What type of boiler do I have?

[Michael Ruasell]

Your combination storage vessel is fine and should last for years more with possibly the odd bit of maintenance, it looks huge (compared to a traditional HW cylinder) because it also includes the cold water storage vessel. Without it you'd have a hot water storage cylinder + a cold water storage tank in that cupboard or as mentioned you could now opt for a smaller unvented cylinder. You can never have enough insulation imo and the only other change to make are the controls which could do with updating to take advantage of any overnight E7 tariff you may wish to join.

Thanks for your reply. My storage vessel my be close to 28yrs old I think, which is why I'm comsidecons something new. I've heard about over night tarrifs/eco 7 but I don't think that's really going to work for my life style. So I think I will opt for newer electric heaters and see if there is a smaller more modern economical option for my hot water storage...as you mentioned, an unvented cylinder.

I've now switched the immersion on the main vessel of tank off and have just left the smaller 'boost' cylinder on. Hopefully this saves me a bit of money, because I really don't need a huge tank of water at all. Guess we shall see of that makes a difference.

 

[chris watkins]

Investing in a time controller would be a good idea & could be reused with your new directly heated unvented.
We only fit Horstmann Electronic 7.

 

[Michael Ruasell]

Investing in a time controller would be a good idea & could be reused with your new directly heated unvented.
We only fit Horstmann Electronic 7.

What's the total installed cost of doing so?

 

[chris watkins]

Are you in our work area ? (most of N,S & E. London)

 

[Michael Ruasell]

Are you in our work area ? (most of N,S & E. London)

I'm in Cambridge unfortunately

 

[chris watkins]

Then you will need to

speak to a G3 plumber for a quote.

in your area.
Get at least 2 or 3 quote & please ask to see their G3 cards or certificates as it is a legal requirement & you need them to notify your local Building Control Office on your behalf.

 

[fixitflav]

Just out of interest what supplier are you with and what kwh price are you getting?

I've just started with Outfox The Market. Electric cost is 9.7062p/kWh, day and night. There is no daily rate (aka standing charge).
I was with ExtraEnergy, whose prices were rising to 16.437p/kWh day, 9.914p/kWh night.
As somebody said, if you have a smart meter you might have day and night prices already, and it probably doesn't need an automatic switch.

 

[Ric2013]

I've just started with Outfox The Market. Electric cost is 9.7062p/kWh, day and night. There is no daily rate (aka standing charge).
I was with ExtraEnergy, whose prices were rising to 16.437p/kWh day, 9.914p/kWh night.
As somebody said, if you have a smart meter you might have day and night prices already, and it probably doesn't need an automatic switch.

That is really cheap. 9.7p and no standing charge. . . I shall have to look that up. [EDIT doesn't look so good once you factor in £75.10 a year to join the "Energy Hero Club" (a standing charge in all but name?), and 11.4p in Colchester Having said all that, there is quite a LOT to like about the offer this company makes mumble mumble mumble]

Basically, all electric heaters are equally efficient at converting electricity to heat, but the better the lagging on your cylinder, the more of that heat will actually be used by you for hot water. Heat escaping the cylinder will still heat your home, but this is a waste during the summer.

Going onto an economy 7 tariff will probably give you more expensive day rate electricity, so the question is really how much of your demand for electricity you can switch to the night. Storing the heat energy (e.g. by keeping water in an insulated cylinder) so that you buy it when it is cheap and use it when it is more expensive can work well (and a wet central heating system from a large electric thermal store could be ideal), but if you are on economy 7 and use a tumble dryer during the day, take electric showers during the day and find that your storage heaters actually struggle to store the heat from the previous night until 7 o'clock in the evening when you actually want it, then economy 7 (or economy 10 may be worth looking into) may not be for you.

In the meantime, you will have less heat loss using ONLY the boost as you are storing less hot water, so if you are not on Economy 7 tariff, then just using the boost may be a good idea. Probably worth heating the cylinder through once a week though using the other switch, just to keep things hygienic.

 

[fixitflav]

[EDIT doesn't look so good once you factor in £75.10 a year to join the "Energy Hero Club"

Yes, I forgot to mention that. I had of course taken it into account when I chose that supplier.

 

[Michael Ruasell]

I was quoted 11.4439p per kWh with the same company mentioned, which makes Bulb on Economy 7 much cheaper at off peak 7p kWh on peak 12p kWh