Combi boiler?

[steveridesbikes]

Hi guys,

I have a conventional immersion heater boiler supplying 3 hot taps only as I have electric showers and heaters (no gas). I feel like this is pretty much overkill storing that much hot water just for the taps so I'm looking to replace it with something smaller. Do I need a combi boiler or can I get away with something even smaller and cheaper? If so what would you recommend?

Cheers

 

[Agile]

It is a common fallacy that there is a high cost associated with stored water.

The reality is that you only pay to heat the water that you use. The standing losses from a cylinder are usually less than 2 kWh per day and that costs about 20p a day and for the colder half of the year contributes to heating the home.

If you wanted to make savings then consider insulating the hot water pipework and choosing a better supply tariff.

A photo of the hot water cylinder might enable us to give more detailed advice.

Tony

 

[picasso]

Combi boiler when you dont have a gas supply ?

 

[muggles]

The cost of changing to a combi will far outstrip any savings you make by doing so...apart from the fact that you have no gas to run it off.

 

[steveridesbikes]

Cheers for your help guys,

@Agile I'll keep that in mind, I guess I shouldn't worry so much about storing water. I'm at work at the moment so I'll try to get a picture of the cylinder tonight.

@picasso and @muggles My bad I didn't realise you couldn't get electric combi boilers! I'll admit I'm entirely clueless about this kind of stuff.

To be honest I was more looking to save physical space in the cupboard rather than electricity as the cylinder is pretty big. I was really wondering if there exists some device which can provide instantaneous heating of mains water for the low volume required by a few hot taps which are rarely run simultaneously. Perhaps something akin to an electric shower but in boiler format?

Cheers

 

[Dan Robinson]

Laws of physics say no.

Takes the same amount of energy to heat water whether it is by gas or leccy.

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

There are these: http://www.heatraesadia.com/unvented_point_of_use/ but I'm not sure what the seasoned pro's views are on the practicality of using them.

 

[muggles]

You can get instantaneous electric water heaters (Redring Powerstream being a popular one) but you'd need to consult an electrician to work out whether your electricity supply could handle the demand of a Powerstream and an electric shower at the same time

 

[Dan Robinson]

104 amps for a single phase supply as a minimum?

 

[muggles]

104 amps for a single phase supply as a minimum?

But some only have 80A fuses fitted, and he's already said that he has "electric showers" which suggests that he might be close to the limit already...

 

[picasso]

If its really is just 3 taps I would go for 3 x 3kw under sink heaters as hugh has already suggested and get rid of the cylinder.

 

[Agile]

But that's a considerable cost fitting three of them at perhaps £200 each,

But if recovering the cylinder cupboard is so important then it may we worth it.

BUT the cost of running them will be higher because they cannot be run just off off peak electricity as the cylinder should be. The space heaters too ideally.

Tony

 

[steveridesbikes]

Thanks for your all your input guys,

The way I see it I have 3 options:

1) install three 2-3kW under sink heaters ~£600 these would probably be slightly more expensive to run than the cylinder. I'm assuming these could be powered from a normal outlet as they are essentially a big kettle.

2) install an instantaneous heater (such as this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Redring-Pow...tDescription_secondary_view_div_1439981101272) in the boiler cupboard ~£100 + fitting. The pressure would be pretty lacklustre and would probably not be enough for the kitchen tap. I'm assuming this would also need to be fitted by a qualified technician and part-p certified here in the UK. It would also be heavily dependant on wiring at around 10kW and will need to be isolated via an RCD?

3) install a small water heater system such as this one in the boiler cupboard.
https://www.plumbnation.co.uk/site/...vIwe_eurVi20_O5loSez7kLdYyi_UvVWZMaApbo8P8HAQ

 

[Agile]

Thanks for your all your input guys,

The way I see it I have 3 options:

1) install three 2-3kW under sink heaters ~£600 these would probably be slightly more expensive to run than the cylinder. I'm assuming these could be powered from a normal outlet as they are essentially a big kettle.

2) install an instantaneous heater (such as this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Redring-Pow...tDescription_secondary_view_div_1439981101272) in the boiler cupboard ~£100 + fitting. The pressure would be pretty lacklustre and would probably not be enough for the kitchen tap. I'm assuming this would also need to be fitted by a qualified technician and part-p certified here in the UK. It would also be heavily dependant on wiring at around 10kW and will need to be isolated via an RCD?

3) install a small water heater system such as this one in the boiler cupboard.
https://www.plumbnation.co.uk/site/...vIwe_eurVi20_O5loSez7kLdYyi_UvVWZMaApbo8P8HAQ