Megaflo heatrae stadia system .... Cheapest way to use it????

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please could somebody advise me on the most efficient way to use the hot water on this system. I've just moved into a house that has a megaflo heatrae sadia tank & a Worcester greenstar 24i boiler. The megaflo can also be operated with a back up electric switch. I live alone & need to keep my gas water elec bills as low as possible.

At the moment I boil a kettle to provide a washing up bowl of hot water to do the dishes once a day ..... Because I suspect that boiling the kettle once is cheaper than the 3 bowls of cold water I waste waiting for the hot water to come through plus the cost of heating that water. For showers I flick the electric switch for abt an hour which seems to heat enough water for one shower ....... But I never know if the hot waters going to go cold when I'm in the shower ..... Or how many days worth of hot water that will give me.

I have now started to use the central heating .... I turn on the boiler, then select 'on' at the control unit & turn the valves on at the radiators in whatever room I'm using ..... And then I turn it all off when I don't need any heating.

So far this is the only way I know how to use it. So it costs me one boiled kettle a day, one hour of electric megaflo a day and a few hours of 2 radiators a day (when it's cold). Is this the most economical method for one person .... One washing up bowl & one shower a day ...... Or is it cheaper to heat the water via the boiler & if so how long do I need the boiler on to heat the water & how long will the hot water stay hot???

TBH I find the whole system too confusing to use! I've always had a combi boiler = turn on the hot tap & you get hot water = no waste!!!!! I would be very grateful for any advice/explanation. Many thanks!!!!
 
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energy from electricity currently costs four times as much as energy from gas. So if you are using your cylinder, it is more economical to heat it with the boiler. The boiler will probably heat it within about half an hour, and from your description, that will last you all day (perhaps more).

The boiler is more economical running for long enough to heat the entire cylinder, than if you let it run for frequent short periods. So in summer, when you are using HW only, it can be more economical than a combi.

So you can achieve economy by running it once a day, prior to starting your hot water usage, by setting the timer to heat it before you get up. The boiler will shut down once the cylinder is up to temperature.

If there are numerous people in the house having baths and showers, you may need to run it again in the evening. The cylinder is very well insulated and will lose very little heat during the day.

As for heating, it sounds like you are trying to use it like an electric fire. You will have a room thermostat on the wall. Set this to a suitable temperature. The boiler will only start heating the radiators of the room drops below that temperature. You will also have a timer/programmer. If there are times when you don't want to heat the house, for example you are out all day, or when you are in bed, you can set it to be "off" at those times. On a modern system you will probably have a more advanced control that can set different temperatures for different times and days of the week.

Turning the heating completely off may be unhealthy or encourage damp, especially if you are in poor health or elderly.
 
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You seen to be ultra keen to minimise costs!

An obvious extra is to leave washing up soaking in a bowl and only wash it every 3 to 4 days using water from the cylinder!

But it is not good physically or psycologically to skimp too much on heating. Best to wear a pullover and use a lower room temperature.

Tony
 
Agile and JohnD ....THANK YOU!!!! 1st time I've ever used a forum and am so grateful for your comments/advice. Yes I am ultra keen on keeping costs low .... Zero income but not eligible for any financial support thanks to my hard earned savings which just peak the savings limit .... Bt don't earn me any interest!!!! So I wear layers of jumpers & keep consumption to a minimum ....like many single elderly people I know. But I take on board the comment about damp ..... And will give the daily 1/2hr boiler setting for HW a go. Many thanks and have a lovely day!
 
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Better to join up with another single elderly person and that halves heating and hot water costs!

And rent and many other outgoings!
 

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