Coat of installing cold water tank in loft

pineapple

Am currently doing up an old cottage which has no hot water system - apart from a little wall mounted water heater in the kitchen and an electric shower! I'm on Economy 7 (gas not a option) so run round like an idiot late night or early morning while on cheap rate filling airpots with hot water for the day.
About to replace the kitchen and was going to have an undersink water heater. But I am wondering about having a water tank installed to take full advantage of the E7 - ie heating up water during the night.
I can price up water tanks online but does anyone have any idea of installation cost? So far the only prices I've seen have been for replacement costs. It's like those boiler grants (if you can still get them). It's all about replacement. I must be one of the few who is starting from scratch with nothing to replace.
Plus I dread the upheaval. Is it a really messy job putting in pipework to the kitchen and bathroom?

casper_g

The cold water tank in the loft will be cheap. It's the hot water tank in the airing cupboard (or wherever) that costs money as it's bigger and made of copper not plastic.

pineapple

Are there any alternatives to this system? For example could I have an insulated boiler in the kitchen? I was looking at Burcos but I don't think these things are insulated?

macman

An electric boiler is the last thing you want, as most of the time it will be running on peak rate E7!
Just put in an immersion heater and combine that with NSH's for heating if you want to take full advantage of E7. A properly lagged tank will stay hot all day.

pineapple

Re the boiler I thought about only having it heating up during off peak. That was why I wondered if you could get them insulated.
NSH?

Owain_Moneysaver

NSH = night storage heater

If you don't want a tank in the loft you can get an unvented direct cylinder but there're more expensive to buy and need an annual safety check.

However if you have good mains pressure and flow they will give good results.

coffeehound

pineapple wrote: »

Re the boiler I thought about only having it heating up during off peak. That was why I wondered if you could get them insulated.
NSH?

Just to mention that the confusion over electric boiler versus electric tank or cylinder is because an electric boiler is a very expensive thing to run. Whereas an Economy 7 hot water cylinder or tank is very cost effective. Just confusion over names

Apodemus

pineapple wrote: »

Am currently doing up an old cottage...

If you are doing it up, then it is worth doing it properly. No future owner will thank you for cutting corners and not installing a modern hot water system.

If you are concerned about upheaval, Owain's suggestion of an unvented direct cylinder might be better, if you can find reasonable cupboard or under-counter space for it.

Alex1983

You say gas is not a option but have you considered LPG, I live off the mains gas grid and have a modern condensing boiler, unvented hot water and full central heating with a LPG tank in the garden.

nofoollikeold

A further possibility is a thermal store. Whole tankful of water heated overnight on Economy 7, then hot water heated by passing mains cold through a heat exchanger with the tank's hot water providing the heat. Gives hot water at mains pressure without the added complication of an unvented system.

There are drawbacks. They're quite expensive, and need regular maintenance. Can be an issue with scaling up in hard water areas, although this can be managed with careful use and servicing.

stator

If you don't have gas I'd stick with a traditional system. A cold water tank in loft, hot water tank in airing cupboard, electrical immersion heater on E7 timer circuit. Will be cheap to install, cheap to maintain and provide enough hot water for most people for a whole day.