Economy 7 & Economy 10 in Scotland: Solar + Battery

Economy 7 is an electricity tariff with a cheaper rate for seven hours overnight and a dearer rate for the rest of the day, designed for homes that charge storage heaters and hot water cylinders at night. This guide is for Scottish households on Economy 7, Economy 10 or Total Heating Total Control (THTC): what each tariff does, what the Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) switch-off on 30 June 2026 means for your meter, and how solar panels and a battery change the sums. The number that matters most is the gap between the two rates: 16.99p per kWh on Octopus's Flexible Economy 7 tariff in South Scotland when we checked on 6 October 2026.

Economy 7, Economy 10 and THTC explained

All three are multi-rate tariffs, with the cheap rate timed for electric heating. On Economy 7 and Economy 10 it isn't reserved for the heaters: OVO's guides are clear that everything you use in the off-peak window is charged at the lower rate.

Economy 7, or Domestic Economy in Scotland

The textbook version is seven cheap hours overnight, usually between midnight and 7am, but the exact times depend on your supplier, region and meter. In Scotland, OVO calls the equivalent tariff Domestic Economy and lists an 8.5-hour off-peak period from 11pm to 7.30am (GMT) in Southern Scotland and 8 hours from 11.30pm to 7.30am in Northern Scotland. Check your bill for separate day and night readings and an MPAN that, as British Gas points out, begins with 02.

Economy 10

Economy 10 spreads ten cheap hours across three blocks, so heaters can top up in the afternoon as well as overnight. OVO's smart-meter timings for Southern Scotland are 4.30am to 7.30am, 1pm to 4pm and 8.30pm to 12.30am (GMT), with the afternoon block at 1.30pm to 4.30pm in Northern Scotland. Which? describes older Economy 10 meters as largely phased out, with few suppliers still supporting the tariff.

Total Heating Total Control (THTC)

THTC is a north-of-Scotland tariff for all-electric homes. It uses two meters: one for heating and hot water at a cheaper rate, and one for lights, sockets and appliances, which OVO prices above its standard rate. The heating rate runs for between 5 and 12 hours a day, with the times set by the weather forecast for your area. A 2023 Changeworks report estimated that around 72,000 households in northern Scotland had storage heating on restricted meters and THTC tariffs.

The RTS switch-off: what happened and what replaced it

The Radio Teleswitch Service carried switching signals on the BBC's 198 kHz long-wave Radio 4 transmissions and had been fully operational since 1984. With the equipment at the end of its life, the signal was withdrawn group by group from 30 June 2025. The phase-out paused over winter, resumed on 2 March 2026 in England and Wales and in April in Scotland, and Energy UK confirms it was completed on 30 June 2026.

Scotland was a large share of the problem. Ofgem counted more than 600,000 RTS meters in January 2025 and fewer than 154,000 a year later, and Energy UK put 47,000 of the remaining meters in Scotland, about 30% of the total.

The replacement is usually a smart meter. A SMETS2 meter can switch a heating circuit through an auxiliary load control switch (ALCS), so storage heaters and hot water still come on in the cheap window, and Citizens Advice's guidance for Scotland says homes with poor smart-meter signal can get a special meter pre-set with the switching times. It isn't always like-for-like: Ofgem has acknowledged that not every smart meter can replicate arrangements such as Weathercall or certain THTC systems.

Still on an old meter, or unhappy with the new tariff?

The warning signs are heating or hot water stuck on or off, storage heaters charging at the wrong time, or bills that no longer separate day and night units. If that sounds familiar:

• Call your electricity supplier and say you have an RTS meter. Citizens Advice says the replacement is free, though you may pay if the meter has to be moved.
• Ask which tariff you'll move to. Your supplier should offer one that suits your heating and hot water, and explain what changes.
• Ask whether the new meter will switch your heating circuit. That detail decides which modern tariffs you can use later.
• Know the appointment rules. Since 23 February 2026, suppliers owe automatic compensation if they don't offer a smart meter appointment within 30 working days of your request.
• Get free advice. Advice Direct Scotland's energy line is 0808 196 8660.

If you've been switched and your bills went up, Ofgem's advice is to look at the wider market, which a smart meter opens up.

Is Economy 7 still worth it? The October 2026 numbers

Rates differ between Scotland's two electricity regions. The first two digits of the 13-digit bottom line of your MPAN tell you which is yours: 18 is Central and Southern Scotland (SP Energy Networks) and 17 is North Scotland (SSEN). Ofgem's postcode lookup puts every EH and ML postcode and most of FK1 to FK14 in the south (parts of FK8, FK9 and FK14 are in the north), while Dunblane and Callander (FK15 to FK21), Perth, Dundee and everywhere further north are in the north.

Rates correct as of 6 October 2026, from Octopus Energy's published tariff data for prices in force since 1 October. They include VAT, which is 0% on household electricity from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027.

The day rate is the catch. On these prices Economy 7 only beats the single rate if about 34% or more of your electricity falls in the night window, in both regions, between the 30% Which? quotes and the roughly 40% MoneySavingExpert uses. To find your figure, divide the night units on your bills by the total and compare with 34%.

How solar panels change the maths on Economy 7

Solar works on the expensive side of an Economy 7 bill. Each unit your panels supply in daylight replaces a day-rate unit, 31.83p in South Scotland against 26.11p on a single rate, and anything you don't use is exported at 12p/kWh on Outgoing Octopus, its flat rate since 1 March 2026 (correct as of 6 October 2026). So keeping a unit of solar is worth 19.83p more than exporting it on Economy 7, against 14.11p on a single rate. Our guide to export rates compared covers other suppliers.

Here's the honest limit. PVGIS models a south-facing 4 kWp array near Livingston producing about 442 kWh in June but only 77 kWh in December, roughly 2.5 kWh a day, and about 57 kWh in December near Inverness. That won't charge storage heaters. On an Economy 7 home, solar earns its money from spring to autumn, on daytime appliances, the hot water cylinder through a solar diverter, and a battery.

Economy 7 battery storage: fill up at night, spend in the day

A battery turns the gap between the rates into a saving you control. Charge it in the off-peak window, run the house from it through the day, and every kWh you shift is worth the difference: 16.99p in South Scotland and just over 18p in North Scotland on 6 October prices, less the small loss on each charge and discharge. So a 10 kWh battery cycled daily is worth about £1.70 a day in South Scotland before those losses.

In winter, when the panels make only a few kWh a day, the battery runs mostly on night-rate electricity. From spring, solar takes over the filling and the battery holds daytime surplus for the evening. Either way it displaces the dearest units on your bill, which is why solar panels with battery storage suit an Economy 7 home better than a single-rate one. If you already have panels, our home battery storage page covers adding one. Economy 10 gives a battery a second chance each day, because the afternoon block lets it top up before the evening.

THTC is the exception. Its cheap rate sits on the separate heating meter, and a battery wired into your household circuit would charge through the normal meter, the one OVO prices above its standard rate. On THTC a battery can still store solar, but it can't be filled cheaply from the grid until your metering changes. We check how your circuits are metered at survey.

Ecoaim's typical installed prices are £10,500–£13,500 for 4 kWp of solar with a 5 kWh battery and £15,000–£19,000 for 8 kWp with 10 kWh, including 0% VAT, which applies to home solar and batteries until 31 March 2027 under HMRC VAT Notice 708/6. The network operator also has to be told, and sometimes asked first; our explainer on who does what when you go solar sets out who handles what.

Should you leave Economy 7 for a smart tariff?

With a smart meter, Economy 7 is one option among several, and the right one depends on what your heating circuit runs:

• Storage heaters switched by the meter. Snug Octopus schedules the heaters itself and charges the whole home 8.57p/kWh from 00:30 to 06:30, during smart charging and in a one-hour afternoon boost, with a day rate of 25.21p in South Scotland and 26.18p in North Scotland on 6 October 2026. It needs an ALCS on a SMETS2 meter, and Octopus says not every meter is compatible.
• A heat pump, electric boiler or electric radiators. Cosy Octopus has three cheap windows a day; our guide to heat pump tariffs compares it with EDF, E.ON Next, British Gas and ScottishPower.
• A heat pump or other electric heating system. British Gas's Heat Power tariff charges half price from midnight to 7am and from 1pm to 4pm.
• A battery doing the shifting. Tariffs built around home batteries are compared in our hub of best tariffs for solar and battery homes.

Before switching, confirm the new tariff and meter will still trigger your storage heaters at the right hours.

The bigger fix: storage heaters to an air source heat pump

The Scottish House Condition Survey for 2024, published in February 2026, found electricity is the main heating fuel for 10% of Scottish households (around 258,000), storage heaters heat around 5% of homes, and 57% of rural dwellings sit outside the gas grid's coverage. Home Energy Scotland describes heat pumps as much more energy efficient than boilers and other types of electric heating.

Swapping storage heaters for an air source heat pump is the bigger project, because a home without radiators needs pipework, radiators or underfloor heating, and usually a heat-pump-ready hot water cylinder.

For the heat pump itself, Home Energy Scotland offers a grant of up to £7,500 plus an optional interest-free loan of up to £7,500; the loan carries a 1.5% administration fee, capped at £150. Remote rural, island and off-gas rural homes can get a further £1,500 of grant. The heat pump must provide all your heating and hot water (hybrids don't qualify), and work mustn't start before you have a written funding offer. Our page on heat pump grants and loans explains the detail, and Warmer Homes Scotland offers support worth £10,000 or more to households that meet its age, health or benefit criteria.

If a heat pump won't fit, in a small flat for instance, HES also funds high heat retention storage heaters, with up to £2,500 of grant and £5,500 of loan. Those still need a cheap overnight rate.

Where to start

Send us a recent bill showing your day and night units. Our in-house team and vetted MCS-certified trade partners will model your split and tell you straight what should come first, including when a battery doesn't stack up. Get your free quote or call 03330 384 380.