Cheapest way to use the immersion heater 12 May 2005 at 11:04AM edited 30 November -1 at 1:00AM in Energy 150 replies 309.2K views

Cardew

I could trying to explain the sequence of events starting with post #124. However I don't think you would understand that either - or indeed how a thread cannot be initiated after 125 posts

zeupater

Hi All

Regarding: "The hot water cylinder should be Part L of the Building Regulations spec : ...", my question is why ?. My understanding is that hot water cylinders in existing dwellings are not required to conform to either Part L1B or Part L, it is only new work which needs to be compliant ..... am I actually missing something here, or is there some confusion on where/when Part L1B/L actually applies .....

Perhaps this looks like an example of why public sector expenditure is so high , me, I've got a copper tank with no factory foam insulation and therefore not effectively part L compliant, however, it's double quilt insulated and sits in an insulated cupboard, total heatloss from the cylinder on a replacement heat fuel consumption basis (gas condensing boiler) is <2kWh/day (measured) which seems to exceed part L requirements on heat loss.

Z

keystone

zeupater wrote: »

Regarding: "The hot water cylinder should be Part L of the Building Regulations spec : ...", my question is why ?.

You are correct - it doesn't. Upgrades to Bldg Regs are not retrospective to existing installations. New and replacement installations must, however, comply with Bldg Regs in force at the time of the installation.

Perhaps this looks like an example of why public sector expenditure is so high ,

You could be correct.

Cheers

cobra2011

I have electricity only, thus have a water tank with electric immersion heater. am getting quite frustrated as it seems my water tank immersion heater is having to change every year!!! how long should this immersion heater's last? what is the best quality to purchase? I have never purchased one, as when I call for a plumber they come with the parts but its costing me too much.. The damn thing needs changing again!! I have been using the booster the last few days which I have only changed once in the last 5yrs but its not cost effective as electricity is expensive in the day time .. any suggestions please? need to sought this ASAP. - thanks

Swipe

Immersion heater elements should last at the very least 10 years. You shouldn't need to be replacing them every year. Make sure you buy a hard water type if you live in a hard water area. Also make sure the plumber is not ripping you off as newer immersion heater elements have a small trip switch/reset button on them which could just need resetting rather than having to replace the whole thing.

laww79

Hi,

This is a long thread so sorry if I am going over old ground. I live in a small flat which runs electricity only. I am very frugal with my electricty using Bye Bye Standy etc and also turn on the storage heaters when needed. (They spend the rest of the time off at the wall).

However despite my best efforts I received a massive bill for some £600. Having previously paid £33 per month from September to March Incl. They say it's a catch up bill, but it seems a hell of alot.

I am trying to find out what's drawing so much power. I looked at the boiler and found that both immersions heaters were on set to on.

My question is what happens when you leave the top immersion element on all day (is it constantly on or just when the temp drops and water is used) and how much does this add to the bill a week.

The boiler never sounded like it was blaring away all the time. Water used 2 - 3 showers a day, washing machine (though not everyday) and washing up.

Thanks.

Richie-from-the-Boro

laww79 wrote: »

Hi,

This is a long thread so sorry if I am going over old ground. I live in a small flat which runs electricity only. I am very frugal with my electricity using Bye Bye Standby etc and also turn on the storage heaters when needed. (They spend the rest of the time off at the wall).

However despite my best efforts I received a massive bill for some £600. Having previously paid £33 per month from September to March Incl. They say it's a catch up bill, but it seems a hell of alot.

I am trying to find out what's drawing so much power. I looked at the boiler and found that both immersions heaters were on set to on.

My question is what happens when you leave the top immersion element on all day (is it constantly on or just when the temp drops and water is used) and how much does this add to the bill a week.

The boiler never sounded like it was blaring away all the time. Water used 2 - 3 showers a day, washing machine (though not everyday) and washing up.

Thanks.

This thread is dated 12-05-2005 .. .. its seven years old .. .. you may have a better response if you start a new thread .. .. just hit the 'new thread button' on the top left hand side of the page and copy and paste the above into the box.

mpn226

hi to all out there, can anybody help, looking for some info regarding midnight sun electricity storage, has any one got one fitted, sorry for invading this thread, thanks

Richie-from-the-Boro

mpn226 wrote: »

hi to all out there, can anybody help, looking for some info regarding midnight sun electricity storage, has any one got one fitted, sorry for invading this thread, thanks

- again

This thread is dated 12-05-2005 .. .. its seven years old .. .. you may have a better response if you start a new thread .. .. just hit the 'new thread button' on the top left hand side of the page and copy and paste the above into the box.

Marty48

Gustav - you will only have the amount of hot water that your tank can hold. Therefore, you either need to get a bigger tank installed (expensive), get a different way of heating the water (combi boiler, instant electric water heater - both expensive) or reduce the amount of water you use/ separate your periods of use so you can reheat the water between uses (i.e. one of you take a shower, then leave it 60 minutes with the immersion on before the second person has a shower). One compromise that seems to work is to get a new showerhead which uses less water. These are available on-line (we have one made by Mira) and work by introducing air bubbles into the water stream. In this way, you use less water and are more likely to get 2 showers from 1 tank of hot water. If you have a power shower, these use a massive amount of water, so you are unlikely to get 2 decent showers from one tank of hot water. We replaced our power shower because of this.
Hope this helps

Marty