Hot Water Cylinder Usage Is Consuming More than The Entire House Use - Brisbane

LAllBlacks on 13/10/2018 - 13:02
Last edited 13/10/2018 - 13:02

Hi All, a few things i wanted feedback on to control the electricity charges that seem to be sky rocketing.
I've been through two billing cycles averaging $500 per quarter.
Pool - motor runs 8 hours a day, no solar.
Hot water is on T31 meter that supposedly powers on in the evening only.

  1. Energy company
    Currently with Origin and have now switched over to Alinta as their supply rate and use charge & discounts are much more attractive.
    This will give back about $150 per quarter

  2. Hot water charges
    In both billing cycles the hot water use exceeds the entire home use i.e. the latest bill has the hot water at 1156 kWh T31 Night vs 992 kWh for the Peak use.
    Sure we use hot water in the morning and on returning from work, but do not consider the use to reflect as high as it does in the bill.

Moving to Alinta will give a better rate, and i am also wondering what else I can do?
I keep seeing Solar Panel adds on my facebook feed which sets back about 6K for a 6KWh system (break even estimate about 5-6 years), so this is something i may look into in near future.

I've thought of getting an electrician to install a timer with power board inside the house that I can manually turn on and off - I've used this in the past (in NZ) which worked really well.

Can you suggest other areas to investigate?
And any suggestions for the electricians in South Brisbane area?

Cheers fellas.

Home & Garden

Comments

  • atris17 on 13/10/2018 - 13:17

    Similar situation, given that I had no gas in my area.
    So I was force to used Electric Hot Water Tank
    So this is what I did

    Electric Hot Water tank + Solar Panels + ***[Paladin Solar Power Diverter]! = Decrease Utility Bill

    Speak to Matt from Paladin, i deal with him when he came to my house
    Very Friendly, easy to talk too
    He is base in Brisbane too

    Refer my name - MarK

    • akyeeeahdude on 13/10/2018 - 17:50

      How much did fitting this device cost?

      • atris17 on 13/10/2018 - 18:17

        Installing the Paladin Solar Diverter - $1200 including the Paladin itself

    • natesgonnaregulate on 22/11/2018 - 14:18

      you should check the tariff 31 is switching on and off as it should.. sometimes my old setup would stay on. I was charged cheaper rate but it would heat a lot more often.

  • donga100 on 13/10/2018 - 13:19

    You can get a 6KW solar system for $3-4k.

    • David2017 on 13/10/2018 - 15:18
      -1

      Not if you're using good installers with quality equipment. If you're buying solar based on price you're going to have a bad time. 1K per KW is the least you should pay. Checkout the Facebook group "Crap Solar".

  • Stewardo on 13/10/2018 - 13:43

    Do you have natural gas connection?

  • donga100 on 13/10/2018 - 13:58
    +5

    Pretty warm weather in Brisbane. Cold showers should be fine for the next 4-5 months.

  • hawkeye on 13/10/2018 - 14:24

    Thermostat in the hottie could be cranked around to 95c
    https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MyC55h7lhYM/maxresdefault.jpg

    I bought one of these 10 years ago still running strong
    https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/DIN-Rail-Digital-LCD-Power-Progr…

    • RockyRaccoon on 13/10/2018 - 14:42
      +4

      For years our how water system used excessive power, turned out the system was leaking, so heating water and that was being wasted.

      leaking can also be from the relief valve which needs replacing everynow and again. Most times this is hard to detect as it is set to overflow into a pipe, so you cant see any water around the system

      Check your bills of a year or two ago and determine if its use has increased dramatically.

      • mskeggs on 13/10/2018 - 17:28

        I agree the hot water is not as it should be.
        In the order of 7 or 8 kWh per day for a controlled load (off peak) service is about right.

  • Diji1 on 13/10/2018 - 14:39
    -8

    Switch your vote away from the two major parties who designed this system where you lose thousands of dollars because they wanted wealthier people than you to have your money.

  • Gotchas on 13/10/2018 - 14:40

    Have shorter showers eg
    10 seconds to wet yourself then turn water off
    Scrub with soap for 3-4 mins
    Rinse for 20-30 seconds

    Like I tell the kids - Don’t let the water run on your neck for 10mins

  • cookietime on 13/10/2018 - 14:43
    +1

    Our set up for family of 3 in Canberra: 5.5 kW solar system, heat pump hot water system, reverse cycle air conditioning system in the family room, electric cooking and hot water bottles in winter. In the last 12 months, our electricity bills were less than $200 in total.

    The heat pump hot water system is probably one of the best things I bought for the house. It is programmed to heat up water from 10am-4pm only.

  • Cheeper on 13/10/2018 - 16:15
    +1

    Is your water excessively hot? Not unusual for thermostats to stick on.

  • Nugs on 13/10/2018 - 17:15
    +1

    "i.e. the latest bill has the hot water at 1156 kWh T31 Night"

    We are a family of 5 in Adelaide.
    we used 1069kWh for the last qtr for hot water.
    averages out to 11.9kWh per 24 hour period.

    you haven't stated how many living in the house.
    maybe nothing 'wrong'.

    .

  • mskeggs on 13/10/2018 - 17:30

    21kwh per day is about average, so you aren’t wildly out of line.

  • bigticket on 13/10/2018 - 23:28

    Don't see how a timer/switch is going to make any difference. You will still use the same quantity of hot water and the cost will be the same.

    Your figures indicate over 200 liters use per day. Is that about right?
    As commented earlier, you could have a leak somewhere in the system, from the pressure relief valve, hot water taps dripping or a concealed leak in the pipework. If not, the bill relates to the amount of hot water you are using and there is no way around it with the current system unless water consumption is reduced or by installing a new system like solar.

    • LFO on 15/10/2018 - 13:52

      The logic of using a timer is to avoid "heating" water when there is no use and there will be no use, just loss of heat.

      Usually at night, between last use of hot water (shower, kitchen) and the first one in the morning (shower?)

      I did methodical testing and the savings are about 10%, with no heating between 23:00 and 05:00.
      It is not much but IT IS a saving.

      • bigticket on 15/10/2018 - 23:39

        Isn't the OP using off peak T31. A timer at those times will mean virtually no hot water in the morning. But I see your point, minor savings are possible depending on individual use. In the OP's case, there seems to be a considerable usage.
        In any case, the OP (and others) signed up for an account on the day of this posting and has not bothered contributing any further which is lame.

        • LFO on 18/10/2018 - 09:53

          In any case, the OP (and others) signed up for an account on the day of this posting and has not bothered contributing any further which is lame.

          YES indeed!
          We seem to be bending backwards with ideas and then "nada".

          Good point about T31. My "timer controlled" testing was with T33 so it needs to be taken into consideration before implementing … or cold water will prevail :)

  • jhmtaylor on 14/10/2018 - 10:14
    +1

    I think you are running your pool pump for far too long. Mine is saltwater with a chlorinator and I run it for 3.5 hours in winter and 5.5 hours in summer. This should achieve significant savings because motors consume a lot of electricity.

  • backpaqer on 14/10/2018 - 12:25
    +1

    Just look at the group "my efficient electric house" in Facebook and go from there. Search in the group for solar deals etc and hot water options. I'm running a sanden heat pump for my hot water on a timer that only runs from 11am to 2pm max (it turns off after about 30-45 mins anyway). I've got solar PV too. Haven't paid a cent for hot water since I built this house 3.5 years ago, apart for the original cost of install of course (which wasn't cheap… But a lot cheaper now).

    • StingyBritches on 14/10/2018 - 13:55

      Thanks to backpaqer for the "my efficient electric house" info. I'm not on Facebook, so it's nice that they have a 'public' site that I can access.

  • backpaqer on 14/10/2018 - 12:30

    I'm also running a pool. Using the viron p600 pump as slow as it'll go to keep power use low. Entire house is electric, no gas. Entire annual power bill is about $2200 all in. Bills are virtually non existent in summer… But the underfloor electric heating is pretty expensive, but oh-so-nice and well worth it in my book.

  • LFO on 14/10/2018 - 14:21

    the latest bill has the hot water at 1156 kWh T31 Night

    So if the bill cycle is 90 days that gives you about 12.8 KWh per day of hot water heating.
    The average boiler tank is a 5KW consumption. Is that you case?
    It will indicate more than 2.5 hours of continuous heating. How large is the hot water system? How old is the system (poor insulation)?

    I'll be checking thermostat settings. Far too hot perhaps?

    A timer may help a lot.
    Isn't T31 during the day as well? Avoiding peak only? Or is it T33?

  • BigBirdy on 14/10/2018 - 20:18

    Electricity is expensive, it’s even been in the news. You have a pool, no solar and I assume no gas. Your usage is not excessive, but you should hunt down a better deal (as you are). Alinta is one of QLD’s better priced retailers for a user like you (ie not a very small user), as long as you pay ontime. You could also cut usage by reducing showers, heating, cooling, line dry clothes, shift appliances into T31 or T33, get solar, etc. Also, record all you power bills in a spreadsheet so you have a (long) history of your usage, ie daily rates through each season. This will also be useful for comparing tariff offers, as well as identifying trends, and any appliance issues.

  • plugmeister on 14/10/2018 - 20:46

    We have a huge 350+ litre electric HW on T33 and our last quarter was 590Kwh, so you definately have an issue with yours, either heating too long or maybe leaking?

    • atris17 on 17/10/2018 - 11:06

      Get Solar and Hook up with Paladin Diverter, make life easier with utility bill

  • SlartiBartFozz on 14/10/2018 - 22:38

    @OP, you stated the Hot Water Service is using most of your electricity — how did you work that out, do you have one of those electricity monitoring gadgets, eg. https://www.amazon.com.au/Energy-Voltage-Electricity-Monitor…?

    In my experience, swimming pools are by far the biggest consumer of power in any home that has one — mostly the pumps (for the filter/heater) and the heater system. The best systems use a pool cover, pumps to a solar blanket and/or a heat pump system, which can slash power demand to a tiny fraction, while still allowing you to use the pool most of the year.

    If the HWS is the culprit, check your pipes are fully lagged, and that there are no hidden leaks. You could add a solar tube heater to your tank system if it's compatible (check with your manufacturer), or just invest in PV panels to give your whole power bill a boost.

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