What is the most efficient way to run my boiler just for hot water in the summer?

Question

I have recently moved into a house with a gas/electric boiler. As summer has now arrived we are no longer running the heating from it. However, me and my housemate still need hot water for showers in the morning and the odd bit of washing up.

Currently what we are doing is turning the hot water switch to the 24hrs slot in the morning and then turning it off when we leave the house for work. As I understand it it uses a combination of immersion to give hot water straight away and conventional heating of the tank, which is why there is still hot water available for washing up in the evening even though the system has been off the whole day.

What I'm wondering is if this is the most efficient way to run the boiler as I presume that some of the heating for the shower is done by immersion? This is based on the fact that we seem to be able to get hot water almost immediately we have turned it on. Would it be more efficient to set the hot water to come on before we get up?

Answer 1

If u have a cylinder (hot water tank) in the airing cupboard then the cheapest way to run it would be to put the heating off at the controls and set the water to come on about an hour and a half before u wake up and set it to go off half an hour before u wake up, so its on for an hour. The water in the tank should be hot by then and will hopefully stay warm all day for your washing up.

If its a combi boiler then the boiler will only come on when u draw off hot water from the shower or kitchen sink tap.

sorry couldnt understand which system u had from ur question

Answer 2

I have a gas boiler which heats the water and heating in the winter.  However in the summer we never switch it on.  Instead we have a timer on our immersion heater which comes on during the early hours of the morning to make the most of the Economy 7 hours which are about a quarter the price of the daytime hours.  Mine comes on for about 3 hours and I find there is still enough hot water left over for showers in the evening as well as washing up during the day.  It's quite a cost effective way of doing it that way.

Answer 3

do u have a thermostat? if so turn ur thermostat down to about 14 degrees then ur boiler wont kick in for heatin just for the hot water. thats wot we do. we have a combi boiler.