Economy 7 Query and Help

Gashy

Hello, Ive recently moved into my first apartment in wolverhampton about a week ago, It is a one bedroom apartment and I noticed that there is a Horstmann electronic 7 (economy 7) immersion heater in the apartment located next to the bedroom in a small cupboard. Now the apartment is only Electric and water based, there Is no gas and im aware that electric houses tend to be more costly than households that use electric & gas. When i lived with my parents we used a boiler that was gas based so this is all new and very confusing to me as ive never rented an apartment on my own haha.

I received a bill from the electric suppliers which was aimed to the previous tenants and I noticed that they used over 2,350 kWh in just a month! I searched online and it said that the average 1 bedroom flat uses a little bit more than that but spread over a year not 1 month!

The main query I have is what are the recommended settings that I should set my immersion tank/heater (im not 100% sure what it is ill post pictures to help define what it is) to, in order to have a reasonable electric bill at the end of the month as I am scared that the current settings will build up a huge bill.

The current setting that I have it on at the moment (which Ive only set up today after seeing their bill) is:

• On time 6AM
• Off time 6:30AM

Im only a single lad living on my own and I imagine that this will create enough hot water for a quick shower in the morning about 7am, and any left over hot water will be used for dishes from the night before.

I sometimes switch the heating on at night around 11PM12AM for an hour or two if it gets cold but this is on the Charge input setting of 3/4 and charge output of 1, would this still be possible with only 30 minutes of the immersion heaters being on? if not im happy to just grab a few extra layers and wrap up warm.

All washing machine washes are done on 30 degrees C as that what my mum suggested I do as its very cheap but again, if this is not possible or cold washes are as efficient I will do this instead.

I apologise if this sort of thing is asked a lot around here Im just very confused and a little scared that Ill get a mini heart attack from my bill that will be assigned to me haha so any tips would be very appreciated.

*edit I have the links to the images but as im a new user it wont allow me to post them

[Deleted User]

Quick question. Does your shower need the water heated from the immersion heater?
I ask this because I'm in an all electric flat and I only use the immersion heater if I have baths.
My shower heats up separately so If I want hot water I tend to boil a kettle and incorporate that water to wash up with or cook with etc.
My yearly electric usage is 3,835kWh. Single occupier.
Your previous owners amount does seem high.
Also when I use my storage heaters, if I wake up in the night and they're hot enough I turn them off from the wall to save electric. I very rarely have the bedroom one on and use an electric blanket instead.
I worked out my storage heaters were £10 each a week to run so at £80 a month just for heating that's too expensive. Which is why I sometimes turn the one off in the lounge if it's hot enough.

CashStrapped

First you have to ascertain if the flat is properly set up for E7.

1) You mention storage heaters and an immersion tank.

Are these the only forms of heating. Do you use any portable electric heaters during the day? Electric shower?

2) Manually turning on/off the storage heaters is not how they are supposed to work. They will not store enough heat that way. To control how much they store you just turn down the input dial.

3) The input dial controls how much heat is stored. The higher the setting, the more heat is stored and the more electricity is used.

The output dial controls how quickly the heat is released the next day. The output should always be set to 1, especially at night. Only turn it up if you want a short boost. Then turn it back to 1

4) The E7 immersion should also only come on at night. The hot water is heated on the cheap rate. Depending on the tank insulation, this should stay hot for the majority of the next day.

5) What is your energy company, tariff name, and unit rates (pence per kwh and daily standing charge).

Do you know your night use percentage? Do you have historic meter readings of your use since you moved in? That can give an indication as to what you are actually using. Not what someone else used.

You do not know how accurate that bill was. Look at your use, not theirs.

6) Is is competitive tariff? Have you done a comparison?

The average E7 flat can use anywhere between 3000kwh - 10,000kwh per year. There are many variables that can affect overall use. How much that use costs depends on your tariff.

Richie-from-the-Boro

- your Hortmann 'water controller' switches on in the middle of the night and off after 7 hours, the switching is automatic and out of your control, it has two separate sets of wires going to your water cylinder

- your E7 hot water cylinder has both a top and bottom element and two separate wires going to your water controller

- your Hortsmann water controller has a (1) night time OFF or TIMED switch and a (2) day time BOOST timer

- the night TIMED is the 7 hours mentioned above at CHEAP rate, the separate BOOST is for 60 minutes only at FULL price

The shower will almost certainly be DAY rate at FULL price. The BOOST function [FULL PRICE] I've never used in almost 40 years of E7. The input on a storage heater is as much as you need at CHEAP rate. The output should never be used in my opinion again I've never used it in almost 40 years of E7.

Sort out your cheapest tariff and supply regular online readings to your chosen supplier.

[Deleted User]

I've never used my output on my storage heaters either and I've had them for over 10 years. They seem to heat up at their maximum temperature no matter what.
Which is why if I wake-up during the night and I can be bothered, I switch the lounge one off as it's so hot I can't touch it.And it's not that old either and works fine.
Like I said at £10 each a week to run, it's gets expensive having them on every day.

My shower uses daytime electric rate but it's cheaper than heating my hot water for a bath as my E7 is separate from the shower and I have a different water heater than the OP.

Richie-from-the-Boro

If it heats to the max no matter what input you set it to the thermostat needs replacing, it would be cheaper for you to replace the stat. I've done it, a DIY doddle my friend.

An E7 installed PartL 150 litre water cylinder absolutely full will lose very little heat in the 17 hours hardly worth worrying about. Single with no washing up needs, just turning it off is cheaper if hygiene is met with an on-demand shower.

CashStrapped

Richie-from-the-Boro wrote: »

If it heats to the max no matter what input you set it to the thermostat needs replacing, it would be cheaper for you to replace the stat. I've done it, a DIY doddle my friend.

I was going to say the same thing. But, even if the thermostat is broken, the annual usage he quotes is impressively low (if calculated correctly). Unless they turn it off manually every night!

I agree with you though. It should not be heating up so much and getting hot to touch, especially if the input is on low.

[Deleted User]

Hi. I'm a she. I have the input set at the maximum.
Maybe the thermostat is broken. But it heats up at 22ft x 10 ft lounge lovely.
I dont use it every night as I have an electric fire which I do use to take the chill.off the air if I have to. Although that's on peak daytime electric and only used for less than 10 to 15 minutes.

Yes my unit amounts are right. My electric is around £420 last year and £460 this year.
Sometimes the storage heaters are off for 5 days in a row as I'm at work during the day and the weather has not been too bad this year.. Im one of those women who can't bear it too hot. So if I get chilly I put on an extra jumper and I use an electric blanket instead of heating my bedroom if the weather's like it has been and not too cold. My bedroom window is always slightly ajar whatever the weather.

I don't think I'd want to waste £80 a month just on heating. I've done lots of readings and played with the settings on my storage heaters over the years. But what I do seems to work for me. I've tried having the lounge one on on alternate days, again dependant on the weather. I've tried turning the dials to different settings. I don't always get up and turn it off but if it's been on for a few days in a row the lounge gets very warm if the temperature rises outside. I wouldn't say they were that great but im used to them after 10 years of using them. And turning them off has saved me a lot of money.

Edited just to say. I've left the lounge one on for 7 days in a row and taken readings. I've turned them on and off on alternate days and done readings and just had them on when I'm in on my days off and again taken readings. Obviously this is all weather dependant. But it works for me.



.

coffeehound

Richie-from-the-Boro wrote: »

- your Hortmann 'water controller' switches on in the middle of the night and off after 7 hours, the switching is automatic and out of your control

Looks like the on/off times are set manually on the immersion controller. I'd suggest Gashy sets it to come on at 02.00 and off at 05.00 to avoid any uncertainty over peak/off peak times.

footyguy

Gashy wrote: »

Hello, Ive recently moved into my first apartment in wolverhampton about a week ago, It is a one bedroom apartment and I noticed that there is a Horstmann electronic 7 (economy 7) immersion heater in the apartment located next to the bedroom in a small cupboard. Now the apartment is only Electric and water based, there Is no gas and im aware that electric houses tend to be more costly than households that use electric & gas. When i lived with my parents we used a boiler that was gas based so this is all new and very confusing to me as ive never rented an apartment on my own haha.

I received a bill from the electric suppliers which was aimed to the previous tenants and I noticed that they used over 2,350 kWh in just a month! I searched online and it said that the average 1 bedroom flat uses a little bit more than that but spread over a year not 1 month!

The main query I have is what are the recommended settings that I should set my immersion tank/heater (im not 100% sure what it is ill post pictures to help define what it is) to, in order to have a reasonable electric bill at the end of the month as I am scared that the current settings will build up a huge bill.

The current setting that I have it on at the moment (which Ive only set up today after seeing their bill) is:

• On time 6AM
• Off time 6:30AM

Im only a single lad living on my own and I imagine that this will create enough hot water for a quick shower in the morning about 7am, and any left over hot water will be used for dishes from the night before.

I sometimes switch the heating on at night around 11PM12AM for an hour or two if it gets cold but this is on the Charge input setting of 3/4 and charge output of 1, would this still be possible with only 30 minutes of the immersion heaters being on? if not im happy to just grab a few extra layers and wrap up warm.

All washing machine washes are done on 30 degrees C as that what my mum suggested I do as its very cheap but again, if this is not possible or cold washes are as efficient I will do this instead.

I apologise if this sort of thing is asked a lot around here Im just very confused and a little scared that Ill get a mini heart attack from my bill that will be assigned to me haha so any tips would be very appreciated.

*edit I have the links to the images but as im a new user it wont allow me to post them

You should maximise the use of cheap, low rate electricity as much as possible.

You should heat up the tank, if not for the full 7 hours each night (it's controlled thermostatically) at least for a sufficient period of time to ensure the tank does heat up to it's maximum. Failure to do so could leave you at risk to deadly legionella forming.

I'm not sure the Horstmann controller even allows you to control the main E7 heater. Maybe it only allows you to control the boost function.
Activating the booster heater, which will only heat part of the tank, outside of your low rate usage will mean you will be paying normal rate electricity for this.