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Using 4x The average electric consumption with 0 heating for 4 years.
Comments
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Hi,
A random hot water cylinder I checked on the internet claims a 64W heat loss under BS1566:2002 conditions (65 degrees C water, 20 degrees C ambient). At 20p a unit this is £112 a year so maybe not as insignificant as I thought.
Obviously only a proportion of this is available as a saving by turning the immersion heater off for some of the time.
Better insulation of the cylinder (and connected pipework) is likely to be worthwhile if it currently just has standard levels of insulation.
If the airing cupboard is warm then your cylinder isn't adequately insulated!0 -
We had one very old storage heater which showed a high power drain when charging, but we never got any heat from it at all. Apparently far from unheard of, and the reason I suggested it as it sounds like the OP's heaters are elderly. (And yes - I know it seems illogical - I don't have the answers, but I do have personal experience of the issue!)MWT said:
It would be hard not to notice that as the only way they can use power is to produce heat, and that heat has to go somewhere...EssexHebridean said:Allowing for the mention of storage heaters I'm wondering whether a) as someone else says even though not working they have been left switched on,🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25
Balance as at 31/08/25 = £ 95,450.00. Balance as at 31/12/25 = £ 91,100.00
SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her0 -
Our "usual" electricity use (pre pandemic and WFH situation) in a similar property to the OP, and also using storage heaters and an immersion heater is around 5,500KwH p/a - we keep the place at a comfortable temperature during the winter - ie needing to wear a jumper and slippers but not going as far as the four layers, wrapped up in a blanket state of affairs - and use absolutely everything we can at night and this keeps the cost down massively. Overnight last night we charged one NSH, the immersion did its thing, the WM dealt with a load of grubby sports kit and the dehumidifier ran plus of course al the usual "base level" stuff. 87p total cost for the lot - I'll take that.
In a building with modern NSH's the loss from the immersion heater is offsetting what the heaters will be doing (less so with older heaters), and I suspect at a far lower cost! Ours is not a huge tank, but will happily provide water for face washing/shaving in the morning, a load of washing up in the evening, and still spit out sufficient for a bath at a temperature that needs some cold added before bed, so although there is a definite warmer feeling in the airing cupboard, it's not losing enough to impact on the water produced particularly.🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25
Balance as at 31/08/25 = £ 95,450.00. Balance as at 31/12/25 = £ 91,100.00
SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her0 -
Where was the electricity going?We had one very old storage heater which showed a high power drain when charging, but we never got any heat from it at all.0 -
Wow! I posted this yesterday and I just came back today didn't expect so many replies! I'm gonna go through everything and make a plan of action moving forward. Thanks for all your help guys I will update the post moving forward with any progress I make on this!4
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I have absolutely no idea - but going it was. Our electrician could only guess that it was a failed element in some way - he didn't take the unit apart as it would have been old enough to have potentially contained asbestos so it was simply removed as it was. It was the first one we planned to replace anyway - and had got steadily less and less efficient over time - hence it took us a while to notice same electricity drain but less heat.ChaunceyGardiner said:
Where was the electricity going?🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25
Balance as at 31/08/25 = £ 95,450.00. Balance as at 31/12/25 = £ 91,100.00
SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her0 -
No current would flow with a failed element.
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andChaunceyGardiner said:
Where was the electricity going?We had one very old storage heater which showed a high power drain when charging, but we never got any heat from it at all.
andEssexHebridean said:
I have absolutely no idea - but going it was.ChaunceyGardiner said:
Where was the electricity going?
Fascinating though this discussion of electrical mysteries could be, it's not really helping the OP.Verdigris said:No current would flow with a failed element.
N. Hampshire, he/him. Octopus Intelligent Go elec & Tracker gas / Vodafone BB / iD mobile. Kirk Hill Co-op member.Ofgem cap table, Ofgem cap explainer. Economy 7 cap explainer. Gas vs E7 vs peak elec heating costs, Best kettle!
2.72kWp PV facing SSW installed Jan 2012. 11 x 247w panels, 3.6kw inverter. 35 MWh generated, long-term average 2.6 Os.1
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