Hot Water Heating

We have a combi boiler, so water is only heated at the time of use and we do not have a hot water tank.

I agree M0nica. I thought a combi boiler was what most homes have these days?

Yes - combi boiler here too ..

Combi boilers came in, in the 1980s. My sister and my MiL had one installed in the early 80s when they were fairly new on the UK market, so I would think most modern homes, especially flats and small houses would have one.

Ds and family have a 1930s house, which had the previously standard boiler and hotwater tank and when they had it replaced they had more of the same, so i think many people do still have big insulated hotwater tanks.

NotAGran55

Thanks Tanith.
Does that give you enough water to shower in the morning and a bath early evening?

Why would you need both a bath and a shower in one day?

A shower takes only a few minutes unless I wash my hair and I can't remember the last time I had a bath.

I have a shower every other day-to cut costs. So does my DH. Obviously a good wash in between.

Also turned the water temp down on the combi boiler by a few degrees, and no discernible difference in water temperature.

I moved to a bungalow with a combi boiler after always used a conventional boiler. Amazed how much money I have saved by having a combi boiler. Only heating water I need plus being on a water meter saved a packet.

Never realised how much cheaper a bungalow was to run compared with a house. More expensive to buy but the household savings out way that also easier to keep warm.

We have a modern traditional boiler with a really well insulated hot water tank. Our house does not lend itself to having a combi.

GSM, why do you not use your dishwasher? Genuine question.

NotAGran55

MerylStreep

With respect NotAGran you have a long way to go with being greener
A shower and bath in one day. Are you having a laugh ?

I would think most people would shower to start the day and again at the end of the day if they have a job that leaves them covered in dust, mud and sweat everyday surely??

I’d have thought the evening shower would be enough - unless you happened to be a very sweaty sleeper.

Witzend

NotAGran55

MerylStreep

With respect NotAGran you have a long way to go with being greener
A shower and bath in one day. Are you having a laugh ?

I would think most people would shower to start the day and again at the end of the day if they have a job that leaves them covered in dust, mud and sweat everyday surely??

I’d have thought the evening shower would be enough - unless you happened to be a very sweaty sleeper.

Well, we are a family that likes to be fresh including clean hair to start the day.
By the time you faff about washing with a flannel at a sink you can have a shower and be fresh from top to bottom- literally! ?

We turned our boiler/immersion heater (what is the difference?) off about three years ago cos it cost a fortune. It just goes on boost for a couple of hours when one of us needs a bath. Cheaper for us to boil a kettle when we need hot water!

kittylester

We have a modern traditional boiler with a really well insulated hot water tank. Our house does not lend itself to having a combi.

GSM, why do you not use your dishwasher? Genuine question.

My pans are stainless steel, over 50 years old now and I doubt they’ll give up before I do (if only!!!). I find they need a good scrub to clean them properly. Unfortunately!

kittylester

We have a modern traditional boiler with a really well insulated hot water tank. Our house does not lend itself to having a combi.

GSM, why do you not use your dishwasher? Genuine question.

When we needed a new boiler and decided to have it relocated too, we thought about having a combi and looked at the pros and cons.

I decided that I really cannot do without an airing cupboard so we had a traditional but modern efficient boiler and a larger well-insulated tank.

I would think most people would shower to start the day and again at the end of the day if they have a job that leaves them covered in dust, mud and sweat everyday surely??

What kind of work do you do, NotaGran55? Are you a builder, a demolition worker, a farmer - what?
I'm intrigued.
Surely you can't get that muddy and sweaty in bed (oh, perhaps don't answer that question ?)

Papermonster An immersion heater is a large electric heater, the same as the one you find in a kettle, but much larger inside a large insulated cylinder and only heats water for domestic hot water needs and nothing else. If you have it programmed to come on for an hour or so morning and evening, it should meet all your domestic water needs without boiling kettles. It certainly should not be on all the time.

A boiler is an appliance, using almost any fuel other than electricity which heats water for your central heating and pumps it round the radiator system. It will also have a coil going through your hotwater tank, which means the immersion heater is for emergency heating only and should not need to be switched on at all in normal circumstances.

I assume therefore, that you have an all-electric flat or house with heating coming from storage radiators, oil filled radiators (not oil heated) or some other other electric heating system. That is about the only situation where you you should need to use an immersion heater.

Experimenting today with 2 hours water heating from 5-7…..
Watch this space….

Callistemon21 you are very close with your guesses about our business ?

M0nica. Thanks for the explanation! It’s an immersion heater then. We’ve had it on timer for a couple of hours a day - costs three pounds a day so it’s cheaper to boil kettles.

Yes, we’re all electric as there’s no gas here. We have panel heaters - and I really miss my storage heaters!

We never put pans and casseroles in the dishwasher - better to use the space for plates, etc. Hot water tanks do need to be heated once a day to a minimum temperature to kill off Legionnaire's.

Hot water systems vary so much why not just try it and see!

We've had a new Combi boiler fitted now but before we used to have water on for 1.5 hour in morning and same around 5pm , going back to days when we were working and needed little hot water we only had it on maybe 1hour6-7 a.m. and same at 5-6 for the dishes! Electric showers and only lazy baths on weekend.

Since I’ve got my electric box that shows how much I’m using, I only have a shower and when I saw how much it was costing me to have a bath that soon stopped lol I only have a bath if I’m staying in a hotel ?

We have a boiler that only heats the water we are using, must say it's reduced our bills no end.

I have an electric shower so don’t need to heat water on my combi boiler system. Also a dishwasher and washing machine are both cold fill.
My gas usage cost wise, has gone up to 3 x the cost of my electric usage. Strange.

I put the heating on first thing then early evening. Have been setting it to 16 degrees.

Whiff

I moved to a bungalow with a combi boiler after always used a conventional boiler. Amazed how much money I have saved by having a combi boiler. Only heating water I need plus being on a water meter saved a packet.

Never realised how much cheaper a bungalow was to run compared with a house. More expensive to buy but the household savings out way that also easier to keep warm.

It’s interesting that you find a bungalow cheaper to run as I found the opposite! I moved from a four bed detached house to a three bed detached bungalow ( third bedroom in loft conversion) and my heating bill increased quite a lot. I added extra insulation to the remaining loft space but it made little difference. When I had a new roof a couple of years ago the roofer explained that bungalows often have a larger roof area than houses with the same number of bedrooms so lose more heat. I added more insulation when the roof was fitted which I am sure helped but there was no noticeable difference to my usage.

My council tax is dearer as I am now in a higher band.

I love living here though and do not want a smaller house just yet.

Combi boiler here too. So hot water whenever I want.
There is a separate electric shower. No bath tub. Just as well, as I'd never be able to climb out of it .

We had our old condenser boiler replaced with a combi late last year.

The pro's are that you have hot water when needed, but I miss the tank in the airing cupboard, which always seemed warm and was so useful for drying laundry.

Not sure whether we are spending more with the combi or less.