Heating water using electricity, and panel heaters (No CH)

MrBrindle

@Fire Fox - No I wasn't suggesting actually getting a power shower, just wondering if there were more powerful electric showers out there, as the ones I've used have been pretty weak when it comes to water pressure.

In regards to heating water. Is there much point having a water tank or cylinder if we will only be using it for dish washing / hand washing / occasional baths etc? The electric shower will obviously be independent, or, should the shower be plumbed into the water tank as well? I see you say you have enough hot water for 3 days,

Basically do we get a water tank with built in immersion, heated with economy 7.....or an 'on-demand' boiler, only heating the water when we need it? Any idea whats cheaper?

macman

An imersion heater and NSH's running on E7 are of course much cheaper, about a third of the cost of standard rate electricity per kWh. An electric boiler is about the most expensive possible means of heating and hot water.
Electric shower flow is determined by the rating of the shower, not by water pressure, however a higher rating may require an upgraded circuit and RCD.

MrBrindle

@macman - Sorry, what are NSH? N... Storage Heaters?

@Wywth - How come leaving economy 10 for another tariff is so unappealing? At the moment, it seems the only tariff that would suit our lifestyle to be honest. I've been in touch with storage heater suppliers in the UK, and it there is a general agreement that store heaters aren't suitable for a couple working 8am-6pm. The only reason I feel it would be good on Economy 7 is to have background heat fairly constant in the house, as it is an old solid wall cottage and if left cold for too long would probably harvest damp and condensation problems

Wywth

MrBrindle wrote: »

@macman - Sorry, what are NSH? N... Storage Heaters?

@Wywth - How come leaving economy 10 for another tariff is so unappealing? At the moment, it seems the only tariff that would suit our lifestyle to be honest. I've been in touch with storage heater suppliers in the UK, and it there is a general agreement that store heaters aren't suitable for a couple working 8am-6pm. The only reason I feel it would be good on Economy 7 is to have background heat fairly constant in the house, as it is an old solid wall cottage and if left cold for too long would probably harvest damp and condensation problems

Try Dimplex
They have been producing Night Storage Heaters for years that operate on an E7 tariff and there is no issue at all with them even if you do work typical office hours.

How would E10 help you more? That just typically gives you 3 hours cheap rate extra during the day i.e. when you are not in the property.

As I said, if you do opt for E10, you can't easily switch supplier (or tariff) and attempts to do so incariably ened in tears. It will also detract from a food selling price later. (for this very reason)

Which particular E10 tariff and supplier were you considering?
Which supply region are you in?
How do you think that tariff actually operates (they all work a bit different)?
What is the cost breakdown of the tariff?

Wywth

MrBrindle wrote: »

At the moment our supplier is Swalec, am I allowed to post tariff details on here? The Economy 7 tariff is:
26.10 pence/day standing charge
15.89 pence/kwh peak energy
7.40 pence/kwh off peak energy

Economy 10:
26.10 pence/day standing charge
16.95 pence/kwh peak energy
8.57 pence/kwh off peak energy

Try LoCO2 Energy for economy 7

21.00 pence/day standing charge
13.398 pence/kwh peak energy
6.93 pence/kwh off peak energy

and these price include VAT which I am not sure yours do.

Richie-from-the-Boro

MrBrindle, when you have a spare week read this then come back and ask questions.

macman

By all means have a convector/oil filled rad/fan heater as a back up, but it would be crazy to plan a system involving having to use any electric heating on a very expensive peak rate outside the midnight to 7am E7 hours. It's got to be one of the other.
Modern storage heaters are more controllable; the reason most people find that they 'expire' at night is because they haven't bothered to set the input and output correctly-which may requires some tweaking depending on the ambient temp.

gc_bus

I'd run with an nPower standard rate December 2014 tariff which currently is slightly less than 10p/Kwh 24 x 7 plus around 30p per day standing charge. Certainly would not bother with any form of E10 due to the excessively high on-peak rates.

Wywth

gc_bus wrote: »

I'd run with an nPower standard rate December 2014 tariff which currently is slightly less than 10p/Kwh 24 x 7 plus around 30p per day standing charge. Certainly would not bother with any form of E10 due to the excessively high on-peak rates.

I'm not sure which tariff you are referring to
I can't seem to find any with December 2014 in their name

nPower standard tariff would be charged at 20.664 p for the first 182 kWh per quarter, and 15.939 p thereafter
(£42 per year discount for paying by Direct Debit)