Immersion heater timer

[avinalarf]

A client wants to fit the above as they think it would be cheaper to heat the water this way than use the boiler.

Can anyone confirm/disagree this point with a reason as I'm quite interested to know?

Thank you.

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

A client wants to fit the above as they think it would be cheaper to heat the water this way than use the boiler.Can anyone confirm/disagree this point with a reason as I'm quite interested to know?

Thank you.

Need few more factors to crunch here Nat?

String & how long a piece of would be the analogy! :_|

but just to point you in the right direction....

Whats their Boiler fuel'd by?

Gas, Oil, Goats pooh!

and what does the boiler cost to run?

As for electric Imm heater, typically just under 3KW..

So if on for an hour would be around 3KWH (kilo-watt-hours)

1 x Kilo watt hour of electric typically costs between 7p & 11p.

dependant upon time of day and how much electric you have already consumed... (check a bill to verify what rates actually apply.)

So how many hours per week will they have it switched on?

Is the cylinder lagged?

Do they run a lot of baths?

Do they have a mixer/power shower or a cold feed electric shower?

i.e. how often will it need to re-heat from near cold?

HTH

SL:x

 

[avinalarf]

Need few more factors to crunch here Nat? String & how long a piece of would be the analogy! :_|

but just to point you in the right direction....

Whats their Boiler fuel'd by?

Gas, Oil, Goats pooh!

and what does the boiler cost to run?

As for electric Imm heater, typically just under 3KW..

So if on for an hour would be around 3KWH (kilo-watt-hours)

1 x Kilo watt hour of electric typically costs between 7p & 11p.

dependant upon time of day and how much electric you have already consumed... (check a bill to verify what rates actually apply.)

So how many hours per week will they have it switched on?

Is the cylinder lagged?

Do they run a lot of baths?

Do they have a mixer/power shower or a cold feed electric shower?

i.e. how often will it need to re-heat from near cold?

HTH

SL:x

Sorry Sl - I know it was a bit vague Blushing

All I really know is that their boiler runs by gas. They'll be putting it on for 2-3 hours each day. Cylinder is lagged. Would have to find out about the shower situation.

I thought when you had different rates for electricity usage, that meant you were on Economy 7 heating!!!

I'm only really interested because I only use gas for my own CH & water and my bills are horrendous, so wondered if it might be cheaper to just heat the water by the immersion.

For my own info:

Do I understand this correctly...

In the average cold water and hot water tank scenario; the boiler draws cold water from the tank (in loft), heats it up, then sends it to the h/w tank (in airing c/b upstairs) ready for use when required???

If that IS the case - in my situation - my boiler is situated in the garage which is about 30 -40m from the c/w tank and 25 - 30m from the h/w storage tank. Doesn't this require much more energy to heat the water for us than maybe using the immersion for short periods of time?

Hope that makes sense and thanks for your help.

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

Sorry Sl - I know it was a bit vague BlushingAll I really know is that their boiler runs by gas. They'll be putting it on for 2-3 hours each day. Cylinder is lagged. Would have to find out about the shower situation.

I thought when you had different rates for electricity usage, that meant you were on Economy 7 heating!!!

No if you look close at you bill..

Most electric companies have a set number of KwH's that you get at one rate

then it goes over to another rate.

(Similar fashion to free minutes/Texts on a mobile phone contract)

AFAIK Economy 7 typically had an Even more expensive day rate..

But a much cheaper night rate?

I'm only really interested because I only use gas for my own CH & water and my bills are horrendous, so wondered if it might be cheaper to just heat the water by the immersion.

For my own info:

Do I understand this correctly...

In the average cold water and hot water tank scenario; the boiler draws cold water from the tank (in loft), heats it up, then sends it to the h/w tank (in airing c/b upstairs) ready for use when required???

If that IS the case - in my situation - my boiler is situated in the garage which is about 30 -40m from the c/w tank and 25 - 30m from the h/w storage tank. Doesn't this require much more energy to heat the water for us than maybe using the immersion for short periods of time?

Hope that makes sense and thanks for your help.

With a tank/cylinder arrangement and a traditional central heating boiler.

The boiler pipe work to radiators and an enclosed loop of pipe inside the cylinder, contains a single body of water that is continually pumped around the same system which never drains or empties.. thus stays warm/hot and is not re-heating from cold.

(its the same water that is in inside you radiators)

The cold water tank fills the hot water cylinder and it is the loop of pipe with hot water coiled inside the cylinder that heats the cold tap water to make it hot.

The boiler water and tap water are two separate bodies of water that Do not mix with each other...

The heating/boiler water has an acidic inhibitor added to it to stop build up of corrosion and sludge.. So must be separate from washing water!

So bottom line.

the boiler is NOT taking cold water through it to heat up.

 

[avinalarf]

With a tank/cylinder arrangement and a traditional central heating boiler.

The boiler pipe work to radiators and an enclosed loop of pipe inside the cylinder, contains a single body of water that is continually pumped around the same system which never drains or empties.. thus stays warm/hot and is not re-heating from cold.

(its the same water that is in inside you radiators)

The cold water tank fills the hot water cylinder and it is the loop of pipe with hot water coiled inside the cylinder that heats the cold tap water to make it hot.

so, if the rads aren't on, doesn't that mean the loop within the h/w tank is cold and the boiler has to work to heat it up again?

So bottom line.

the boiler is NOT taking cold water through it to heat up.



The elec bill doesn't tell you when these different rates of electricity apply though...

 

[Lurch]

so, if the rads aren't on, doesn't that mean the loop within the h/w tank is cold and the boiler has to work to heat it up again?

Yes, but the boiler will be more efficient at heating this water up. Exactly how efficient depends on many things, what sort of system it is exactly (Y, S, Gravity etc...) If the heating is on then the boiler will be on anyway so heating a tank of water up will take no real extra effort. The only time you may see an advantage to using the immersion heater rather than the boiler is if you have your boiler turned off in the summer, but even then in most cases the boiler would still be a cheaper option.

Most of it depends on what sort of system it is though, if it's a grqavity system then it will take a while to heat a tank up and it will also waste heat in the form of heating the upstairs radiators as well. If it's a decent Y\S plan then it should be way more efficient than the immersion heater. If it is a gravity system I'd convert it to a Y plan as that would pay for itself within a couple of years, especially if you're currently using the immersion as well.

Best (only?) way to tell for definite though, as there are so many variables, is see how much gas\electric is used heating the tank from 20-60 degrees with the boiler and immersion.

 

[Apache]

Re SL:

AFAIK Economy 7 typically had an Even more expensive day rate..But a much cheaper night rate?

Tier 1 35.188 p per kwh, Tier 2 12.129 p per kwh, Economy 7 4.411 p per kwh

So I pay for first 125KW @ Tier 1 then it falls to tier 2. Eco 7 midnight until 7am.

It's why I stay up to put the washer/tumble dryer/dishwasher on Eco 7!

 

[kme]

The other point to consider is the efficiency of said gasoeus boileriness.

If its a new-fangled, condensing boiler, somewhere around 10 times as efficient as an old baxi back boiler-type boiler.

Almost always, unless the heating & DHW systems are carp, or there is a very unusual pattern of DHW usage, the boiler will be much cheaper than immersion.

FYI: I have a stainless steel, 125 litre, pressurised hot water tank (no header. Cold main in the bottom , hot out the top.

My boiler (

 

[DarkInferno]

The other point to consider is the efficiency of said gasoeus boileriness.If its a good new-fangled, condensing boiler, somewhere around 0.4 times as efficient as an old baxi back boiler-type boiler.

Almost always, unless the heating & DHW systems are carp, or there is a very unusual pattern of DHW usage, the boiler will be much cheaper than immersion.

FYI: I have a stainless steel, 125 litre, pressurised hot water tank (no header. Cold main in the bottom , hot out the top.

My boiler (

 

[kme]

Okay- but in what field of mathematics can 65% efficiency X0.4 = 92%????

And leave my ruddy posts alone, you toad. Grrrrrrr

n.b. Every time the boiler has "failed to proceed" (3 times in 7 years) ; I`ve done the repair meself. And NO, I`m not Corgi, Gas-safe, or owt else. Just logical.

 

[DarkInferno]

1.4 even... I'm allowed to make mistakes. just nobody else.

lol