Best way to heat a bath with electricity

[19danny94]

Hey. Not sure if this is best posted here or in the plumbing section.
I'm trying to figure out the most efficient way to heat a bath using electricity.
I have a 2 bed bungalow electric only, no gas in the area. I have an electric shower and 2 tankless electric water heaters for the bathroom and kitchen sinks. For the bath I'm currently using an old immersion tank and heater. But it takes forever to heat up and the bath is not full wasting a ton of energy. Is there a electric tankless water heater that is capable of filling a bath at a reasonable time?
Thanks.

 

[robinbanks]

I'm trying to figure out the most efficient way to heat a bath using electricity

Air source or ground source heat pump

Is there a electric tankless water heater that is capable of filling a bath at a reasonable time?

Already installed? The 10kw shower above the bath.. Doesn't qualify as efficient in my eyes though..

 

[19danny94]

Any other suggestions? I'm not going to have the money for one of them anytime soon

 

[robinbanks]

If you use a straight resistance heater to heat your bath it'll take you a long time to save for a heat pump, because all your pound notes will go on the electricity bill!

How about a combi boiler converted to LPG and bottled/delivered gas? Oil boiler?

I don't really think there is a magic bullet for your situation.. All the "cheap" running cost options are relatively high setup costs. The option you have available already is high running cost.

Not taking a bath is probably best; you can get clean using a shower using far less hot water

 

[19danny94]

It's 9.5kw I feel like it would take over an hour to fill a bath

 

[19danny94]

I looked into this recently but again it's to expensive

 

[Taylortwocities]

Cheaper to join a fitness centre and use their showers.

 

[robinbanks]

It's 9.5kw I feel like it would take over an hour to fill a bath

But it'll be at least 3 times faster than a 3kw immersion, more if the immersion has to heat a 200l tank that you then draw a third of.. With the shower you get the amount of hot water you require..

You could fit some X kilowatt electric boiler but you're just back to the same situation with the electricity bill..

Solar panels or solar thermal and have a bath on sunny days..

 

[Koolpc]

A toaster maybe? Yikes!!!

 

[EFLImpudence]

For the bath I'm currently using an old immersion tank and heater. But it takes forever to heat up and the bath is not full wasting a ton of energy.

What does that mean?

How long is forever? Who fills the bath?

Is it working properly? That's all lots of people have and they manage.

 

[crystal ball]

Cheaper to join a fitness centre and use their showers.

My FiL did that for years, at the swimming pool when his wife had a bath lift installed

 

[Taylortwocities]

My FiL did that for years, at the swimming pool when his wife had a bath lift installed

That’s my plan going forward. And having a year round cruise instead of paying for a care home…

 

[flameport]

Is there a electric tankless water heater that is capable of filling a bath at a reasonable time?

No.
'tankless' just means it heats the water as it's used. Only suitable for situations where you require very little water infrequently.
Absolute best on a normal electricity supply is around 10-12kW, which is pretty much the same as the electric shower you already have. 4 litres per minute perhaps. 25+ minutes for a 100 litre bath, by which time most of what was put in will have cooled.

Install an unvented hot water cylinder, which can be heated overnight or other periods when convenient. Worst case it will cost about the same as you are paying now.
It could be heated overnight on a cheaper tariff depending on how much electricity is used vs the cost of day/night units.
Or from solar panels which could be added later.
If you fit an indirect type you can use the immersion element to heat it now, and it's ready for a heat pump installation later.

Although the hot water is stored, losses from a modern cylinder are tiny, nowhere near the massive waste from an ancient uninsulated copper cylinder.

 

[SUNRAY]

Air source or ground source heat pump


Already installed? The 10kw shower above the bath.. Doesn't qualify as efficient in my eyes though..

10KW for 3mins or 3KW immersion for 20 mins... No contest. Even if it heats sufficiently in 20 mins. In 20 mins.

 

[DiyNutJob]

Do towel baths? The german government was suggesting it when there was gas shortage.