And switched on at night. Would that safe power! Since every time you use water during the day it has to heat up again. Or is power actually cheaper atnight as compared to peak hours!
wheelz,
Dec 7, 1:14am
No, it would take more power to heat it from cold each night.
crackerjack19,
Dec 7, 1:49am
Sorry wheelz but I wouldtry it as what maxi has said is correct. If the power is permanently on to cylinder then every time you drain water from cylinder cold water comes in at bottom of cylinder and activates the thermostatic switch to go on. If Cylinder is on ripple control then little will be saved if your retailer uses the 'night time' power to heat your water. Ripple controlled power is cheaper with SOME but not all companies
trade4us2,
Dec 7, 2:53am
If your power really is cheaper at night then switching it off durig the day would save money. My power is the same price all the time, and the power companies that I have contacted seem doubtful that I could get a night rate. I'd need another meter which would cost a lot to install, thus negating any saving.
aredwood,
Dec 7, 5:11am
Don't expect massive savings. if you do get big savings it means you are loosing alot of heat somewhere. Check for leaks, poor insulation, water coming out the vent pipe. Sometimes cylinders get a pinhole leak that soaks the insulation before it starts appearing on the outside of the cylinder. Reducing the effectiveness of the insulation. You will just be time shifting the power usage of your hot water cylinder. Since the water that didn't get heated during the day must instead be heated at night.
rotormotor7,
Dec 7, 8:00am
Best saving would be to get a second meter installed on the night rate. probably a one off charge for that.
In welly its called CN10 (CoNtrolled 10, turns ON the ripple relay switch 11pm-7am and 1pm-3pm) and the billed tariff is on the cheapest $$ rate available, usually half the normal rate. Here you are able to wire in a 'bypass' switch to overide the night on only mode of the relay switch meaning HW is on when ever you like (commonly left on 24/7) and ALL the units used are cheapest rate.
rotormotor7,
Dec 7, 8:04am
Unless you have your meter configured as a Day/Night meter, unit rate would be same amount per KWHr unit irrespective of time of day. I speak from a welly background . No idea of waiheke island rates or taffif plans.
wunderbar2,
Dec 7, 8:45am
i have been selling timers for several years nowthat you can pop onto your HWC . Feedback i got from people isyou can knockbetween 10-30$ off a month on your power bills - It depends on 1) how big your HWC is2) how old it is 3)how many people live in your home . Bottom line yes it works - however turning your HWC off during the day dose not allways work either( and who want to get up in the middle of the night and turn the thing on again before you want to take a shower ).yep, can be done"el manuel" but is a real pain in the backside after a while(:-) and if you have only a very small HWCyou also want to boost it a few times so you dont actually run out of hot water .Personally speaking skip 3 packetsof cigarettesor 2 bottles of rum and pop a timer on it .
gastirling,
Dec 7, 8:52am
Do have a timer for sale at the moment!
wunderbar2,
Dec 7, 10:09am
No sorry ,I sold out of them But you can get them on trade me , try(#540480695)
rover79,
Dec 7, 11:19am
Why don't you look at how you are using your hot water. Some taps in a house run awhile before you get hot water, try using another if you can. I used to run the hot water without the plug in the sink until it was hot, then add cold water, yeah silly when you think about it. used to wash/rinse hands under hot tap untill water was hot, spent most of that time washing in cold water, which puts a lot of cold water in the cylinder to heat up again. Have learnt to rinse hands from cold tap.
floweringrose,
Dec 7, 8:16pm
it does nOT go stone cold each night!
studio1,
Dec 7, 10:31pm
The savings are marginal. Better if your cylinder is modern, efficient, properly lined and thermally insulated, and all the pipes are lagged. If not, the temperature lost by switching off will need to be regained when turned on again, so you are just using what you've saved to get the water back up to temp.
Storing hot water all the time for a few short times when you do actually need it is not an efficient way of doing things. Instantaneous heaters such as the Rinnai Infinity that heat only what you need, as you need it, are the ultimate in energy saving hot water providers.
wunderbar2,
Dec 8, 3:17am
True ,its only $10-$30 a month , its not a lot of money - I mean we are talking about only $120-$300 a year- that may increase a bit, if they want to put the power prices up . but with a bit of Luckthat wont happen . (:-) New HWC are better insulated than the older ones - but its not so much the insulation that saves you the momentby turning the HWC off -It helps but thats not where the savings come from . As far asthe gas heaters go .I would suggestto read a fewFinancial publications ! and you soon will find outwhere the" Smart money " is investing in . (:-) There are literally Billions and Billions of $$ going into that industries . Not becausegas is the best thing since sliced Bread . Its because Gas prices are so cheapit costs them more to produce the stuff than they are selling it for out there . And guess what happenswhen a commodity is soldtoo cheap . it soon ends up going the other way - in NZ for examplethey recon gas prices should be 4-5 times as muchto reflect the true cost of producing it - and for the investors to actually make a reasonable returnon it .So they are investing in it ( buying it cheap ) because they knowit ulitmatly will go a lot lot . lot higher . (remeber thoseoil and gas gigs are not cheap to build and operate . Sothe almighty saviour of humanity may not be as cheap as you thinkfor too much longer . If you really want tobe smart with your water heating - you get a solar system on your home - after allthe sum does not send you montly power bills
davea74,
Dec 8, 3:42am
so where do the savings come from then!
kaddiew,
Dec 8, 4:45am
True, the sun doesn't send you a bill, but the plumber does when the pump on the solar system craps out and you're told that's the whole solar controller unit stuffed. Wrong as it turns out, but 7 weeks of stuffing about before I found the replacement part myself. Been there, done that, currentlypaying off the Tshirt.
taipan4,
Dec 8, 8:03am
read the latest "shed" magazineinvesting involtaic solar panels is all the go where you sell excess energy back to the power company, you have 2 meters in the box (1) Import (2) export. this does away with expensive batteries which only last 5 or 10 years so not worth it unless you are remote from the lines& go "off grid"
wunderbar2,
Dec 8, 9:28pm
It has something to do with the "Law of Gravity"(:-) .You see hot water rises and cold water sinks- and that's where the elementary element is located .(;-)( without getting into the nitty gritty of it all )you could write a book on it !
wunderbar2,
Dec 8, 9:40pm
I have been doing solar systemsfor ,,, Mhmmmmmm close to 8 years now .First port of call isget back to the people where you bougth the unit from ( if they know what they are doing ) they probably can pinpoint the "gremlin" on the Phone within10 minof talking to you.Controllers are funny things -you plug them in - and smoke comes out of it -or they just keep in going and going for years on no end ( what I am trying to say is ) they are a bit like your TV - any issues with them you tend to find out pretty much within the first few weeks )Pumps-they occasionally need a clean out if they stop working - thats usually the case with them - if you dont catch it in time - they need to be replaced . But saying that if they installed the pump in a"handy spot " you could take the pump out yourself and swap it over with a new one ( not sure why you would need a Plumber for that - to unscrew to nuts(:-). But saying that it all has to do with the installation . and who you deal with
wunderbar2,
Dec 8, 9:47pm
Sorry, to burst the Bubble a bit there , but thats not quite a case- the same as theRinnai goes . If I have a bit of time I explain it and you can see why that is . In sort expect gas prices to go up Drastically ! But they dont write about those things in the herald ( because it could imagepretty badly= that gas is a cheap source of energy going forward
studio1,
Dec 8, 10:33pm
Well it's the case at the moment - while my crystal ball is away being repaired I am responding to OP's post. True, gas prices may go up significantly - but then power may and probably will too - there has already been talk about that in the media. So the actual cost for the energy may change, but an instantaneous heater is still far more efficient than a storage heater any day. Solar is a different kettle of fish - the energy you are harnessing is effectively free - so you are on the win to begin with. Until technology improves, storing the hot water produced by a solar system in a tank is the only practical solution.
kaddiew,
Dec 8, 10:54pm
Thanks - wish I'd had that info sooner!System came with the house, know nothing about solar, no handy 'bloke' to ask, so went with plumber. I did eventually find the replacement pump myself despite manufacturer and plumber saying not possible etc, and all fixed now, but a costly exercise.
wunderbar2,
Dec 9, 11:19am
(:-)I have been on solar ( water heating) for provably close to 18 years - and I can tell you its Brilliant - there is nothing better than turning your hwc off for most of the year and even in winter you just need to boost it occasionally ( deepening on what sort of system you buy ) Some only work during the summer - others the whole yer around - so if you do go for it you may as well get something that 365days a week( with the exception of the rainy days ) . Pumps are the only weak part of a solar system - because they areon the go every 2-5 minutes - and eventually just ware out . However saying that there is nothing to say that Pumps dont last 6-10 yearstrouble free - and" e v e n " if you had to pop a new one in after say 4-5 yearsThats a cost of $33 per year = nothingif you consider how much it costs you to heat your HWC up every month (:-) . The ones that need to keep an eye on it ( pumps ) are people that are on tank water/ hard water/ or bore water ( it just takes a bit of silt in the water to slow those pumps gradually down .
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