Sorry if I maybe using incorrect words, English is not my first language. I’m in France and there’s a big electric water boiler which provides all the hot water in our apartment. I have 2 questions regarding the energy consumption:
1. I suppose it consumes electricity initially to heat the water inside, but does it keep consuming to keep them warm?
2. Between 10pm – 6am, the electricity cost is lower in our plan. Does that mean it costs us less if we use the hot water(shower/dishes) between these times?
Cheers!
In: 1
Your dishwasher probably heats its own water, rather than taking it from your boiler.
Your boiler will switch on and off to keep the water hot. Because hot water rises, it’ll always be hot near the top where your water leaves the boiler, even if it hasn’t turned on in a few hours. The difference will be in how soon you run out of hot water, not how hot the water is.
Many boiler designs just have temperature sensors at different heights. When the hot water at the top creeps up to a certain height, the boiler will turn on until it’s hot to a point further down in the tank again.
If your tank is big enough to not run out in hours of regular use, it would be beneficial to install a “smart” mechanism that delays the startup until electricity is cheaper. For example, if your family typically shower in the afternoon and early night, your boiler might have enough capacity to not need to re-heat until close to midnight, when electricity usually is cheaper.
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