Alternative To Immersion Heater

[hc4361]

I am very happy with my central heating system and have no wish to change it.

It cannot heat the hot water without heating the whole house so in the summer months I put the immersion heater on for one hour day. This gives me ample hot water but I feel this is wasteful and there must be another way.

We have no baths, only electric showers, and the dishwasher and washing machine are cold fill only. Is there an alternative on the market? I remember the gas water heaters over the sink when I was a child but that would be expensive to run but I'm not up to date with what is available today.

All suggestions gratefully received.

[New Judge]

“The heater in a solar tank comes on maybe a few minutes on some days to raise the temperature by a few degrees.”

Quite. So at 8am on January 21st, it having been dark for the best part of seventeen hours (if indeed it was very light the previous day), hc gets up for a wash. Assuming his solar heating did manage to provide a little hot water the previous day, how many minutes do you suppose his auxiliary heater is going to be on for to provide enough water for a wash? How “few” degrees do you reckon the water will have to be raised by to make it warm enough to wash in?

I’m well aware of the issues thanks and make no apologies to you for my sarcasm. If you can’t take a joke you shouldn’t have joined. My suggestion of a different type of boiler would not involve hc changing his heating system and I just thought he’d like it as a consideration.

[hc4361]

NJ, if I did bite the bullet and go for a new 'instant hot water' type boiler would new pipes have to be installed? Perhaps to the sinks. When I do have the gas central heating on it does provide hot water to both the bathrooms and the kitchen sinks.

[New Judge]

Provided you have the new boiler sited where the old one was, connection to your radiators should be straightforward. Presumably at present your domestic hot water (DHW) outlets all run from your hot water tank. It should be possible to simply bypass the tank and connect the DHW feed from the boiler to the sinks/bath etc. Of course all installations are different but a plumber will be able to advise you readily enough.

Changing to a combi boiler was one of the best things I ever did. I was able to get shot of the hot water tank but best of all I had hot water on demand. An added bonus is that the heating system is pressurised (runs at about 2 bar) and is more efficient. The boilers themselves, as I mentioned earlier, are now extremely efficient and when I changed from my early combi bolier to the present one my gas consumption really dropped.

[Togo]

Look at the product details for this hc. I have seen similar units fitted in National Trust properties with the same parameters as yours.

Amazon.co.uk User Recommendation

[Togo]

It may be worth noting hc that you will need the little tank with that comes with this but for under £130 not a bad unit.

[Togo]

http://www.pdplumbingsupplies.com/products/atc-10-litre-undersink-water-heater.html

[Togo]

There are many more makes hc. You just need to look up under sink water heaters. Good luck. Screwfix give good tech spec.

[Quizproquo]

I would also go with a combi boiler. As long as they are sited correctly and regularly serviced They are probably your most cost efficient to run option and I believe they're not too terrible to install.

[hc4361]

Thanks for all the links, Togo.

I think I now know of all the options. Time to do the homework.

Thanks again

[Togo]

Just a quick one hc, have you explored the possibility of having a new timer which is linked to a motorised valve which can then allow you to use the boiler for hot water only. We have a tank and in the summer only have hot water on for half an hour mornings and evenings. You would not then have any plumbing or installation under the sink.

http://www.discountedheating.co.uk/center-3-port-valve-pack-22mm.html

[BRIGHT SPARK]

They now do a version of the Quooker with a flex on...cost around a fiver at Tesco's ....but I cant see it catching on.....sarcasm makes the day go by :-)