Hot Water Cylinder

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Usha

10 posts

Wannabe Geek

#231855 16-Mar-2018 13:50

Hi There,

I wanted to ask if the pressure valve and/or thermostat of the hot water cylinder is faulty, then

Would the electricity bill be high, or affected in any way?

Would the water bill be normal, or not be affected in any way?

Please share your inputs.

Thank You so much!

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643 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1978641 16-Mar-2018 13:57

Depends on how it is faulty. If the relief valve is leaking for instance then yes it will be higher, as you are constantly draining water from the tank and refilling with cold. This would drive both power use and water use up. If it is stuck closed you would have a bomb sitting in your cupboard. If the thermostat is faulty you would either have cold water. Or if it is too high or stuck on the relief valve could trigger and dump the contents of the tank. Then refill the tank with cold water. This will obviously use more power and water.

Usha

10 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1978677 16-Mar-2018 14:38

Thank You, V, for your reply.

The issue was at our last property that we were renting.

The overflow pipe was constantly dripping and the landlord got a plumber to change the pressure valve.

Our electricity bill was exorbitantly high for a period of 4 months, and our landlord is refusing to reimburse us for the excess that we paid.

After the valve was replaced/fixed, the electricity bills went back to normal.

gregmcc

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#1978680 16-Mar-2018 14:46

Usha:

Thank You, V, for your reply.

The issue was at our last property that we were renting. The overflow pipe was constantly dripping and the landlord got a plumber to change the pressure valve. Our electricity bill was exorbitantly high for a period of 4 months, and our landlord is refusing to reimburse us for the excess that we paid. After the valve was replaced/fixed, the electricity bills went back to normal.

Take a look at your past power bills, hot water will be the "controlled rate" portion on your power bill (usually this is the only item on the controlled rate), you should be easily able to compare to previous months to see if the usage is excessive

Usha

10 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1978685 16-Mar-2018 14:53

The invoice has 3 parts: Unit Charges, Fixed Charge and Electricity Market Fee.

Gordy7

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#1978710 16-Mar-2018 14:58

Thermostat fault you would probably notice a large change in hot water temperature.

Pressure relief valve fault could cause a significant water loss and extra power usage.

If the landlord responded reasonably quickly to get the fault fixed then I don't think you can have a claim.

Things do break and wear out.

I own my own home and it is up to me to be vigilant and get faults fixed quickly...

I have no one to claim against for losses like that.

Gordy

My first ever AM radio network connection was with a 1MHz AM crystal(OA91) radio receiver.

gregmcc

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#1978712 16-Mar-2018 15:03

Usha:

The invoice has 3 parts: Unit Charges, Fixed Charge and Electricity Market Fee.

I would expect the unit charges to be broken down in to Anytime and controlled portions

Usha

10 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1978713 16-Mar-2018 15:05

Thank You for your response, Gordy.
The fault was notified in May and the valve was fixed around mid-August.
We are claiming only the excess, we believe, that we paid, as compared to the other months' and average monthly bills.

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Usha

10 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1978715 16-Mar-2018 15:07

Hi Greg ... The invoice doesn't reflect a further break-down of Anytime and controlled portions. Sigh!

Gordy7

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#1978716 16-Mar-2018 15:08

May to August is a long time.... I would be after some money back too.

Gordy

My first ever AM radio network connection was with a 1MHz AM crystal(OA91) radio receiver.

Usha

10 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1978721 16-Mar-2018 15:11

Thank You for understanding, Gordy. We have been to Disputes' Tribunal, and they have asked us to provide them with a statement/report from a certified plumber to confirm that a faulty valve can increase the electricity bills. And, we are not even sure if any one would give us such a statement/report without a fee?

Paul1977

5042 posts

Uber Geek

#1978728 16-Mar-2018 15:21

Bear in mind that your power bill can be significantly higher May through August since it's Winter, so you can't just compare to subsequent warmer months. You need to compare to same time period from the previous year (assuming you were in the same property).

Usha

10 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1978731 16-Mar-2018 15:24

Hi Paul, Yes, we understand that and have already done a comparison keeping the winters in mind. Thank You.

Gordy7

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#1978732 16-Mar-2018 15:25

All very difficult in hind sight.

The only real way to see what the power/energy losses would have been is by making measurements.

You have to capture the water out flow and temperature in order to estimate the wasted energy.

Gordy

My first ever AM radio network connection was with a 1MHz AM crystal(OA91) radio receiver.

Paul1977

5042 posts

Uber Geek

#1978735 16-Mar-2018 15:30

Gordy7:

All very difficult in hind sight.

The only real way to see what the power/energy losses would have been is by making measurements.

You have to capture the water out flow and temperature in order to estimate the wasted energy.

A comparison to the same period from the previous year seems a reasonable way to estimate, especially if it clearly shows that the monthly usage gets back in "sync" with the previous year after the repair was made.

cadman

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#1978748 16-Mar-2018 15:58

Critical question: How long was it between the time you advised the Landlord of the problem and him fixing it? If says he fannied about for 2 months, you have a reasonable claim for the period from the time he was notified to the time it was rectified. Otherwise, not so much as he couldn't have known.

gregmcc:

your past power bills, hot water will be the "controlled rate" portion on your power bill (usually this is the only item on the controlled rate)

Not necessarily. Many meters are single rate even though the HWC is still ripple controlled.

EDIT:

Usha:

The fault was notified in May and the valve was fixed around mid-August.
We are claiming only the excess, we believe, that we paid, as compared to the other months' and average monthly bills.

I could have read further on but I have a habit of not wasting time scouring threads for all relevant details - they should be posted in the original post.

Yes, you probably have a claim.

You should quantify it based on the same months from the previous year at the same address, assuming you were there at the time.

Speaking of relevant details, how much are we actually talking here?

A breakdown of exactly how you're attempting to quantify it would be helpful.

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