Hi everyone. My first post but i have been reading alot today.
So my problem.... I have a renewable friendly home. My Heating and hotwater is generated by a large solar thermal setup and ASHP. March to November i get nice hot water throughout the day. However in the frosty months i rarely get enough hot water in the early mornings for showers. after 11am ish then its fine but we really need hotter water around 6am.
So what can i do? there's no mains gas, i would prefer to stay away from lpg. That leaves me with elec water heating.
the 2 options i have seen are either a inline instant water heater. I have seen one which will accept the hot water from my thermal store which is around 30c in the morning. Heat it to 40c for my shower but with a limited flow rate of 5l/m at good pressure. I need to measure my current l/m to see if that would be acceptable. Also i would need to run a new 10/16mm cable to my consumer unit (not an easy run)
other option, fit a tank water heater maybe 50ltr. 3kw. Again fit the hot water supply to the unit so that it is only required to heat the additional 10c rather than from cold. this will give me 50ltrs of hot water for showers. is this enough for 2 showers in the morning around 15-20mins apart? In the summer months i wont be using the elec heater so would i need to by-pass it? or let my thermal store water to continue to flow through it (max temp is 50c as it is already mixed)
instant water heater (which accepts hot water) http://www.plumbcenter.co.uk/product/zip-cex-u-under-sink-water-heater-72-to-96kw/
and 50ltr water heater - http://electricaldealsdirect.co.uk/media/pdfs/Powerflow Ins.pdf
do either of these sound plausible? i'm clutching at straws to get a warm shower in the mornings so any help is appreciated.
So my problem.... I have a renewable friendly home. My Heating and hotwater is generated by a large solar thermal setup and ASHP. March to November i get nice hot water throughout the day. However in the frosty months i rarely get enough hot water in the early mornings for showers. after 11am ish then its fine but we really need hotter water around 6am.
So what can i do? there's no mains gas, i would prefer to stay away from lpg. That leaves me with elec water heating.
the 2 options i have seen are either a inline instant water heater. I have seen one which will accept the hot water from my thermal store which is around 30c in the morning. Heat it to 40c for my shower but with a limited flow rate of 5l/m at good pressure. I need to measure my current l/m to see if that would be acceptable. Also i would need to run a new 10/16mm cable to my consumer unit (not an easy run)
other option, fit a tank water heater maybe 50ltr. 3kw. Again fit the hot water supply to the unit so that it is only required to heat the additional 10c rather than from cold. this will give me 50ltrs of hot water for showers. is this enough for 2 showers in the morning around 15-20mins apart? In the summer months i wont be using the elec heater so would i need to by-pass it? or let my thermal store water to continue to flow through it (max temp is 50c as it is already mixed)
instant water heater (which accepts hot water) http://www.plumbcenter.co.uk/product/zip-cex-u-under-sink-water-heater-72-to-96kw/
and 50ltr water heater - http://electricaldealsdirect.co.uk/media/pdfs/Powerflow Ins.pdf
do either of these sound plausible? i'm clutching at straws to get a warm shower in the mornings so any help is appreciated.
