Vented electric cylinder operation

funnymonkey

Good afternoon . 
Can anyone please help me. I'm due to move into a flat with a vented electric cylinder but I'm not sure how to use.
There are 2 cables (1 to the lower part of the cylinder and the other to the middle section of the cylinder) from 2 switches on the wall.
I don't know the most cost effective way of using this or whether I leave the switches on permanently.
Thank you so much in advance.
Thank you

Gerry1

Assuming you have Economy 7, the lower immersion heater should be left permanently on so that you benefit from the cheaper overnight rate.  Make sure it's switched by the meter: switch it off, let the water go cool, switch it on in the daytime and make sure it doesn't heat up before the E7 cheap rate kicks in.

The upper immersion heater is likely to be on a 24 hour circuit.  If left permanently on it will bankrupt you because the cylinder will keep topping up at expensive daytime rates.  It should be used only to get half a cylinder of expensive hot water if you've run out in the daytime, e.g. because you've been away.

BTW, don't use an instantaneous electric shower, for similar reasons.

Hopefully you have storage heaters.  If you use plug in heaters (fan heaters, electric fires, oil filled radiators, electric fires, panel heaters etc) they will also bankrupt you when winter comes.

Don't forget to register with the existing energy supplier(s) as soon as you take possession.

jbuchanangb

That last remark is very important. As soon as you move in, find the electricity meter and take a photo of it so you have the reading. (Gas and water too if there are such meters). Find out from the agent who the energy supplier for the previous occupier is. You are stuck with them to begin with. You must call them and open an account and give them the opening readings. If you have a two-rate tariff such as Economy 7 (and sounds like you might have) there will be two readings. Be sure to photo the meter twice, once for each reading. It's up to you whether you accept a fixed term tariff from the incumbent supplier, or take their standard variabel for a few weeks and shop around.

funnymonkey

Thank you both for your replies. Your help is so very much appreciated and so helpful.
 Just to add that there's haverland electric energy saving radiators in the property so I'm hoping these won't cost too much to run.
Thank you

tim_p

If they run on peak electricity then they will be expensive, don’t believe the term ‘energy saving’ in your description.

Talldave

funnymonkey said:

Thank you both for your replies. Your help is so very much appreciated and so helpful.
 Just to add that there's haverland electric energy saving radiators in the property so I'm hoping these won't cost too much to run.
Thank you

Energy saving in the sense that they have an off switch??!!

Gerry1

funnymonkey said:

Just to add that there's haverland electric energy saving radiators in the property so I'm hoping these won't cost too much to run.

Unfortunately, that's very bad news. You'll be using daytime electricity for almost all your space heating, and the cost per kWh will be about four or five times that of gas, probably something over 12p compared to well under 3p.  Quite seriously, if it's a rental and you're not already locked in to it, it might be worth looking for somewhere with gas, or at least storage heaters.

If you're committed to it, you'll need a single rate supply rather than Economy 7 which usually has daytime rates that are more expensive than single rate.  If you have single rate, you may find that using only the Boost (upper) immersion heater is marginally cheaper than the lower one because it won't be heating the full tank.

If the meter is E7 you won't necessarily have to change it to get single rate.  Many suppliers will happily bill both registers at the same rate, although some such as Bulb will refuse.  Start comparing against Neon Reef.

But whatever you do, make sure you send monthly meter readings and make sure that your Direct Debit is keeping up with your usage. A Fixed DD is only a kitty, and if it's set too low you may get a nasty shock when it's suddenly increased dramatically or there's a big lump sump to pay if you want to leave.

funnymonkey

Thank you so much for your replies. It is a flat I'm buying, contracts exchanged yesterday in fact.
I'm thinking that fitting storage heaters would be a great idea?
If so are there any that you could recommend as you seen so knowledgeable.
Much appreciated 👍😊👌

Gerry1

Is there any possibility of getting gas laid on? That would be the best solution, even if you have to increase the mortgage; lower bills, better resale price, quicker sale.

Otherwise storage heaters are probably the least worst option. You'd need something well insulated and clever such as Dimplex Quantum. Make sure they are correctly dimensioned and programmed, otherwise you'll be topping up in the evenings at expensive daytime rates.

It all depends on how long you expect to stay there and whether the flat will be occupied in the daytime.

jbuchanangb

It's exciting to move into your own new place, and it takes a while to get used to things. The Haverland radiators sound great but as has been said they use day-rate electricity. Before making any big changes, make a really big effort to understand how they work. A while ago I helped a friend who was stuck with electric heaters in every room, no opportunity for gas and no dedicated wiring in the house for storage radiators. Each of her electric radiators (she had EIGHT) had its own built in timer and thermostatic control. Of course as soon as she switched the heater off at the wall, the built in timer stopped! I educated her NOT to do that, set all the timers to the correct time, and then had to decide for each heater what times it should come on and go off, and what setting for the thermostat. So work out what you're dealing with and write down what settings you have decided for each of the radiators.

Next, find out whether the flat has dedicated wiring for storage heaters. As it has got two inputs for the water heater it sounds as if it might have. When my daughter moved into a flat, she had some heaters which were a combination of storage and convection, and each one had two supplies - one was dedicated for the storage element, and was switched on and off by the electricity meter, and one was normal day-rate for the convection heater element. If your flat is wired for storage heaters, you've got a few months to shop around and work out what to do before winter.

Gerry1

jbuchanangb said:

Each of her electric radiators (she had EIGHT) had its own built in timer and thermostatic control. Of course as soon as she switched the heater off at the wall, the built in timer stopped! I educated her NOT to do that, set all the timers to the correct time, and then had to decide for each heater what times it should come on and go off, and what setting for the thermostat.

When my daughter moved into a flat, she had some heaters which were a combination of storage and convection, and each one had two supplies - one was dedicated for the storage element, and was switched on and off by the electricity meter, and one was normal day-rate for the convection heater element.

The timer might have had a back up battery that was flat.  Always worth checking, although it's obviously better to programme them rather than just switching them on when it's cold.

The heaters with two supplies sound similar to Dimplex Quantum.  However, they need the 24h circuit to blow air over the hot bricks because they are well insulated to minimise heat loss overnight when it's not needed.   They can also use the 24h circuit for an expensive top up in the daytime.