Retro-fit enhanced lecky supply or other workaround?

isnottheword

Currently have a 2006 build house - running 2x showers on a priority switch and a 32A electric car charging point. I'm not sure how the latter was installed - and whether it will try to run two of these together. It doesn't come to pass at the moment (and for the foreseeable) as only one shower used at a time - and have as yet never tried to run shower and car charging together.


Potential Extra Complexity...

I plan on adding an extension with a kitchen area and a shower. Furthermore, was considering doing an attic conversion with the same deal.


Potentially 2-4 electric showers, up to 3x cookers, 3x fridges and 1x car charging point. Is there a way of retrofitting that without major surgery or is it even feasible?

Stoner

isnottheword wrote:

Potentially 2-4 electric showers, up to 3x cookers, 3x fridges and 1x car charging point. Is there a way of retrofitting that without major surgery or is it even feasible?

TBH it sounds like a second house,

There's a big difference between adding a big extension and putting in a second kitchen that additional people will use at the same time as the existing one.


Diversity is the key here

Only you know what you intend to do with the space but if you are adding more people too than you could be in for an issue. It's ok to call it an extension that's really a second home, but if that's what it is going to be you'd be best upgrading the supply to suit.

1-4 or 1-12 showers is not the issue. It's how many will be in use at the same time

2011

+1

The other option is to consider using gas to heat water and to cook with. Combine this with energy efficient lighting and A rated appliances, then the only sizeable load will be the car charging unit.

Sleeper12

I've installed 3/4 electric showers in the same home. The only issue is that the priority board gets considerably more expensive the more showers you have. I think anything above 3 showers and the priority board has to be specially made to order

2011

Sleeper12 wrote: »

I've installed 3/4 electric showers in the same home. The only issue is that the priority board gets considerably more expensive the more showers you have. I think anything above 3 showers and the priority board has to be specially made to order

....or don't electrically heat the water and a priority board is no longer required.

gctest50

Heating water with electricity is the cheapest

"Ordinary" non-electric showers have less to go wrong than electric showers


Maybe the best way is get a big storage tank and heat it on night-rate ( since you'll have night rate for charging the car anyway )




In the future you could throw a few solar-electric panels at it ( price of solar-electric panels is dropping ) - if you're at home they'll charge your car, if you're away they'll heat the water - dump any excess into the national grid .

2011

gctest50 wrote: »

Heating water with electricity is the cheapest

No it is not. In fact it is by far the most expensive way to heat water even when using night rate.

Electricity typically cost about €0.15 per unit whereas gas will cost about €0.05 per unit.
Therefore gas is about ⅓ of the cost.

I accept that you have to factor in a standing charge for a gas meter and a gas boiler has to be serviced once a year but the savings are still significant.

gctest50

2011 wrote: »

No it is not. In fact it is by far the most expensive way to heat water even when using night rate.

Electricity typically cost about €0.15 per unit whereas gas will cost about €0.15 per unit.
Therefore gas is about ⅓ of the cost.

I accept that you have to factor in a sanding charge for a gas meter and a gas boiler has to be serviced once a year but the savings are still significant.

2011 wrote: »

Electricity typically cost about €0.15 per unit whereas gas will cost about €0.15 per unit.

Night-rate is apparently about 9.13

http://www.seai.ie/Publications/Statistics_Publications/Fuel_Cost_Comparison/Domestic-Fuel-Cost-Comparisons.pdf

2011

gctest50 wrote: »

Night-rate is apparently about 9.13

http://www.seai.ie/Publications/Statistics_Publications/Fuel_Cost_Comparison/Domestic-Fuel-Cost-Comparisons.pdf

Yup, so it is still far more expensive.
Gas is only €0.05 per unit

2011

Gas €0.05 per unit.

gctest50

2011 wrote: »

Gas €0.05 per unit.

Not much use if you're not near a gas line

Good heatpump give you 4 to 1 +

2011

gctest50 wrote: »

Not much use if you're not near a gas line

Incorrect:

Cloudio9

Irish people seem to love electric showers. They're rubbish imo. Two things I don't mind paying for are a good mattress and a hot powerful shower.

With a modern insulated tank and a pumped shower you'll have a much better solution. Will be cheaper upfront and debatable if more expensive to run.

Sleeper12

Cloudio9 wrote:

With a modern insulated tank and a pumped shower you'll have a much better solution. Will be cheaper upfront and debatable if more expensive to run.

Cloudio9 wrote:

Irish people seem to love electric showers. They're rubbish imo. Two things I don't mind paying for are a good mattress and a hot powerful shower.

We have both in my house. Triton t90sr for when we run out of hot water and it does its job. Around 4 litres per minute.
Our main shower has a 3 bar pump and it is heaven. It'll drain the hot water tank in less than 10 minutes. A 10 minute shower uses about 130/140 litres of hot water. It'll also use 40 or 50 litres or cold water but as that's not costing anything at the moment I'd leave it aside. It takes about an hour to heat up a full cylinder of hot water using a 3kw element.
The cost of a 10 minute shower using an electric shower is the same as the cost of heating a tank for half an hour. I need to heat my tank for an hour to get a 10 minutes shower. So my power shower costs double the running costs of my electric shower. I'll still use the power shower every time.