getting $50). As I do see requests on here quite often for referral codes to save money I have indeed put my code in my signature (but not advertising this in such). Anyone who has also commented on here can provide you their link also if you ask them.

There is another thing to think of with your current provider - yes, they're offering you $150, but they're also still making money off you. It sounds like your kWh charges are quite big and the worst thing here is you'll be contracted to them for another 12 months. The reason why I like Flick + EK is they're rather up-front with their pricing and I found I could save over this yearly by sticking with a cheaper provider. Electricity in NZ is no different between providers, but as always pick the one best for your needs.

By load shifting (washing, drying, dishwasher etc) you could I estimate save around 10% but something to also think of is many people will have other things operating they don't normally have on during this time because "it is free" such as heaters, heatpump "for the hell of it". I know I am in the same boat by firing up folding at home on all my computers, using the heater during the hour free and I know my total use is actually more than what it was on Flick but as a whole it works out a little cheaper because the hour free is in the time where we normally have showers and put on the dishwasher anyway. Anything more in this time (washing as an example) is just a free bonus but given we've got a front loader washing machine + heatpump dryer I don't think this really has too much impact on my bills.

brownie112:

mattwnz:

I have saved over $1000 in 6 months with the free hour. I didn't know there was now a choice, I thought everyone got the free hour?

Wow really? Can't tell if you are pulling my leg or serious!

brownie112:

mattwnz:

 

I have saved over $1000 in 6 months with the free hour. I didn't know there was now a choice, I thought everyone got the free hour?

 

Wow really? Can't tell if you are pulling my leg or serious! Do you know the average % saved? It's just that the % figure shows a bit more perspective than total amount saved IMHO.

My app shows I have saved $1150, however reading the fine print in the app, it says that saving is compared to the big power companies in my area, so not just from the free hour.

But my hour of free power is averaging 15% of my power use in a day. Just checking the time I have been with them, it is actually 9 months, time goes by fast. My average monthly bill is around $300. So that average monthly cost fee would be after the 15% is taken off. So it is probably between around $400 of savings? Plus there is the fixed daily rate that is charged. But you can also save a percentage each time you top up $200 in advance.
The hour of free power usage will be higher again in winter, as it can get up to 30% in winter. We could shift more of our use into the free hour if we tried, such as putting the dishwasher on, and taking showers before the hour starts. There are people on here whose free hours usage  is significantly higher too. 

Also I should note that as I live in a semi rural area, my rate is a lot higher than it is in cities. So I am paying quite a bit more for power as a result, which means I also save more. 

neb:
 I'm guessing he's some exotic 0.01%-er power user for whom it's actually worthwhile - our power bill for the entire year is less than $1,000. Consumer ran some evals a while back and said that for the typical user the free hour isn't worth it.

Wow,  that is really low. I know an elderly woman who lives by herself in a small house who brags that her bill is just over $100 per month, so she would be impressed with that.  I ran my sums through the power switch website, and electric kiwi was one of the cheaper ones, not taking into consideration the free hour of power.. 

I've saved about $750 per year according to EK's dashboard.  My average hour of power savings are 20%, my artificial peak is 50% when I was away on holiday, but I can get to 30% some standard days. In the last week we've spent $67 total, which would've been $81 if not for the hour of power. Two adults, one toddler, home a lot obviously, and we don't skimp on heating.

The key to taking advantage of the hour of power is automation. In winter I have it at 5am, and at that time:

• Water heating comes on (stays on until 9am, and does a burst late afternoon). Cost for an electrician to $250 supply and fit a timer so it's fully automated.
• Both heat pumps come on to heat the house, set to 24 degrees. Heating goes off about 10pm unless it's going to get below freezing. Fully automated with broadlink RM pro.
• Clothes drier comes on if we need it (set each night)
• Dishwasher comes on (set each night)

In summer we have the free hour late afternoon or evening to run air conditioning.

Here's a typical day's usage with the 5am free hour. Until 8am water heating and general heating is probably what's taking the power.

mattwnz:

 

I have saved over $1000 in 6 months with the free hour. I didn't know there was now a choice, I thought everyone got the free hour?

 

im pretty sure that's not just from the free hour as it would be something like 21kw in that "free" hour each hour. that's a draw of about 91amps, more than the fuse to your house if on single phase.

Been with EK for a few years now. Was with Powershop and Mercury before. When I switched from Mercury to Powershop I did save a fair bit. Probably 300-400 a year. The problem I had with Powershop was that I have to regularly take advantage of their sales and power packs. So I decided to give EK a try. In the first year, I saved maybe 100-200. Not much but at least I don't have to spend time waiting for deals as I did with Powershop. Now am averaging 15-20% savings using the hour of power as I schedule most of my use around that time. It may not be feasible for some but it does save a fair bit. Imagine running both dishwasher and washing machine while someone taking a shower and another doing the vacuum cleaning.

I switched to EK in the middle of lockdown (Mercury advised they were putting their prices up) and so far my avg HOP saving is 4.8%.

Not sure if I'll keep them long term, it seems a bit of a pain to keep changing the hour, or setting everything to run at the right time. I can see how you could benefit with automating everything as some others have suggested, but not sure if it's worth my time. My average bill is approx $160-200 / month historically, though that is growing as the family is growing with kids etc.

Now that I'm back at work at level 2 and getting up and showering earlier I might just stick it on at 6-7am and see how that changes things for a while.

Hope that's helpful.

My Average HOP is 5.1% as we are useless and forget most of the time. but best HOP is 16.4%

Average 34.7% Best 47.3%.

Usually around 30%, doing cooking and washing things during 4-5pm everyday.

Been with EK for about 4 months.

Before lockdown average was about 12 - 13%

We have managed to get that up to about 15 - 16% most days during lockdown as all of us have had showers at similar times.

Average on app is 13.9% top is 24.8%

Also do the $200 pre top up which gets you an extra $20 credit, so a further ~9% saving.

As before - Start everything 5 minutes before the HoP the HoP - Dishwasher, Washing machine, dryer, showers.

Haven't used any heating yet, so will keep an eye on it as we head into winter.