Shower Heating Costs: Gas vs Electricity
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But if one is on oil and has solar then a solar switch IMO is a no brainer.
Since installing a switch weve been saving 50p/day which is our past cost to heat water by oil.
If the sun heats the water for 180 days a year thats saves £90. In addition fit is still payed on 50% of production whether use or not
I am on oil with an oil fired cooker/ boiler. Since fitting the diverter we have not had to put the boiler on at all to provide hot water on Sunday morning when she indoors in doing her weekly baking and dinner, we used to run the boiler 2 hours to provide this. I also have two cylinders-one for the bathroom and one for the kitchen. A relay controlled by a thermostat on the bathroom cylinder switches the solar to the kitchen cylinder. For your info I have a 4 kw system and FIT is paid on all production (plus half rate on 50%) whether used or not and our annual FIT payment exceeds our electric bill by approx. £200 annually. The boiler now only runs intermittent for 2 hours in the evening to ensure a hot bath. We also have a small 2 ring electric cooker and small oven and can use this on free solar PV when the sun is shining and do not need to use oil for cooking.
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It probably comes out to a similar cost overall. You'll be using a much higher flow rate if not using an electric shower so you'll be using more energy to heat the water, plus there are significantly greater losses with anything other than electric instantaneous heating.
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I can imagine an on demand HW system such as a combi, suffering much more wear and tear than an electric instant shower. They will also need servicing and repair costs, whereas an electric shower usually has no such ongoing costs, until replacement time comes along.
A couple of weeks ago I sensed that my own fancy electric shower was misbehaving, I take a daily shower first thing. I fitted it around ten years ago and it has not been touched since I fitted it. It senses its output temperature and trims its water flow and Kw to precisely adjust its output to the temperature you set on its dial. It has always just worked. Except a couple of weeks ago, its temperature seemed to be wondering around a bit, so last week I pulled it apart to check it out. All was absolutely perfect, no sticking valves, elements working fine, everything good as new. I arrived at a conclusion that it was my bodies temperature sensing which was amiss and it has certainly been fine since then.
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Just measured static water pressure: 3.1 bar at outside tap which backs onto the stopcock.
Same measurement at the bathroom shower head (via the mixer valve set on the temperature stop) is 2.9-3 bar.
Dynamic test in the same place with the bath tap (cold) running: 0.3 bar.
The Mira shower I am looking at advertises a flow rate of 5.8 l/min @ 0.1bar, so can you calculate the expected flow rate @ 2.9 bar?
The old set-up was the mixer in the bathroom (staying) and an electric one in the en-suite (staying but as stand-by). The new shower in the en-suite will be another mixer.
We could never get both showers running satisfactorily together.
I seem to remember 20 years ago when we moved in a neighbour said our incoming main was a 1/2" copper pipe just buried directly in the soil under the lawn.
If it got kinked, I guess that could reduce the water pressure.
Would fitting a 25mm MDPE main improve this? And (very roughly) what would this cost?
Same measurement at the bathroom shower head (via the mixer valve set on the temperature stop) is 2.9-3 bar.
Dynamic test in the same place with the bath tap (cold) running: 0.3 bar.
The Mira shower I am looking at advertises a flow rate of 5.8 l/min @ 0.1bar, so can you calculate the expected flow rate @ 2.9 bar?
The old set-up was the mixer in the bathroom (staying) and an electric one in the en-suite (staying but as stand-by). The new shower in the en-suite will be another mixer.
We could never get both showers running satisfactorily together.
I seem to remember 20 years ago when we moved in a neighbour said our incoming main was a 1/2" copper pipe just buried directly in the soil under the lawn.
If it got kinked, I guess that could reduce the water pressure.
Would fitting a 25mm MDPE main improve this? And (very roughly) what would this cost?
3.1 bar is good, we only have 2bar and that goes down in summer with holiday makers here
I have a triton 1 bar shower - 9.5KW put in a few weeks ago to replace a smaller shower
its run on the 15mm pipework into the house on mains pressure
Works very well. much better than the old shower - also a triton, but lower wattage
we did have all the cable replaced to 10mm & fuse changed to 40A - as required in installation manual
I use a pressure reducer on the cold into the bath mixer tap
and have a 22mm for hot water from cylinder to tap
With the pressure reducer , i was able to stop the cold overriding the hot and so now have a good shower from the hot water cylinder in the bangalow and also the electric shower , idea being if we have a problem we have on or the other , although if the electric fails i dont think the gas boiler would work any way !!!! used to olden days with a pilot light
I have a triton 1 bar shower - 9.5KW put in a few weeks ago to replace a smaller shower
its run on the 15mm pipework into the house on mains pressure
Works very well. much better than the old shower - also a triton, but lower wattage
we did have all the cable replaced to 10mm & fuse changed to 40A - as required in installation manual
I use a pressure reducer on the cold into the bath mixer tap
and have a 22mm for hot water from cylinder to tap
With the pressure reducer , i was able to stop the cold overriding the hot and so now have a good shower from the hot water cylinder in the bangalow and also the electric shower , idea being if we have a problem we have on or the other , although if the electric fails i dont think the gas boiler would work any way !!!! used to olden days with a pilot light
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I got a visit from United Utilities this AM.
She said I currently have 3 bar static pressure (it varies between 1.9 and 3.1 bar) and 15 l/ min.
She also said UU guarantee minimum 1 bar water pressure at 9 l/ min.
Then she wrote something I don't quite understand:
"At 1 bar pressure there is 10 l/ min (Dynamic)"
i don't know if she is talking about our supply or their minimum supply standard.
But she basically said that, while the pressure was good, the flow was v poor.
Both she and I wondered if the cock in the garden was not fully open, but she could not lift the lid, so they will come and fit a new 25mm supply and stopcock and join it up to my existing 1/2" copper under the front lawn.
She said that may improve flow, but if not, I may need a new main into the house.
But I'm wondering if even that will improve matters?
If the 1/2" supply pipe is insufficient to give a decent flow rate, then would it make such a difference to increase the pipe from the street to the house, where the cold is all plumbed in 1/2" / 15mm anyway?
She said I currently have 3 bar static pressure (it varies between 1.9 and 3.1 bar) and 15 l/ min.
She also said UU guarantee minimum 1 bar water pressure at 9 l/ min.
Then she wrote something I don't quite understand:
"At 1 bar pressure there is 10 l/ min (Dynamic)"
i don't know if she is talking about our supply or their minimum supply standard.
But she basically said that, while the pressure was good, the flow was v poor.
Both she and I wondered if the cock in the garden was not fully open, but she could not lift the lid, so they will come and fit a new 25mm supply and stopcock and join it up to my existing 1/2" copper under the front lawn.
She said that may improve flow, but if not, I may need a new main into the house.
But I'm wondering if even that will improve matters?
If the 1/2" supply pipe is insufficient to give a decent flow rate, then would it make such a difference to increase the pipe from the street to the house, where the cold is all plumbed in 1/2" / 15mm anyway?
i think water companies have to supply 1 bar - to get the water 10m so that water tanks in houses can be filled - BUT I only think thats the standard - not sure if thats a legal requirement. I looked in , when i was trying to work out showers with flow rate and pressure and mixer tabes, electric showers , tank capacity etc etc recently when redoing bathroom & ensuite in bungalow
I know our pressure can be poor as when all the holiday makers come to the area in Summer the pressure is poor
I know our pressure can be poor as when all the holiday makers come to the area in Summer the pressure is poor
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But in my case the pressure is OK, it's the flow rate that's rubbish.
Can upping the dia. of the supply pipe help when the internal stuff is in half inch or 15mm?
Can upping the dia. of the supply pipe help when the internal stuff is in half inch or 15mm?
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You may have said but whats your hot water source at the moment ? If they put a 25mm mdpe in the moment you won see any advantage with an electric shower.
Don't have both ....dump the electric shower a decent combi will give you a great shower with a 25mdpe and go for a rain head too !!!
Screwfix do some decent ones for a decent price. Nothing else to discuss .....when I've done the above everyone has always been delighted !
Bi thermic heat exchanger type combi's are the best and most reliable.
Don't have both ....dump the electric shower a decent combi will give you a great shower with a 25mdpe and go for a rain head too !!!
Screwfix do some decent ones for a decent price. Nothing else to discuss .....when I've done the above everyone has always been delighted !
Bi thermic heat exchanger type combi's are the best and most reliable.
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My boiler is a 1 year old WB Greenstar 34CDi Classic.
I have been considering the Mira Magni-flo ERD range as they claim to improve the flow rate.
My dilemma is that replacing the 1/2" copper into the house with 25mm MDPE will be quite costly (I am beyond the point of being able to do my own groundworks) and I need to be sure before going ahead with it that it will give an improvement. Having said that, the pipework in the house (at least on the cold side) is all 1/2" or 15mm, so will changing the incoming feed to 25mm make that much difference?
I have been considering the Mira Magni-flo ERD range as they claim to improve the flow rate.
My dilemma is that replacing the 1/2" copper into the house with 25mm MDPE will be quite costly (I am beyond the point of being able to do my own groundworks) and I need to be sure before going ahead with it that it will give an improvement. Having said that, the pipework in the house (at least on the cold side) is all 1/2" or 15mm, so will changing the incoming feed to 25mm make that much difference?
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