Switching off your geyser = money saving (Myth?)

[MisterBigglesworth]

I have read up a lot on this, searching Google. There is still no def answer where switching it off or having timers will save money.

Sure, a big part is how much water you use and how often you use it. I shower at night, bath our son at night in a shallow bath. My wife showers in the morning. When I get home at 18:00, I turn on the geyser. Then, I turn it off at 22:00 again. The kitchen geyser gets turned on every morning at 07:00, then off at 18:00 when I get home.

What I read is that it will cost more to heat up the water each time than leaving it on and let the thermostat do the controlling. I guess the only way to know is to actually measure consumption one week leaving them on, then measure the next with manual intervention.

What are your thoughts?

 

[murraybiscuit]

http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthr...yser-off-save-electricity-A-simple-experiment

 

[MisterBigglesworth]

Thanks for this!

 

[krieg]

Your first step should be to install a separate meter on your geyser to accurately measure your consumption. A timer is also a good start, I saw one at Brights for R200 with lots of options. Short answer is yes, you can save electricity by turning off your geyser. BUT you need to realize the different variables that affect your usage. Me and my roommate with a solar heater turn on the geyser on for a hour a day.

 

[ld13]

Short answer is yes, you can save electricity by turning off your geyser. BUT you need to realize the different variables that affect your usage.

Short answer was no the last time I checked.

 

[Sinbad]

Short answer was no the last time I checked.

Short answer is indeed no unless you go away for a few days and let it cool down completely. Geyser timers on standard geysers just help avoid peak load time usage. On a solar geyser they make a huge difference.

 

[HavocXphere]

I explained this a while back already - yes it does work, but you need to set it up 100%.

The main gain comes from the amount of heat loss. Water at 50C loses less units of heat per minute than water at 100C. Thats where the gain comes from - you need to set up the timing to maximize the amount of time at low temps.

So 4AM Geyser kicks in & heats water to full temp. 5AM geyser switches off. 6AM I shower. Geyser gets refilled with cold water but not reheated - thus reducing the temp of the water in the geyser significantly. Now it sits at that reduced temp for the next 21 hours - losing less energy than it would normally have. If the geyser is switched on while your showering then you'll not get any savings.

A secondary benefit is that the load is shifted outside of peak hours. I know some people feel they need to "get back at Eskom" by maximizing usage but that to me is childish. As long as its not a major inconvenience to me I'll play ball.

NB - the size of the geyser & the size of the family is crucial. If there are too many people for a given size of geyser then the last person showers in lukewarm water.

@OP: With that schedule of yours it'll be difficult extracting any real savings. I'd suggest rather turn down the thermostat on the geyser and get a geyser blanket.

 

[cerebus]

If i switch it on an hour a day it uses hugely less electricity on the meter than leaving it on constantly. What am I missing here?

 

[rorz0r]

If i switch it on an hour a day it uses hugely less electricity on the meter than leaving it on constantly. What am I missing here?

A thermostat.

 

[krieg]

Short answer was no the last time I checked.

Short answer is indeed no unless you go away for a few days and let it cool down completely. Geyser timers on standard geysers just help avoid peak load time usage. On a solar geyser they make a huge difference.

Again each household's pattern and usage is different. In my situation switching off the geyser does work.

Some factors to consider:

Difference in temperature between the geyser and the outside will effect consumption.
The temperature of the water being fed to the geyser from the solar geyser.
Distance and volume of pipes going from the geyser to the end points.
How well these pipes are insulated and if they are encased in concrete at any point.

 

[Chevron]

Much easier to rather just get a geyser blanket.

 

[BouncyNinja]

I done it all, blanket , insulating the pipes, timer, cost a fortune and saved a big fat 0

Our geyser is only 100l so it was a futile exercise

 

[noxibox]

On the two occasions when I tested whether leaving the geyser off, only turning it on to heat the water, then turning it off before using the hot water, would reduce electricity consumption I found that it either had no affect or marginally increased usage.

A solar system is obviously a completely different situation. It's pointless to heat the water in the morning. Left cold the sun will bring up the temperature and electricity is then only needed to top it up if the sun is insufficient.

I done it all, blanket , insulating the pipes, timer, cost a fortune and saved a big fat 0

Our geyser is only 100l so it was a futile exercise

That seems to be a common experience.