Economy 7, hot water cylinder and underfloor heating

jackieD63_2

I have recently moved into a new flat which has an economy 7 meter.i have a hot water tank and underfloor heating. The water tank is huge and set at 65 degrees. When I get up at 5 in the morning i have lovely piping hot water and a warm flat, however when I get home from work in the evenings the heating is going off and the water is nearly cold so its all been wasted. I had an electrician from the council in and he said the tank was well lagged and the water should stay hot all day and he didn't know anything about underfloor heating. Apparently I cant overide the economy 7 so if I phoned my electricity supplier EDFwould they take me off economy 7?

HappyMJ

Do you have a leaky hot water tap?

jackieD63_2

None of my taps leak, I've never had economy 7 before and Im used to having hot water on demand. I've emailed EDF to see if I can come off economy 7 as I dont use much hot water and its only hot when I dont need it. Think I'll probably have to stick with it for the heating though.

jackieD63_2

Maybe I could just have the heating on economy 7?

Richie-from-the-Boro

jackieD63 wrote: »

I have recently moved into a new flat which has an economy 7 meter.i have a hot water tank and underfloor heating. The water tank is huge and set at 65 degrees. When I get up at 5 in the morning i have lovely piping hot water and a warm flat, however when I get home from work in the evenings the heating is going off and the water is nearly cold so its all been wasted. I had an electrician from the council in and he said the tank was well lagged and the water should stay hot all day and he didn't know anything about underfloor heating. Apparently I cant override the economy 7 so if I phoned my electricity supplier EDF would they take me off economy 7?

- then your 'tank' is not well lagged, or ;
- - the underfloor is draining the stored heat in the form of water
- - there are only two kinds of 'lagged' E7 Part L and all the others, your tank may not be E7 compliant
- - if you do not put enough [quantity of] cheap stored heat into the tank during the night they will run out of heat, or ;
- - if the thermostat in the control pack feeding the manifold is set too high when you are out / in bed you will run out of heat

jackieD63, the things for you to consider before jumping away from cheap [er] electricity are above. I assume at the pre-installation design level someone will have calculated the litres of hot water needed to feed the hot water & underfloor needs for the dwelling for 17 hours, and I assume s/he will have installed a Part L tank of sufficient size. That then leaves 2 options either (1) the system is malfunctioning or its (2) user error, and you are a new user. The Q&D way to find out the best and most cost effective way to use your system is to ask your neighbours who have a similar lifestyle. Same or similar hours of use is important, it's no good translating an AP or unemployed individual who is home~alone all day !. I assume from your post the dwelling is LA or HA owned.

Do you, in addition, have night store heaters or only underfloor ?

macman

How are you going to heat the property if you come of E7-it'll be maybe 250% more expensive?
Most E7 controllers have a boost function so that you can boost the hot water on demand (albeit at E7 peak rate charges). Does yours not have this facility?

jackieD63_2

Maybe I was being a bit hasty when thinking about not using Economy 7...I just want a bath!
I will get a plumber out to check the water tank and I think maybe if I turn the heating thermostats right down while I'm at work I can turn them up in the evening that might be better. I've been told that the flats in my block are the only ones left in the district with underfloor heating and the council dont really know much about how it works. I dont have storage heaters just underfloor.
My only problem is the hot water, I dont have a boost button it just switches on at night and off during the day. I have to go to my sisters for a shower!

macman

An uprated E7 controller is not an expensive option. Around £45 last time I bought one.

HappyMJ

jackieD63 wrote: »

Maybe I was being a bit hasty when thinking about not using Economy 7...I just want a bath!
I will get a plumber out to check the water tank and I think maybe if I turn the heating thermostats right down while I'm at work I can turn them up in the evening that might be better. I've been told that the flats in my block are the only ones left in the district with underfloor heating and the council dont really know much about how it works.
My only problem is the hot water, I dont have a boost button it just switches on at night and off during the day. I have to go to my sisters for a shower!

How big is your hot water cylinder?

Height and diameter will do if you don't know how many litres...

You really should not be running out of hot water at any time unless your property has more occupants than it's designed for or you are using much more hot water than the average person.

Richie-from-the-Boro

jackieD63 wrote: »

Maybe I was being a bit hasty when thinking about not using Economy 7...I just want a bath!
I will get a plumber out to check the water tank and I think maybe if I turn the heating thermostats right down while I'm at work I can turn them up in the evening that might be better. I've been told that the flats in my block are the only ones left in the district with underfloor heating and the council dont really know much about how it works. I dont have storage heaters just underfloor.
My only problem is the hot water, I dont have a boost button it just switches on at night and off during the day. I have to go to my sisters for a shower!

- my bold - user error probable
- those that know best are not on MSE, they are your direct neighbours in the same block
- watch out for bad people ! select who you ask carefully !

On the tank as you call it it will have three distinct and recognisable [to a layman] features, there will be two sets of thick wires going into it (1] one at the top and one (2) separately at the bottom, and it will have a (3) noticeably hard coating like this one.

Your controller may be of the 40 year old - still going strong variety like this one or the more modern equivalents like these here. Which type of tank [2 sets of wiring & 2 heating elements] do you have and which type of controller do you have?

jackieD63_2

Its approx 4ft high but cant measure round it as its tucked in the corner of the airing cupboard....its pretty big though.
I'm the only occupant in a one bed flat.
I dont use much hot water, a wash in the morning and wash breakfast dishes, when I get home from work, nearly cold water just when I need it hot!
My washing machine is cold water filled.
I know this may sound stupid but do you think the heating and hot water are connected and because the heating is on all day it uses the water from the tank...I really have no idea how any of it works.