I can’t count the number of times I have had questions about the advantage of manually controlling a hot water geyser, in other words, to turn the geyser power off during the day and turn it on again in the evening. So I decided to properly investigate this issue, and hopefully shed some light for those of you who have also wondered about this.
A brief explanation of how your geyser works is necessary here for the “not-so-technical”. Your geyser is basically a big kettle – a container with an electric element inside. A geyser also has a thermostat, which is a device which continuously tries to keep the water inside at a specific temperature – a temperature which can be manually set. So if your thermostat is set to 60 degrees, and the water drops below this temperature, the element will be activated until the water temperature returns to 60 degrees.
When you turn on the hot water tap, hot water leaves the geyser and is replaced with cold water. This means the water in the geyser is now at a much lower temperature, so the element kicks in to reheat the water to 60 degrees. When you are not using hot water, the geyser temperature should remain the same since no cold water is being added, but this is not the case because even when the geyser is not being used, some of the heat “leaks” through the geyser tank and into the surrounding environment, and this causes the water temperature to gradually decrease. When this goes below 60 degrees, the thermostat activates the element to heat the water up again.
So, let’s get back to this question of switching the geyser off. The two main arguments for and against switching off the geyser are as follows:
1) Switching your geyser off will prevent the element coming on to maintain the set temperature during the times it is not being used, and as such you will save energy
2) If you switch the geyser off, the water inside loses heat and when you eventually turn it on again, it has to heat the water from a much lower temperature to get to the set point, which uses more energy than coming on periodically to keep it at temperature
The reason there is so much disagreement on this issue is that both arguments are correct to a certain extent. So let’s try to sort fact from fiction:
- The extent of heat loss differs from geyser to geyser, and the usage patterns in households differ drastically. We can go into the principles of thermodynamics, and the law of conservation of energy, but the fact is that the potential saving depends completely on your specific geyser and pattern of use.
- There are many documented studies available on the merits of switching off your geyser, some of which have been carried out in labs by scientists, and some by regular people in their own homes. The results of these tests show savings from 2% to 40%. The obvious problem with these tests is that the playing field is not level, which is essential for good science. Some household have two people only showering in the morning, and some households have two people showering in the morning and two in the evening. Some geysers are newer, or better insulated. Some of the reported savings are simply a result of a placebo-like effect, i.e. because you are conscious of your hot water use, you use less hot water. Simply reading about somebody’s savings should not be a good enough reason to believe the same would apply to your house.
- The water you use needs to be replaced and get heated up again, so switching your geyser on and off will never reduce this basic amount of energy needed. So, the only time you are wasting energy is during the period where the water has reached its set temperature and starts decreasing slowly due to that heat dissipating into the environment. This is more the case with old geysers, where the insulation is less effective.
- Even if your geyser and piping were perfectly insulated, you could not make any savings at all by switching off because you are only using more energy to heat the water you have emptied out of the geyser.
- Three things that affect geyser power consumption are
- how much hot water you use
- how often it’s used and
- the condition of your geyser.
It’s obvious that there is no universal right or wrong here, since all of these factors can be different in every situation. So instead of picking a side on these points, I have decided to rather explain how to make real savings,
and to make a valid difference with your geyser usage. I would advise the reader to simply think about how you use hot water:
- Try to use less water – Shower rather than bath, shower for shorter periods and don’t use hot water for anything other than showering (Definitely not for washing hands!).
- Turn the geyser off only when you will be away for longer than 1 day.
- Make sure your geyser and pipes are properly insulated.
- If you have an old geyser, consider upgrading, or even better, consider a solar water heater.
These measures can reduce the electricity consumption of your geyser, but I feel there is a much more important issue here. I think the most important part of this discussion is not really about how much electricity can be saved by controlling the use of your geyser, because I believe this is minimal and relatively useless when looking at the bigger picture.
What I believe to be a more important contribution you can make is reducing the load on the national electricity grid during peak periods. A major problem with our electricity supply at the moment is not necessarily that we can’t meet the demand. The problem is we are struggling to meet the peak demand.
Peak demand occurs between 6am and 9am and between 5pm and 9pm, when most of the population are either getting ready for work or getting back from work. A large part of Eskom’s new build program is to meet peak demand, so to make a real difference to electricity usage in South Africa (probably a bit more worthwhile than a difference of R30 in your pocket?) you should try to ensure your geyser is off during peak periods. This is possible without affecting your hot water needs or shower time. The easiest would be to install a controller, where you program the times in, similar to your irrigation system or pool pump and program it to turn on between 3am and 5am. This ensures you have hot water in the morning and has not added demand during peak periods. The same for the evening period if you shower at night. Program it to turn on between 3pm and 5pm. The water will be hot all evening.
So, in conclusion, the benefits in terms of actual electricity savings achievable by controlling your geyser operating times in order to save yourself some money is inconsequential when compared to the difference that could be made by changing the period of use. The residential sector makes up a large part of the electricity demand in South Africa, and the hot water portion of this is significant. Reducing use during peak periods will not only help alleviate those pesky blackouts, but also reduce the need for new power stations, and therefore make a truly meaningful contribution to preservation of the environment.
© Gary Fahy, Project 90 by 2030, May 2010
Note: I have come across a lot of discussion about additional wear and tear of components like elements and trip switches from being overused by switching on and off. I have found little evidence to support this.
Project 90 by 2030 
Interesting. My wife & I live alone in our house with 2 x 150 l hwc’s, each feeding a shower. We alternate between the 2, switching each off immediately after showering for approx 24 to 48 hrs. We find there is definitely a saving
Error in my comment: We switch the HW cylinders off immediately BEFORE showering, not after
Derek, with respect, I think alternating geysers is about the worst thing you can do! By using two geysers, you’re allowing heat to leak out of two simultaneously, instead of out of one at a time. If at all practicable, pick your favourite geyser and stick to it. Or alternate only once a week or longer.
I too (sometimes) switch the geyser off before using a lot of hot water. There’s no point running the element for those 10 minutes while I’m in the shower, if I’m just going to turn it off again.
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hi, a friend sent me the link to this story which I found great – after being so proud of only turning my geyser on every 3-5 days for 15 minutes. I reckon if you have a pool and the weather’s like we’ve had the last 3 months you don’t really need hot water at all. But most people want to shoot me when I say this, so I think your story makes sense. I would like to publish it in the Green Times, if that’s ok with you? Also, I was happy to find our logo next to the story, but then it didn’t link to our site. And found the link you had beneath linked to the Australian Green Times – could you please fix that?
Hi Elma, sure that would be fine to publish our story on geysers. Thanks for pointing out the link, I have updated it.
Olivia
There is a simple answer. By the Conservation of Energy Law the heat you put in is the heat you put out. The hat you get out is in the warm water in the bathtub and the heat that goes into heating the air even if you have insulation. With the geyser turned off then on again you do not heat the air so much. The heat out is therefore more when the geyser is tuened off then on as you get the hot bath in both cases. The extra heat you use if the geyser is left turned on means that you have used more electricity. Chemists will explain this in terms of calorimetry, etc, and engineers perhaps will use conservation of energy, but the result is the same. You save if the geyser is turned off during the day without a doubt
Hi, I’m still confused. You said:”Turn the geyser off only when you will be away for longer than 1 day.”
But then later in the peak demand section:”you should try to ensure your geyser is off during peak periods.”
Are you saying that the latter doesn’t save you money, only alleviates peak demand?
Derek, I would like to know what is the standard temperature for the geyser nd how is it set?
So why do you bother to publish this if you know the truth is that a geyser does burn energy while it is on … I have proven that a geyser not heating water saves money. An element burns energy at the same rate even if it needs to heat the water from 58C to 60C. If an element works for 30 minutes to do that a day you only pay for energy for 30 minutes per day … logic is it not …
let us look at energy loss … how many hours does it take for my geyser to cool down when I trip the switch …. how long does it take to heat up when I flip the switch … the difference between that calculation and 24 hours is energy wasted my friend … sit … think … before you talk …
No geyser can contain heat at 60 Celsius … every time it drops below a certain temperature your geyser will re heat the water to 60 Celsius … every time you do that you burn fosil feels my friend.
To save electricity … you heat what you need and use only the energy for that. When four people shower the geyser has to start reheating from room temperature for you have 50 litre replaced by 40 litre of cold water.
To shower cheap … the family has to do it consequently in cue before the water is cold and then the geyser needs to be turned off before it re heats the water for the night … no one uses hot water during the night and that is when the most heat loss occur. 40 minutes before wake up call you switch geyser on for morning shower and switch it off again after morning shower until tonight …
What a meaningful insight, every here explained very simple. You actually answered all the questions I had about the geyser.
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Geyser Switching and Showerheads . Anthony Keen March 2012
I have enjoyed reading your essays on energy around the house . Keep it up !
Switching off geysers
Having pondered in the past over energy saving by switching a geyser on/off
manually , I read your piece on this question with interest . You are quite correct
that in practice playing fields are not level , that saving energy at grid peak times is
well worth while and that setting a (Geyserwise or similar) time/temp controlling device can save quite a bit of energy , even without solar water heating .
Let us assume the playing field is level , does manual switching OFF and only ON
shortly before need , actually save energy ? The answer is yes it does save energy
for the simple reason that the rate of heat loss is dependent upon the temperature
gradient : the higher the temperature of a storage vessel , the steeper the gradient
to the environment and the greater the heat loss , all other things being and
remaining equal . Thus a geyser with a thermostat holding it at a high temperature
will lose more heat to the environment than a geyser allowed to cool down and then
re-heated before use . Exactly how much energy will be saved could be calculated
experimentally . Naturally , better insulation will save more heat and decrease the
savings of switching off . (Generally recommended to have low setting on your geyser thermostat eg 55 deg Celsius . I took a shower with thermometer in hand . 43 C was as hot as I could comfortably stand)
Water saving showerheads
You can reduce water flow simply by not opening taps to full extent at no cost other
than great motivation ! Not easy to achieve with humans .
In my household with 200 kPa balanced hot showers , I greatly reduced water
consumption years ago by the simple expedient of making new washers for the
showerhead-to-wall fixture out of rubber sheet . The washer had a reduced central
hole to limit water flow . Took a little experimentation to find exactly the right size to
get a reasonable shower with existing shower heads .( I used silicone rubber for
long life).
However , it does mean you have a gentler shower rather than a great stinging
“Power Shower” but still perfectly adequate . Cost me nothing , as I had some
scrap rubber sheet left over from previous projects and I have a nice punch set .
Do you really need these expensive “water saving” showerheads ?
In more recent times , I have now seen commercial supplies of reduced-hole
washers in the plumbing shops , for those who don’t have handy rubber sheet and
punches .
i switch on our geyser for 30 minutes in the morning then switch it off just before the 2 of us shower. Our electricity bill is very low. In the UK we had an instant gas heater which heated only the water you used, there was no geyser. It was excellent. However, I have tried showers at people’s homes in SA and there have been problems with getting a stable temperature. I have assumed this was due to unequal pressure from hot and cold taps? Any suggestions, recommendations on this? Judy Scott-Goldman
Derek,thanks for the insight.What you say makes 100% sense!
Dear All
Read your electrical meter, switch off the geyser for 5 hours and take another reading. Repeat this, for the same period of time with the geyser on and note the kilowatt usage drop. Mine dropped by half.
I think I have damaged my geyser by switching on and off every moning and afternoon.now it is not heating water,what is the problem really?
I’m, an electrical engineer I also had many questions by people about this. From what I have worked out, I must agree with the author. There is a slight possibility of saving. Theoretically when assuming 100% efficiency of the geyser. Switching on and off will make no difference because during the on cycle you will use as much energy as you saved in the off cycle.
Theoretically when considering a geyser to loose heat. A geyser that is constantly on will on average be warmer than a geyser that is turned off regularly. The lower average temperature will reduce the average rate of energy loss. But before you jump up and down telling your partner “I told you so” there is one catch. It really forms a very small part of the total energy loss of the geyser 30% on the worst case. The greatest energy loss is with every litre of water you use that must be reheated. That can easily be R100 to R150 for a single person the (effective usage).
For a typical single person apartment, if you turn your geyser off and let water cool down to room temperature every time before switching on again. For a 2.3kWh standing loss / 24 hour geyser. you will still have about 15% energy loss. The average domestic energy usage on hot water is about 35% therefore the savings on your overall electricity bill should be about 5% at most. Bys switching the geyser on and off optimally. About R20 at most per month can be saved for someone who has a typical R350 per month bill. So its up to you to decide if it is really worth the effort. If you save more than that it is because you are energy conscious on all electrical usage or because you have less available hot water causing you to use less hot water. This example is assuming the same quality of life and hot water usage.
I can’t offer formulas and scientific reasoning for my opinion, but I have recently landed squarely on the “switching off saves money” side of the issue.
We previously lived on a farm and our electricity needs where taken care of by the company that we worked for. Water was pumped from a borehole and you learn fairly quickly that these use a lot of power. It was common for our bill to be around R2500 – R3000 a month! That’s for two people, working very long hours and seldom home (no tumble dryer, dishwasher or such known electricity demons).
When we moved to another town we ended up living suburb-style (sadly) and I had a mini panic over the fact that I had forgotten how much electricity regular homes tend to use. The fear of a R3000 bill that we would not be able to afford sent me chasing after new ways of saving power. I have always tried to stay energy conscious (I hate lights left on in empty rooms and things being switched on when not needed) but I now tried to be really good! I knew that geysers are heavy on power so I started switching it off just before our shower times and only on again about an hour before the next shower. It was annoying at first (being unused to it we kept forgetting to switch it back on in time and would end up showering later than planned) but we got used to it. We didn’t receive our bill for the first two months (typical municipality) but eventually got it. For two and a half months worth of electricity – R867. Yay! Then my partner started a new job where he often leaves home at 5:30am. We decided that we could afford to spend a little more on electricity so that we didn’t have to get up an extra hour earlier so he could shower before work. We started switching the geyser on in the evenings and leaving it on until the morning and eventually decided to just keep it on. Our next bill related to the same amount of time as the first (roughly two and a half months) but it arrived in the amount of R1517! None of our other power usage increased – in fact, with my partner out the house even more, a few minor things have actually reduced (TV not on quite as much, kettle boiling less water, one laptop charging instead of two, etc). This seems, to me, to be obvious proof that switching our geyser off saved us almost 50% in electricity charges.
Needless to say, we have started to switch it off again! One problem though; today it seems to have developed some issue. It isn’t heating up at all! That worries me a lot. I hope we have not damaged it by “on/off” routine. Does anyone know if that could be the case?!?
Yes, it is harmful to switch your geyser on and off, and it has very little to do with saving on your electricity consumption bill. When the temperature stays round about 60 degrees C, there is a smaller variance in expansion and shrinking parameters than when the geyser is heated from cold to operating temperatures. As with any mechanical device, metal fatigue occurs especially at joints of different metals. Switching off and on of your geyser is like the difference between driving a car short distances, starting with a cold engine every time instead of long distances where the engine remains near operating temperature. It is a scientific fact that the latter car’s engine will easily outlast the former. Geyser bursts/leakage is more likely to occur when switching on and off. Potential replacement cost must be weighed against the uncertain amount saved when switching on and off relative to a long list of variable parameters. Consider also the resultant water damage and inconvenience of a geyser, mounted above your bedroom ceiling, which decides to develop a cracked seam at 3 o’clock in the morning.
Ewald: {Citation needed}
I think you mean empirical fact, not scientific fact. Please, no unsourced appeals to authority.
Then, if you’re going to invoke B.O.A.C. Comet-like metal fatigue, then notice that the pressure regulating valve on a geyser will keep the stress on geyser components fairly constant, around 400kPa. Also, steel (which geysers are made of) has a fatigue limit, unlike the Comet’s aluminium, and you’ll have to run some numbers before credibly claiming that a geyser will suffer fatigue-related failure before its millionth cycle (pop quiz: how many years is a million days?)
As far as I’m aware the waters-unleashed-from-the-heavens scenario you invoke is far more likely to involve corrosion due to a failure to replace the sacrificial zinc anode regularly enough, rather than thermal or mechanical cycling-related failure.
And then there’s the switch itself – whether it’s happy being switched (possibly under load) on the order of once a day. These circuit breaker / isolators aren’t necessarily designed for frequent operation, unlike the light switches installed around your home which should be (!) good for tens or hundreds of thousands of cycles.
If anything, manually cycling the geyser could *extend* its life, because you’re then subjecting it to fewer thermal cycles, each of which is longer.
hi. am having problem with my geyser ,600 dual slimline,is always on,but when I wanna take a bath,it doesn’t even fill the bath with hot water intead just make it half.and water becomes cold,i manually configured it to 70 degrees but still doesn’t help.
Hi All,
i feel very proud to say that for the last few years i have had a basic electronic timer with a battery back up (for power cuts …it keeps the set time up to 24 hours), connected to my thermostat through the switched contacts of the timer. what that means is the thermostat calls for heating but the timer has yet to close the cercuit for the power to reach the element. i set the timer from 3-5 am and pm on both geysers i have. as pointed out it is relevant to the amount of useage, so be mindfull through the day of it , but that said two hours is enough to heat the water to temp. i have saved money and trust me it is easier to control or set your timer to suit your needs than have eskom do it for you.
I AM SO GLAD I BEEN THINKING GREEN , BUT INFACT I BEEN THINKING RANDS AND CENTS…LOL
I switch my geyser off during da day n on at nights. Some one told me that there are certain downsides to doin that. I really need to knw about wear and tear of the element thermostat and circuit board? Is it true?
bla bla bla bla bla
It takes 2700 jule to increase 1 liter of water temperature by 1 deg
Simple solution for everyone’s geyser is looking at installing geyserwise, you’re guaranteed to see savings.
+ Geysers are the number one consumer of electricity, in most households.
+ They can account for up to 43% of the electricity bill so they are obviously the main item to immediately focus on, when trying to save electricity
+ Switching the geyser off and on manually is not good practice because circuit breakers are not designed to be switched often. They will eventually break and they can be costly to replace.
+ Chances are that at some or other time you will forget to switch the geyser back on and will end up without hot water when you need it
+ By installing a geyserwise you will see immediate savings on your monthly bill and a full return on your investment in only a few months.
How does this system work?
We replace your conventional thermostat with a digital thermostat
With Geyserwise you can save up to 70% of the geyser costs on your electricity
bill!
The unit can be used for a number of functions, including:
• Setting your geyser to come on at specific times – up to 4 settings per day
• Clear and accurate temperature displays and settings
• Save up to 30% of your electricity bill
• Move your geyser usage to off peak periods
• Prevent your geyser from over-heating
• Automatically turn your geyser off during periods when not in use- Be in control !
• Need hot water during the off period settings, easily over-ride your settings with one click
• Easily add on and manage a Solar Heating system with GeyserwiseMax.
Contact people like:
Khaya Ngubo
079 639 1850
If you really want to save power usage on your geyser; install a time operated solenoïd valve, with an over-ride switch on the outlet of your geyser. This way you prevent hot water from exiting the geyser except when you need it for showering.
Now have the geyser turn on automatically for 30 minutes before the solenoïd valve opens and for 30 minutes after the solenoïd valve closes.
The over-ride switch is for emergency use.
I await comment from the clever people on this one.
M Greeff
I fully agree with Richard.In my case i have install a timer with a override switch and a unit meter.The unit meter is for monitoring the units.The geyser(100 L),only operates a 1 and a half hours a day.There is definitely a urge saving in controlling your geyser or switching it it off.In my case it is almost R150,00 a month,just for the geyser.
I would also like the “clever”people,not backyard clever,to proof this wrong.
I turn off my geyser right after showering. Why does my prepaid meter continue to show considerably increased power use for some hours after switching off?
Since my initial comments on this forum months ago, I would like to advise anyone who is building a new house to take into consideration the following:
Keep pipe runs as short as possible. Group bathrooms, toilets and kitchen as closely as possible using a solar assisted hot water cylinder directly above this cluster – especially important where a balanced hot & cold water supply is required. Where this is not possible then remote bathrooms & kitchen should be supplied with demand water heaters. All sinks, basins and baths should be lagged to minimise heat loss.
After reading some of the recommendations, I turned on my geyser for only an hour yesterday, and switched it off just before I took a shower. The water was hot enough, and I had enough left for the dishes. (Though I often use cold water for that in summer.) This seemed to cut the electricity used for reheating by at least half. Though there are other variables (amount of cooking done, etc.) it seems I can save between R8 and R12 per shower, which adds up to quite a bit in a month.
I actually Think article, “Your geyser – does it help
to turn it off and on? |” was indeed just right!
I personallycould not see eye to eye with you
more! Finally looks like Ifound a blog website very well worth reading.
Many thanks, Avis
hahaha… funny reading all the back and forth.
Cheapest way to save the most: Install 300m of 22mm black plastic pipe between the cold water supply and the cold water input to the geyser. Put this pipe on you roof. Shower in the evenings.
;0)
I set my geyser on 50deg using geyserwise, enough for a big deep bath and a shower. Why heat water that you are not using, I bath in the morning and the water should refil at air temp. Geyser on for 2 hours in the morning and I saved 400kw a month. “Geyserwise” paid for itself in 2 months, at this rate a solar geyser might pay for itself in 15 years , excluding maintainance. So hot water costs us about 100kw a month .. Big saving ! If need be its a press of a button to overide the timer and water used only activates after thermostate drops 9 deg.
I have a small point to make ! If a 7am in the morning you decide to have coffee when you get home from work at say 5pm do you leave an urn on the whole day for when you get home ? NO you boil your kettle when you get home, why not do the same with your geyser ? Fit a geyser timer it only costs R650 supplied and fitted from sales@prepaidmeterskzn.co.za 0837751022.then you don’t even have to remember to turn it off and on again
I agree with Darryll with the timer solution and I believe you could save considerably on your monthly bills depending on your usage and habits. see – – – – – >http://www.pcb.org.za/upload/files/EskomGeyserFactSheet.pdf
I just want to say I live alone in a flat 150l geyser, which is set in morning for 1hour.30 and in afternoon for 1 hour in winter In summer only 1hour in morning no afternoon heating. My electric bill is very very low
Their are some brilliant ideas mentioned in this form. I especially like the black pipe on the roof on the inlet side of the geyser. I use a timer which runs for exactly 30 minutes each morning. More than adequate for my wife and I, but the single biggest saving, is we use a gravity geyser. We have had our copper gravity geyser for 36 years. Only changed one element and one thermostat in 36 years. 30 minutes of heating allows two hot showers in the morning and two warm showers at night, because gravity does not waste water. We have just built our retirement home in the Cape and we installed a 50 litre copper gravity geyser with a blanket, all hot water pipes run in the ceiling with insulation. Not a single hot water pipe is outside the building. It works brilliantly. With a gas stove, a fireplace and a Dover wood stove as part of the kitchen for emergencies, our prepaid electricity bill is R 250 per month for two of us. How is that for savings. Just purchased the latest generation gas geyser ( R 1700) as backup for geyser in case of extended power outages. They are unbelievable compared to old technology and lastly I am going to install a Bio gas generator to make my own gas from our kitchen and toilet waste. Bio gas is the future.
I may not understand all this scientific stuff but living in Zimbabwe in a household of 4 people my electricity bill has reduced by 30% from switching off my geyser daily. So for now i will stick to switching off my geyser.
I’ve got a timer installed and with the timer for the last 3months each month my electricity bill is more . Timer for me is a waist of money.
Hi , I would really like to know the minimum temperature setting that could be used without causing damage to the geyser.
so the big question..should i switch my geyser on and off…??
should i switch it off before shower?
or not switch it off period?
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Please send me more advice of how to use electricity in my home.Which appliance I must use or not use.And how long must I switch on.
Please would someone explain to me what the purpose of a geyser isolator switch is. Also, do I switch it off when I switch off the geyser?
Place an “old” geyser in series[like with batteries in a torch] with the existing “electrified” geyser water inlet. by >>removing an “old” geyser tank out of its surrounding “shell” then paint it school-board black and lay it/fix it in/on safe part of roof with constant sunlight.
Your existing “electrified” geyser is now supplied with warmer than usual water as a supply.
They use this method in Canada.
My take on this is as follows, a geyser is definitely a big kettle, and the most efficient way to use it is to ensure that all the hot water is used only when the thermostat has reached maximum temperature. I rewired my geyser with a timer which pulsed, and operated a relay controlled by the thermostat and a pilot light and sounder which brought to the attention of the occupants in the house that they all need to bath straight away. but they could not keep the discipline, the timer was programmed to provide 1 x hot tank a day. as soon as the geyser reached max temp, the thermostat switched it off and provided indication by means of a pilot light and a sounder. On the following day at the same time, the process was repeated each day.In conclusion, if you keep the discipline you will definitely save money.
Thanks for taking your time to reply. I will see what happens when my bill arrives!
Asking questions are in fact nice thing if you
are not understanding sommething fully,except this post presents pleasant understanding
even.
My geyser thermostat was replaced 3 weeks ago by an electrician. Last night the hot water was spraying out of the geyser and I switched it off. I phoned the same electrician to let him know the situation and he told me that it is the thermostat that is gone and it was totally normal that it goes faulty again? I would appreciate your view on this, thank you
As an Energy Efficiency Advisor, we have done several tests within the domestic market and found that 40 – 60% of the total electricity bill is in heating from geysers. We’ve also done power audits for businesses (where more than 1 geyser is installed) such as Guesthouses and Hostels, etc and found that the power consumption from geysers alone could even exceed 60% of the total electricity bill. We recognised the need to arrive at a solution that would significantly reduce the costs of hot water consumption. With developed a robust titanium Eco – element made with PTC (Positive Temperature Co-efficient) chips that does not use resistance wire as a source of heat, instead it uses ceramic chips to heat water to a set temperature at the same rate as a conventional element but using half the amount of power and hence haIf the costs. I would be glad to answer any questions you may have.
As an Energy Efficiency Advisor, we have done several tests within the domestic market and found that 40 – 60% of the total electricity bill is in heating from geysers. We’ve also done power audits for businesses (where more than 1 geyser is installed) such as Guesthouses and Hostels, etc and found that the power consumption from geysers alone could even exceed 60% of the total electricity bill. We recognised the need to arrive at a solution that would significantly reduce the costs of hot water consumption. We’ve developed a robust titanium Eco – element made with PTC (Positive Temperature Co-efficient) chips that does not use resistance wire as a source of heat, instead it uses ceramic chips to heat water to a set temperature at the same rate as a conventional element but using half the amount of power and hence haIf the costs. I would be glad to answer any questions you may have.
Switching off your geyser will save you money on your electricity bill. How much depends on the efficiency of the geyser’s insulation. I have experimented with this over a period of 15 years in the three different houses we owned by installing a timer switch to switch the geyser on from 5am to 8am. My wife and I shower in the mornings. Savings averaged between 15% to 20% and drops to less than 5% after a geyser blanket is installed. Savings also varies from summer to winter which indicates the effect of ambient temperature in the ceiling during the different seasons. And no, we experienced no burst geysers or any other adverse effect to any of the three geysers due switching them on and off. We have now installed solar heating and the saving is approximately 55%.
Very nice post.. turing off the geyser is very necessary since
geyserit is very sensitive electric appliances. Thanks the valuable tips
Based on the excellent advice given by the author I have now gotten rid of my tea kettle and replaced it with a hot water urn that keeps the water at the right 92 degrees C all day so that whenever I want a cup of tea (about twice a day) there is hot water. I am happy to report that there has been no additional electricity used by doing this.
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I used to turn geysers on for 10 hours every 6/7 days until one burst. We have two geysers, one feeding the other. The main geysers burst on a weekend. A plumber did a bypass so we could still get hot water till Monday. The plumber installed the new geysers and returned the feeder back to the main geyser as before. Now I need geysers on permanently or they are cold by morning. I’ve had 3 different plumbers in and no one can find anything wrong.
Thank you. I really enjoyed reading your articles. Very informative and answered my questions.
I find switching off your geyser in winter in not such a good idea. I recently put a temperature monitor on my geyser whilst switched off. The temperature dropped very rapidly as result of cold ambient air. This effect is even more pronounced when you have an older geyser with poor insulation. In summer the heat in ceiling will undoubtedly not have a drastic cooling effect.
Switching off your geysers isn’t the best method of saving money, you’re better off keeping it at a lower temperature for sure. But it all depends on how many people etc in the household
According to Newtons law of heat dissipation, hot water cools down at a higher rate than colder water. The cooling is not linear, i.e. can be regarded as a descending logarithmic graph. E.g. hot water may cool down (depending on the efficiency of the heater) from 60 to 50 deg. in 1 hour, but from 50 to 40 deg. may take 2 hours, from 40 to 30 deg. make take 4 hours. I.e. the graph starts to level out eventually when ambient temp. is reached. This means, that we are wasting energy by keeping the geyser at a high temperature only to loose it due to heat dissipation. In winter it is even worse when the surrounding air temp. is lower. Rather switch off, you will save energy. And, install extra insulation. Geyser blankets are available from h/w shops. Also consider insulating geyser piping, i.e. the copper pipe connected to the geyser outlet at the top of the geyser. When hot water taps has not been opened for as few hours, feel which pipes are warm/hot and insulate those.
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Hot Water Cylinders
Our geyser remains switched off at all times except when we shower or bath. In summer less than 10 minutes is required to heat 50 litres. In winter approx 50 minutes required. Our geyser is a 50 litre copper gravity geyser placed in the ceiling directly above hers and mine bathrooms. Its a very clever design to have two bathrooms onsuite resulting in less than a litre of cold water wasted to my mancave and instant hot water to my lady’s bathroom. Additionally the kitchen uses about a litre wasted cold water before its hot as our design has my wifes bathroom wall, as the second wall of the kitchen.All plumbing is in the ceiling dropping down to where its required allowing all hot water copper pipes to be insulated with sisal rope, them bound by masking tape followed by red insulation tape for hot water and green for cold. Outside the house on the north facing wall I have installed a radiator of copper pipes, 6 metres on length, total length 30 metres which heats the incoming cold water so that the geyser has less water to heat. This works brilliant in summer, some work still required due to the sun movememt in winter. Have been thinking about a solution and I believe I have a unique solution. 50 litre Copper gravity geyser purchased in Durban, easily allows 4 people to shower comfortably with the geyser remaining on during showering. Geyser temp is set so no cold water is required to shower. Why heat water to cool it again? Summer and winter setting for the geyser. Finally the big question, what is our utility bill for electricity? Yes you guessed right. R 350 per month average for the year at of 4 Sept 2018. This increases to R400 per month when we have guests. I’m currently on a project to go drop our water bill by 90%. I built our home with my own bare hands over 8 years so I was fortunate to build like I wished, not like building contractors who simply have no idea of how to build a energy saving house.
We have replaced the element in our mor flo hot water heater and the reset button. It is getting power to all termnals. How long should we wait for the water to heat back up.
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