Water heater issues.

[Wolfie1969]

OK so this is in California but I doubt that will have any relevance to the question.

Over the past 4 months our electric bill has increased by about £10-15 per month for no apparent reason, if anything it should have decreased as my job is seasonal and I'm out of the house more. And it is almost 50% higher than the same period last year.

We do not have air conditioning, we have not changed any habits nor installed anything new.

The electric company were concerned enough to come and check our meter and I believe they changed it (I was at work), despite claiming the original one was working fine. They are suggesting the cause is probably our electric water heater. It was manufactured in 2012, has an upper and lower element.

I requested that the landlord check it for us. Their maintenance guy showed up yesterday and simply put a multi tester across the terminals and told me the elements are fine but seemed unable to explain what he had actually measured. But that the heater isn't the problem.

Would measuring the resistance (for example), tell him if the elements are scaled up or should it have been drained down and them removed?

W.

 

[EFLImpudence]

I requested that the landlord check it for us. Their maintenance guy showed up yesterday and simply put a multi tester across the terminals and told me the elements are fine but seemed unable to explain what he had actually measured. But that the heater isn't the problem.

The resistance of the element, an insulation resistance test L-E and N-E and possibly a current measurement when on.

Would measuring the resistance (for example), tell him if the elements are scaled up

Not whether it is scaled up, but if it is as it should be.

or should it have been drained down and them removed?

Not if the measurements are as they should be.

The only way an immersion can use more than usual is by being on for longer.

 

[riveralt]

See video

Do you have a timer on this immersion?
Has that been altered, checked or is perhaps broken and permanently on?

 

[JohnW2]

Do you have a timer on this immersion? Has that been altered, checked or is perhaps broken and permanently on?

Indeed. We do seem to be talking about a pretty small amount of apparent additional electricity usage. By my reckoning, £10-£15 per month would amount to a 3kW immersion being 'on' for about 20-30 hours per month - i.e. around about about 1 hour per day.

Kind Regards, John

 

[riveralt]

Indeed. We do seem to be talking about a pretty small amount of apparent additional electricity usage. By my reckoning, £10-£15 per month would amount to a 3kW immersion being 'on' for about 20-30 hours per month - i.e. around about about 1 hour per day.

Yes but I'm pretty certain this is an American Boiler (water heater) - probably about 4.5kw - not sure what the price per kwh is in California.

 

[EFLImpudence]

Indeed. We do seem to be talking about a pretty small amount of apparent additional electricity usage. By my reckoning, £10-£15 per month would amount to a 3kW immersion being 'on' for about 20-30 hours per month - i.e. around about about 1 hour per day.

That's a good point and ...

... as the Op says this equates to a 50% increase would seem to suggest that, even ignoring ALL other power usage, an immersion being on for three hours instead of two per day would cause this result.

Could this be a failing thermostat or timer?
Is the water hotter than it was?

 

[JohnW2]

Indeed. We do seem to be talking about a pretty small amount of apparent additional electricity usage. By my reckoning, £10-£15 per month would amount to a 3kW immersion being 'on' for about 20-30 hours per month - i.e. around about about 1 hour per day.

Yes but I'm pretty certain this is an American Boiler (water heater) - probably about 4.5kw

Good point - which would make what I said even more pertinent.

- not sure what the price per kwh is in California.

The Wikipedia quotes average prices as 8 to 17 US cents/kWh in US and 20 US cents/kWh in UK, so seemingly not a lot of difference. Mind you, the OP quoted GBP figures.

Kind Regards, John

 

[Wolfie1969]

Thanks all. Firstly I used £ instead of $ to make it easier for most of the users here to see the increases.

- no timer, it on 24/7 and reheats the water as its used.
- I guess the thermostat is independent of the elements? He only tested the elements.
- my thinking was if the elements were scaled they would be on longer to achieve the same water temperature?
- water temperature the same as normal.

As to the rating/make I would have to check tomorrow as 1140pm and I just got in from work.

W.

 

[bernardgreen]

no timer, it on 24/7 and reheats the water as its used..

You could have a leak in the hot water system and thus "using" ( wasting ) more hot water.

 

[JohnW2]

- my thinking was if the elements were scaled they would be on longer to achieve the same water temperature?

Not really (at least, not in terms of electricity usage) - you can't beat the laws of physics. If a certain amount of electricity is used, it will always get turned into the same amount of heat. If the element is heavily scaled, it might possibly take more 'clock time' to heat the water to a given temperature, but only because the thermostat was switching the element on and off. The total amount of ('electrical') 'on time' would still be the same.

Kind Regards, John

 

[riveralt]

You could have a leak in the hot water system and thus "using" ( wasting ) more hot water.

It would have to be a pretty big and therefore noticeable leak to increase the electricity bill to the extent the OP has highlighted.
I think it could one of the following:
A. You are spending more time than you used to in the shower and therefore using more water and thus electricity.
B. Someone else is spending more time in the shower than they used to - with or without your knowledge
C. You and someone else are spending more time in the shower than you used to.

 

[JohnW2]

I think it could one of the following:
A. You are spending more time than you used to in the shower and therefore using more water and thus electricity.
B. Someone else is spending more time in the shower than they used to - with or without your knowledge
C. You and someone else are spending more time in the shower than you used to.

All definitely possibilities! As I said, it sounds as if (assuming the water heater is the culprit) we would probably be talking abut less than one hour per day of extra water heater 'on time' - and that might well translate to only a few minutes more use of a shower (or other use of hot water) per day (it takes much longer for a heater to heat up a certain volume of water than it takes a user to use it). If someone has started taking baths (or more baths) it would not take many of them to produce the reported change in electricity consumption.

Given that, even if were only 3kW, we're talking about something which if 'on' (electrically) 24/7 would use about £350 of electricity per month (at UK prices), a difference of £10-£15 per month is clearly very small, and the reason could be difficult to determine.

Kind Regards, John[/QUOTE]

 

[flameport]

They are suggesting the cause is probably our electric water heater. It was manufactured in 2012, has an upper and lower element.

Possible, but other just as likely causes are fridges and freezers - door being left slightly open or damaged door seal can easily cause significant increases in power usage.

As already suggested, the extra is the equivalent of a 3kW heater for an hour a day, or 125 watts on all the time - such as a couple of incandescent lamps left on in a basement or seldom used area.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

C. You and someone else are spending more time in the shower than you used to.

As you get older you do have to take things more slowly, as it becomes easier to slip over.