power bill an extra $60 per month.

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Dreamy

251 posts

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#34032 15-May-2009 23:00

just done a test and after switcing off everything in the house I slowly turned them on.
Want showed up was that when I turned my hotwater cylinder off it reduced the price of the
power by 50 cents per hour.
when I turned it on it increased by 50 cents per hour.
This was without using any hot water at the time.

now I know its not doing this all day. but why is it doing this more than needed ( well it must be as the bill has just started increase by $60 per month)

water temp at the thermostat is 55c so that is ok

the pipe leading out of the hotwater cylinder is not wraped in anything but hot.

its a new cylinder 4yrs ago.

could something be wrong with the element?

any help please

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GeekGuy

593 posts

Ultimate Geek

#215178 16-May-2009 02:04

You might want to check the 'overfow' pipe ?? on your roof if you have one... we had hot water coming out of ours and it caused a large power bill till a plumber fixed it.

nic.wise

333 posts

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#215181 16-May-2009 04:48

Dreamy: just done a test and after switcing off everything in the house I slowly turned them on.
Want showed up was that when I turned my hotwater cylinder off it reduced the price of the
power by 50 cents per hour.
when I turned it on it increased by 50 cents per hour.
This was without using any hot water at the time.

now I know its not doing this all day. but why is it doing this more than needed ( well it must be as the bill has just started increase by $60 per month)

water temp at the thermostat is 55c so that is ok

the pipe leading out of the hotwater cylinder is not wraped in anything but hot.

its a new cylinder 4yrs ago.

could something be wrong with the element?

any help please

At a guess, when you turn it on, it turns the element on until it works out the temprature. So it's going to run at full tilt until it's up to 55. Once it's there, it should turn off.

Maybe turn it on, leave it going for an hour or so, and see if it drops by itself. Otherwise, it maybe the temp sensor (solenoid?) which is bust, which usually means a call out from the plumber.

Not having the water turned on is not a problem - if you have a hot water tank (99% in NZ do), it heats it up and stores it, topping up the heat when it goes below (for eg) 45.... so it turns on and off as needed.

Check the overflow on your roof too - any signs of water means something is bust, which you need to fix (and which will drop your elec and water bills)

Personally, I prefer gas on demand. Much better (and cheaper)

Nic Wise - fastchicken.co.nz

wellygary

8331 posts

Uber Geek

#215182 16-May-2009 06:01

At current power rates of around 20c /unit, 50c an hour would indicate that the cylinder is drawing around 2500W. which sounds about right.

As has been mentioned above, it is more a question of whether the thermostat turns the element off correctly, check the ventpipe to see if it is overflowing,

A bung thermostat will also show up as a rise in temperature at the tap, has this recently increased,? do you have any way to verify the tap temp?

bazzer

3438 posts

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#215453 17-May-2009 23:06

Just a note, I think hot water is meant to be at 55 coming out of the tap, rather than on the thermostat, to prevent nasties growing in the tank. The water will obviously cool down as it gets to the tap, so the internal temperature of the tank is higher.

Damager

2125 posts

Uber Geek

#215494 18-May-2009 01:14

as per the previous posts, check for leaks, especially the overflow pipe. your local electricity network controls the hot water for around 6 to 8 hours every day during the peak period. An electrician can fit a timer so that it can turn off the hot water for an additional period during the day or night. as long as you have hot water first thing in the morning and the evening, you can safely time out the hot water for a decent period, and therefore make a dent in your hot water usage and your total electricity as a result.

good luck on getting that bill down!

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Dreamy

251 posts

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#215623 18-May-2009 15:38

hi thanks for all the help.

at the moment we are turning the hotwater off each night and turning it on first thing in the morning. takes half and hours approx to heat it up.
I am taking account of the usage each time we turn something on or off,
this is the first day we have done this so will get back to you on what we find.

~~Dream.Catcher~~
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bazzer

3438 posts

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#215904 19-May-2009 13:50

I read somewhere that it's only worth turning off your hot water cylinder if you're not going to be using it for more than about 3 days (i.e. going away). Otherwise, the power needed to heat up the cylinder is more than needed to keep it at temperature over that time. I guess it depends on a number of factors (effieciency, insulation, etc) but worth considering.

Wouldn't it be worth measuring how much power the HWC uses overnight? Would it be that much? It'd be a bummer for me, the first thing I do in the morning is have a shower!

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Dawg

233 posts

Master Geek

#215942 19-May-2009 14:50

Just as a side note - I have just found out that I can save ax extra 5% (Now 15% prompt paymnet disc) by getting an online bill instead of a paper one & and paying electronically - Internet banking in my case. So check out if your supplier has that option. BTW I'm with contact Energy. And I only found that out by accident - On the website checking out wheter is was worthwhie awitching to the low user rate