Confused about new electric boiler!

Daveholdem

I have just moved into a new 2 bedroom flat. Unfortuantly we don't have gas heating, its an electric boiler (GAH Electrastream boiler - 9Kwh).


We're struggling to get our flat warm, and not sure if we're operating the boiler correctly, its different to my previous one.


We're on E7 Tariff, so I have set it to heat the water up between 4-6am. The boiler shows a water temperture of 65 degrees which if not used, will stay like this till we use the water up.


We have a thermostat but the radiators don't get hot unless we have the heating switched on which is obvious, however with this 9kwh boiler, when we're paying 15p per kwh, am i correct in assuming that every hour we have the heating on, it'll cost us £1.35 (9 x 15p)? This is insane at this time of the year, or are we doing something wrong?


Any boiler experts available. Its really stressing us out with the winter coming!

molerat

Unfortunately you have what is likely the most expensive form of heating known to man other than setting fire to £10 notes. They were never designed to run on E7 tariffs but special tariffs designed for multi off peak periods which are now being discontinued by the suppliers, a good single rate may be most cost effective. You need to maximise the amount of heat you put into the tank during the off peak period.

Daveholdem

But even if we were running at one of the lowest cost electricity prices (12p?) are you telling me to have the heating on in any electric flat with a 9kwh boiler would still cost in excess of £1 per hour for anyone?

molerat

Unfortunately yes. Charging the tank during off peak could help offset some of the day cost but whatever you do it is not going to be cheap as that will not last long. These systems were designed for on demand use with cheap electricity, something that is no longer available.

Daveholdem

I've done a lot of research in the last few days. People with a similar boiler to us have said their bills are approx £70-£90 a month. With standard electrical use that would equate to people having their heating on for approx 1-2hours a day MAX throught the worst of winter. If this was the case, why are electric boilers becoming even more popular?

GunJack

Daveholdem wrote: »

I've done a lot of research in the last few days. People with a similar boiler to us have said their bills are approx £70-£90 a month. With standard electrical use that would equate to people having their heating on for approx 1-2hours a day MAX throught the worst of winter. If this was the case, why are electric boilers becoming even more popular?

Blame the Greens for wanting to ditch gas for heating, hot water and cooking

JohnB47

I'm really no expert at this but I've just looked up the description of your type of boiler and here's what I think.

As said before, this type is meant to use off peak cheap electricity. The boiler uses that electricity to create a heat store for use during the day.

So a decision has to be made about the correct water temperature to set and how long to set the off peak period during which this water is heated up.

It may be that you need to set a much higher water temp than you are doing and you may need to set it to heat up more than the two hours you are doing.

The idea that you will be using 9Kw for every hour of 'use' is wrong. You will be using off peak costed electricity only during the off peak period you set, when 'charging up' the water tank. And you probably won't use 9Kw for all of the off perk period set - only that much needed to get the water temp up to the setting and then maybe a bit of on-and-off until the off peak period ends.

My understanding is that you won't use much electricity during the rest of the day - only enough to pump hot water around the rads ect.

It confuses me when you say "We have a thermostat but the radiators don't get hot unless we have the heating switched on". To my mind 'switch in the heating on' means effectively switching on a pump to circulate heated water - not using 9Kw of elctricity to heat the water at the same time - that was done the night before.

Why not keep a careful eye on your meter readings to see exactly how much electricity you are using? It's not rocket science.

It's really a hot water based storage heating idea. You charge up the water when electricity is cheap and draw off that energy from the water for the rest of the day.

Of course, you need cheap electricity and that's a problem nowadays.

Daveholdem

"
It confuses me when you say "We have a thermostat but the radiators don't get hot unless we have the heating switched on". To my mind 'switch in the heating on' means effectively switching on a pump to circulate heated water - not using 9Kw of elctricity to heat the water at the same time - that was done the night before."


This is exactly where I thought this boiler was going wrong. I can't see how to switch this pump on. The only way way we can seem to get the hot water pumping through the radiators is to put the who boiler to heat water etc.

tacpot12

Do any of your neighbours have the same system and have a manual that shows the controls?

If not, are there any labels on the boiler or on the heating system? If you can find out who installed the system they may be able to tell you what controls are available to run the pump without charging the heat store.

If they confirm the pump can't be run without also charging the heat store, you will need to pay them to reconfigure the system. It should cost too much to do this, and you will save a lot but doing so.

If you are renting your flat, you might ask your landlord these questions and look to them to pay for the reconfiguration if this is required. I'm sure they would appreciate a contribution from you towards the cost.

Daveholdem

As far as im aware no. See, the issue is....we have hot water. The shower is always hot, the taps are always hot, however.....when the thermostat is set to even its highest, although we have hot water, it doesnt seem to pump around the radiators. this is the confusing part of this. landlord is next to useless

Talldave

This site might be of use:

https://www.plumbersforums.net/threads/electrastream-boiler-wet-electric-central-heating.57785/