Electric only flat

[rockstarchick]

So after the confusion of trying to sort my storage heaters
Which I'm still not quite there with
I'm confused about my hot water tank

I've moved to a 1 bed flat with only electricity

The letting agency told me to keep the switches in the airing cupboard on so I have hot water

When the electrician came out he said this would cost a lot and said to turn the top switch off and leave the bottom one on saying the top would be enough for washing up, shower etc and bottom would be for baths and more supply of hot water

I'm confused

The letting agency said it would be trial and error but im worried about my energy bills especially as I have storage heaters

I've trialed turning the bottom off and top on
Yesterday has burning hot water
Today lukeish warm
Fine for a warm bath temperature
Didn't need to add any cold

Any advise ? I've googled it but no better in the know!

Thanks

X

Some water tanks have two heating elements (immersion heaters) in them. Sounds like you do. You can (sort of) control the amount of hot water you have. Scroll down to 'Stored Hot Water' section in this link - see if it helps!

www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/domestic_hot_water_systems.htm

Are the two switches for on peak and off peak?

I don’t leave my hot water switched on all the time. I turn it on for a few hours, turn it off, and then that water up over the next couple of days.

and then use that*

I've found this info for you too OP. I think you should do what the electrician said and leave the bottom switch on and top switch off unless you need more hot water.

www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/home-energy-efficiency/heating-and-hot-water/electric-heating-systems

Thanks all

No just two switches and doesn't seem to be any timer of any sort

X

So am I right in thinking I could turn the switch on at night when e7 kicks in for the cheaper rate and turn it off in the day and I'll have hot water that's heated up from the night before ? Or do I not need to keep switching it off / on
Know you said to keep it on like the electrician said but isn't that going to cost more ?
I bath in the evenings as does my little one so will need the hot water in the eves
And a bowl of washing up per night mainly as do this in the eves

It won't do anything during the day if you leave it on. It heats up the water in the tank overnight. I think the top switch is a boost if you run out during the day and runs on 'normal' peak electricity, which is why the electrician said it was more expensive.

Ah ok

So top switch off and bottom one on then

Thanks everyone

Now just to work these storage heaters 😌

I've got storage heaters. They are ok once you know what setting to put them on.

Yes. Leave off peak switch on all of the time. It will only heat up water when Economy 7 comes on at night. Most days that will be enough hot water for you. If you want a bath you may need to put other switch on for an hour. That will then heat up the water straight away. Don't leave both switches on all of the time.

The biggest issue with storage heaters is that you have to plan ahead. You can't get instant heat if you haven't had them on overnight.
The input dial is for how much you want them to heat up and the boost is to regulate how much heat comes out of them.
They're filled with bricks that heat up overnight and the boost dial opens a flap at the top which will let out more heat if opened more. I would suggest having the boost as low as possible during the night and open it more later in the day if needed. Otherwise you will loose lots of heat during the day and they'll be colder in the evening.

Thanks that's really helpful

Was cold in the flat yesterday so thought I'd trail one in the living room, I have two heaters and it's a large flat but I thought I'd see how I go with an input of 4 and see how that is
Anyway woke up to a cold heater
Then realised that I hadn't turned it on at the wall!! The electrician went round turning them all off when I moved in so had forgot ! Spent so long on here and google and at the switches
Oh well I'll try again tonight!
Just that I'm home on Fridays so would have been nice with a bit of heat
One does act as a instant heater though so had that on for an hour last night as felt a bit chilly
But aware that's pricey doing that
So the electrician said
X

Definitely set your input to 4. Make sure you turn the output dial down to minimum overnight. Otherwise the heater will release heat through the vent as it heats up. The heater will still give out heat. Then if you want more heat later on in the day or in the evening you can turn it up!

I'll give it a try
I seem to have lots of them so trialling just putting on one at a time as I always put the heating on when I shouldn't as hate the cold I really feel it x