Hot water is a simple luxury we all do not know how much we need and want it until its not available . We all love to have a endless supply of hot water in our homes and having a long hot water shower on the cooler mornings and nights, but when that runs cold, for some members of your family, maybe even you, it is like the end of the world and a screaming and frowning contest may follow
In this article will get to know about electric of the hot water systems and how to choose the right hot water system size depending upon your unique needs
Without further ado, let’s get started.
What types of Electric Hot Water Systems are there?
Hot water systems come in various shapes and sizes for the electrical element heated ones.
- Electric hot water systems, is what you will find in most homes, they have been around for nearly a century. They are generally storage cylinder type systems, with a tank holding the hot water for your use when you want it. Convenient but in this day and age, rather expensive to run, they equate to generally 1/3 of a household power bill and not so clean and green for the environment. There are instant electric water heaters but they will generally require 3 phase power to be reliable and supply enough hot water for showering. Electric hot water systems come in a variety of sizes, 25 litres, 50 litre, 80 litres, 125 litre, 160 litre, 250 litre, 315 litre and a massive 400 litre system. Choosing the size you need has some depending factors
- How many people in your home?
- How large is your home? How many bedrooms in your home?
- Do you have Off-Peak power connected to your home?
- What space do you have for a hot water system?
- Is you hot water heater inside or outside?
In Queensland there is 2 types of Off-Peak power for homes for hot water heating
- Tarif 33 is a discounted power supply that operated for a minimum of 18 hours a day, generally off between the hours 6 am – 9 am and 6 – 9 pm when peak use is on the electricity grid, the hours everyone is getting up in the morning and coming home in the evening , showering, cooking and using lights, watching TV, using air conditioners and home heating. depending on your electrical providor Tarif 33 is normally 10-20% cheaper than straight power. Hot water systems below 125 litres in capacity are not suitable for this electrical connection.
- Tarif 31 is a Night Only power source with operating times that are generally from 9pm to 6 am, with no power being provided to the hot water heater outside these hours, so if you use all the hot water that is stored in your hot water tank in the morning or during the day you will have to wait until the heating time comes back around to have hot water again, and a hot water system will take 1-2 hours to heat up to provide you with a sufficient amount of hot water to have a couple of showers and 3-4 hours to totally heat the entire hot water tank. Tarif 31 should not be connected to hot water systems that are below 250 litres in size. Tarif 31 once again depending on your electrical provider is 20-30% cheaper than the continuous Tarif 11 power
For the average 2 adult 2 children family home you would expect to be paying $250-$400 per electricity bill for your hot water heating, this can be higher if you have people that like the longer showers, kids who have baths and myself like to have a shower at the end of the day and also one when I wake up. Before I installed a solar hot water system at my home we were spending $475-$510 on our Tariff 31 electric hot water system, we now have not had a electricity bill for hot water above $120, even in winter
How Much Does A Hot Water System Cost To Run?
See the below hot water system running cost comparison chart to compare the cost of electric water heaters to the other types available
Brisbane Hot Water Heaters can repair your electric hot water heater should it not be heating, we do all brands and types, Rheem, Vulcan, Rinnai, Dux, Bosch, AquaMAX, Thermann, Saxon and other less known brands of water heaters
If you electric hot water system leaking? Do you need a new electric water heater? Call Brisbane Hot Water Heaters today for same day hot water services on 1300 728 122
