single person use of hot water cylinder- turn it off?

boohoo2022

hi i can not figure out how to calculate this so will give the scenario, then can someone advisea to whether it will be cheaper to turn off and abandon my large bathroom situated hot water cylinder, and get hot water for washing up from my kettle instead?

So a single person, supply is electric only (heating is storage heater and wood burner). I hardly need hot water from my taps (the shower is cold water fed so heats itself right? does washing machine heat its own water too...?) and have no radiators. Question- am i wasting money by firing up the hot water cylinder every time i need to do the washing up? Plus ive noticed it is on sometimes (but i dont know how to change times and i currently dry clothes in the cupboard where the cylinder is to make use of this heat) Should i just turn it off and boil a kettle every time i need to wash a pile of dishes??

Trying to find any little way to reduce leccy bill- my home is already cold and dark, i dont know what else i can turn off to use less leccy!! advice please?

Swipe

Yes, definitely use the kettle instead but I'd advise turning it on if we get a prolonged beast from the east to prevent any header tank in the loft from freezing.

theoretica

Try it and see if your electricity use changes and how inconvenient you find it.

With LED bulbs it uses very little electricity to keep a home light - but heat is a large user of energy.

boohoo2022

thanks all- i dont have a header tank apparently (its a really old croft house with really old set up for electrics, water in/ waste water out, its a nightmare tbh)- water pressure was rubbish until a pump was installed on the island last year, so dont think collected water freeze is an issue for me. And yup eco bulbs in all the light fittings already (this house has tiny windows and is dark even in summer)

I guess ill have a go at  doing without cylinder for a month and see if it makes a difference on the bill, then. cheers!

Ultrasonic

Most modern washing machines are cold fill only but just check the plumbing connections to be certain. 

If you have storage heaters I'd expect the water cylinder to be heated on cheaper overnight electricity too? Just asking as you mentioned firing up the hot water cylinder when needed. 

You probably are in the rare position where a kettle would save you money though.

Ultrasonic

boohoo2022 said:

thanks all- i dont have a header tank apparently (its a really old croft house with really old set up for electrics, water in/ waste water out, its a nightmare tbh)- water pressure was rubbish until a pump was installed on the island last year, so dont think collected water freeze is an issue for me. And yup eco bulbs in all the light fittings already (this house has tiny windows and is dark even in summer)

I guess ill have a go at  doing without cylinder for a month and see if it makes a difference on the bill, then. cheers!

Just check meter readings each day to get an idea quicker rather than waiting for a bill.

boohoo2022

ultrasonic- i think i assume it is firing up as it takes a good minute for the hot water to pull through the system, but thats why it got me thinking- if i only need hot water out the tap once a day how much is it costing keeping the cylinder water hot when i dont need it (or does it only get  heated when i turn the tap on?- i know i am stoopid not to know this but it never even crossed my mind how the blooming thing works til now!)

FreeBear

Ultrasonic said: Most modern washing machines are cold fill only but just check the plumbing connections to be certain.

Yup, my washing machine is a single connection to the cold water and has an internal heater. When I'm on my own, a tank of water is only heated (via a gas boiler) when I want a bath or I'll use an electric shower. For washing up, I'll boil a kettle every time.

Zandoni

You need one of these undersink heaters, it will pay for itself in no time.  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ariston-3626292-Andris-Undersink-Electric/dp/B08PMC5DNS/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?adgrpid=54669392593&gclid=CjwKCAjw6dmSBhBkEiwA_W-EoJDr05v1nNK8lZPKIOK_5shHW5Ux-bWz0StAvIuGVPOxDtY_1AJx0BoCV_UQAvD_BwE&hvadid=259033695285&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1006618&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=15697157607206162889&hvtargid=kwd-296968708482&hydadcr=29350_1792262&keywords=small+electric+water+heater&qid=1649916109&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzMlJNVzgyWDAwUkNYJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMTkxODM0M1NSMTExQjhPVDdFRCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMTUyNDM4UVdaRjBCVUpDNU1XJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

Mstty

Zandoni said:

You need one of these undersink heaters, it will pay for itself in no time.  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ariston-3626292-Andris-Undersink-Electric/dp/B08PMC5DNS/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?adgrpid=54669392593&gclid=CjwKCAjw6dmSBhBkEiwA_W-EoJDr05v1nNK8lZPKIOK_5shHW5Ux-bWz0StAvIuGVPOxDtY_1AJx0BoCV_UQAvD_BwE&hvadid=259033695285&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1006618&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=15697157607206162889&hvtargid=kwd-296968708482&hydadcr=29350_1792262&keywords=small+electric+water+heater&qid=1649916109&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzMlJNVzgyWDAwUkNYJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMTkxODM0M1NSMTExQjhPVDdFRCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMTUyNDM4UVdaRjBCVUpDNU1XJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

Just to cover the cost of that heater it is approx 1571 full kettles at 3kw taking 5 mins.

With the fact it is in itself 1.5kW and this lady wants one kettle load a day that's 3000+ kettles boiled to break even so over 8 years.

How will it pay for itself in no time?

Zandoni

Mstty said:

Zandoni said:

You need one of these undersink heaters, it will pay for itself in no time.  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ariston-3626292-Andris-Undersink-Electric/dp/B08PMC5DNS/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?adgrpid=54669392593&gclid=CjwKCAjw6dmSBhBkEiwA_W-EoJDr05v1nNK8lZPKIOK_5shHW5Ux-bWz0StAvIuGVPOxDtY_1AJx0BoCV_UQAvD_BwE&hvadid=259033695285&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1006618&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=15697157607206162889&hvtargid=kwd-296968708482&hydadcr=29350_1792262&keywords=small+electric+water+heater&qid=1649916109&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzMlJNVzgyWDAwUkNYJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMTkxODM0M1NSMTExQjhPVDdFRCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMTUyNDM4UVdaRjBCVUpDNU1XJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

Just to cover the cost of that heater it is approx 1571 full kettles at 3kw taking 5 mins.

With the fact it is in itself 1.5kW and this lady wants one kettle load a day that's 3000+ kettles boiled to break even so over 8 years.

How will it pay for itself in no time?

Compared to using the immersion heater it will.