Discuss Immersion Heater - Constantly on and using electricity? in the Central Heating Systems area at ElectriciansForums.net

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GAZROG

Hey everyone,

I'm a first time user and needed some information about immersion heaters.

I have an immersion heater tank in my bathroom (fairly big) which supplies the whole flat and has two heating elements going in to it. They are both wired into switches with indicator lights on them, the bottom elements switch says 'Off Peak' and has been constantly switched on for two months (When I moved in). I have never turned on the top element as I have never run out of hot water with the bottom element being on all the time.

The electric company estimated that for a one bedroom flat my electric bill would be approximately £60 a month. I am concious of my electricity usage and don't have all the lights on, fan heaters, etc. I assumed I might be below the £60 a month but my electricity bill was slightly higher for the two months.

I assumed most heating systems would have timers so that they wouldn't be needlessly heating water all night and then all day when I didn't need it.

Is my immersion element being constantly on 24/7 costing me money? Or would it not make much of a difference to my electricity bill? Do most immersion heating elements have measures in them to save energy like auto shut off temperature sensors? Shall I invest in a timer if possible?

Any help in answering these questions would be greatly appreciated, I can get photos if needed but there isn't much more to see from what I described.

Many Thanks.
 
if you are on a dual tariff, the off peak element only comes on 12.00 midnight - 7.00 a.m. at about 3p/unit. the thermostat cuts the element off when the water is hot, so it.s switching on and off auto. if you get 1 of those clamp on energy monitors, you can see how much it.s using.
 
Hey Telectrix,

Thanks for replying. I have read up a bit more on the whole system and realised I probably should have done that it in the first place.

I have an economy seven immersion heater, so I assume the 'off peak' heating element is on for seven hours in the night during the cheaper electricity hours and then it doesn't come back on until the next day at the same time?

I also assume there is some sort of non-remote timer somewhere in the system which was set originally by the plumber? in accordance with the electricity suppliers (In my case southern electric) off peak hours?

These are just general questions now, I assume leaving the off peak switch on normally wont save me any more electricity but how would I go about checking that the heating elements is coming on in accordance with southern electrics off peak hours?

Many Thanks.
 
first see what meter/s you have. it could be 2 meters with a timer, or a dual tarriff meter with 2 readings. you can tell when the heater kicks in by seeing th dial speed up (old meter) or the red LED flashes rapidly (digital meter).
 
I don't have any meters, I just have the tank with the two elements wired into switches with indicator lights and the indicator light doesn't give any hint as it is constantly on anyway.
 
The economy 7 timer (off-peak) is the clock next to your meter (wherever that may be). It is fixed by your supplier and sealed, and nothing to do with the plumber :)
 
I don't have any meters, I just have the tank with the two elements wired into switches with indicator lights and the indicator light doesn't give any hint as it is constantly on anyway.

you must have a meter. otherwise how does the supplier know how much to bill you.
 
Ahh, my electricity meter is in a locked cupboard outside my front door (I live in a block of flats) and I need to ask the management company to open it for me. Well I suppose my original worry about the heating element being on all night has been dispelled now anyway. I have certainty learnt a lot about immersion heaters in this thread. Thanks everyone :)
 
Not all night as I have learnt that it will definitely be on all night now. I meant all the time!
 
Only turn it on when you need it.

Many years ago I lived in a rented place and the boiler went bang, luckily there was an immersion so we used that for nearly three months, I nearly ran out of beer money. Never again will I have a house with an immersion heater, I'd rather fill the bath from pans boiled on the hob.
 
But if I leave the off peak switch off then I will have to wake up an hour or so before my morning shower to turn on the top 'boost' element right? As the water wouldn't have been heated through the night and I would be charged peak time electricity rate for the boost element?
 
You mean you don't have insomnia and actually need sleep, standards are slipping...

Sorry, it's late and the beer is finally kicking in.
 
But if I leave the off peak switch off then I will have to wake up an hour or so before my morning shower to turn on the top 'boost' element right? As the water wouldn't have been heated through the night and I would be charged peak time electricity rate for the boost element?

Just get up an hour before "off-peak" finishes :)
 
£60 a month seems a bit high to me for a one bedroom flat, unless you also have night storage heating.
Do you pay your bill direct to the energy company or are you on a landlords tariff ?
 
Ahh, my electricity meter is in a locked cupboard outside my front door (I live in a block of flats) and I need to ask the management company to open it for me. Well I suppose my original worry about the heating element being on all night has been dispelled now anyway. I have certainty learnt a lot about immersion heaters in this thread. Thanks everyone :)

Report it to the management company you have a fault with your off-peak being on constantly and you want it investigating.
 
As saving electricity is very important for our future. So if we are going to use those appliances which are electricity savers then its better to use them. In market there are different electric heaters which are used more as these has the capacity to save more electricity.
 
You can usually hear when the immersion heater is on.

The old fashioned way of listening to a bearing is useful for this.... Pop the end of a screwdriver against the plastic case and press your ear to the handle of the screwdriver. You will hear a buzzing when it's on. :)
 
Hey everyone,

I'm a first time user and needed some information about immersion heaters.

I have an immersion heater tank in my bathroom (fairly big) which supplies the whole flat and has two heating elements going in to it. They are both wired into switches with indicator lights on them, the bottom elements switch says 'Off Peak' and has been constantly switched on for two months (When I moved in). I have never turned on the top element as I have never run out of hot water with the bottom element being on all the time.

The electric company estimated that for a one bedroom flat my electric bill would be approximately £60 a month. I am concious of my electricity usage and don't have all the lights on, fan heaters, etc. I assumed I might be below the £60 a month but my electricity bill was slightly higher for the two months.

I assumed most heating systems would have timers so that they wouldn't be needlessly heating water all night and then all day when I didn't need it.

Is my immersion element being constantly on 24/7 costing me money? Or would it not make much of a difference to my electricity bill? Do most immersion heating elements have measures in them to save energy like auto shut off temperature sensors? Shall I invest in a timer if possible?

Any help in answering these questions would be greatly appreciated, I can get photos if needed but there isn't much more to see from what I described.

Many Thanks.

Hi there

Generally an immersion tank would have a thermostat fitted that would limit the temperature of the water and switch the heating element off and on as necessary to maintain the water temperature. In your case this process would be ongoing as the manual control switch is always on with hot water always being available. This wwill result in increased energy usage.

A time switch fitted in place of the manual control switch will let you heat the right amount of water at the right time and take full advantage of the off-peak Economy 7/10 tariffs.
Your system has a second, smaller heating element at the top of the immersion cylinder, activated by a separate manual boost switch. This should be used to heat a small amount of water at expensive peak times during the day.
Timeswitches are available that can replace both your manual control switches with a single unit providing time control of both off peak & boost elements of an immersion tank.
There is more information on the Powersaver page on the Sangamo website if you need it.
 

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