All electric place, high usage?

Swipe

Doom_and_Gloom wrote: »

How do we check that? We have no idea where that would be! If that is the reason and we can put it on a timer that would help a lot. What would it look like?

It should be in a cupboard or the bathroom and will look like a big cylinder with a copper pipe coming out of the top. Connected to that via a cable should be a box with a timer on it (could be an analogue dial or digital display). You need to looks at the timer settings and set it to come on for a couple of hours in the early hours.

Premier_2

Doom_and_Gloom wrote: »

How do we check that? We have no idea where that would be! If that is the reason and we can put it on a timer that would help a lot. What would it look like?

You'll need to find the switch.

When you've switched it off, you may want to check the thermostat temperature
The amount of immersions that I see continuously boiling away due to too highly set thermostat is incredible. If it's a bottom mounted immersion, then it's unlikely to ever get above about 65-70 degrees whilst the top of the tank is bubbling away furiously.

diable

Wait until winter as electric heating is expensive to run.

Doom_and_Gloom

Just had a look we don't have one like that Swipe. We have a switch that turns it on and off, no timer at all! If we leave the switch so it is on at night and off during the day will that give us enough hot water through the day?

Swipe

Doom_and_Gloom wrote: »

Just had a look we don't have one like that Swipe. We have a switch that turns it on and off, no timer at all! If we leave the switch so it is on at night and off during the day will that give us enough hot water through the day?

If you are on an economy 7 tariff (which I assume you are if you are all electric and have storage heaters) you could do that. If not, you could put it on for an hour and then turn it off.

Premier_2

Doom_and_Gloom wrote: »

Just had a look we don't have one like that Swipe. We have a switch that turns it on and off, no timer at all! If we leave the switch so it is on at night and off during the day will that give us enough hot water through the day?

Most tanks (about 42 inches high) will heat up in about an hour - 90 mins, especially if the water is not stone cold.

How long the water lasts depends on how much you use, but if you don't use any (and assuming the tank is properaly insulated) then the water will stay hot all day.

Best to heat up the water just before you need it, and unless you have E7 (I don't think you have said?) then it costs the same whenever you heat it. If you do have E7, then obviously take advantage of the cheap rate.

Doom_and_Gloom

I can't see a thermostat - the immersion heater itself isn't in a cupboard or the bathroom. It is above us in the loft (we live in a bungalow). Would the thermostat be in the loft with it?

Doom_and_Gloom

I have to be honest and say I don't know if we have E7. Is it possible to have E7 and only one meter counter?

Swipe

The thermostat is usually under a plastic cap on the top of the tank. You need to remove a small nut to remove the cap and you'll see the thermostat which is a small plastic dial that you can adjust. I set mine to 65C and it's hot enough to run a hot bath (I boil the kettle for washing up if I need very hot water). Make sure the switch is off before you remove that plastic cap though.

Swipe

Doom_and_Gloom wrote: »

I have to be honest and say I don't know if we have E7. Is it possible to have E7 and only one meter counter?

No, there are two counters for E7. On some older E7 meters they have just one display but you need to push a button to toggle between the day and night rate counters.