Farewell Economy 7, a Casualty of the Long Wave Switch-Off
1 min read
Summary
In the 1980s, Britain’s Economy 7 stored heat and ran appliances using cheap night-time electricity, utilising a radio switching signal transmitted via the BBC’s 198kHz long wave service.
The system was introduced in the early 80s and comprised of a receiver box that sat alongside a regular electricity meter and switched on off-peak circuits.
Due to its low frequency, universal coverage made 198kHz the ideal choice for the service.
The main transmitter at Droitwich is now being retired due to a lack of high-power vacuum tubes, and the BBC Radio 4 Long Wave service is also being turned off.
This means the thousands of off-peak electricity meters still installed will be useless, and there is an unseemly rush to replace them with smart meters.
