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Immersion Heating/Electricity Bill

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  • 17-06-2008 11:45pm
    #1
    duckles
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7 ✭


    Hi all, just a quick question about immersion heating. I just moved into a new house and the immersion is one of those on-off, sink-bath switches with no timer. I was just wondering if anyone knows if it would be cheaper to leave the sink on all the time than to be switching it on and off or using bath to heat the water? As it is it takes 2 hours to heat the water for a ten minute shower AND I have to get up 2 hours before work to turn it on and go back to bed, its a total is a pain!! If anyone has any experience with this ancient immersion some advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!


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    #2
    mildews
    Registered Users Posts: 213 ✭✭mildews


    Don't use the immersion
    Turn off all your rads (well it is the summer!!) Turn the thermostat up to the max, Set your heating to come on for ten minutes before you get up, Hey-presto hot water.


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    #3
    duckles
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7 ✭duckles


    Tis too friggin hot to be turning on the heat!!! We'll roast alive in our beds!!!!


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    #4
    mildews
    Registered Users Posts: 213 ✭✭mildews


    Turn off all the rads!!!!!!!!!!! the water in the tank will still heat:cool:


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    #5
    duckles
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7 ✭duckles


    Oh wait sorry!! So if i turn on the oil heating and turn off the radiators(presuming theres a switch and a thermostat somewhere in the house!!) that will heat the water and its much cheaper????


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    #6
    BostonB
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,056 ✭✭✭✭BostonB


    duckles wrote: »
    Tis too friggin hot to be turning on the heat!!! We'll roast alive in our beds!!!!

    He meant on the hot water cylinder. He said turn off the rads.


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    #7
    pixbyjohn
    Registered Users Posts: 6,250 ✭✭✭pixbyjohn


    A good central heating system will have an electric zone valve which turns off all radiators whilst leaving the domestic hot water circuit still on so as previous poster suggests you then have a timed period for heating your water by your boiler. Otherwise fit a timer switch to your immersion circuit, its not rocket science to have it done.
    Regards.


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    #8
    mildews
    Registered Users Posts: 213 ✭✭mildews


    There should be a thermostat on a wall somewhere(small square box with a dial on it) this controls the heating temperature.

    Your immersion switch controls two elements in the hot water tank similar to an electric kettle. leaving this on will put your electricity bill through the roof. the other way I described will be much cheaper on the pocket as you are only turning it on for about 10 minutes. Also check your hot water tank to see if there is a small thermostat on this too. If as you say its taking 2 hours to heat the water it may be turned down.


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    #9
    duckles
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7 ✭duckles


    Thats fantastic!! I might get someone with a bit more know how than me to find the valve otherwise ill probably end up flooding the house! Thanks a million for all your help guys. :)


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    #10
    JBCFord
    Closed Accounts Posts: 49 ✭JBCFord


    duckles wrote: »
    Hi all, just a quick question about immersion heating. I just moved into a new house and the immersion is one of those on-off, sink-bath switches with no timer. I was just wondering if anyone knows if it would be cheaper to leave the sink on all the time than to be switching it on and off or using bath to heat the water? As it is it takes 2 hours to heat the water for a ten minute shower AND I have to get up 2 hours before work to turn it on and go back to bed, its a total is a pain!! If anyone has any experience with this ancient immersion some advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

    Interesting topic, we have been turning on our immersion in the early morning
    to bath and it stays on all day and is only turned off last thing at night and when we go out for safety, it’s a new well insulated tank and runs the hot water taps and a pumped shower that is used at least twice a day and has never ran out of hot water with max ten min shower,
    having said that we are in and out of the house all day so its rarely turned off for to long maybe from 12 midnight to 7am and an hour or so during the day morning showers no problem

    I also would have an interest in figuring out the running costs
    Don’t now about cost but it works for us


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    #11
    duckles
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7 ✭duckles


    What are your electricity bills like?? My friend told me he used to leave it on sink 24/7 and his bills werent that bad. If i turn it on bath for half an hour its the equivalent of having sink on for 2 hours or more. So im guessing it must be somewhat more economical to have it on sink. Ya know how these things are.


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    #12
    JBCFord
    Closed Accounts Posts: 49 ✭JBCFord


    duckles wrote: »
    What are your electricity bills like?? My friend told me he used to leave it on sink 24/7 and his bills werent that bad. If i turn it on bath for half an hour its the equivalent of having sink on for 2 hours or more. So im guessing it must be somewhat more economical to have it on sink. Ya know how these things are.

    Having it on sink only heats the top of the tank if you put it on bath it more or less heats the whole tank and as we use it for pumped showers and washing the dishes and the like this makes more sense to us,
    The tank also holds the water at a overall temperature so you are only topping up the already worm water as apposed to heating a cold tank

    When the tank reaches a set temperature it cuts out
    Haven’t worked out the costs yet but to me it makes more sense to top up my hot water rather than try and heat it when it starts to get cold

    But this all depends on your household and how you manage your hot water requirements a lot of homes are vacant for long periods of the day


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