Santon unvented boiler - high energy bill pls help !!

[Aca]

Last year I have moved into this flat which opened to market in 2008.

It is using Santon Premier Plus Unvented Hot Water Systems. Due to we had a £200 electricity bill for July period, (to avoid miss charges we submit reading each month and get billed each month) it came to my notice that fridge and boiler are the two major appliance we do not switch off.

I wanted to insert picture to ask if we were using it the right way. Maybe one of us could have pressed the wrong button, but when i click insert image it only gives the option to insert from URL link

There are two buttons on the wall 1st one shows "fused"&"on" with a light, 2nd one next to it shows "fused"&"off peak" with a light on. I have noticed the 1st one has red light constantly on whenever I check it. should I switch it off? how will it affect my hot water?

Thanks

 

[doitmyself]

Is it an all electric flat?

 

[Aca]

Is it an all electric flat?

Hi yes it is all electric as we only have electricity bill and water bill.

Two girls, our habit of switching off things not at use is really gd, bit cheeky like lots ppl charge phones at work, turn off BT hub, dnt have TV, but two laptops, two hair dyers, two showers wont provides me huge bill. Fridge wont cost that much I dnt think....

The tricky bit is that I have reported British Gas high meter reading, they suggested me to take daily meter reading and save photos as evidence, I have done it. They asked me to take another 7 days reading to 27 Aug, if they think meter maybe faulty and send a meter reader to provide an accuracy test would be in Sept. I want to find out why. If the meter is faulty i dnt have to pay, and can work out sth. If the meter is not faulty we will be facing £200 each month for July and Aug bill plus meter reader fee £78.:mad2:

Frustrating:hanged:

 

[Aca]

Is it an all electric flat?

Hiya,

It is all electric flat, we only have electricity and water bills to pay.

Helpful?

 

[jase158]

1st one is on all the time,
2nd will light u at night (off peak times)

3 things you can do

1. turn first one off, water will be heated at night only saving electric during the day
2. get a plumber/ sparky in to put a timer in for the 1st switch so it isn't on all day
3. change your electricity bill to be cheaper at night

 

[Aca]

1st one is on all the time,
2nd will light u at night (off peak times)

3 things you can do

1. turn first one off, water will be heated at night only saving electric during the day
2. get a plumber/ sparky in to put a timer in for the 1st switch so it isn't on all day
3. change your electricity bill to be cheaper at night

Thanks for your reply.

We turned both switch off and test to meter reading - meter barely moved in the night. We turned off all appliance at home for 30mins then see meter kinda stopped moving. So we think meter may not be faulty.

1. would a boiler system faulty result in high electricity usage? how can i test it/ find out?

2. you mentioned the 1st one is on all time - meaning it wud consume lots electricity during the day? when it is on all day we found the peak meter reading jump 40units a day - 1200unit a month = huge bill

3. we turn to have shower after work/before bed, not sure if only heat up the water during the night wud keep the water hot after more than 12hrs?

4. we hear the pipe making huge banging nosie sometimes after shower and flushing toilet, what could be wrong?

 

[jase158]

1. possibly!!
2. turn the 1st one off in morning and turn on when you get home or get timer so it comes on 1 hour before you come home from work
3. yes water stays warm for long time in cylinder. unless used.
4. loose pipe
5. is there water coming from tundish??
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[Aca]

1. possibly!!
2. turn the 1st one off in morning and turn on when you get home or get timer so it comes on 1 hour before you come home from work
3. yes water stays warm for long time in cylinder. unless used.
4. loose pipe
5. is there water coming from tundish??

Hiya,

Thanks for the answer.
since last Thu we decided only turn on the hot water when we need to shower, just maybe 9pm turn it on and my flatmate will turn it off later when she goes to bed like 1am.
4. However, I do not know how to solve the pipe problem... we rent the flat contacted the agent but they dnt think its big deal...landlord wud be even slower
5.I do not know if the water coming from tundish...i assume i cud not see other than the boiler and pipes there....will this matter?

 

[jase158]

Have a look at the pic in post number 7. now look in airing cupboard, is there any water inside or around it???

If this is dripping, this could cause higher bills and be an issue with the unvented cylinder that needs fixing by a qualified plumber.

Try and trace the noise and see where it is coming from.

If you still struggle then get a plumber in!!

 

[Aca]

Hiya,

I had a look in the cupboard, there is a black thing look like half of the thing in picture.
There is no sign of water or water dripping.
I think since we turn off boiler during the day and only turn on like 1hr before shower, electric meter reading dropped dramatically and water meter stopped running so fast.
Usually we turn on boiler like 9.30pm - 11.30pm and nxt day around 10am still have hot water for one long shower. just annoying we cant set the time/it doesnt have a timer - control panel to set time when u want hot water on and off, not like some new flats nowadays...

Would you have any rough idea how much it will cost to put a timer in and how much work needs to be done? cos we rent the place still have a year to stay will have to think about the cost benefit...