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Oil heating or Elec Heating water

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  • 01-08-2012 1:40pm
    #1
    jtown
    Registered Users Posts: 755 ✭✭✭


    Hi all,

    I know might be too much of a question. Which is cheaper, heating the water with oil burner or elec switch. Only turn it on for an hour or so every morning.

    Thanks


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    #2
    miller50841
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,525 ✭✭✭miller50841


    Put a timer on the immersion and set for only what you need so say 40-45min if that would give enough hot water.


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    #3
    jtown
    Registered Users Posts: 755 ✭✭✭jtown


    miller50841 wrote: »
    Put a timer on the immersion and set for only what you need so say 40-45min if that would give enough hot water.

    I've the oil set on timer for 1h.. no timer on the immersion. Is it worth it putting it on it?


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    #4
    miller50841
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,525 ✭✭✭miller50841


    jtown wrote: »
    I've the oil set on timer for 1h.. no timer on the immersion. Is it worth it putting it on it?
    It would be for that amount use the immersion.
    Do you need it on for an hour
    Do you have elec power shower


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    #5
    jtown
    Registered Users Posts: 755 ✭✭✭jtown


    miller50841 wrote: »
    It would be for that amount use the immersion.
    Do you need it on for an hour
    Do you have elec power shower


    Just for 2 showers in the morning for work. no elec power showers in the house.
    Just enough hot water for shower at 8am and say 10am


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    #6
    miller50841
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,525 ✭✭✭miller50841


    jtown wrote: »
    Just for 2 showers in the morning for work. no elec power showers in the house.
    Just enough hot water for shower at 8am and say 10am

    Use the immersion during the summer and in winter use central heating(boiler) as this should be hot enough from the night before make sure you have good insulation around the copper tank


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    #7
    jtown
    Registered Users Posts: 755 ✭✭✭jtown


    miller50841 wrote: »
    Use the immersion during the summer and in winter use central heating(boiler) as this should be hot enough from the night before make sure you have good insulation around the copper tank

    Thats a good point. If we dont have hot water for example at 6 in the evening, is it cheaper to put on Elec switch or put on the oil burner?


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    #8
    miller50841
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,525 ✭✭✭miller50841


    It depends are you talking about winter or summer not that we are getting much of 1

    During summer(slightly warmer weather use immersion) it's still expensive like boiling a kettle but should be slightly cheaper just dont leave running all the time.

    During the winter you will probably set the heating to come on just before you arrive home and off later that night then maybe again in the morning before you wake up if so there would be plenty of hot water so no need for the immersion.


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    #9
    jtown
    Registered Users Posts: 755 ✭✭✭jtown


    miller50841 wrote: »
    It depends are you talking about winter or summer not that we are getting much of 1

    During summer(slightly warmer weather use immersion) it's still expensive like boiling a kettle but should be slightly cheaper just dont leave running all the time.

    During the winter you will probably set the heating to come on just before you arrive home and off later that night then maybe again in the morning before you wake up if so there would be plenty of hot water so no need for the immersion.

    Very good, thats what we have been doing... Since the weather is so bad at the moment using the Oil to heat it. Put on at like 7am till 8am. There would be still a small bit of luke warm water left when we get home at 6. but not enough to say wash the pans. So another blast of the oil before we get home should solve this for the night.

    Suppose its trial and error.
    Thanks for your help and advise


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    #10
    Graces7
    Registered Users Posts: 32,634 ✭✭✭✭Graces7


    jtown wrote: »
    Very good, thats what we have been doing... Since the weather is so bad at the moment using the Oil to heat it. Put on at like 7am till 8am. There would be still a small bit of luke warm water left when we get home at 6. but not enough to say wash the pans. So another blast of the oil before we get home should solve this for the night.

    Suppose its trial and error.
    Thanks for your help and advise

    We have neither OFCH nor an immersion heater.
    In winter, the solid fuel burner heats radiators and water and we have a couple of large pans atop it too.

    Else we boil a kettle and there is an electric shower.

    We do not lag the tank as it keeps the house warm all night after the fire is out.


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    #11
    jtown
    Registered Users Posts: 755 ✭✭✭jtown


    We have a solid fuel stove but only heats the house and noting else. :mad:


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    #12
    Graces7
    Registered Users Posts: 32,634 ✭✭✭✭Graces7


    jtown wrote: »
    We have a solid fuel stove but only heats the house and noting else. :mad:

    Maddening that!

    This is an old neglected farmhouse and thus never ruined with oil heating..

    You can still put a large kettle atop?


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    #13
    jtown
    Registered Users Posts: 755 ✭✭✭jtown


    Graces7 wrote: »
    Maddening that!

    This is an old neglected farmhouse and thus never ruined with oil heating..

    You can still put a large kettle atop?

    Thats very true.


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    #14
    Graces7
    Registered Users Posts: 32,634 ✭✭✭✭Graces7


    jtown wrote: »
    Thats very true.

    Cook your tatties on it too...;)


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    #15
    Pkiernan
    Registered Users Posts: 4,310 ✭✭✭Pkiernan


    Of all the methods available to the typical householder, electricity is the most expensive way to heat you water.

    If you OFCH is a type that will allow you to heat your hot water tank independently of the rest of the house, then that will be the cheapest option for you.

    If not, then you can turn off all the rads in your home, meaning that the oil boiler will just heat the water in the cylinder.


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    #16
    jtown
    Registered Users Posts: 755 ✭✭✭jtown


    Pkiernan wrote: »
    Of all the methods available to the typical householder, electricity is the most expensive way to heat you water.

    If you OFCH is a type that will allow you to heat your hot water tank independently of the rest of the house, then that will be the cheapest option for you.

    If not, then you can turn off all the rads in your home, meaning that the oil boiler will just heat the water in the cylinder.

    Yes my OFCH allows to heat just the hot water and not the rest of the house. So what we have done is switch off all the rads in the house and oil just heats water in the cylinder.

    So best option is to heat it this way?


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    #17
    Pkiernan
    Registered Users Posts: 4,310 ✭✭✭Pkiernan


    Yes, oil works out at about half the cost of electricity per delivered kWhr.


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    #18
    Bigcheeze
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,858 ✭✭✭Bigcheeze


    Pkiernan wrote: »
    Yes, oil works out at about half the cost of electricity per delivered kWhr.

    This would vary greatly with boiler efficiency.

    An old oil boiler in a garden shed connected to pipes with no insulation is going to waste a lot of energy before it gets to the hot water.

    I use gfch on a timer to heat my water but the boiler is new and highly efficient, the system has three zones, and all the pipework is insulated. It's set for one hour twice a day which gives around the clock hot water.


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