New User of Joule Direct Smart Standard Hot Water Cylinder - How to Use it Efficiently?

JKS$(

Hello All,

I'm trying to help a friend who is struggling with money & rents a 2bed, all electric flat in a block of 8 in a large development about 7 years old which she shares with a friend. 

Their old hot water cylinder broke down & was replaced with a Joule Cyclone Direct Smart Standard cylinder. The installer told her about dual rates & that it would heat up on the night rate. 

Their bills are still high, so wondering if it can be manually switched on & off for, say, 2 hours/night instead of being continuously on?

All paperwork went to their letting agency from the plumber (who now can't find it!) A search for the product code (TCEMVD-0150LFC) on Joule's website links to a different product. I rang Joule but the info supplied is about the technical installation & annual energy consumption figure (which differs from the figure quoted on the cylinder's energy label)

There are no user instructions to tell us if we can switch it on & off or if it needs to be kept on. We don't want to invalidate the warranty or damage the cylinder.

Anyone have any advice please?

[Deleted User]

If she on a dual rate tariff?

The product page for the 200LFC suggests that it has two immersion heaters. Normally, the lower immersion heater is wired so that it heated using offpeak electricity, and the upper for peak. That said, without photos of the electrical installation no one on this forum can tell.

The ‘good news’ is that there is no way that you can damage the cylinder. It appears to be unvented so in addition to the thermostats on each of the immersion heaters, there are other safety stats. A photo would help.

JKS$(

Will ask for photos (I'm not local to them)

They've had all sorts of issues with their supplier - broken meter for 14 months & estimated bills of 36p/month, bills with missing months, bills for the same quarters but with different charges, not being able to get through...so I'm not 100% sure. They've been told that 'everyone is currently on the same standard single tariff' by their supplier, but their bills show day & night rates & their supplier code is S02, which Google assures me is Economy 7.

Not enough room to install a smart meter, so no IHD either.

It's on the list of stuff to question the supplier about, including why the £66 was added & then removed from their bills.

tacpot12

Whether they can reduce the time that the lower immersion heater is on for will depend on what controls have been fitted (if any) and whether the Economy7 supply is timed at the consumer unit. 

One option is for them to get a Tesla T-Smart Head for one of their lower immersion heaters and have this connected to the Daytime supply. (The head is part no TIHTS). They can remove the head when they leave and the orignal head can be reinstalled so they can return the flat to the landlord in its original state. 

Installation doesn't require any plumbing, just a small amount of electrical work, and it will give them the ability to heat their water to 50-55C rather than 60-65C. (It provides a anti-legionalla cycle to address concerns about storing water at temperatures lower than 60C). It also allows them to set the times that the immersion heater is on so that it aligns with their Economy 7 hours or reduce the time that the immersion heater is on to what ever time they find gives them enough water.

The brochure is here: 7795.5750566.pdf (teslauk.com)  and this video shown how simple the installation is: https://youtu.be/521Vuoa2p2g

The Smart mode is not good for Economy 7 users. Timer Mode is what they need, and the should set the temperature to 50C+ at times when they want the immersion heater to be on, and 10C when they want it 'off'. They always want the tank at 10C or above to protect against frost. 

JKS$(

Thanks @Tacpot12, that's really useful.

The technical info suggested the cylinder temp be lowered to 50-55C as they live in a very hard water area. No idea if this happened as the installation paperwork has disappeared.