Heating water with Electricity.

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Boardchick

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My flat has no gas supply. I removed the old immersion tank and I use under sink heaters for washing/washing up etc. I really miss the occasional bath, and I’m considering fitting a small bath, but how to fill it? Many people advise solar/heatsource, but they are not in my budget. I am on Economy 7 so I’ve considered going back to tank, albeit a more modern/economical model, and charging it overnight, as and when I need it. Does anyone have any suggestions?
 
The small under-sink heaters are expensive to use. If all the plumbing is intavt, I would get an insulated tank back in and get a timer switch added so you can set it to come on and off when you need to heat the sink optiin, but swich to bath option when you wish
 
I don't think the under sink heaters are more expensive than the immersion, the amount of energy it takes to heat water is the same and the price of energy is the same so there is no difference. Maybe some more losses if the under-sink heater is not well insulated but it would be same ball park.

How ofter are we talking about having a bath? You could fill a basin from the sink of very hot water and pour it into the bath - bit of hassle but if it's only infrequent it would make more sense to me than getting a hot water cylinder installed just for the occasional bath.
 
Newer immersion tanks are slightly more efficient than older ones as they have factory fitted insulation rather than none at all. There's a decision tool here. It sounds like you need a direct cylinder & if you have a black cold water tank you fit an unvented cylinder, otherwise a vented cylinder. You can get a fairly small one if its a one person flat. You can get quite small ones that will just do enough hot water for a bath. I'm guessing you have a power shower.
Then you'll need a timer of some kind to heat up at off peak times - I replaced the old e7 immersion in my house with this model & then I later fitted the wifi module (I found a supplier in Dungannon) so I can turn off the immersion literally if I am gone on holiday. You can set all kinds of complex schedules or none at all if you like.
I'd definitely put something in, because it will be a huge turn off for a prospective buyer if you are trying to sell a flat with an odd hot water arrangement.
 
Alkers86 said:
the amount of energy it takes to heat water is the same and the price of energy is the same so there is no difference. Maybe some more losses if the under-sink heater is not well insulated but it would be same ball park.
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if you have a tank you can set it to heat overnight when the price of electricity is cheaper (this is the "economy 7" tariff she mentions, presumably she's in NI). Heating water with full rate electricity is a very expensive option.
 
Will your electric shower head reach into the new bath ?
You could run the shower into the bath and boil a kettle a few times to get sufficient hot water into your bath. You could buy a few cheap plastic kettles and if you want an economical bath, take it at off peak times.
 
shweeney said:
(this is the "economy 7" tariff she mentions, presumably she's in NI).
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Not necessarily. Some of the old Nightsaver gear used "Economy 7/E7" branding here in the Republic. My own Horstmann Nightsaver immersion timer has "E7" branding.
 
shweeney said:
if you have a tank you can set it to heat overnight when the price of electricity is cheaper (this is the "economy 7" tariff she mentions, presumably she's in NI). Heating water with full rate electricity is a very expensive option.
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That's fine if you're having a bath every day maybe yeah but it's madness putting in a new hot water cylinder for the odd bath every so often!
 
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