ELECTRIC WATER BOILERS

[Neil McIlquham]

Hello,
63 and disabled, living in a ground floor flat, one bedroom, electric only!
Hot water is economy 7, immersion heater!
paid more for night rate than I did for the day rate.
Could I get a new boiler that is cheaper than the immersion?
2 taps and one shower
Tank is massive

 

[ETAF]

paid more for night rate than I did for the day rate.

Economy7 should be cheaper at night.
Is the Immersion heater on a Timer and correctly set up to take advantage of the cheaper nioght rate tarrif
Is the shower Electric or off the tank ?
If electric , then that will probably be used during the day rate tariff
with regard you main question, I dont have an answer, but have seen in friends and family often the time is out, because of power cuts etc

 

[JohnD]

An electric boiler will not be cheaper than a properly insulated HW cylinder.

post photos of your tank, please; and of the meter, and of any timer or other equipment nearby.

the hot water cylinder may have an upper and a lower heater. photograph them and their switches please.

is there a timer for your immersion heater?

Also, when you look at your electricity bill, what is the price per kWh (1) off peak (2) peak rate?

Do you have electric storage heaters?

You can "copy and paste" photos into your reply, or "upload a file"

 

[Neil McIlquham]

No camera sorry
the tank has two heaters top and bottom and is well insulated, have a daytime timer,
no night time timer
No storage heaters, tank for hot water only
Only one switch for economy 7 and one for daytime use
do not know the prices at the moment but I think it's 8p for night and 16p for the day

 

[JohnD]

can your phone take photos?

you say the night rate is 8p and the day rate is 16p.

So the problem is not the price.

it suggests that you are using most of your electricity at the cheap off-peak rate, and not much at the expensive daytime rate. Which is the right thing to do.

if there is no timer for the bottom element, there is probably a timer in or by the meter.

What colour is your cylinder (this is not a joke)

How tall and what diameter?

Does it have a cold-water tank on top?

 

[EFLImpudence]

paid more for night rate than I did for the day rate.

If you mean the amounts on the bill, is that not how it should be?

For example - 300 x 8 is more than 100 x 17.

 

[flameport]

Could I get a new boiler that is cheaper than the immersion?

Only by installing an ASHP or similar, which will cost £5000+ assuming it's even possible or allowed in your particular property.

Otherwise, all electric heaters / boilers use the same amount of energy to provide a certain amount of hot water/heat regardless of what type they are.

 

[JohnW2]

If you mean the amounts on the bill, is that not how it should be? ... For example - 300 x 8 is more than 100 x 17.

True, but one would only get those sort of figures if one had storage heaters (which, admittedly, the OP may well have).

I don't have storage heaters, but I do have an immersion on cheap-rate E7 and also my WM/DW/Dryer are all usually used at cheap rate, and I run at 45%-50% cheap-rate usage. So, for me, the figures would be more like 100 x 8 and 100 x 17, the former therefore being a much smaller total.

Kind Regards, John

 

[ETAF]

The Bottom heater should heat the tank overnight on E7 & the top heater is more for a topup during the day.

Only one switch for economy 7 and one for daytime use

Is that for the TOP emersion Heater
Should be a timer for switching the Bottom heater on at night.

How many kilowatts for the night rate and how many for the dayrate on the bill?

 

[Neil McIlquham]

No timer for e7, only day timer which I had put in for the top
Unit rate - All/day 21.280p per kWh Unit rate - - Night 8.850p per kWh
Your actual usage in the last 12 months Day 2,376, Night kWh 2,792 kWh
The tank is about 4ft high foam covered
no cold-water tank

 

[JohnW2]

Unit rate - All/day 21.280p per kWh Unit rate - - Night 8.850p per kWh
Your actual usage in the last 12 months Day 2,376, Night kWh 2,792 kWh

As has been asked, do you have electric storage heaters? If you do, they could well account for much of the night-time usage. However, it almost sounds as if you do not have storage heaters, because ...

... your 12-month night-time usage is in the same ballpark as my night-time usage for an immersion alone.

Kind Regards, John

 

[EFLImpudence]

Also: "paid more for night rate than I did for the day rate" cannot be so.

 

[Neil McIlquham]

No storage heaters, hot water only
my night time usage was greater than my day!
Unit rate - All/day 21.280p per kWh Unit rate - - Night 8.850p per kWh
Your actual usage in the last 12 months Day 2,376, Night kWh 2,792 kWh

 

[Neil McIlquham]

i am deaf and my phone does not have a camera sorry!

 

[JohnW2]

No storage heaters, hot water only ... my night time usage was greater than my day!
Unit rate - All/day 21.280p per kWh Unit rate - - Night 8.850p per kWh ... Your actual usage in the last 12 months Day 2,376, Night kWh 2,792 kWh

Night-time usage, yes, but not night-time cost. On the basis of your figures, your day-time cost is £505.61 per year, but your night-time cost is only £247.09 per year - and, as I said, your night-time usage is similar to mine for just an immersion heater - so I really don't think there is anything wrong at your end.

Kind Regards, John